Seeing how shocked Hiruzen was, Mito explained gently:
"Actually, I meant to bring this up with you today. But I got sidetracked and forgot—getting old really is catching up with me."
As she spoke, Mito took a file from a nearby ANBU agent and handed it to Sarutobi. He accepted it with both hands and began reading. The moment he skimmed the opening lines, his expression changed.
"Two Iwagakure spies slipped into the village without anyone noticing? What have the patrol units been doing?"
Mito, however, seemed unconcerned:
"It's wartime. With people constantly moving in and out, it's inevitable a few will slip through. There's no need to blame the patrols too harshly—just have them be more vigilant moving forward.
What really matters is what's in the second half of that report."
Prompted by her words, Hiruzen continued reading—and found himself unable to look away. The contents were so implausible, they bordered on fantastical. If this hadn't come directly from Mito, he might've dismissed it as fiction.
Four six-year-old Academy students had managed to defeat an Iwagakure chūnin and a genin—together. No storyteller would dare fabricate something that outrageous.
A chūnin was considered standard combat strength in most shinobi villages, and yet these children—first-year Academy students—had eliminated one? Was Iwagakure really this weak now?
He couldn't make sense of it.
Looking up, Sarutobi gave Mito a questioning glance. The report's focus was vague, and the bulk of it detailed the intel the village's intelligence unit had extracted from the two enemy corpses.
There wasn't much on how the battle had actually played out.
Mito took a sip of her tea, then said casually:
"Truth be told, it was a fortunate set of circumstances. One of the children—Gekkō Hoshiyomi—awakened his clan's kekkei genkai during the encounter. It was thanks to that bloodline ability that they were able to win a battle they otherwise shouldn't have."
"A kekkei genkai..." Hiruzen muttered, his lips tightening. For a moment, he felt the urge to light a cigarette, but with Mito present, he restrained himself.
As the future "Professor of Ninjutsu," Sarutobi's knowledge was extensive. It didn't take him long to recall the Gekkō Clan.
"Ah, yes—the Gekkō Clan has a rare kekkei genkai known as Transparent Release. They specialize in stealth and assassination techniques. But I remember their clan head, Gekkō Eiichi, was killed during a mission a few years ago.
I didn't know the clan had a surviving heir. With that bloodline, it makes sense he could land a critical strike on a chūnin. That child must be quite talented."
Mito nodded.
"And it's not just him. The other three are remarkable as well. These four are rare talents, and the village should make a point of nurturing them."
As she spoke, she reached down and gave Tsunade's cheek a playful pinch, making the girl squirm and giggle.
Hiruzen's gaze instinctively followed hers, landing on Tsunade. In that moment, he understood. Offering Mito a respectful bow, he said:
"Don't worry, Lady Mito. I'll personally look into these four children. I'll do everything in my power to help them reach their full potential. With them around, Konoha's future looks bright.
In fact, I'd like to meet them myself—ask about the battle in detail and get a sense of their individual strengths. It would help when planning their team placements after graduation.
And they should definitely be rewarded for taking down enemy spies. What do you think would be appropriate?"
Mito was pleased to hear this. Compared to his earlier hesitancy over government affairs, this version of Sarutobi showed noticeable improvement. At least some of her words had taken root.
She thought for a moment, then answered:
"I've already given them each a ninjutsu scroll as a private reward. Giving them more techniques at this point might overwhelm them—better to provide practical support.
Aside from Gekkō Hoshiyomi, whose mother is still around, the other three are orphans. Improving their living conditions would probably do more to help their development."
Hiruzen nodded thoughtfully.
"Understood. I'll start working on it in the next few days."
With that, he respectfully took his leave.
After Hiruzen left, the courtyard returned to its calm state. Mito gently woke Tsunade, who had started dozing off in her lap.
"Tsunade, when you heard your classmates are thinking of graduating early, how did that make you feel? Would you want to graduate with them?"
Tsunade tilted her head, thinking hard before replying:
"Yes and no. I think school's kind of boring now—most of it is stuff you already taught me. I want to become a real ninja like Hoshiyomi and the others…
But if I graduate, Yako will be left behind, and we promised we'd go to school together."
Mito chuckled softly.
"If your skills are already at graduation level, then Yako would want you to move forward and keep learning—because that way, you'd be strong enough to protect her.
Don't you think that makes sense?"
Tsunade furrowed her brow, giving it serious thought. After a long pause, she nodded firmly.
"You're right, Granny. In that case, I want to graduate early too!"
Mito smiled, then asked gently:
"If you do graduate early and join a team... who would you want to be paired with?"
That one stumped Tsunade. She bit her thumb and mentally cycled through the faces of her classmates. After a while, she realized the one that stood out the most was...
Hoshiyomi.
And right on cue, Yako's voice echoed in her mind:
"Princess, I think Hoshiyomi has a crush on you."
"Aaaah!!" Tsunade shook her head furiously, trying to dispel the thought. Puffing out her cheeks in frustration, she muttered:
"As long as it's not that jerk Hoshiyomi, I don't care who I'm teamed with!"
Mito observed the way Tsunade's cheeks puffed up like little buns and raised an eyebrow, sensing she might've stumbled onto something. But no matter how she pried, Tsunade refused to elaborate.
Days passed as usual. Life at the Academy followed its familiar rhythm.
The only thing worth gossiping about was the sudden reappearance of Uchiha Iwa, who had mysteriously vanished for a while and now returned—reassigned to Class B.
Students buzzed with speculation. Why would someone as proud as Uchiha Iwa willingly switch to a "lower" class? No one could make sense of it.
Of course, the four who actually knew the truth weren't interested in sharing. In fact, they hadn't paid much attention to Uchiha Iwa to begin with.
As usual, the school bell rang to mark the end of the day, and Hoshiyomi and the others prepared to head for their daily training session.
But just as they stepped out of the Academy gates, a masked ANBU appeared before them.
His voice was polite, but firm:
"The Hokage would like to see you. If you have no urgent business, please come with me to the Hokage's office."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin