On a high platform set up at the playground of the campus, Elder Hiruzen dangled his tobacco pipe and looked at the energetic children and their families entering the campus with a satisfactory expressions.
In these troubled times, the happiness and intoxicating excitement of the villagers is what relieves the former Hokage's stress and calms his mind, at the same time, he feels that he must do everything to protect these smiles.
Besides the former Hokage Hiruzen, sat the senior members of the Konoha's decision-making body, including Elder Koharu, Elder Tsunade, and Sannin Jiraiya.
Tsunade-him was accompanied by Shizune, Hyuga Yui, and Uchiha Izumi, the three of whom stood beside her respectively, and finally, behind Jiraiya stood Kakashi who was wearing his new Anbu gear.
Considering the identities of all the people, the entire high-level decision-making body except the temporary Hokage Shimura Danzo was present at the high platform…
After waiting for a while and seeing that he was not coming, Tsunade-hime impatiently asked Kakashi, "Where is Danzo?"
Kakashi sighed helplessly and answered while shaking his head, "Don't know… When I went to the Root base to escort Danzo-sama, he didn't even see me and just ordered me to leave without giving any reply…"
Tsunade snorted, "Doesn't he understand the gravity of his presence here? What exactly is he trying to do!"
Nobody answered her, as they all had the same thought.
However, they couldn't wait too long as the entire crowd has already gathered at the playground, and with that, Kuroto whispered to Elder Hiruzen, "Sandaime-sama, we can't wait any longer… it's almost time…"
Former Hokage also understood the situation very well, so after thinking for a while, he said, "It doesn't seem that Danzo has any intention of participating in the Entrance Ceremony, in that case, let's start without him… if he comes later, we will manage accordingly…"
Kuroto nodded and hence the grand entrance ceremony began.
…
Among the Crowd.
Keeping a close watch over the excited Naruto, Anko looked helpless and sighed inwardly, 'Why do I have to be the one to look after Naruto?! I am supposed to be a Kunoichi, not a nanny!'
As she sighed, suddenly Anko felt a faint tingling on her neck and hot all over her body…
'Damn it, it's started again!' Anko's expression dimmed, she gritted her teeth and bore the intense pain coursing through her entire body as covered the mysterious three-tomoe imprint on her neck with her hand.
This mysterious mark on her neck is the result of the snake bite that Orochimaru gave her on the night the village was attacked.
After that night when she regained consciousness, Anko repeatedly went to meet Elder Tsunade with the hope that Tsunade could use her Iryo-Ninjutsu and remove the imprint that Orochimaru left on her neck, however, even after several examinations and repeated attempts, Tsunade completely helpless in the face of the imprint left by Orochimaru and could only seal it.
Although Tsunade sealed it with the Evil Sealing Method, however, she couldn't fully eliminate its effect on Anko and there are times when she still feels that pain and lust to gain more power. This tingling sensation and heat she is feeling she is feeling right now is the best proof of it.
'Calm down… take deep breaths… Haah… Haah…' Anko took deep breaths to calm herself and then looked at Kuroto with a thoughtful expression… 'Maybe I should take Kuroto's help… Among all of us, he is the only one who understood Orochimaru the best, perhaps he might be able to do something about Orochimaru's Cursed Seal…'
After making up her mind, Anko tried her best to calm herself and then continued to watch over Naruto… Looking after her is the mission she is been assigned, even if she doesn't want to babysit the kid, she has no say in the matter…
Unlike Anko's complicated thoughts, Naruto, who stood next to Anko was elated at this moment. He didn't care about Sandaime's speech at all, instead, he was excitedly looking at the other children on the playground.
Naruto likes crowded places where he doesn't feel lonely, and this place is exactly that…
Looking at familiar and unfamiliar faces, Naruto was delighted and thought that each of them would become his classmates and the possibility of them becoming friends with them in the future.
As Naruto was looking at the crowd, he noticed a familiar head with black hair, it was none other than Sasuke.
Feeling the hot gaze from behind, Sasuke turned his head only to find Naruto intensely looking at him and nodded slightly.
Seeing that Sasuke also noticed him, Naruto excitedly waved his hand towards Sasuke while jumping, and shouted, "Hey, Sasuke…! Sasuke…!"
The sudden action of Naruto disrupted the entire solemn atmosphere that the former Hokage had created in his speech, and everyone's attention was attracted to Naruto and Sasuke who looked at the two kids with doubtful expressions on their faces.
When Sasuke also became the center of all attention, he who was trying to maintain a cool and cold persona could only lower his head in embarrassment and cursed slightly, "Naruto you idiot, you are embarrassing me…!"
Kiyomi giggled upon seeing Sasuke's embarrassment and then turned back and waved in Naruto's direction, and Naruto excitedly waved back toward her.
Upon seeing this, Uchiha Mikoto also giggled and remembered the day when she first introduced Sasuke to her friend Kushina who was carrying Naruto in her womb at the time.
Both Mikoto and Kushina had hoped that Sasuke and Naruto become good friends when they grow up, and now that Mikoto sees that her son Sasuke and Naruto are really good friends, she feels happy and sad at the same time.
Happy because their children have kept on their wishes, and sad because Kushina is not there with her to witness this moment.
…
On the platform.
The former Hokage is still in the middle of his speech and is instilling the concept of 'Will of Fire' in the heart of all the children who are about to enter the Ninja Academy, meanwhile, Kuroto, who is now the principal of the school, is standing behind Elder Hiruzen and looking at the files of all the trainees who are supposed to enroll starting this year and comparing with them with the children on the playground.
"Let's see… Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Neji, Hyuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, Rock Lee, and Tenten… these are Konoha 11 plus Uchiha Sasuke…"
After making sure that all twelve of them were present here, Kuroto highlighted their names on the file, these 12 children must be given special attention.
Konoha 11 plus Uchiha Sasuke are exceptionally gifted children, if they were to receive special attention and targeted training, their talent will bloom and they will become future pillars for the village.
After making note of this, Kuruto then transferred his attention to several other children who are equally interesting and talented as these twelve children, but they are present here because of the changes in the cannon.
These children are Shion was had was a bit sullen, Uchiha Kiyomi, the adopted daughter of the Uchiha Patriarch family who seems to have the same gentle and calm personality as Uchiha Mikoto, Kurama Yakumo who seems quite pale and weak, then there are two boys named Sai, who has a talent for art and Shin who is terminally ill.
'Sai and Shin are orphans who were adopted by the Root… Why did Danzo send these two kids to the Ninja Academy?' thought Kuroto with a thoughtful expression, but didn't bother to delve into this matter too deeply as he can always ask Naomi to investigate this matter.
After making a mental note to himself, Kuroto focused his attention on the pale and weak Kurama Yakumo.
His acute senses were allowing him to sense high concentration Yin chakra inside Kurama Yakumo, and this Chakra was no inferior compared to the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan.
Kuroto has some knowledge about the Kekkei Genkai of the Kurama Clan, although the clan has declined and is on the verge of perishing with Yakumo being the last member of the clan who has inherited their Kekkei Genkai, the reputation of Kurama Clan still exists in the hearts of many shinobi alive.
Kurama Clan's prowess in the field of Genjutsu is so absolute that even without proper training, their Genjutsu is simply overwhelming. Furthermore, their Genjutsu is so powerful that it causes the brain to believe anything that happens to the victim to the point where Genjutsu physically harms the victim's body in the same manner they envisioned.
Moreover, having a Yin or Yang-based Kekkei Genkai is quite rare in the Shinobi World. Therefore, Kuroto is highly impressed by the Kurama Clan's Kekkei Genkai which can rival the Uchiha Clan in terms of Genjutsu.
'I'll have to devise a special training plan for Kurama Yakumo, can't let the same thing happen to her that happened in the cannon… she can become one of the best Genjutsu users in Konoha, and I'll see to it that she does become one…'
While Kuroto was making training plans for the kids who needed to be given special attention, Jiraiya and Tsunade were also observing all the children.
"That kid with the yellow-blonde hair, he is Naruto, right?" asked Jiraiya as he observed Naruto.
Tsunade-hime nodded slightly.
After a moment of silence, Jiraiya asked again, "Tsunade, did you check his body? Orochimaru didn't do anything weird to him as he did to Mitarashi Anko, right?"
Because of his quest of finding the 'Child of the Prophecy' and because of being involved with the matters of the Akatsuki and the Amatsukami Organization, Jiraiya, despite being Naruto's godfather, has never been able to pay attention to the kid after the death of Minato and Kushina.
He is of course very guilty about this, and more so when Naruto, because of being the Jinchuriki of Kyuubi has become the target of the Akatsuki Organization and is really worried about Naruto's safety.
Tsunade replied, "I have checked his body several times since he was rescued by Danzo, Orochimaru hasn't left anything on him, and the Tetragram seal that Minato used to seal the Kyuubi inside him is also not touched… everything is normal, which, in my opinion, is quite strange…
Even when we questioned him, all Naruto said was that he was trained by Orochimaru and nothing else… Since the heir of the Hyuga Clan gave the same answers, as such, we had no other choice but to believe what he said…"
Jiraiya said with a sigh, "I hope that's the case…"
Tsunade chuckled and said, "I don't really think we have to worry about him, he doesn't seem to be very good at lying or hiding things…"
Looking at cheerful and carefree Naruto, Tsunade-hime is subconsciously reminded of her dead younger brother Senju Nawaki, therefore, she feels somewhat attached to the kid and is willing to trust him.
Jiraiya also laughed helplessly, because the kid Naruto is also somewhat similar to him when he was younger…
As Jiraiya and Tsunade continued to carry out their small discussions, Sandaime finished his speech, and then amid the applause of all the guests and organizers, the grand entrance ceremony finally came to an end.
With the conclusion of the entrance ceremony, the trainees were supposed to be escorted to their respective classrooms, but before anyone could go, Naruto stepped forward from his position, and after coming closer to Sasuke, he issued a challenge to Sasuke, "Sasuke, I want to challenge you!"
Sasuke looked at Naruto like he was looking at a fool, and said impatiently, "Naruto, stop messing around, we have to go to our classes now…"
"I am not messing around… I am challenging you!" Naruto shook his head and stated loudly.
Sasuke sighed and said, "How many times have you challenged me already? Each time ends in your defeat… so, let's forget this challenge for today…"
However, Naruto was not about to back down, "This time it's going to be different from before… I have learned Senjutsu Mode… and using that, I will defeat you!" as he said so, Naruto folded his hands over his chest and said proudly, "Sasuke, I have already surpassed you!"
Listening to Naruto's words, Sasuke was confused, "Senjutsu? What is that?"
Not only Sasuke, but the other kids in the surroundings, and even the majority of the public had doubtful expressions on their faces upon listening to Naruto's words.
So far, there has only been a handful of Shinobis in the Shinobi World who have managed to master Senjutsu, even Jiraiya who more than often relies on the assistance of the two great Sage Toads has also not completely mastered this art, so, it's natural that not many people are not aware of what Senjutsu is.
None of them knew what Senjutsu is, and now that Naruto had mentioned it, they were quite curious to learn, so they gathered around Naruto and Sasuke, looking forward to Sasuke accepting Naruto's challenge.
On the high platform, When Jiraiya heard Naruto say that he has learned Senjutsu Mode, his expression turned into a deep frown and he couldn't help but mumble, "Naruto… Naruto mastered Senjutsu? That too at such a young age?"
Tsunade-hime who sat next to Jiraiya was also surprised by Naruto's words, then shook her head with a chuckle, "This kid is definitely spouting out nonsense… Even I am struggling to learn Senjutsu for the past few months even while personally being guided by Katsuyu… so how can he master it at such a young age?"
Tsunade-hime, who has recently started to learn Senjutsu from Katsuyu knows the difficulty of mastering Senjutsu all too well…
Even though she has exceptional Chakra control, she has not been able to sense or blend Nature Energy with her Chakra up until now. So, how can Naruto, whose Chakra control is so poor blend Nature Energy with his Chakra?
And Tsunade also doesn't believe in the possibility that Orochimaru might have helped Naruto with this, because, as far as she understands Senjutsu, she can confidently say that Orochimaru is not capable of learning Senjutsu after what he has done to his body…
Hence, it's totally not possible for Naruto to master Senjutsu at such a young age.
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Read up to Chapter - 882 on P.a.t.r.e.o.n Page: p-atreon.com/Milta_translations