Naruto: Starting with Creating a Genius Persona

The Land of Fire, Kyoto, Daming Mansion.

The afternoon sun was warm and gentle. In the exquisite garden pond, fish swam leisurely in the water, and the daimyo of the Land of Fire was fishing at a leisurely pace.

An elderly man dressed in formal attire, resembling a butler, quietly approached, stopped a few steps away, and bowed respectfully.

"Your Highness, preparations for this year's Bamboo Cutter Festival are basically complete, and registration for the Culinary Competition has closed. Famous chefs and culinary family heirs from all over the country are gathering, and a grand event is expected."

The daimyo of the Land of Fire nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on the buoy on the water's surface.

The old man paused briefly, lowered his voice, and added a different meaning to his tone: "Furthermore, there is another matter that I believe Your Highness might be interested in."

"Oh?"

Daimyo's gaze remained fixed on the buoy on the water's surface, and he casually responded with a reply.

"Among the participants in this tournament, there is a ninja from Konoha Village."

"A Konoha ninja?" Upon hearing this, the Fire Country Daimyo paused slightly in his fishing rod, finally turning his head with a look of considerable interest on his face.

He raised his hand and with a "whoosh," unfolded the exquisite cypress fan, half-concealing it to his lips. His eyes, hidden behind the fan ribs, narrowed slightly. "I remember that Konoha no longer has any culinary ninjas, right?"

As the ruler of a country, he was naturally aware of the little-known and nearly extinct ancient profession of "culinary ninja".

But he knew even better that a mere Konoha ninja participating in the competition was hardly enough to warrant the old butler's special report.

He gestured for the other person to continue with his eyes.

The butler bowed slightly and respectfully continued, "The person accompanying this ninja contestant to Kyoto... is Princess Tsunade."

"Tsunade?"

The daimyo paused, his cypress fan still.

Tsunade is called "Tsunade-hime" not only because she is the granddaughter of the First Hokage and the Second Hokage, and the princess of Konoha.

She is also an officially recognized princess of the Land of Fire.

The First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, forged an alliance with the Land of Fire, establishing a system of one village per country.

Several years after the founding of Konoha, Tsunade was born. To demonstrate the unbreakable bond between the two countries and the importance attached to Konoha, the previous Daimyo of the Land of Fire bestowed a special favor, officially recognizing the infant Tsunade as the princess of the Land of Fire and granting her the title of "Hime".

Although Tsunade herself doesn't seem to care much about this title and has been active as a ninja for many years, this identity has always existed in the official records of the Land of Fire.

Now, this princess, who has never made a public appearance in Kyoto and is even rumored to have become depressed and despondent after World War II, has actually come to Kyoto in person with a ninja chef who is participating in the competition.

The daimyo slowly closed his cypress fan, tapped it lightly twice in his palm, and his interest deepened.

"This ninja..." He pondered for a moment and then said, "Tell me in detail what you know about this person."

"Yes, Your Highness." The butler bowed slightly and began his presentation methodically: "This ninja from Konoha is named Shinichi Higashino, and is currently..."

Shinichi Higashino?

Upon hearing the name, a look of realization flashed across Da Ming's eyes.

He recognized the name; it seemed to be related to the troublesome incident involving a cult and missing children that had occurred in Narumi Castle on the border. The report at the time vaguely mentioned a young Konoha ninja who had performed exceptionally well.

However, he didn't pay much attention to such trivial matters at the time.

The daimyo of the Land of Fire did not interrupt the butler's report, but listened quietly, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on his knee.

As the butler narrated plainly, a series of pieces of information were pieced together: at the age of nine, he independently developed an A-rank ninjutsu without hand seals, shaking Konoha; last year, he dominated the Chunin Exams held in Sunagakure, winning the championship; and now, he is being personally instructed by Tsunade, a disciple of the Third Hokage, as a Jonin...

The more he listened, the more intrigued the daimyo of the Land of Fire became.

With his experience and political intuition, he immediately discerned a different meaning in it.

This is not just a simple case of a genius ninja. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, values ​​this kid highly. He is practically declaring through his actions that this boy is one of the key figures to be cultivated for the future core of Konoha, and even for the position of Hokage.

As long as he doesn't die prematurely, given time, even if he doesn't become Hokage, he will inevitably become a pivotal member of Konoha's future power structure.

"Interesting, truly interesting." The Daimyo muttered to himself, a slight smile playing on his lips. "A young genius so highly regarded by the Third Hokage, instead of focusing on honing his ninja skills and accumulating merit, has the leisure to participate in my culinary competition..."

"It seems this year's Bamboo Cutter Festival will be even more exciting than in previous years." The Fire Country Daimyo chuckled, then said to his butler, "Remember, when the tournament officially begins, remind me. I want to personally see what tricks this genius ninja of Konoha has up his sleeve."

"Yes, Your Highness, this old servant has noted it down," the steward replied respectfully.

"And one more thing." The daimyo pondered for a moment, then snapped his cypress fan shut. "Sōshō, you decide what to do. As long as what our Konoha genius makes isn't so awful that it's unbearable, or it sets the stove on fire on the spot, for the sake of the Third Hokage and Konoha, we might as well give him a decent ranking when the time is right. Young people have their quirks, it's harmless, and it might even become a legendary tale."

He spoke so casually, as if he had simply given a particular flower in the garden a little extra water.

"Yes, Your Highness, I understand how to handle this." The steward understood, bowed deeply again, and then quietly withdrew, leaving the quiet and leisurely atmosphere of the courtyard to the contemplative daimyo.

At this moment, a cool breeze swept through the corridor and across the courtyard, rippling the calm water and creating layers of fine waves. The exquisite pavilions and the clear sky reflected in the water swayed and shattered, and the light and shadow became chaotic.

Daimyo gazed quietly at the pond of autumn water ruffled by the wind, his eyes distant, as if he could see a broader and more unsettling scene through the water.

"A storm is brewing," he muttered to himself. "The waters of the ninja world are about to be stirred up again."

"Who will start this time? Sunagakure? Iwagakure? Kumogakure? Kirigakure? Or some ambitious schemer who can't contain themselves any longer?"

After a moment of silence, he suddenly let out a very soft sneer:

"Go ahead and stir things up! Make the world a mess, with rivers of blood flowing... In the end, it will be us who have to clean up the mess and soothe people's hearts."

After a moment of reflection, the daimyo of the Land of Fire shook his head, shaking off those chaotic thoughts and anxieties.

He leaned back in his chair, his face regaining its usual enigmatic calm and ease.

It was as if that moment of insight and emotion was just a ripple on the water's surface after a gentle breeze, which would soon subside.