Part Time Hokage

Hokage's Office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi gazed at the crystal ball in front of him, almost like a witch peering into the future.

The translucent crystal ball shimmered, revealing a scene from Class 1-A.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had two sons.

His elder son had already joined the Anbu and become an outstanding ninja.

But his younger son, Asuma Sarutobi, was in a rebellious phase, constantly defying him and causing him endless headaches.

After observing for a while, Hiruzen couldn't help but chuckle.

Kids will be kids.

But competition breeds pressure.

Asuma Sarutobi had it too easy at school due to his status as the Hokage's son.

With Hanekawa around, perhaps his rebellious son might change.

"Sei," Hiruzen spoke. "I want all the information on Hanekawa from the past three days, now."

"Understood," a voice responded from the shadows.

It was Sei, an Anbu ninja.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had high hopes for Hanekawa.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have snatched him away from Danzo Shimura's grasp.

Now, with Hanekawa reigniting Asuma's fighting spirit, it was truly a two-for-one success.

"Hokage-sama."

In less than three minutes, Sei appeared before him.

She wore a frog mask, her short hair visible beneath it.

Hiruzen took the documents from her and began flipping through them. Soon, his brow furrowed.

As expected, Danzo Shimura hadn't given up entirely, though thankfully, nothing serious had occurred.

As he continued reading, a smile appeared on his face.

A hardworking kid.

At that moment, a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in," Hiruzen said, setting the documents aside.

"Lord Hokage," came the voice of a blond young man entering the room.

"Minato."

Hiruzen's gaze sharpened as he asked in a serious tone, "Is there an issue with Kushina?"

Kushina Uzumaki was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

The nine Tailed Beasts possessed destructive power, and the Nine-Tails was the strongest among them.

A Jinchuriki is a ninja who has a Tailed Beast sealed within them—a village's ultimate weapon.

However, the Tailed Beasts' unruly nature made Jinchuriki prone to losing control.

Beyond that, they were targets for enemy villages.

Not long ago, Kumogakure had kidnapped Kushina Uzumaki.

If not for Minato Namikaze, the Hidden Leaf Village might have permanently lost its Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"It's Kushina—she ran outside the barrier again today," Minato replied with an awkward smile. "She used sealing techniques to bind the two Anbu assigned to guard her."

"Minato, I understand your feelings for Kushina, but the matter of the Nine-Tails is too important for her to act recklessly," Hiruzen advised, taking a puff of his pipe.

"I understand!"

Minato's expression turned serious.

"There's no need to be so tense," Hiruzen said, his tone softening as he smiled. "Now that you've mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, I doubt Kushina can be kidnapped again."

The Flying Thunder God Technique was a space-time ninjutsu that allowed instantaneous teleportation using special markings.

For example, with a Flying Thunder God mark placed on Kushina, Minato could reach her instantly, no matter how far away she was.

It was no exaggeration to say that from now on, he was the fastest man in the Shinobi World.

"Is Jiraiya still in the village?" Hiruzen suddenly asked.

"He is," Minato explained. "Sensei has been helping me develop a new jutsu recently."

"A new jutsu?" Hiruzen asked curiously. "What kind of jutsu requires both you and Jiraiya to develop?"

"It's not quite ready yet," Minato said with a smile. "Once it's complete, I'll show it to you."

"Then I'll look forward to it," Hiruzen replied, smiling back at him.

The Hokage's office was suddenly filled with warmth and camaraderie.

...

Class 1-A

Hanekawa's lips twitched slightly.

Why do ninjas need to learn math?

There's a saying: when people are desperate, they can do anything—but not math.

The question in front of him involved calculating the trajectory of a kunai in a parabolic arc.

I understand the theory, but against Susano'o, will this be useful?

Surely I'm not supposed to imitate Danzo Shimura and try to stab it with a kunai?

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the classroom.

Hanekawa looked up to see a group of students heading outside.

Leading the group were Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha.

"Obito is challenging Kakashi again," Shizune said, shaking her head. "Since the start of academy, I've lost count of how many times this has happened."

"Who wins?" Hanekawa asked casually.

"It's always Kakashi," Shizune replied matter-of-factly. "He's recognized as a genius in the village."

Hanekawa nodded slightly.

Although he had only been here for three days, he had already noticed Kakashi's immense popularity.

In simple terms, it was similar to Sasuke Uchiha in the original series.

Study more, admire the Uchiha less.

Hanekawa glanced outside.

In the short time he had been talking to Shizune, Obito had already lost—without Kakashi even needing to lift a hand.

Obito's attempt to use the Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu had burned his throat, leaving him coughing violently as if he might hack up a lung any moment.

Still, he seemed happy in his misery, as Rin Nohara was tending to him.

Her gentle demeanor could easily give someone the wrong impression—like thinking she liked them.

Unfortunately, none of them knew yet that the gifts of fate often come with a hidden price.

Hanekawa returned to his studies for the sake of his survival.

The last thing he wanted was to be "optimized" when Obito Uchiha reshaped the world.

After school, Hanekawa went home, ate dinner, and began training with kunai and shuriken.

Unlike yesterday, Kurenai Yuhi was there to join him.

The week passed quickly.

Hanekawa seamlessly integrated into the class and had gotten to know all his classmates.

Aside from notable supporting characters like Kakashi Hatake and Asuma Sarutobi, there was another lesser-known figure: Mizuki.

In the original series, Mizuki was the ninja school teacher who manipulated Naruto Uzumaki into stealing the Scroll of Seals.

His most significant contribution was inadvertently gifting the protagonist the ultimate cheat: the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu.

---

Sunday Morning

Hanekawa casually tossed a kunai, which hit the wooden stake dead center.

Several lines of text appeared in his vision, and he let out a sigh of relief.

[E-Rank Talent Entry: Ninja Tool Throwing (Acquired)]

[Trigger Condition: Achieve a beginner level in shuriken and kunai throwing.]

[Effect: Increases arm strength by 10% on the original basis; guarantees a hit on stationary targets within 100 meters.]

[Note: Has one synthesis path. Combine with the E-Rank entries of the "Seven Ninja Tools" to synthesize the D-Rank entry "Ninja Tool Mastery.]

Hanekawa instinctively clenched his fists.

A surge of strength coursed through him. It wasn't much, but it was a tangible improvement.

Just at the beginner level, it's already a 10% increase. When I master it completely, won't I have an arm like a mythical beast?

I should play basketball. This is a solid advantage.

Shaking off his random thoughts, Hanekawa turned his attention to his new talent panel.

[E-Rank Talent Entry: Seven Ninja Tools (Not Acquired)]

[Trigger Condition: Achieve proficiency in all seven ninja tools.]

[Current Progress: 10%.]

The difficulty of "Seven Ninja Tools" was noticeably higher than "Ninja Tool Throwing," likely due to its synthesis path leading to a D-Rank talent.

The progress bar indicated that shuriken and kunai counted, meaning he needed to learn five additional ninja tools.

Hanekawa gathered the scattered kunai and shuriken on the ground before heading out.

He had already informed Shinku Yuhi in advance that he'd be visiting the orphanage.

In reality, he was meeting with a spy from Kumogakure.

____

(Note: Kushina Uzumaki's struggles with controlling the Nine-Tails during her early days as a Jinchuriki and her confinement within barriers are adapted from the official spin-off manga The Tale of Minato. It's being used here to enhance the plot of this story.)