Only Hagoromo remained in the classroom now.
Even at this point, he still hadn't figured out who exactly he had ended up serving under. It felt as if someone was playing a biwa and performing East Wind Breaks somewhere in the background—
Cough. Wrong reference.
What he still hadn't figured out was who his squad leader actually was.
If there was any difference between his appearance today and yesterday, it was the metal plate hanging on his forehead.
A dog tag—
Cough. Wrong again.
Professionally speaking, it was called a forehead protector. Its actual function in battle was questionable; its most practical use was probably identifying which village a ninja belonged to.
According to the usual tropes, as the protagonist, Hagoromo should have been dressed in something flashy—maybe a flowing white robe that looked suspiciously like wedding attire.
But no.
He lacked the self-awareness of a typical transmigrator.
To put it simply: strip the flak jacket off an average Chūnin, and that's what he looked like.
Plain to the extreme.
Black shinobi boots.
White leg wraps.
Black trousers.
A loose, long-sleeved black top—so long that he had to roll the sleeves past his elbows.
In short: as ordinary as possible.
Just as Hagoromo was beginning to lose patience, the person he was waiting for finally arrived.
"Ninja Registration Number 009887. KamiKamishiro Hagoromo—who is that?"
The newcomer wore a standard jōnin uniform. Her features were delicate, her voice strong and clear—
—but what truly drew the eye was her brilliant crimson hair.
And hair like that represented her identity unmistakably:
A descendant of the Uzumaki Clan.
A Konoha jōnin.
The Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Uzumaki Kushina.
What did Hagoromo see at that moment?
He saw a walking repository of sealing jutsus enter the classroom.
"There's literally only me left in here," Hagoromo muttered as he stood up from his seat.
He naturally knew who Kushina was. Even without memories of his previous life, her name alone was famous enough in Konoha. Though her status as the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki was classified from civilians and most ninja, her Naruto-level talent for causing chaos had already made her a legend.
At this point, Hagoromo understood immediately.
Uzumaki Kushina was his instructor.
To be honest, he didn't know her that deeply—only that she was an Uzumaki survivor, the future Fourth Hokage's wife, Naruto's mother, a Jinchūriki, and a master of sealing jutsus.
But was he satisfied with her as a teacher?
Extremely.
He wouldn't trade places with Obito even if given the chance.
His interest in fūinjutsu bordered on obsession.
Kushina paid no attention to his complaint.
"Of course I know you're the only one left. I was just confirming. Come with me."
As Hagoromo walked over, she casually slapped him twice on the back—
Far too hard.
He staggered forward.
"Carefree personality. High-risk behavioral patterns," Hagoromo immediately assessed internally.
Kushina led the way with Hagoromo following behind.
At this moment, the Third Hokage had no idea that pairing these two together would become one of the most regrettable decisions of his life—
Second only to the day he let Orochimaru escape.
They arrived at a small training field.
For the record, another ninja had originally been training here—but the moment Kushina showed up, he very voluntarily vacated the area.
"Let's start with introductions," Kushina said. "My name is Uzumaki Kushina. Jōnin. From today onward, I'm your teacher."
Meanwhile, the scheming protagonist was already pondering how to trick—no, persuade—her into teaching him all kinds of sealing jutsus.
"Kushina-sensei," Hagoromo replied, "you already know my name. KamiKamishiro Hagoromo. Eleven years old. Genin."
Kushina nodded.
Of course she knew who he was.
In fact, she knew quite a bit about him.
Without Hagoromo's knowledge, she had already tested him extensively—through written exams mixed into the Academy's regular evaluations. Exams with absurdly high difficulty.
And Hagoromo had never once been stumped.
That was the primary reason she had chosen him.
Compared to raw strength at this stage, Kushina valued intelligence far more. A ninja's growth potential was largely determined by their mind—and her own teaching methods demanded students who were smarter than average.
Besides, Hagoromo's actual combat ability wasn't bad at all.
She already knew about the proficient Lightning Release he had displayed during the graduation exam.
"Alright, Hagoromo," Kushina said. "Let's get to know each other better. Do you have any life goals? Plans for the future?"
A vein throbbed on Hagoromo's forehead.
Big sister, if you're not good at heart-to-heart talks, we can just skip them, you know?
"Well… goals…" he began.
"I want to casually be a ninja, casually earn some money. After turning twenty, marry a woman who's neither beautiful nor ugly. Have two kids—first a daughter, then a son. Once my daughter's married and my son can stand on his own, I'll retire from being a ninja. After that, I'll live a quiet life playing chess or go… and then I'll die of old age before my wife does."
Before he could finish plagiarizing someone else's philosophy, he received a light tap on the forehead.
"Try something else," Kushina said. "Are you a middle-aged man having a midlife crisis? Say something more positive."
Hagoromo finally understood.
Kushina might not be great at emotional conversations—but she definitely wasn't easy to fool.
This line of questioning was clearly meant to screen for extremist tendencies, anti-ninja sentiment, or anti-village ideology.
"My life goal…" Hagoromo said slowly.
"There's something I've always wanted. But it's not something you can force. You can only hope to encounter it by chance. If I'm lucky enough to meet it in this lifetime, that'll be enough."
There was a faint sense of desolation in his voice—far too heavy for someone his age.
Fortunately, Kushina didn't probe further. She likely judged that continuing would cross into personal privacy.
Hagoromo's background was perfectly clean.
Both parents were ninja, killed in the early stages of this war. He had grown up in Konoha, never left the village, and never contacted outsiders.
This questioning was merely procedural.
"Alright," Kushina said. "Talk's over. Let me see your real strength."
She reached into her ninja pouch and pulled out a bell.
Luckily, Hagoromo wasn't too familiar with Naruto's plot.
Otherwise, he would've definitely complained—because in Naruto, this bell had a presence and screen time rivaling seventy percent of the cast.
"…Huh?"
"Test time," Kushina said cheerfully.
"Can you take this bell from me?"