Maybe their concern was just too obvious—even the usually carefree Hashirama noticed it.
He furrowed his brow and muttered with dissatisfaction:
"Hey, hey, hey, what's with those looks on your faces? I'm still the God of Shinobi, you know. Don't look down on me like that!"
He shot a glare at Hikaru and Izuna, clearly blaming them for not trusting him.
Hikaru and Izuna exchanged a glance and smiled, but said nothing more.
They knew Hashirama's strength was unquestionable. The real issue was that training newbies required a very specific kind of patience and teaching style.
And given the way Hashirama wrote his Wood Style scrolls… yeah, he might not be the best teacher material.
Still, after a moment of reflection, Hikaru came up with a new idea.
He figured—maybe letting Hashirama lead a team wasn't such a bad thing after all. After all, problems had solutions.
For instance, they could ask Tobirama Senju for help.
As the master of forbidden techniques, Tobirama wouldn't need to do much. Just taking a bit of his time to coach Hashirama's squad would be enough to benefit the new genin tremendously.
Whether or not Tobirama wanted to do it… well, that was another matter.
But hey, he was Hashirama's little brother. Sometimes, a younger sibling had to make a few sacrifices for the greater good.
With this thought in mind, Hikaru decisively approved the assignment.
To his surprise, seeing Hashirama start to take on students actually piqued Madara's interest.
The corner of Madara's lips lifted into a smug grin. "Hahaha~ Since Hashirama the Softie is taking on disciples, I can't let myself fall behind!"
He turned toward Hashirama, eyes blazing, and issued a challenge:
"Let's see whose team turns out better, Hashi-Softie!"
Hashirama was immediately swept up in the excitement. He clenched his fists and replied with fiery passion:
"Deal! Let our squads settle it once and for all, Mad-Dog!"
Hearing Hashirama's spirited response, Madara couldn't hold back and yelled once more: "Hashi-Softie!"
Hashirama shouted back instinctively, "Mad-Dog!"
The two of them laughed together, faces beaming with anticipation and joy.
Of course, the ever-enthusiastic Hashirama didn't notice Mito's face darkening by the second.
Hikaru watched the scene unfold and couldn't help but sigh inwardly:
'Is this what they call NT in real time?'
Just then, Mito took decisive action—grabbing Hashirama by the ear and dragging him off on the spot.
Watching Hashirama stumble away, helpless yet obedient, Hikaru shook his head.
He muttered softly, "Even after all these years, Grandma Mito is still as fiery and decisive as ever."
Beside him, Madara's ears twitched at the comment. His lips curled up with faint nostalgia.
But under the gazes of Hikaru and Izuna, even Madara seemed a little embarrassed.
With a dismissive huff, he too turned and left.
The office quieted down once more.
Hikaru returned to his seat, watching Izuna continue processing paperwork.
After a moment's thought, he spoke up: "Izuna, bring me the list of this year's top graduates."
Izuna looked up and rolled his eyes without much patience.
Still, he knew this was just Hikaru being Hikaru. He wasn't truly upset.
Despite all his griping over the years, he knew Hikaru always stepped up when it truly mattered.
More importantly, ever since the ascension of the shinobi world, everyone had benefited immensely from Hikaru's efforts. That contribution couldn't be dismissed.
So while Izuna showed his usual complaints, deep down he just hoped Hikaru would share more of the workload instead of dumping everything on him.
Izuna quickly handed over the list.
Hikaru took it and began flipping through it carefully.
Soon, a few names jumped out at him:
"Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Fugaku Uchiha, and Mikoto?"
Seeing those names, Hikaru fell into deep thought.
He was fully aware that his presence had changed countless events and destinies in this world.
Many people and events that were once part of the original timeline had already taken a different path—silently, without warning.
Yet, there always seemed to be a few people who were destined to shine.
No matter how much the world twisted and turned, they'd somehow find a way to rise and stand at the center of the stage.
Just like these names on the list.
Even with Hikaru acting as the biggest variable, they still managed to walk their paths and shine in their own right.
Still, he couldn't be entirely sure if they were the same as he remembered. More observation was needed.
While skimming through the list, he also noticed some interesting details.
Fugaku and Mikoto were a few years older than Minato and Kushina, while the latter two were both twelve.
That made Hikaru raise an eyebrow. He picked up their files and asked Izuna curiously:
"Didn't the academy change its graduation age to sixteen? How did these two graduate so young?"
Izuna glanced at the files and let out a bitter smile.
"These two are just too talented. They'd already mastered all the curriculum content ages ago."
"Actually, we delayed their graduation by a whole year. Based on their actual performance, they could've graduated at eleven."
"The instructors did everything they could, but in the face of such gifted students, there really wasn't much more to teach them. So after a careful evaluation, we decided to let them graduate early."
Hearing Izuna's explanation, Hikaru's curiosity toward the two kids only deepened.
After all, the current academy was no longer like in Hiruzen Sarutobi's era—where students barely learned anything.
Nowadays, graduates were expected to have Chūnin-level strength at minimum.
And after the world ascended, the graduation bar had been raised to Jōnin level.
To be listed as top graduates meant these kids had the strength of elite jōnin already.
They were nowhere near Hikaru's own overpowered level, of course, but still—Minato and Kushina were undoubtedly prodigies.