**Hokage's Office**
Hiruzen Sarutobi was biting his pipe, his eyes resting on Haruki's application to lead a team.
Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were within his expectations.
The ninja school is one of the main focuses of ANBU surveillance.
Ever since Haruki became the vice principal, he had been paying attention.
Haruki brought many unexpected surprises.
Whether it was passing on the Will of Fire or telling stories of previous Hokages, it was all excellent.
What pleased him the most was that Haruki compared him with the previous two Hokages during his lectures.
Although he was called the strongest Hokage, he was self-aware.
Not to mention Hashirama Senju, even his teacher, Tobirama Senju, he was far inferior to.
"This kid has given me a tough problem."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff from his pipe.
Minato Namikaze, a civilian, though the top student of his year, wasn't much.
Kushina Uzumaki was a bit more troublesome.
She was a candidate for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Currently, only a few people knew about this. One had to admit that the Uzumaki clan was very suitable to become Jinchuriki.
You could see this from Mito Uzumaki.
There had never been any problems for so many years.
As a powerful deterrent to the ninja world, the Jinchuriki had to be stable and loyal to Konoha.
Kushina Uzumaki's orphan status was an added bonus. As long as Konoha treated her well, they didn't fear she would be disloyal.
Hiruzen Sarutobi pondered for a while.
According to this theory, perhaps her becoming Haruki's disciple wasn't a bad thing.
Haruki was someone he trusted.
From his current performance, Haruki had fully understood the Will of Fire and was willing to contribute to Konoha.
And he was Tsunade's boyfriend.
Basically, it was impossible for him to betray Konoha.
Actually, what troubled him the most was Haruki's choice of the third student.
Mikoto Uchiha.
Why would he want to get involved with the Uchiha?
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura had always been executing their teacher Tobirama Senju's strategy.
Divide and suppress the Uchiha clan.
Haruki had already been marked as part of the Hokage's faction by him.
He shouldn't be associating with the Uchiha.
"Hokage-sama, here's the information on Mikoto Uchiha." An ANBU appeared.
"Mm."
Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the information and read it.
He had no impression of Mikoto Uchiha.
Now that he understood, she was indeed an ordinary Uchiha, not even having awakened the Sharingan.
"Seems to be of no consequence."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a moment. He had been suppressing the Uchiha clan in secret but hadn't reached the point of openly doing so.
Since she wasn't a genius, let her go.
He picked up a pen, checked a box, and approved Haruki's application.
---
"La la la~"
Kushina Uzumaki was humming an unknown tune.
Since the destruction of the Uzumaki clan, she hadn't been this happy in a long time.
Thinking of Haruki-sensei, Kushina was filled with anticipation for her future as a ninja.
In fact, she had a little secret wish.
Having experienced war as a child, she greatly desired a peaceful and stable life.
And Haruki's appearance perfectly fulfilled her wish.
She didn't know when it started, but she began to feel that Haruki was like her mother.
Gentle and beautiful.
"Kushina!"
"What?"
Kushina immediately put on a stern face and snorted lightly.
Minato Namikaze felt complicated seeing this.
Kushina always viewed him with tinted glasses.
It made him wonder if he had done something wrong to her.
"From today on, we are teammates, please take care of me!"
"..."
Kushina suddenly remembered Minato Namikaze's dedication in teaching her the Rasengan yesterday, and her tone softened a bit.
"Let's all work hard together."
"Mm!"
Minato Namikaze nodded vigorously.
The two arrived at the place Haruki had informed them about last night.
The Third Training Ground.
"Sensei!"
Kushina called out excitedly as she spotted Haruki from afar.
Minato Namikaze felt a pang of envy.
He wondered when he would receive the same treatment from Haruki-sensei.
"Sensei."
Minato Namikaze bowed slightly and looked around but didn't see another person. "Sensei, where is our teammate?"
"Don't worry, she'll be here soon."
Haruki smiled and asked, "Minato, are you that eager to see the little beauty?"
"I didn't, I'm not, Sensei, please don't say that!"
Minato Namikaze quickly glanced at Kushina in fright.
But to his disappointment, she didn't react at all.
Haruki stopped teasing him and turned to look towards the other side of the forest.
"She's here."
Minato Namikaze and Kushina looked in the direction he indicated.
"Mikoto?"
Kushina blurted out in surprise.
The black-haired, black-eyed, pretty girl walking towards them was indeed one of her few friends in Konoha.
Mikoto Uchiha.
"Kushina."
Mikoto Uchiha's eyes lit up, but she didn't react as intensely as Kushina, appearing very calm.
To be honest, she was quite surprised when she found out she had been chosen by Haruki to be a student.
She was a few years older than Kushina.
Due to her average talent, she returned to the clan after graduation.
If nothing unexpected happened, she would end up as a tool to maintain the bloodline.
This was indeed the case.
In a couple of years, she might marry the heir of the clan leader, Fugaku Uchiha.
Mikoto Uchiha looked at Haruki.
Her first impression was that he was handsome.
She had heard about Haruki's name for a long time.
During the Second Shinobi World War, he had become famous together with Princess Tsunade and even became her boyfriend.
The most amazing thing was that even the Uchiha clan didn't dislike him much.
It was extremely rare for those proud clansmen to not dislike someone.
Perhaps it was because of this that her parents agreed for her to become his student.
Ding ding ding.
Haruki took out two bells and shook them.
"According to tradition, the teacher will give you a small entrance test. It's simple, just grab the bells to pass."
"Sensei, did you take one less bell?" Kushina asked.
"Kushina, Sensei is testing our teamwork," Minato Namikaze answered before Haruki.
Haruki's lips curled up slightly.
Smart.
But young man, you're going down a narrow path.
Where's your high emotional intelligence?
Indeed, love makes people stupid.
And Kushina didn't appreciate his help.
"I was asking Sensei."
Minato Namikaze's face froze, feeling quite hurt.
Mikoto Uchiha had a faint smile, having seen through their situation at a glance.
"Alright, chat time is over."
Haruki shook the bells again and then attached them to his waist.
"I will only use Chunin-level strength, so show me what you've got."
As soon as he finished speaking, the three disappeared from his sight.
None of them acted recklessly.
Tsk.
It seemed only ninjas with personalities like Naruto Uzumaki had problems.
Haruki thought for a moment, then walked into the forest instead of staying in place.
To be fair, he did not use his sensory abilities.
In other words, he didn't know the trio's positions.
Of course, if they attacked him head-on, he would see them.
Whoosh!
The sound of something cutting through the air.
Haruki looked up to see several shuriken falling.