Two days later, the admission list was announced.
Unsurprisingly, Minato successfully enrolled.
It is worth mentioning that the admission requirements for the Ninja Academy are actually not that high.
First: Those who deeply love the village and have a sense of belonging to it.
Second: Those with a resilient spirit.
Third: Those who are physically and mentally healthy.
Simply put, as long as they are "children from good families" in Konoha, they basically meet the admission requirements.
However, meeting the requirements didn't necessarily mean one could enroll.
This was because most of them were ordinary people without any talent as a ninja.
At the school gate, many children burst into tears.
They wailed or left despondently with their parents.
Of course, there were also people like Naoto Tsuchiya who were extremely frustrated.
He felt he was only slightly worse than those on the list and planned to go back and train for a year before taking the exam again.
"That's great, Minato!"
Nawaki excitedly pumped his fist.
"You've been admitted!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Minato and Tsunade looking at him silently.
Nawaki froze for a moment, then, thinking of the other's dual Kekkei Genkai talent, he couldn't help but let out a dry laugh.
"Well... although it's not surprising, it's definitely something worth celebrating."
Tsunade smiled and rubbed Nawaki's hair.
"These past two days, Minato has either been training or cooking. As a celebration, let's relax today!"
"Relax..."
Nawaki looked at Tsunade hesitantly.
"It's not going shopping with you, is it? Or maybe gambling or something..."
"What are you talking about? How could I take a child to a casino?"
Tsunade flicked Nawaki's forehead.
"I plan to take you guys to buy some new clothes, then have a big meal, soak in a hot spring, and so on. Of course, if you're not willing..."
"I'm willing, I'm willing! I'm more than willing!"
Nawaki grinned and quickly made his stance clear.
"I knew Big Sister was the best!"
"Heh, cut it out!"
Tsunade rolled her eyes at him and turned to Minato.
"Minato, what do you want to eat for lunch?"
"Hmm... how about sukiyaki?"
Minato thought for a moment; he kind of wanted to eat spicy hotpot, but it didn't exist in the ninja world.
Since he didn't know how to make it, he could only eat something similar.
"Alright! Sukiyaki it is! I happen to know a place that makes great sukiyaki!"
Tsunade waved her hand.
"Now—off to the commercial district!"
"Oh—!!"
Nawaki pumped his fist, full of energy.
Seeing the two of them looking over, Minato had no choice but to awkwardly raise his fist.
"...Oh!"
The three arrived at a clothing store in the commercial district.
The shop looked a bit old, and the proprietress appeared to be in her fifties.
Tsunade pushed Minato forward and spoke to the proprietress.
"Hello, please help me pick out some clothes for this child."
"Oh my, what a handsome little guy..."
The proprietress looked Minato over with a smile.
"What color clothes do you like to wear, young man?"
"Black and white..."
Minato spoke politely; he wasn't very good at matching clothes, but black and white was always a safe bet.
"I thought only teenage boys had this kind of style. Isn't it a bit early for you? Children should be bright and lively."
The proprietress chuckled.
Despite saying that, she still picked out a pure white T-shirt for Minato.
"How about this one?"
"Too plain."
Before Minato could speak, Tsunade shook her head.
Minato looked at Tsunade.
"Um... actually, I think it's quite good."
"See, what do kids know about picking clothes?"
Tsunade immediately put on the face of an overbearing adult, lifting her chin and glancing at Minato.
"Just do as I say!"
No way she would pass up the chance to dress up such a cute boy.
Even a tomboyish girl like her had feminine instincts!
"Then how about trying black?"
The proprietress picked out another black T-shirt.
"This one is worth a try."
Tsunade gestured for Minato to change.
Minato smiled helplessly and walked into the fitting room.
It was just a T-shirt, so he came out quickly.
The deep black made his blonde hair look even more vibrant, and his presence seemed more aggressive than before.
"Not bad, wrap this one up!"
Tsunade's eyes lit up, and she waved her hand slightly, looking like a bossy executive.
"Pick a few more for him!"
Nawaki glanced at them and tiptoed behind a clothes rack, silently picking out clothes he liked.
Minato, meanwhile, was pulled around by Tsunade like a puppet, playing dress-up over and over again.
"Orange is quite good! It feels so energetic!"
"Yes, yes! But it's also because this child is good-looking; it probably wouldn't look as good on anyone else."
"Wrap it up!"
"Eh? Blue looks great too, it gives off a sunny beach vibe..."
"Oh, you really have an eye for this!"
"Wrap it up!"
After buying several outfits in a row, Tsunade looked at Minato and frowned slightly.
For some reason, even though Minato looked good in everything, she always felt like something was missing.
It was an indescribable feeling, an itch she couldn't scratch, making her increasingly frustrated.
Minato looked at the mountain of shopping bags and advised her.
"Sensei, these clothes are enough. I'll have to buy more when I grow taller in a while."
"No, wait a bit..."
Tsunade picked up a light green hoodie, measured it against Minato, shook her head, and put it back.
Her fingertips idly flipped through the clothes rack.
Suddenly, she paused.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an Uchiha passing by outside the window.
The moment her gaze fell on that high collar, her brain felt like it had been hit by electricity.
She looked at the proprietress with excitement.
"Do you have any high-collared clothes here?"
"...Yes."
The proprietress looked at Minato thoughtfully.
She seemed to suddenly understand the vibe Tsunade was looking for.
Soon, she brought over a white coat.
The fabric of the coat wasn't thick, with a light texture; it was open-fronted without buttons.
It had a slightly high collar and short sleeves, though its length was no different from a normal coat.
Seeing the garment in the proprietress's hands, Minato was also stunned.
Except for the length, the overall style looked exactly like the Fourth Hokage's "Divine Robe" from the original story!
"Try it on; my eye for this won't be wrong!"
The proprietress looked at Minato, her eyes eager.
Minato nodded and was about to take the coat when she suddenly grabbed a black long-sleeved shirt hanging nearby and stuffed it into his hands as well.
"Change into both."
A moment later, when Minato finished changing and stepped out of the fitting room again, the two women in the shop became visibly excited.
"That's the feeling!"
Tsunade pushed Minato in front of the full-length mirror.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Minato was also slightly dazed.
At this moment, it was as if he truly saw the Fourth Hokage from the original series—the child version.
"So handsome!!"
Behind the row of clothes racks next door, Nawaki, who had just finished picking out his clothes, was also stunned when he saw Minato.
"Is this the Divine Robe?"
(Correction: The term 'Divine Robe' does not exist in the original work; this name comes from fanon settings. In the original work, the Fourth wore a type of haori. The author made a mistake by assuming this name, so I'll have to go with it and use it as a special type of haori for this fanon setting. My deepest apologies to everyone.)
"That's right, the Divine Robe..."
The proprietress chuckled.
"I told you my eye wouldn't be wrong. After all, even the haori of the past Hokage were sewn by me, stitch by stitch."
"Eh—?!!"
Let alone Tsunade and Nawaki, even Minato was shocked at this moment.