[Name: Sarutobi Hiruzen][Chakra Stat: 170,000][Potential Rating: S]
[Evaluation: Exceptional mastery in ninjutsu. Specializes in multi-nature combination techniques. Even bloodline-limit specialists struggle to respond to simultaneous multi-nature assaults. If I launch five high-tier nature-transforming attacks at once… can you survive?]
Hanyū Yuuma stared at the numbers on the System panel as he stepped out of the principal's office.
170,000 chakra.
It wasn't a stat.It was a wall.A mountain.A reminder that the man ruling Konoha wasn't just a politician—he was a monster forged in wartime.
He exhaled, calm but weighted.
Minato-sensei had around forty thousand when I checked him… and he's barely eighteen. Still growing. It's not a fair comparison.
Hiruzen, by contrast, stood at his peak—a veteran whose experience was longer than Yuuma's entire life.
But Yuuma wasn't admiring.He was calculating.
So… how do I write this in the report for Danzō?
The "I need more time to think" excuse was just camouflage. The truth was simpler: the Third Hokage had given him promises, not benefits.
A title.A promotion.Future recognition.
But none of it required Hiruzen to invest anything now.
If the Third had openly revealed he already knew Yuuma's Root identity and asked him to join his faction?Yuuma might have handed Danzō his resignation on the spot.
But the Third held back—hesitant, cautious, testing.
Old fox. You want loyalty without paying the entry fee.
Yuuma tucked that thought away. He needed to stall and throw the burden back onto Danzō. Let the two old monsters fight it out—he'd just collect rewards from whichever side bled more.
And besides… the idea that Hiruzen didn't know a Root agent had infiltrated the academy?
Impossible.
If he didn't know, he wasn't worthy of the Hokage seat.
Yuuma pushed open the office door. The moment he stepped inside, every teacher in the room turned toward him.
Aya Ueda leaned toward him. "Teacher Hanyu, what did Lord Third say? Something good?"
"Was it a reward?" Iketani Isamu practically vibrated with envy.
He had taught here for years without ever being summoned by the Third Hokage. Most teachers never even saw the inside of the principal's office.
Yuuma set down his notebook and answered lightly:
"It was an acknowledgment of teaching performance."
Kimura Sugito sighed. "If only I could get recognized by Lord Third someday…"
Yuuma said nothing more. He simply picked up a brush and resumed practicing calligraphy. The calm movement of ink across paper seemed to quiet the room.
"Teacher Mu Yue, could you… take my afternoon class again? Something came up." Iketani Isamu offered him tea, looking embarrassed.
Yuuma nodded. "I'm free."
"Thank you! Truly!"
Then, as if shifting into a completely different battlefield, Iketani turned to Kimura Sugito.
"Sugito, let me borrow some money. I'll pay you back next paycheck."
Sugito blinked. "How much?"
"Eighty thousand ryō."
The air went still.
Even Yuuma paused his brush.
A Chūnin teacher's monthly salary was barely a hundred thousand. This wasn't borrowing money—it was borderline suicide.
"What are you even spending eighty thousand on?" Sugito asked slowly.
"A date," Iketani said with tragic dignity. "I can't take her to eat ramen."
Aya Ueda rubbed her temples. "She doesn't like you. She's using you for free meals. Wake up."
"That's impossible! She called me 'Brother Iketani' the other day!"
"Brother," Aya repeated, deadpan. "She'll go bankrupting your entire bloodline and still call you brother."
Iketani spluttered, Sugito sighed, and eventually handed him the money.
Yuuma thought privately:
If Konoha had short video platforms, Iketani-sensei's dating disasters would be a top-tier comedy channel.
He exhaled silently and returned to his brush strokes. When class time approached, he cleaned up and headed toward the classroom.
The moment he stepped inside, the atmosphere brightened.
"Teacher Hanyu's here!""Yes! It's ninjutsu class today!""My Transformation Technique improved a ton last time—I hope he teaches Clone next!"
Yuuma swept his eyes across the seats.
…Obito is late again.
Five minutes into the lecture, Obito burst in, froze at the sight of Yuuma, and paled.
"Teacher Mu Yue, I—"
"Sit."
Yuuma didn't look up again, simply continued demonstrating clone projection principles.
During the break, he called Obito and Might Guy outside.
"So? Your test results?"
"We passed!" they declared proudly.
Yuuma dug deeper and discovered the truth: the passing score was thirty, and they had scored thirty and thirty-one.
Barely surviving by the skin of their teeth.
Obito scratched his cheek. "Weirdly, this exam felt easier… like the passing score dropped or something."
"Maybe because Teacher Mu Yue's been subbing so much," Might Guy said honestly.
Yuuma narrowed his eyes.
They think thirty points is "easier"… You two are going to kill me.
"Passing," Yuuma said gently, "is the minimum requirement. If you fall below it, you follow my training plan. Fully."
Both boys stiffened.
Their bodies remembered the terror of Yuuma's "training."
"We'll— we'll pass next time!" Obito saluted. Guy nodded violently.
Yuuma smiled. Calm. Friendly. Terrifying.
Later that night, after returning home, Yuuma finished his report to Root and sent it off.
A reply came quickly.