The following week, Kilin arrived in front of a training field, holding little Hoku in his hands.
The training field was located north of the village of Uzushiogakure; it was a large open space with a kind of shed in the center. Perfect for theoretical and practical classes.
It wasn't elaborate or grand like the ninja school of the future Konoha; quite the opposite, it was simple and plain, as its only purpose was to teach future Shinobi. Luxury had no place in this place.
"Kilin-san, how have you been? Did you come to apply for an administrative position at Training Field 01?" asked a Shinobi Uzumaki of approximately forty-something years old.
She had loose hair, but only shoulder-length, and wore clothing appropriate for combat, but not exceptionally used on missions.
She wore dark gray Shinobi pants with thick, shock-absorbing lining, a black bulletproof vest, and the Uzushiogakure sash hung around her neck.
Like most people from Uzushio, she had red hair, and her eyes were black; not every Uzumaki had blue eyes like Naruto or Kushina.
Despite her age, she was still in shape.
But due to an accident outside the village, where she lost her arm, she could no longer work on missions and was reassigned to guide the young Uzumakis.
"No, no, Mulan-senpai. I came to place my son under your care. Come on, Hoku, greet her, as she will be your tester to see if you qualify to be a ninja," said Kilin, for that was the path to becoming a ninja; she had also gone through it.
"My name is Hoku Uzumaki, I'm two years old, and I want to be a ninja," he said, in a tone that made his age stand out and made him even cuter.
Mulan was stunned, as she knew a child would be joining the others today, but she hadn't thought he would be so young.
Ashina wanted to test the boy, and even at two years old, he wasn't going to make it easy for Hoku to access the classes.
"So, if you want to start the classes, even though you don't reach my knees, you'll have to take the test like all the other children who come here." She was initially surprised, but then became irritated.
'Just because you were an apprentice to the leader's son, you think this is a daycare.' She thought about speeding things up and kicking those two out right away. How could she send a two-year-old to classes that even five-year-olds had difficulty with, and sometimes only managed to pass when they were seven, even though they could enter at five?
Without showing a hint of dissatisfaction on her face, she continued.
"You will have to write your name and a short text introducing yourself. In addition, let me test if you have chakra in your body." As Uzumaki, writing was a necessity, especially since there's no way to perform the Fuinjutsu seals if you can't even read or write.
Without even entering any of the facilities, and taking the necessary items from storage scrolls, Mulan took the test right there.
Hoku simply looked at his mother, and with a nod of confirmation from her, he picked up the materials and began to write.
In less than 15 minutes he wrote his name, a short essay about who he is, and scribbled a sentence that was on the test.
Mulan was stunned, speechless. The fluency, the tranquility, the precision, everything the boy used to complete this test was impressive.
It wasn't that the test was complicated, at least for children aged five to seven, it should really be easy. The problem was that the boy was only two years old.
'When I was two years old, all I knew how to do was wet my pants and speak with effort, how is this possible?' thought Mulan, but without losing her composure, as a Shinobi losing composure is out of the question.
Kilin showed no surprise, just a hint of pride, for she already knew her son's capabilities, and she knew that in this matter he was a genius.
"Okay, you passed the first part, now let's move on to the second part of the test." This part was simpler; she only needed to inject chakra into Hoku's chakra network to determine if his chakra was usable.
As an Uzumaki, he should have a lot of chakra, but using it was difficult. Many Uzumakis aren't ninjas because they couldn't utilize the enormous flow of chakra in their bodies.
The moment she placed her hand on his shoulder and tried to inject chakra, she was stunned, unable to do so. It was as if a barrier was blocking her chakra from inventing.
"You don't need to inject your chakra into me; I can move my chakra," said Hoku, already releasing some chakra from her hands, where a bluish-green chakra manifested.
This time, both women were frightened. Writing at two years old was one thing; having control of chakra at two years old was unprecedented, to say the least.
Thus, Mulan retracted her hand and managed to save herself, even without knowing it. Hoku's chakra was completely different from that of other Shinobi, thanks to the specific characteristics of his eyes; the chakra in his body was very special.
He believed that the concentration of natural energy in his body was very high, and that a person without a suitable constitution like his could turn to stone in a few moments without even realizing it.
Clearing her throat, Mulan regained her composure and resolved to accept in her heart that the boy must be a prodigy, which is why he was sent to receive instruction, even at such a tender age.
"It seems your son is qualified to participate in my training, and if he qualifies in any specific area, I will recommend him to other instructors, but for now, he will be cared for by me and my team."
Kilin was informed of this and that from today onward, her son would spend eight hours receiving instruction, four receiving lessons, and the other four free to use the training field facilities or interact with the other children.
While Mulan explained the details to Kilin, Hoku reflected that this setup seemed very similar to that of a daycare center in his old world.
'After these two years without interacting much with other people, besides my mother, this will be a good experience, to know how people in this world think.' Hoku, even though he thought it was useless for him, was still curious to see what the children of this world were like.
While he was lost in thought, the two women finished their conversation.
"I know you're smart, son, but you don't need to try so hard, okay? And listen carefully to Mrs. Mulan, when I finish work I'll come pick you up," said Kilin, since her work would only last six hours, leaving her with plenty of time to pick him up from the training field.
"Of course, Mom, I'll behave and train hard," he replied, wanting to comfort his mother.
"You don't need to try so hard, just play and have fun," she still couldn't get used to her son's maturity.
'At least let me be a proper mother,' that was her feeling, because it wasn't normal for a two-year-old boy to be so independent.
"Don't worry, since this is the children's first contact with the ninja world, the teaching won't be so rigorous as to be dangerous." Mulan's attitude changed completely, as she had been resigned, thinking that the boy being there was just a whim, but after recognizing that he was there because he was capable even at a young age, she no longer needed to be resigned; she was even happy to be able to instruct a genius.
After Kilin was guaranteed Hoku's safety, she finally went to work. This must be the pain parents feel when leaving a child at daycare.
Leaving them alone is fine, but leaving them with an adult is not well received. You'll never understand mothers.
Mulan stayed with little Hoku by her side, and after a few moments, she entered the training field with him.
In the training field, there were about fifty children ranging in age from four to seven years old. They were sitting on logs, stones, and anything that could be used as a seat, outdoors.
The children were talking about all sorts of things, some about shinobi, others about seals, some about hobbies, but most about a taijutsu and kenjutsu-based combat training session that would take place that day.
When Mulan positioned herself in front of these children, everyone stopped talking and looked at her and a little boy who was following closely behind her.
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