But the Third Hokage had missed mentioning Yoruha.
One could imagine how inconspicuous Yoruha must be.
Even someone like the Third Hokage, who paid close attention to the younger generation, wasn't familiar with him.
Kakashi shook his head. "Neither."
The Third Hokage frowned. "Not Honya Taiko?"
"Then could it be... the third child?"
The Third Hokage couldn't even recall Yoruha's name.
He had to resort to calling him "the third child."
Kakashi nodded. "It's Yoruha."
"Yoruha? I really don't recall this child."
The Third Hokage said helplessly.
Kakashi wasn't surprised and gave a bitter smile. "It makes sense that you wouldn't remember, since even the classmates who've been with him for six years at the ninja academy aren't very familiar with him."
The Third Hokage furrowed his brow.
"Come to my office with me."
After saying that, the Third Hokage disappeared.
Kakashi followed quickly.
Soon, the two appeared in the office.
The Third Hokage pulled out the records of this year's students.
There weren't many records to go through—this batch had only 30 students, and only 12 passed the assessment to become Genin.
Originally, only 9 people were supposed to pass the assessment, but Yoruha's presence allowed Team 11 to pass.
This meant that, in the original world, if Yoruha hadn't been there, Yamada Shin and Honya Taiko wouldn't have been able to pass and become ninjas.
The reason so few students graduate from the ninja academy is because not all ninjas go through the academy to become ninjas.
Many clan ninjas just need to pass the village's assessment to become ninjas, without spending six years in the academy.
The Third Hokage quickly found the records for Team 11.
When Yoruha's records appeared before him, the Third Hokage thought he was seeing things.
"These records are so sparse and ordinary... are you sure this is the child you're talking about?"
The Third Hokage looked at Kakashi with suspicion.
Kakashi nodded. "Yes, that's him. During his six years at the ninja academy, he hid his talents."
"This led to no one noticing."
"He hid his talents? Why would such a young child have such thoughts?"
The Third Hokage questioned.
Kakashi explained, "This child is quite mature for his age, and his personality... how should I put it... he's a bit lazy."
The Third Hokage's mind instantly flashed to Shikamaru's image.
Kakashi nodded. "He doesn't want to be disturbed by other students at school. He doesn't like the feeling of being the center of attention."
"I've tested him, and what he says is true."
The Third Hokage, who had some doubts, now dispelled them.
"Another troubled child, huh."
The Third Hokage felt a bit of a headache. Why do talented ninjas all seem to have various quirks?
"Having a Minato Namikaze is truly rare. It's been so many years, and only one like him has appeared."
Minato Namikaze was the most normal, talented ninja the Third Hokage had ever met.
Others, to varying degrees, all had some issues.
The Third Hokage asked Kakashi.
Kakashi thought for a moment before replying, "He's at home. After releasing that jutsu, he passed out."
The Third Hokage asked.
"The jutsu Yoruha released must have been an accident, which quickly drained all his chakra."
"He's still unconscious now."
The Third Hokage looked worried. "Why didn't you take him to the hospital?"
"I checked him over. He fainted because of chakra exhaustion, but there are no injuries on his body."
The Third Hokage furrowed his brow. "How can a 12-year-old child have such a large amount of chakra?"
That was exactly what the Third Hokage had been wondering.
Kakashi thought for a moment and said, "His chakra reserves are indeed very large, but the jutsu he used tonight probably didn't rely solely on his chakra."
"Given his current chakra levels, though quite strong, it's still only at the level of a Jonin."
"Clearly, it couldn't support the jutsu he used tonight."
"I think there's a hidden, powerful force inside him that he doesn't even know about."
"Also, his chakra is different from normal chakra. It's similar to the chakra Jiraiya-sensei had when he entered Sage Mode."
The Third Hokage froze for a moment. "Could it be... a natural Sage Body?"
The Third Hokage was somewhat shocked.
The Third Hokage had met Senju Hashirama and had even been his student.
He knew very well that Hashirama was the only one with a natural Sage Body.
It was a physique even more terrifying than the Sharingan.
"If he really does have a natural Sage Body, then Konoha might have a chance to rise again."
The Third Hokage knew that, even among the Senju clan, only Hashirama had the natural Sage Body.
Kakashi, however, had no idea about the natural Sage Body.
"Lord Hokage, what is a natural Sage Body?"
The Third Hokage thought for a moment and explained to Kakashi what a natural Sage Body was.
"A natural Sage Body means someone is born with a physique like a Sage."
"Such a ninja's chakra is usually much larger than a normal ninja's, and their vitality far exceeds that of ordinary people."
"Moreover, they can use Sage Jutsu from the start."
"Their body is filled with Sage chakra."
"Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, had a natural Sage Body. He was known as the 'God of Ninjas.'"
"The First Hokage's jutsu had immense destructive power, and many of his techniques could even alter the terrain."
"At that time, only the Uchiha clan's ninjas were capable of matching him."
"Their battles would always cause mountains to collapse and seas to be moved—truly terrifying."
Kakashi was stunned. "Are there really people like that?"
Kakashi had a hard time believing it.
After all, he had never met anyone like that before.
Wait, the jutsu Yoruha released tonight had already caused effects like that.
The Third Hokage sighed. "Of course, there are such people. Back then, these two were so powerful that they pressed all the strongest ninjas in the world down."
"If Konoha were to have another First Hokage, at least we could ensure peace for Konoha for decades."
The Third Hokage looked at Kakashi. "How long have you been in contact with him? How would you rate his talent?"
"How far do you think he can go?"
The Third Hokage sounded somewhat hopeful.
The Third Hokage wasn't too worried about Yoruha, because Yoruha came from a commoner background and didn't have the sort of dangerous Uchiha bloodline behind him.
Kakashi thought for a moment and replied, "I've only been in contact with him for a few days."
"He hadn't learned many jutsu at the ninja academy before, and he was no different from other graduates."
"Before I taught him 'Chidori,' he could only use the basic body substitution technique and ninja tools."
"Then, Iruka taught him how to walk on water and climb trees. He learned incredibly fast—he mastered both techniques after just one demonstration."
"Tonight was the first time I officially taught him a jutsu."
"If not for this unexpected incident, he would have definitely learned it."
"And he possesses chakra of all elements."
The Third Hokage froze for a moment. "He has chakra of all elements!?"
Read 2 months ahead at:
[email protected]/ChakraMaster