Sarutobi Hiruzen straightened his back, clasping his hands behind him, and spoke with the weight of a man passing down wisdom.
Amamiya Rei: "…"
So, in order to make him strive harder and continue training, Sarutobi Hiruzen truly had no shame left.
How could Amamiya Rei possibly disappoint such well-intentioned "kindness"?
Hiruzen could act, but Rei could perform even better.
A contest at the very peak of acting skills!
Rei pressed her lips together, her crimson eyes fixed on Hiruzen with a look of deep awe, as though utterly shaken by his words.
Hiruzen could feel his own figure becoming taller, more dignified in this girl's eyes.
"Hokage-sama…"
"You're right."
Rei clenched her fists. The fragile softness of her delicate face faded away, replaced with resolute determination.
"If I want to protect those who are important to me, I must have strength."
"In the past, I feared shinobi. I feared that I, too, would become someone whose hands were stained with blood… But now, I have come to understand!"
"Power can indeed be wielded to seize resources, to ignite wars, to bully the weak. But it can also be used to protect! To safeguard bonds and carry forward love!"
"I will use my own strength to protect everyone who suffers in this endless war!"
Tears of emotion welled in Rei's eyes, shining in the scarlet glow of her pupils like dazzling gemstones.
Hiruzen's pupils widened slightly. At last, he understood why Minato, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, and so many others were drawn to Amamiya Rei.
This child was truly rare—innocent and genuinely pure of heart.
"…Is that so?"
This time, Hiruzen's smile carried a touch of genuine warmth.
He stroked his beard and asked, "Then, would you be willing to accept the guidance of this old man?"
Though he called himself "old," the pride in his tone was unmistakable.
After all, "old man" was something only he could call himself. If another shinobi dared to say it, Hiruzen would hardly be pleased.
Rei, eager to please, widened his eyes in mock surprise and exclaimed with a voice brimming with excitement:
"Really? Hokage-sama would personally guide me?"
Hiruzen burst into hearty laughter, waving his hand dismissively. "Enough, enough! I am already an old man."
Rei: "…"
Old? Perhaps in body and loose skin, but in spirit, the Third Hokage was still as smug as ever—like a child.
"Hokage-sama, this is the very age when you should be at your prime…" Rei began, before quickly adding, "With your vast experience and wisdom, I believe Konoha will only grow stronger under your leadership."
Flattery of this sort, Hiruzen had heard countless times before. Rei knew this too. But when such words came from an "innocent young girl" who supposedly knew nothing of the shinobi world, they carried a different weight.
To her, it was simply "speaking the truth."
"Hahahahahaha!"
Hiruzen leaned back and let out a hearty laugh.
Amamiya Rei: "…"
"Well then," Hiruzen said at last, a smile tugging at his lips. "From today onward, I shall oversee your training myself."
Despite his lighthearted demeanor, once Hiruzen began teaching, his focus was razor-sharp and unwavering.
"Attack me with all your strength! Show me what you can do!"
Casting aside the Hokage robes, Sarutobi Hiruzen instinctively readied himself for battle.
No matter the opponent, no matter the foe, Hiruzen always carried within him profound respect—for the enemy, and for combat itself.
Rei did not draw his blade. Instead, he slowly shifted his right foot, planting his stance with his legs shoulder-width apart. His knees bent, his center of gravity lowered. His right fist stretched outward, tightly clenched, while his left hand pulled back, resting against his chest.
His lower body was immovable as a mountain. His upper body balanced perfectly between attack and defense. His gaze was sharp as steel—yet not the cold edge of a naked blade, but the restrained brilliance of a sword sheathed beneath water's surface, its keen edge hidden from sight.
Beneath his feet, an immense azure snowflake bloomed. Blue light shimmered into tangible form, and the very air around Rei shifted subtly.
The world before him grew clearer than ever before.
He could feel it—the invisible aura emanating from Sarutobi Hiruzen.
And when Hiruzan lunged forward, that aura thickened—oppressive, tangible.
Hiruzen's fist came crashing down, his fighting pressure striking first even before the blow.
But Rei, attuned to that invisible force, read it easily and sidestepped with grace.
Again and again, Hiruzen attacked—kicks, punches, hand strikes. Yet every move was evaded, as though Rei had foreseen them all.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and leapt back, weaving hand signs.
"Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
Hiruzen did not hold back. His palms pressed firmly against the ground.
Boom!
The earth roared.
The grassy field collapsed into a swamp, from which a massive dragon of hardened earth erupted.
Against the towering form of that dragon, Rei's figure seemed impossibly small.
From the dragon's maw, a blinding light began to gather.
The air around the radiance warped under its crushing power, releasing sharp, cracking detonations.
Bang! Bang!
Blasts of immense force erupted one after another, white orbs of destructive energy launching relentlessly toward Rei.
The brilliance flared so intensely that one could hardly keep their eyes open.
Rei's silhouette was soon swallowed in that storm of white light.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, his vigilance sharpened as he stared ahead.
Gradually, the light dissipated under his watchful gaze.
What lay on the ground was a single piece of wood.
A Substitution Jutsu!
From behind him, the wind shifted.
Whirling around swiftly, Hiruzen beheld a sight that left him stunned:
Throughout the forest, intertwined arcs of lightning spread like a heavenly net, filling the world with thunderous brilliance.
"Breath of Thunder, Sixth Form: Rumble and Flash!"
Hiruzen's refined senses caught every detail of the attack. And precisely because he understood it so clearly, his heart trembled.
It was utterly unbelievable!…
Amamiya Rei—this girl was a born shinobi..
What astonishing swordsmanship!
Hiruzen had never before seen its like.
The blazing flashes of "lightning" were not true thunderbolts, but merely countless slashes.
Yes—ordinary blade strikes.
But the speed was so great that the blades cut the very air, igniting friction and birthing the illusion of thunder and lightning.
What was more astounding—Rei had unleashed such a flurry of strikes in a single instant.
Such speed…
Hiruzen's mind turned toward a single man.
The one who had once been famed across the entire shinobi world for his blade alone—Konoha's White Fang!
Hiruzen could not help but sigh at fate's strange arrangements.
The son of the White Fang had become this child's mentor...
And in turn, he had guided forth a second White Fang.
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