The Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was biting on his pipe, his eyes fixed on the application form submitted by Haruki to lead a team.
Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki's inclusion was within his expectations.
Ever since Haruki became the vice - principal of the Ninja Academy, one of the key areas monitored by the Anbu, he had been under Hiruzen's attention.
Haruki had brought a lot of unexpected surprises.
Whether it was inheriting the Will of Fire or telling the stories of previous Hokage, he was excellent.
What satisfied Hiruzen most was that Haruki compared him with the previous two Hokages during his lectures.
Although he was known as the strongest Hokage, he had self - knowledge.
Not to mention Hashirama Senju, he was far inferior even to his teacher, Tobirama Senju.
"This kid has really thrown me a tough nut to crack."
Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe.
Minato Namikaze was just a commoner. Although he was the top student of his class, it wasn't a big deal.
Kushina Uzumaki was a bit more troublesome.
Because she was a candidate to become the Jinchuriki of the Nine - Tailed Fox.
Currently, only a few people knew this news. It had to be said that the Uzumaki clan was really suitable to become Jinchuriki.
One could tell from Mito Uzumaki.
There had never been any problems over the years.
As a powerful weapon to intimidate the ninja world, the Jinchuriki must be stable and serve Konoha.
Kushina Uzumaki's orphan status was even better. As long as Konoha treated her a little better, there was no need to worry about her being loyal.
Hiruzen Sarutobi thought for a moment.
According to this theory, maybe it wasn't a bad thing for her to become Haruki's apprentice.
He trusted Haruki.
Judging from his current performance, Haruki had thoroughly understood the Will of Fire and was willing to contribute to Konoha.
Moreover, he was Tsunade's boyfriend.
It was basically impossible for him to betray Konoha.
In fact, what really troubled Hiruzen was the third student Haruki had chosen.
Mikoto Uchiha.
Why did he think of getting involved with the Uchiha clan?
Hiruzen Sarutobi and Tanzo Shimura had always been implementing the strategy of their teacher, Tobirama Senju.
To divide and suppress the Uchiha clan.
Haruki had already been marked as part of the Hokage lineage.
He shouldn't have any dealings with the Uchiha.
"Lord Hokage, here is the information on Mikoto Uchiha." An Anbu member appeared.
"Yeah."
Hiruzen Sarutobi picked up the information and started reading.
He didn't have any impression of Mikoto Uchiha.
After learning about her now, sure enough, she was just an ordinary Uchiha clan member who hadn't even awakened the Sharingan.
"It seems to pose no real threat."
Hiruzen Sarutobi was silent for a while. He had been suppressing the Uchiha clan secretly, but it hadn't reached the point of making it public.
Since she wasn't a genius, let her go.
He picked up a pen, put a tick, and approved Haruki's application.
...
"La - la - la~"
Kushina Uzumaki was humming an unknown tune.
Since the destruction of the Uzumaki clan, she hadn't been this happy for a long time.
Thinking of Teacher Haruki, Kushina Uzumaki was full of expectations for her future ninja career.
Actually, there had always been an embarrassing thought in her heart.
Because of the war when she was young, she really hoped for a peaceful and stable life.
And Haruki's appearance perfectly fulfilled her wish.
She didn't know when it started. She felt that Haruki was like her mother.
Gentle and good-looking.
"Kushina!"
"What?"
Kushina Uzumaki immediately pulled a long face and gave a soft snort.
Minato Namikaze saw this and felt a bit complicated.
Kushina Uzumaki always looked at him with a prejudiced eye.
It made him wonder if he had done something wrong to her.
"Starting today, we're teammates! Please take care of me!"
"..."
Kushina Uzumaki suddenly remembered that Minato Namikaze had taught her the Rasengan wholeheartedly yesterday, so her tone softened a little.
"Let's all work hard together."
"Yeah!"
Minato Namikaze nodded vigorously.
The two came to the place Haruki had notified them of last night.
The Third Training Ground.
"Teacher!"
Kushina Uzumaki spotted Haruki from afar and greeted him excitedly.
Minato Namikaze felt a twinge of jealousy in his heart.
He wondered when he would be treated like this by Teacher Haruki.
"Teacher."
Minato Namikaze bowed slightly. Looking around, he didn't see anyone else. "Teacher, where are our other teammates?"
"Don't worry, they'll be here soon."
Haruki asked with a smile, "Minato, are you that eager to see the little beauty?"
"No, I'm not. Teacher, don't talk nonsense!"
Minato Namikaze quickly glanced at Kushina Uzumaki in a panic.
But to his disappointment, she didn't show any reaction.
Haruki stopped teasing him and turned to look at the other side of the forest.
"She's coming."
Hearing this, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki looked in that direction.
"Mikoto?"
Kushina Uzumaki blurted out in surprise.
The beautiful black-haired, black-eyed girl walking over was one of her few friends in Konoha.
Mikoto Uchiha.
"Kushina."
Mikoto Uchiha's eyes lit up slightly, but her reaction wasn't as intense as Kushina Uzumaki's. She seemed extremely calm-tempered.
To be honest, she was quite surprised when she found out that she had been selected as Haruki's student.
She was a few years older than Kushina Uzumaki.
Due to her average talent, she returned to her clan right after graduation.
If nothing unexpected occurred, she would become a tool for maintaining the family bloodline.
In fact, that's precisely what was going to happen.
In a couple of years, she might marry Fugaku Uchiha, the heir to the clan leader.
Mikoto Uchiha looked at Haruki.
Her first impression was that he was handsome.
She had heard of Haruki a long time ago.
During the Second Great Ninja War, he gained fame together with Princess Tsunade and even became her boyfriend.
What was even more amazing was that it was quite rare for those proud clan members to not dislike someone, yet the Uchiha clan didn't dislike him much.
Perhaps it was for this reason that she had gotten her parents' consent to become his student.
Ding - ding - ding.
Haruki took out two bells and shook them.
"As usual, the teacher is going to give you three a little assessment. It's very simple. If you can grab the bells, you pass."
"Teacher, did you forget to bring one more bell?" Kushina Uzumaki asked.
"Kushina, the teacher is testing our team - work skills."
Minato Namikaze answered before Haruki.
Haruki's lips curled slightly.
So smart.
But buddy, you're being short-sighted.
Where's your high emotional intelligence?
Sure enough, love makes people stupid.
And Kushina Uzumaki didn't appreciate his answer.
"I'm asking the teacher."
Minato Namikaze's face froze, looking quite hurt.
Mikoto Uchiha beside him showed a faint smile. She saw the situation between the two at a glance.
"Alright, let's end the small talk."
Haruki shook the bell again and then clipped it to his waist.
"I'll only use Chunin-level strength. So I'm looking forward to your performance."
The moment his voice fell, the three of them disappeared in front of him.
Not a single one of them launched a reckless attack.
Tsk.
Sure enough, ninjas with personalities like Naruto Uzumaki are the problematic ones.
Haruki thought for a while and didn't stay where he was. Instead, he walked towards the forest.
For the sake of fairness, he didn't activate his Sensor ability.
In other words, he had no idea where the three of them were.
Of course, if they attacked right in front of him, he could naturally see them.
Whoosh!
An unusual whistling sound of the wind.
Haruki looked up and saw several Shuriken falling.