Watching the Third Hokage stroll away, Tendo noticed how the old man's diminutive stature seemed to expand, casting a long, shadow-heavy silhouette across the academy grounds. The "God of Shinobi" was a master of the stage, even in his twilight years.
Tendo and Inuzuka Akita bid a final, breezy farewell to a dazed Mizuki and the starstruck students.
Mizuki is a saint, Tendo mused privately. Every time I cross his path, I reap a divine harvest. He made a mental note to check in on the silver-haired chunin frequently. The man was a walking stimulus package.
It was still early afternoon, and neither Tendo nor Akita felt the slightest inclination to return to the paperwork-cluttered halls of the Hokage Building. They wandered aimlessly, eventually finding themselves on the grassy banks of the Nakano River. The water sparkled under the spring sun, a serene contrast to the violence of the morning.
"They say a man grows up overnight," Akita said softly, leaning her shoulder against Tendo's as they sat in the tall grass. She studied his profile. He looked the same—the same sharp jaw, the same unruly blond hair—but the air around him had changed. He felt grounded, lethal, and devastatingly sure of himself.
A flicker of melancholy touched her eyes. She liked the change, but she felt the distance it created.
Tendo leaned back, letting her weight settle against him. He'd known Akita for years. Initially, she had been a stepping stone, a well-placed superior to shield his "civilian" life. but over time, her genuine fire and sharp wit had gotten under his skin. A good woman deserved more than just a cold calculation.
He reached into the grass, plucking a handful of wild bluebells and daisies. With the deft fingers of a man who mastered high-level taijutsu, he wove them into a delicate wreath and placed it atop her head. He tucked a stray purple lock behind her ear and leaned in, his breath warm against her skin.
"No matter how far I go, I'll always be Class Leader Akita's most loyal subordinate."
[Latest Mission: Bring Inuzuka Akita into the Uchiha Clan.] [Reward (Intimate Contact): Water Nature Chakra Increase.] [Reward (Defeat/Conquest): Selectable Summoning Beast.]
Skip the fluff, System, Tendo thought. He ignored the digital humming in his mind and focused on the woman in front of him, unlocking the next stage of their "CG" with a slow, deliberate kiss.
March 26th.
The cherry blossoms were in full, riotous bloom, carpeting the streets of Konoha in a delicate pink shroud. Tendo stepped out of Akita's home with a spring in his step, heading toward the Ninja Academy to officially take up his post.
The Third Hokage hadn't been exaggerating about efficiency; the appointment papers had been signed, sealed, and delivered within hours of the fight.
[Multiple Missions Completed. Claim rewards now?]
Tendo found a quiet spot by the river to process his gains. First: the Byakugan.
As the power flooded his system, he felt the familiar twin currents of heat—one for the eyes, one for the marrow. He hurried to the water's edge, half-expecting to see the milky, pupilless "cataract" eyes of the Hyūga. To his relief, his eyes remained their natural color, though they now possessed a crystalline, agate-like purity.
More importantly, the Hyūga bloodline didn't just sit alongside his Uchiha heritage—it merged. He could feel his intuition sharpening. If he activated his Sharingan now, the legendary insight of the Uchiha would be bolstered by the 360-degree X-ray vision of the Hyūga. A literal "God-Eye."
His base stats took another leap. His chakra pool, once a shallow pond, was now a rushing river. Roughly 0.8 Kakashis, he estimated.
In the original story, Kakashi always seemed low on stamina, but that was because he was a non-Uchiha constantly fueling a transplanted eye. For Tendo, these eyes were factory-installed. He didn't have a leak; he had a reservoir.
[Claim: Water Nature Chakra Increase.]
Previously, Tendo was a Lightning-only specialist—cool, but limited. As the water energy diffused through his cells, he felt a sense of endless, fluid vitality. His Lightning chakra, once jagged and sharp, now had a terrifyingly smooth flow.
1.0 Kakashi, he smiled. He finally had the "capital" to survive the coming storms. He was firmly in the tier of a Special Jonin, even if his jutsu list was still tragically short.
[Claim: Selectable Summoning Beast.]
This reward came as a mental contract rather than a physical boost. Tendo tried to break the game immediately—attempting to summon the Gedo Statue or a Tailed Beast—but the System slapped his hand away with a "Range Error."
Stupid machine. You're only smart when it comes to stopping me from cheating, he cursed.
He had to choose from the "standard" legends. The Sannin's trio—Toads, Slugs, or Snakes—offered the best utility and a path to Sage Mode. Hanzo's Salamander was powerful but aesthetically displeasing (the gas mask was a deal-breaker). Enma the Monkey King was classic but lacked the "world-ending" scale Tendo craved.
He left the choice pending. He needed to be certain.
At the Academy, Tendo bypassed the bureaucracy and went straight to the teachers' lounge. The Principal's Assistant, a flirtatious woman from the Sarutobi clan, hinted at "extracurricular" activities, but without a System prompt to guide him, Tendo gave her a polite, distracted smile and moved on.
He spent the morning in the office for one reason: to watch Mizuki.
The man was a wreck. Every time Tendo so much as glanced his way, Mizuki visibly recoiled, his chair scraping against the floor.
"Hee hee hee," Tendo chuckled under his breath, watching Mizuki shrink into his paperwork. The fear in the man's eyes was more refreshing than a morning coffee.
Soon, it was time for his first session. He stepped onto the training field where Iruka Umino was already lining up his class—the infamous Class of the Protagonists.
"Tendo," Iruka said, looking exhausted but relieved. "I'll leave these students in your capable hands."
Tendo looked at the row of faces: Naruto's grin, Sasuke's scowl, Hinata's shy gaze.
"Alright, kids," Tendo said, cracking his knuckles. "The 'desk-job' senior is here to teach you a lesson. Who wants to be the first to have their spirit broken?"