To most of the children in the courtyard, the phrase "disciple of the Hokage" was abstract—they understood only that the Hokage was the greatest man in the village. But for Minato and Mikoto, the weight of the title was heavy. They knew that such a person was the bedrock of Konoha's military strength, a figure even the prideful Uchiha elders would treat with deference.
For a man of this caliber to teach first-year Academy students was a stroke of luck that bordered on the impossible.
Only Kushina remained unimpressed. At the mention of the Third Hokage, a fleeting shadow of distaste crossed her eyes—a flicker of resentment toward the village leadership that had uprooted her life.
"Everyone, gather on the training field!" Shirota-sensei commanded, his voice brimming with excitement.
The students filed out. Uchiha En stood in the front row, his taller frame and prestigious aura drawing a circle of admirers. He leaned against a post, his posture radiating a practiced, domineering arrogance that even the teachers seemed hesitant to correct. Minato, however, sought the quiet of the back row. He had no desire for the spotlight; he preferred to observe.
En's gaze drifted back toward Minato, searching for a reaction, but the golden-haired boy was staring at the empty air in front of the instructors. Minato didn't hate En, but he found the boy's disregard for the students stuck behind his tall frame to be distasteful.
"Hey! Sorry to keep you waiting!"
The voice was booming and full of mischief. Before anyone could track a movement, a tall figure materialized in the center of the field.
So fast! Minato's eyes narrowed into slits. His visual nerves, honed by his secret nocturnal training, caught only a ghostly, translucent afterimage. It was a terrifying realization: against a man this fast, a lesser ninja would be dead before their brain could register a threat.
The man looked to be in his early twenties. He wasn't conventionally handsome like the Uchiha, but he possessed a raw, magnetic energy. His long, spiky white hair—far longer than even Kushina's—swept down his back. Two distinct red lines, like streaks of war paint, traced paths down from his eyes. He wore a dark variation of the standard flak jacket, and a wide, almost frivolous grin was plastered on his face.
Ignoring the bowing teachers, the man strode directly toward the girls.
"Ladies!" he announced, striking what he clearly thought was a suave pose. "My name is Jiraiya. And who might you lovely blossoms be?"
Mikoto, ever the embodiment of Uchiha grace, bowed deeply. "Lord Jiraiya... I am Mikoto Uchiha." She was visibly nervous; she knew exactly how high this "creepy" man stood in the village hierarchy.
"Ah, a talent from the Uchiha! I've heard your name," Jiraiya laughed, then turned his gaze to the red-haired girl beside her. "And you, young miss?"
Kushina crossed her arms, her lip curling in a pout. "Who are you? And why should I tell a creepy old man like you anything?"
The training field plunged into a deathly silence. Shirota-sensei looked as if he might actually faint from a heart attack.
Jiraiya's eye twitched. A few students snickered, and despite himself, Minato felt a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Jiraiya's first impression was undeniably... eccentric.
Huffed but undeterred, Jiraiya retreated a few steps to regain his dignity. As he moved, his sharp eyes swept across the crowd, pausing for a fraction of a second on Minato in the back row. He noticed the boy's expression had shifted from amusement to a cold, focused calm the moment their eyes met.
Jiraiya cleared his throat, his demeanor shifting slightly. "I'm not much for textbooks," he said, glancing at Shirota. "So I'll be teaching these kids my own way."
Shirota nodded frantically, though he worried if these students were even ready for a "Sannin-style" lesson.
Jiraiya looked over the sea of young, naive faces. When he was seven, the world was a much bloodier place. He sighed inwardly, a rare moment of melancholy passing through him.
"Alright, listen up! Today, I'm going to teach you the three foundation stones of the shinobi," Jiraiya announced, his voice suddenly commanding. "The three basic Ninjutsu that every ninja must master to survive!"