Chapter 548: Third Hokage: Isn't It Just Another Compromise?
"Old man Sarutobi, I need you to do me a favor."
Kenichi stood before Hiruzen and spoke without ceremony.
Hiruzen's eyelids twitched as he looked at Kenichi, his feelings somewhat complicated.
He had first met Kenichi some time ago.
Back then, this lunatic had suddenly stormed into the Hokage's office, grabbed Hiruzen by the collar, and demanded to know why Naruto had been treated that way.
Hiruzen had been completely bewildered.
Naturally, as the Hokage, he could not tolerate such behavior.
So, in a fit of anger, Hiruzen became angry.
That was all he could do.
He could not win.
When Kenichi saw that Hiruzen intended to fight, he dragged the old man outside Konoha and took him to the Valley of the End.
There, Kenichi showed him a colossal Buddha statue covered in Susanoo armor, displaying power great enough to sweep across four nations.
Faced with strength on that level, Hiruzen had no way to resist.
He could only compromise obediently.
After all, ever since becoming Hokage, he had compromised countless times.
One more compromise would not hurt.
Moreover, there were benefits to Kenichi remaining in Konoha.
As long as such a powerful individual stayed in the village, Konoha would unquestionably become the strongest ninja village in the Shinobi World.
"What is it?"
Hiruzen sighed and took a puff from his pipe.
Kenichi had recently been busy teaching at the Ninja Academy, which had allowed Hiruzen to enjoy a relatively peaceful period.
He had not expected Kenichi to come looking for him again so soon.
Kenichi did not waste time and directly explained what he wanted.
After hearing the request, Hiruzen breathed a sigh of relief.
Finding an object was not difficult for Konoha, which possessed a large population and an extensive intelligence network.
"Of course. That won't be a problem."
Hiruzen took another puff from his pipe.
"But Kenichi, I hope that when Konoha faces difficulties in the future, you will lend us your strength."
Kenichi nodded noncommittally.
Naturally, he would not object.
In the current world, Kenichi's strength had reached a level where he could crush almost anyone with overwhelming superiority.
Aside from Nagato, who might still be able to stand before him, no one else posed much of a threat.
However, Kenichi still had one concern.
Otsutsuki Isshiki beneath Amegakure.
This timeline should also have its own Otsutsuki Isshiki.
How troublesome.
After entrusting the search to the Third Hokage, Kenichi returned to the academy.
For now, he could only wait for Hiruzen to locate whatever object had struck him and sent him into this timeline.
"Big brother, I bought the drink you wanted!"
Kenichi heard Naruto's voice at the training ground.
He turned and saw Naruto running toward him with a bottle in hand.
Kenichi casually accepted the drink, opened it, and took a sip.
The sweet taste of orange juice filled his mouth.
"Sasuke went home?"
Kenichi sat on the tree stump he had broken earlier, leaving half of it empty, and asked casually.
He had come to the training ground to find Naruto, only to discover that the daily training fanatic Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.
"Yeah. Sasuke said he had something to do."
Naruto naturally sat beside Kenichi and opened his own drink.
Naruto preferred apple flavored soda.
Kenichi shrugged.
He was not particularly concerned about Sasuke's affairs.
In fact, he felt somewhat relieved that the boy was absent.
Otherwise, Sasuke would probably challenge him to another spar.
"Big brother, who do you think our jonin instructor will be?"
Naruto shifted restlessly on the stump and asked with curiosity.
Now that he was about to officially become a ninja, he had become deeply interested in everything connected to his future career.
"I don't know. Maybe Guy-sensei."
Kenichi answered casually before taking another sip of orange juice.
He was still thinking about his own problem and trying to understand what exactly had struck him.
"Huh? Guy-sensei?"
Naruto's eyes widened.
Because of Kenichi, Naruto was already acquainted with Guy.
He did not dislike the man who constantly spoke about youth and passion.
However, merely imagining Guy's training methods made Naruto shudder.
Guy's training was even more terrifying and extreme than Kenichi's.
The requirements Kenichi gave Naruto would probably count as nothing more than a warm up in Guy's eyes.
Kenichi's thoughts drifted elsewhere.
He remembered Guy's performance during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
How exactly did Evening Elephant and Night Guy work?
It seemed Evening Elephant was produced by punching the air.
Punching the air?
Kenichi shook his head, placed the drink can beside him, and swiftly threw a punch.
His fist moved extremely fast, but nothing happened.
There was no visible reaction in the air before him.
Naruto was still imagining how much food he would need to eat every day to restore his stamina if Guy truly became their instructor.
He failed to notice Kenichi's strange actions.
Kenichi scratched his head.
Was his speed still insufficient?
With that thought, Kenichi punched toward the half empty drink can.
This time, he still did not use much force.
The can remained completely motionless.
"So the key is the Eight Inner Gates?"
Kenichi remembered that whenever Guy used those techniques, he usually opened several of the Eight Inner Gates and unleashed extraordinary physical power.
Kenichi himself had already mastered the Eight Inner Gates.
The concept of the Eight Gates had been mentioned during school, but only as part of the most basic course, [Chakra Training].
The teacher had explained that eight points within the human body suppressed and controlled the flow of chakra.
Those were the Eight Gates.
However, the course had not explained how to release them.
Kenichi already knew how.
"Let me think."
Kenichi pondered quietly.
From the Gate of Opening to the Gate of Death, there were eight gates in total.
The Gate of Opening and the Gate of Rest were both located in the brain.
If that was the case...
Kenichi opened the Eight Inner Gates.
A green aura erupted around his body.
He carefully examined his condition.
His cells appeared unaffected, while the pure white chakra stored within him remained completely still.
Kenichi breathed a sigh of relief.
It seemed opening the Eight Inner Gates would not interfere with the primordial chakra he had accumulated.
After confirming this, Kenichi closed the gates and sat down again.
Now was not the time to practice.
He still needed to continue refining and compressing his chakra.
"Big brother! Why did you turn green just now?"
"Remember, don't call it green next time."
Kenichi spoke expressionlessly while rubbing his fist.
Naruto clutched his head and grimaced in pain.
Kenichi had just punched him.
The blow had not been particularly strong, but it still hurt badly.
Seeing Naruto cry out, Kenichi revealed a faint smile.
The Shinobi World did not appear to have the same cultural meaning behind the phrase "wearing a green hat."
Here, infidelity was simply called infidelity.
Of course, in bookstores and video shops, one could still find strange terms like netori and netorare.
Kenichi had glanced at such material a few times.
Only a few times.
He had never bought any and brought them home.
After all, such things could easily corrupt Naruto.
It would be troublesome if Naruto grew up to become a pervert.
"Hiss... Big brother, the things that make you angry are really strange!"
Naruto looked deeply wronged.
He had clearly seen Kenichi surrounded by a green aura.
He had simply told the truth, yet he had still been hit.
However, when he saw the kind smile on his older brother's face, Naruto swallowed and obediently chose to remain silent.
The next morning, Kenichi stopped Naruto from attempting to apply Jiraiya's signature face paint.
He then took his younger brother to have their official ninja registration photographs taken before bringing him to the classroom to wait for the team assignments.
Because of that, Kenichi did not even have time to complete his daily training plan.
"...Now, I'll announce the team assignments. Each team will consist of three members, so..."
Iruka continued speaking at the front of the classroom.
This time, Kenichi listened very carefully.
Team assignments were extremely important.
They could even determine the relationships that shaped a person's entire life.
Most three person teams eventually formed very close bonds.
There were Konoha's so-called trio of yellow, gambling, and poison, meaning Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru.
There were also Obito, Rin, and Kakashi.
Kenichi knew that his existence was an anomaly in the Shinobi World.
However, logically speaking, his presence should not have affected the team assignments of these children.
Thinking of this, Kenichi glanced at Sakura, who was eagerly staring at Sasuke.
"Next is Team 7."
When Iruka reached that point, Kenichi's attention sharpened even further.
He had not yet heard Naruto's, Sasuke's, or Sakura's names.
He did not know whether the three of them would still be placed together.
"Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke..."
Iruka continued reading.
Kenichi nodded slightly.
It seemed Sasuke would still be assigned to the same team as his younger brother.
That was quite good.
He only wondered who the third member would be.
"Sakura Haruno."
Iruka finished announcing the team.
Kenichi paused and raised an eyebrow.
Then he looked at Sasuke, who wore a strange smile beside him, before glancing at the visibly excited Sakura.
As expected, in this orthodox timeline, Team 7 had still been formed exactly as it was in the original story.
"Next is..."
Iruka continued announcing the remaining assignments.
Kenichi no longer paid much attention.
Those teams were not especially important to him.
His only concern was whether Konoha could locate the machine that had struck him and brought him to this world.
If they could find it, that would be excellent.
However, this world was not entirely unchanged.
While Kenichi was lost in thought, a ninja suddenly rushed into the classroom and whispered something into Iruka's ear.
Iruka's expression immediately changed.
"Ahem. Everyone, please pay attention."
Iruka cleared his throat.
"There has been an adjustment to the previously announced Team 7. Hyuga Hinata and Sakura Haruno will exchange team assignments."
Kenichi froze.
How interesting.
Sakura was dumbfounded.
Hinata looked so stunned that she nearly fainted.
"Sa-Sasuke-kun!"
After the assignments were completed, Sakura ran toward Sasuke with a flushed face and looked at him eagerly.
Sasuke raised his head and stared at her indifferently.
He said nothing, but his expression clearly asked what she wanted.
"Can... can I..."
Sakura was extremely nervous, but she still bravely forced the words out.
"My home is... in that apartment building in Konoha."
Sasuke was briefly stunned when he understood her request.
After hesitating for a moment, he told her the location of his own apartment.
After all, Sakura had merely asked to exchange contact information.
Sakura's face became even redder.
She handed Sasuke her address, then covered her face and ran away.
Kenichi gave Sasuke a strange look.
Sasuke naturally noticed.
"What's wrong?"
Sasuke looked down at his trousers.
There was no zipper, so it could not have been left open.
His clothes were not torn either.
"Nothing. I'm just a little surprised that you still have some humanity."
Kenichi shook his head.
During the early part of Naruto, Sasuke had indeed still been rather human.
He would blush at Sakura's bold hints and show concern for other people.
Only later did he become a man completely consumed by revenge.
"It was only an exchange of contact information."
Sasuke spoke calmly.
"If I refused, wouldn't that ruin part of her graduation memories?"
Kenichi stared at Sasuke in surprise.
Those words had genuinely caught him off guard.
However, after considering that Sasuke was the son of a prominent clan leader, it was not strange for him to possess some emotional intelligence.
As the son of a clan head, how could his social awareness be too poor?
It was only later, after Sasuke became completely immersed in revenge and followed the Uchiha Clan's stubborn path, that he appeared so cold and unfeeling.
"Big brother, who do you think our instructor will be?"
Naruto sprawled across his desk while glaring at Sasuke.
He had just watched Sakura approach Sasuke and ask for his contact information.
"I don't know, but it's probably someone who doesn't care much about rules."
Kenichi yawned.
Everyone else had already left, yet Naruto's instructor still had not appeared.
Kenichi now understood that although Sakura had been replaced by Hinata, Team 7's instructor still appeared to be Kakashi.
That was truly interesting.
"My stomach is growling... Huh?"
Naruto rubbed his stomach.
Then he suddenly remembered something and looked at his older brother in confusion.
That morning, Kenichi had mysteriously brought a large backpack with him.
Could it be...
Hinata sat nearby, blushing and too nervous to speak.
Her eyes also widened.
She had never expected Kenichi, who was usually well liked and respected, to bring such things into the classroom.
Was that really allowed?
Would their supervising instructor become angry when he arrived?
Hinata cautiously glanced at Naruto.
Her face immediately turned even redder.
"Those three brats must be getting impatient by now. They're probably planning some kind of prank."
Kakashi slowly walked down the hallway with his usual dead eyed expression.
He had spent some time reading Icha Icha Paradise in the office while reviewing the files of his three students.
Then he had eaten his bento before finally making his way toward the classroom.
When Kakashi reached the door, he looked upward.
The door was closed.
There did not appear to be any traps.
Preparing himself to be drenched by a bucket of water, Kakashi pushed the classroom door open.
Immediately, the rich aroma of grilled meat drifted toward him.
"Teacher, want some?"
....
https://discord.gg/KvMN2CFsMR
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03].