In the early morning, the sun's radiance shone on the earth, creating a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere, making everything warm and full of vitality.
"I am leaving!"
In a small courtyard in Konoha Village, a tender and crisp voice rang out. A seven-year-old boy, full of vitality, started his new day.
Minato woke up early and headed towards Konoha's ninja school.
Surprisingly, he didn't feel any fatigue from the high-intensity practice last night. Instead, his body seemed lighter than before. This change surprised even himself.
According to human physiology, at the age of seven, his ability to refine chakra was quite limited, and his recovery ability was naturally slower. He believed his chakra reserves were large among his peers, but even so, it was impossible for him to recover so quickly.
He was puzzled.
"It seems that I can only ask Shirota-sensei when I get to the ninja school," Minato thought. Shirota-sensei, his teacher at the ninja school, was a chunin named Shirota Sarutobi.
For Minato, a first-year student, there were still many unknowns in the ninja world. The knowledge of a chunin was quite profound to him.
Shirota-sensei was very knowledgeable, and it was said that even the Third Hokage-sama was fond of him. Of course, that referred to Shirota-sensei's knowledge, not his strength.
The Third Hokage was undoubtedly the most powerful and knowledgeable person in Konoha Village, known as the "Ninjutsu Professor." Even the kage of the other four major ninja villages feared him.
It was the existence of such powerful figures that ensured peace for Konoha and the Land of Fire.
It was said that the Third Hokage had three apprentices who were extremely powerful, but for Minato, such figures were still far away.
However, since he aimed to become Hokage, he wanted to pursue and surpass his predecessors.
On this point, he would not waver!
In the early morning, Konoha Street was already bustling with pedestrians, and shop owners were up early. For ordinary people, there was nothing more pleasant than enjoying this kind of peace.
Feeling all this, Minato couldn't help but smile.
"Minato." Suddenly, a light and pleasant voice sounded, and Minato paused and turned slightly.
Immediately, he saw an extremely delicate face. This is a girl about the same age as Minato. She has long black hair, dark pupils, and an aura of a noble.
"Good morning, Mikoto!"
Looking at her, Minato showed a warm smile. The girl in front of him is from the Uchiha clan and is his classmate.
In Konoha Ninja Village, the surname Uchiha represent a prestigious clan, which made many children from the Uchiha clan somewhat arrogant. However, this temperament was not reflected in Uchiha Mikoto.
She is an extremely kind girl, and due to Minato's personality, he is quite popular in class. Mikoto had naturally become one of his friends.
"Good morning." Mikoto smiled at him.
"Have you had breakfast yet?" Mikoto asked, taking out a rice ball from the bag in her hand and placing it in front of Minato.
"Here, my mother taught me how to make rice balls yesterday. I was thinking of sharing them with everyone during the lunch break. Would you like to try it for me first? I'm afraid it won't taste very good."
As Mikoto spoke, she became a little timid, obviously not confident about the rice balls she had made for the first time.
Minato smiled and assured her, "If it's yours, it will be fine!"
Mikoto was a little dazed by his affirmation, but looking into Minato's blue eyes and his expression of conviction, her originally uneasy mood was gradually calmed.
Minato's smile seemed to have a special contagious power, making people trust him.
"Yeah!" Mikoto agreed with a smile.
Minato smiled and said, "Then share it with me during the lunch break. Mikoto's rice balls will be more delicious if i eat them with everyone."
"Oh." Mikoto responded, putting the rice ball back into her bag, and then walked towards the ninja school with Minato.
The two are in the same first-grade class. When they arrived, the classroom is still empty. Children often has the habit of staying in bed, and they had arrived a bit early.
Minato and Mikoto go to their seats. Mikoto looked forward to distributing the rice balls she had made to everyone, while Minato took out a ninja manual from his desk and began to read.
After a while, a young man wearing a Konoha Ninja forehead protector walked in. He wasn't very handsome, but he had a scholarly aura, giving the impression of a scholar rather than a ninja.
"Shirota-sensei, good morning."
Noticing the man entering, Minato and Mikoto stood up and bowed. Respecting teachers was a foundational principle, especially in the world of ninjas. Most renowned ninjas were taught by extremely powerful teachers.
The Third Hokage's teachers were the First Hokage, who established Konoha Village, and the Second Hokage, who founded the ninja school system. It was not difficult to understand why the Third Hokage was so powerful.
"Good morning, Minato, Mikoto." Shirota-sensei responded with a smile, naturally fond of these two well-mannered and high-performing students.
After greeting them, Mikoto took her seat, while Minato approached Shirota-sensei and bowed again.
"Minato, what's the matter?" Shirota-sensei asked.
Minato nodded and said politely, "Shirota-sensei, are you free now? I have some questions to ask you."
"Of course, as a teacher, it's my duty to clear up my students' doubts." Shirota-sensei said with a smile. Minato was the first student to seek his advice, so he naturally liked him more than the playful children in the class.
Minato described some abnormalities that occurred after his practice, though he did not mention the specific content, stating it was just routine practice.
According to his estimation, his practice had exceeded the scope of the ninja school's teachings, and he didn't want to attract unnecessary attention.
After hearing this, Shirota-sensei first praised Minato's diligence. It was rare for a child his age to spend so much time on training.
After a brief check, Shirota-sensei found nothing unusual and said, "You don't have to worry too much. While chakra refining needs to be done step by step, occasional rapid growth isn't unheard of. It's not a bad thing, but you must balance work and rest. You're still growing."
Minato nodded, relieved of his worries.
He then bowed to Shirota-sensei again, thanking him, "Thank you, Shirota-sensei."
"You're welcome." Shirota-sensei understood Minato's character. He was always polite and extremely kind to his classmates.
As Minato returned to his seat, Shirota-sensei added, "Today we have a new student transferring to our class, so let's all get along well."
Mikoto and Minato heard this and both responded positively.
Given their personalities, it was hard to imagine anyone they couldn't get along with.