Mitokado Hamura and Utatane Koharu met Sarutobi Hiruzen during an escort mission lead by Tobirama Senju. A long and dangerous mission brought them closer to the duo of Danzo and Hiruzen.
When Sarutobi became Hokage after Tobiroma's death, thanks to their friendship, they shared the executive position of the Konoha council. Although they didn't agree on some things, their relationship tightened as time passed, and after a night of celebration, it became more than friendship.
After a few tens of years of living as an unhappy, classic couple, they recently decided to divorce by mutual consent. So they could continue to do their work, even if it felt a bit strange.
Even though Hamura had just told him that Yuta was using a wind-type ninjutsu, he had doubts.
Danzo could hardly resist jumping into the arena right now and forcibly rooting for the boy. Seeing that at his age Yuta could make a one-handed seal and attack his opponent without making a sound, he decided that he was a genius wind-type ninjutsu user on the same level as him.
Meanwhile, Sarutobi heard the conversation between Hamura and Koharu and raised his head to look around the arena.
As the ninja blocking Yuta's path opened the way in surprise, a long-haired boy fell to the ground crying with a large cut just above his nose.
When the boy's mother saw that her son was hurt, she jumped on the stage screaming but was stopped by another referee. The boy's mother and father were just civilian ninjas. They already knew they were no match for the Anbu ninja standing before them.
Of course, this did not allay a mother's worries. "Iruka, stay with me! Medical ninjas! Please save my son."
When the man saw his son crying on the ground, he was convinced that the blow was not fatal anyway and tried to calm his wife. The wound on his son's face would probably not heal in the future, but his son's life was more important than anything else.
Meanwhile, Yuta, walking back to the seating area with his hands in his pockets, looking cool and calm, enjoying the stares he was getting, heard her shouting and turned back to look around the arena. Now he understood why this boy felt so familiar to him.
This boy had to be Iruka Umino, Naruto's first teacher in the anime. Yuta felt a pang of regret as he realized he had injured one of his favorite characters from the anime. The damn sun had slowed down his ability to think and his tolerance level was dropping.
Feeling like an asshole, Yuta cursed the sun and decided to apologize later. By this time the whole arena had fallen silent and everyone was talking among themselves about what Yuta had done. Some middle-aged women even started looking at Yuta like he was food.
"Tsunade, did you teach him the technique he just used?"
Tsunade continued to watch Yuta in amazement, ignoring Danzo's question as it was, causing him to grit his teeth. But when her teacher repeated the same question, she had to reluctantly admit that she didn't know Yuta could use such a technique.
"He told me he was going to surprise me today, but I never thought he could master ninjutsu so quickly. Only a month ago I taught him how to extract chakra and he has already developed his own ninjutsu. I really am the best teacher alive..."
As Sarutobi ignored her bragging and fell back into deep thought, the people in the arena changed twice more, and the last four groups of students came out for a one vs. one.
As the flashy fighting styles of the Uchiha seniors and a few geniuses from the Hyuga clan drew people's attention away from Yuta, the second round of eliminations began.
99 students participated in the competition and after a single elimination round, 45 participants remained. As the second round of the competition began, Yuta was the first to be drawn. So Yuta was the one to skip this round this time.
When the round was over, there were 23 people left. There was hardly any noise around the arena anymore because many people had seen the truth. Those who were eliminated were mostly the children of civilian ninjas, while the rest were the children of the big clans.
Up to this point in the competition, civilian families had been bragging to those around them about their children's physical strength or throwing abilities, thinking that their children would place well in the competition. But reality slapped these families hard in the face.
The competition was not as taijutsu-oriented as they thought. The children from the big clans were using ninjutsu combos like experienced ninjas, eliminating their opponents without giving them a chance to fight back.
Danzo turned to Hiruzen, to the displeasure of the families. "Do you really think this battle will boost the morale of the village?"
Sarutobi was silent for a short while, then said yes. "All this was unavoidable in the first place."
"We could have matched civilians against civilians, and the competition would have been more competitive."
At this point, Hamura and Koharu joined the conversation. "I think Danzo is right, Hiruzen."
"I agree with Danzo, I feel like the morale of the village is about to drop even lower."
"No, that would only delay the unavoidable. Right now they have an unspoken grudge against the Clan children. Soon the civilians will enjoy it as the children of the big clans hurt each other and they will be able to really enjoy the competition because they have nothing to worry about. And if I tell them that half of the special class at the end of the competition will be civilians and that the ranking will not affect the selection, the hatred in their hearts will fade with the newfound excitement and expectation."
As Sarutobi Hiruzen finished speaking as if he were saying something ordinary and watched the special match between the two students who had been exempted in the previous two rounds, the surrounding people felt as if they had been hit by an invisible wave of cold air.