Naruto: From Novice to Grave

The graduating students gradually dispersed, and Higashino and his friends also prepared to have a get-together.

At this moment, a middle-aged man of short stature walked out of the general classroom, followed by several ninja academy teachers, including Inoue Kuroiwa.

This middle-aged or elderly man is the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

At this time, the third generation was only about 55 years old, not the old figure in Higashino Makoto's memory. Although he had a kind face, one could still see the imposing presence of the former Oshio.

This was the first time that Higashino Makoto had been in close proximity to the highest authority in Konoha Village; during the last school term, they were quite far apart.

Seeing the Hokage, one naturally cannot turn around and leave; that would be too impolite.

"Lord Hokage!" The group bowed respectfully.

"Okay, okay, hehehehe." The Third Hokage nodded cheerfully, looking at everyone with affection, especially glancing at Higashino Makoto and Uchiha Shisui a few more times.

He recognized Shisui, after all, he was a descendant of his old friend Uchiha Kagami, and was on his daily follow list.

As for Higashino Makoto...

"Your name is Higashino Makoto, right? I remember you're Jiro and Megumi's child, and you're a good kid too."

"Huh? The Hokage knows me? He even knows my parents, that's amazing!"

"Haha, I know them, I even know your grandfather and uncle. They are heroes of Konoha, especially your mother, whose medical ninjutsu is very skilled."

"Thank you for your recognition, Hokage-sama. They are all role models for my efforts."

"By the way, why didn't you graduate early like Shisui? I remember you were the top scorer in the entrance exam, and Inoue-sensei recommended you to me."

"Lord Hokage, I feel that my strength is still lacking. My father also said that only by being strong can I better protect my comrades and contribute to the protection of Konoha."

So I still want to practice for another year; sharpening the axe won't delay the work of chopping wood.

"Sharpening your axe won't delay your woodcutting? A simple yet philosophical saying." The Third Hokage lightly brushed aside the topic, then asked, "Where are you all headed?"

"I'm planning to treat Hayate and Shisui to a meal to celebrate their successful graduation. Hokage, please join us!"

"Oh, a get-together? That's a good idea, but this old man won't be able to participate. It'll make you all feel uncomfortable. You guys go ahead."

"Alright, goodbye, Hokage-sama."

The group bowed respectfully and left together.

"Kuroiwa, what's your opinion of your student?"

Inoue Kuroiwa bowed respectfully and replied, "He is mature in thought, powerful in strength, has a very solid theoretical knowledge of ninjas, and likes to do things according to his own plans."

Moreover, I've noticed something interesting in the last six months: even when he's fighting against Shisui, his performance remains consistently stable. It's as if, in his eyes, even someone as strong as Shisui is no different from any other student.

Sometimes, I even feel that if I were to face him, I might be no match for him.

The Hokage was somewhat surprised: "Oh, such a high evaluation? Even you are ashamed of yourself. You are a rare talent. Perhaps you are a genius like Kakashi or Minato."

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, it's my fault for not being able to persuade him to apply for graduation."

"That's right, that's right, there's nothing wrong with it. Your teaching results are excellent. A year earlier or later doesn't make much difference. Let him build more connections with his classmates at school; it's a good thing!"

How to put it? The Third Hokage was top-notch in terms of being approachable. If you ignore the conspiracy theories, he was actually a very good Hokage.

As for Danzo Shimura, he didn't dare to rescue anyone from the academy. The Ninja Academy was the Hokage's territory, and the children there received the purest Will of Fire education. It was the Hokage's natural base, and he couldn't allow anyone else to interfere.

Moreover, Higashino is a true-blue, down-to-earth commoner from a heroic family. His parents are still alive, and he has a good circle of friends. It's hard for him to have any darkness in his heart. He's not Danzo's type, so the drama of "you regret my shadow" won't happen to Higashino.

It's a bit of a shame, really. If I hadn't been robbed by Danzo, I wouldn't even dare call myself a genius.

----------

The barbecue restaurant, Q, is thriving.

There aren't usually that many people eating here at lunchtime; to be honest, it's not cheap.

But today is both school and graduation day, and many people have chosen to come here, either to celebrate their children's enrollment or to celebrate their graduation with friends.

During the meal, Higashino asked, "Hayate, Shisui, now that you've both graduated, what are your plans? Will you team up with the new students as usual?"

Moonlight Gale was very direct: "I think I should be in a normal team, my father didn't seem to give me any special arrangements."

His father's name is Gekko Unmi, and he is a few years older than Higashino Makoto's parents. He used to be a special Jonin, but now it is said that he has become a regular Jonin.

The war caused great losses to the village, with many Jonin killed or wounded. The vacant positions will naturally be filled by others.

The higher-ups and major clans don't care much about chunin and genin, but the jonin registered in the village are the focus of the competition between the two sides.

Registered Jonin are automatically assigned to the Jonin Squad leadership, which wields immense power. The number of Jonin slots a team has directly impacts the formulation and implementation of many policies.

There are many ninjas in the village with the strength of Jonin, but the number of those with the Jonin title who are officially registered in the village has always been constant.

Naruto's ninja number will be 012607. He will graduate at the age of 12. Does this mean that Konoha has only trained more than 10,000 ninjas in the 63 years since the village was founded?

That's obviously impossible. Large and medium-sized clans, especially the Uchiha, Hyuga, Sarutobi, and Ino-Shika-Cho clans, all have many ninjas they train themselves who are not registered in the village.

After Jifeng finished speaking, the group looked at Zhishui.

Shisui was somewhat unhappy: "As for me, I should train with the elders of my family for a while, and then I might go to the police department."

He actually wanted to be like everyone else, to form a normal team, to follow the team leader normally, and to make more new friends.

But that's clearly unlikely.

Because he often hung out with Higashino and the others, learning from each other, competing with each other, and encouraging each other, his strength was even greater than in the original work. The Uchiha clan was unwilling to let outsiders cultivate such a genius.

As for Obito Uchiha, he's already a second-rate guy. What do you expect those arrogant guys in the Uchiha clan to think about him? It's better to release him and let him build bonds with the villagers. That would be a good way to make use of him.

Higashino thought for a moment and said, "Alright, it's wartime now, and all countries are sending out spies everywhere. The safety of the village is also very important, and this is the responsibility of your clan."

"But I want to go to the battlefield. My comrades in the village are all risking their lives to protect Konoha, while most of our clan can only stay in the village. I feel that's not right."

"It's not quite right," Shisui said gently, after all, that's just his personality. And because he's still young, he only senses something is wrong but can't figure out what it is.

When he walked around the village, the villagers, especially those whose relatives or friends had died in the war, would look at him with very unfriendly eyes when they saw the clan emblem on the back of his clothes.

Unlike Obito, who was a dense and clueless fool, Uchiha Shisui was extremely precocious and perceptive; how could he not sense something?

There are just some things that someone his age shouldn't know.

Uzuki Yugao and the others didn't know what to say, but Higashino Makoto knew perfectly well, though he wouldn't say anything carelessly.

In your past life, speaking carelessly would get you beaten up; in the ninja world, speaking carelessly could be a matter of life and death.