When he heard that Yuki Seisui and his team were willing, Sarutobi Hiruzen's smile grew even wider.
This upcoming joint Chunin Exam between the five great villages was, in truth, a show of strength, a declaration of power and of the next generation's successors.
It was also meant as a warning to the smaller villages: even after the devastation of war, the Five Great Shinobi Nations remained dominant.
That was one of the main reasons they had agreed to hold this exam together, to maintain a relatively stable balance of power.
None of them wanted to see another war stirred up by someone like Hanzo of the Salamander.
As for the current state of Konoha's new generation, there were indeed some talented ninjas, like Yuhi Kurenai, Uchiha Fugaku, and the Hyuga brothers.
But as someone who kept a close eye on Yuki Seisui, Hiruzen knew very well: in terms of pure strength, this trio standing before him was undoubtedly the strongest among the younger generation of Konoha.
He glanced at the three of them and, after a brief pause and a deep breath, spoke with a hint of helplessness:
"You three are training hard, and I won't get in your way."
"Once you pass this upcoming exam, you'll be promoted to Chunin."
"As for the missions over the next three years, you can take them as you see fit."
He smiled as he continued, "The future of Konoha lies with young people like you."
"You are the new leaves, and we, the older generation, are slowly fading. You just focus on growing, we'll protect you."
"Where the leaves dance, the fire lives on…"
Hiruzen, having walked this path himself, knew all too well that for ninjas, the most rapid period of growth was before the age of eighteen. There weren't too many missions during this time either, so there was ample room for development.
Yuki Seisui looked at him with surprise. He hadn't expected Hiruzen to say something like that.
It almost sounded like… he was giving them a three-year break.
Seisui had assumed that the three of them were just tools, used to show off the strength of Konoha's next generation.
But after hearing Hiruzen's words, he began to change his perspective.
Maybe the old man was a little out of touch… but you couldn't say he didn't love Konoha.
Just because the "Third Hokage" got a bit senile didn't mean the "Middle-aged Sarutobi" wasn't doing his best.
Still smiling, Hiruzen added, "Start preparing now. The Chunin Exams will begin in two months."
"Yes!" the trio replied in unison.
"We'll definitely take first place!"
"Hahaha!" Hiruzen laughed heartily and stood up. "Then I'll be waiting for your good news!"
"Don't underestimate the other villages' genin. They're strong, too!"
As they left the Hokage's office, Yuki Seisui and the others exchanged glances.
"Looks like we won't be doing missions for a while."
"Hard to believe, we just graduated a few months ago, and we're already entering the Chunin Exams," Minato said, half-excited, half-anxious, sneaking a look at Seisui.
With a monster like him around, Minato didn't feel like a genius at all.
"Other villages probably have some powerful genin too, right?"
"Think we'll actually win?"
He sounded genuinely worried.
Seisui gave him a strange look, then exchanged glances with Haru Uchiha. Both of them had that same awkward expression in their eyes.
But it wasn't Minato's fault. As an orphan, he lacked Seisui's foreknowledge or Haru's clan upbringing.
He hadn't seen much of the shinobi world, so he had no real grasp of what a typical genin could do.
Haru thought for a moment, then reassured him, "Relax. With your skills, you could wipe the floor with most genin."
"Most of them have only mastered the three basic techniques."
"A few might know one or two jutsu beyond that."
"The only ones we really need to watch out for are the top talents from the other four great villages."
Seisui nodded approvingly and slung an arm over Minato's shoulder.
"Minato, with just one of your attacks, you could probably take out a whole squad of genin."
"Really?" Minato asked, doubtful. "But… I can't even beat you."
The moment he said that, Seisui dropped his hand from Minato's shoulder. His face darkened.
"You think I'm that weak?" he asked flatly.
"Uh…" Minato realized he'd stepped in it. He opened his mouth to backpedal, but before he could speak, his vision spun,
The next second, they were in a duel simulation.
He was frozen in place.
"H-Help, " he managed to get out before the countdown hit zero.
Seisui charged like lightning, blade in hand.
Moments later, Seisui calmly watched his win count tick up, while Minato slumped over, thoroughly beaten.
Perfect, Seisui thought. Found a great excuse to farm a win and blow off some steam.
"And gave Minato a nice beating, too."
"You bastard…" Minato croaked, holding his neck. "When I become Hokage, I'll make sure you stay a genin forever!"
"Pfft." Seisui burst out laughing, slinging his arm around Minato's shoulder again.
"Then I'll be the bigger person."
"I'll still assist you as your right-hand man."
Just as the two of them started bickering again, Haru immediately got on alert.
She quietly slipped between them.
"Let's get back to training," she said. "You're strong, but a little extra preparation never hurts."
Hearing this, Seisui rubbed his chin in thought, then grabbed Haru's small hand.
"Huh?" Haru looked down at their joined hands, cheeks flushing pink. "W-What are you doing?"
Seisui didn't answer. Instead, he rested his other hand on Minato's shoulder.
The next moment, the three of them were transported to the territory of the Panda Clan.
"Eeeng eeeeng~"
Before Haru could react, a baby panda had already latched onto her leg, making soft crying sounds.
"Huh?"
She looked down, then bent over and scooped it up, her face glowing with joy. "Kuma?"
"This is your home?"
"Eeeeng eeeeng~"
The moment she saw Kuma, both she and Minato realized where they were.
The little panda wriggled and spun around happily in her arms.
"Seisui, is this your companion?" asked Panda Ming, who was lounging nearby.
Without even glancing at Kuma, he lazily picked up a piece of bamboo and started gnawing on it.
She's not gonna get lost, he seemed to say. So why worry?
"Yeah," Seisui nodded toward Panda Ming. "We won't disturb you if we train here, will we?"
"No problem," Panda Ming replied, shaking his head. One hand held bamboo while the other casually brushed the surrounding stalks behind him.
You call that 'no problem'?
That bamboo, you think a human can even chew that?!
He'd once been curious and tried to take a bite, only to find it harder than steel.
Even with his full strength and a blade, all he could leave was a shallow scratch.
The bite force of a giant panda… terrifying beyond belief!
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