Konoha Ninja Academy, inside a classroom.
"Hey, hey."
A boy wearing goggles raised his hand high, almost leaning forward as if he might climb onto the desk just to be noticed.
The beautiful red-haired instructor on the podium, Kushina, did not respond.
She was currently in a slightly irritated mood. Normally she could tolerate minor disturbances, but once someone truly pushed her patience, it became a different matter entirely.
Even so, the boy kept his hand raised. In fact, he was now half standing on his seat, trying to force attention onto himself.
Beside him sat a girl with faint markings on her cheeks. She looked at him with concern and tugged gently at his sleeve.
"Sit down quickly, Obito," she whispered.
But Obito ignored her completely and kept his arm raised.
Naturally, the entire class had already turned their attention toward him.
Kushina sighed and rolled her eyes. With no other choice, she finally looked at the most troublesome student in the room.
"Is there something you want, Obito?" she asked, keeping her tone as controlled as possible.
If he was deliberately causing trouble again, she might just have to visit his family later.
Obito immediately straightened up and said with excitement, "Kushina-sensei, who do you think will become the Fourth Hokage?"
The moment he spoke, the entire classroom quieted and then turned toward Kushina.
The news that the Third Hokage would retire after the war had already spread, and everyone had their own guesses. But hearing it directly from a jōnin like Kushina made it feel more real.
"The Fourth Hokage…" Kushina thought briefly. For some reason, a certain person came to mind, but she could not possibly say that aloud.
She shook her head. "I don't know either."
The classroom instantly erupted into discussion.
A blue-haired boy stood up and spoke confidently, "It'll probably be one of the Sannin, Orochimaru-sama!"
At this point in time, it was already one month after Sunagakure's defeat, and village propaganda had firmly established the Sannin's reputation. Admiring them was normal for students their age.
However, someone immediately objected.
A boy from the Shimura clan stood up and said, "No, it has to be Konoha's Yellow Flash, Hayashi-sama! He defeated the Mist Village forces and, together with the Third Hokage-sama, wiped out over two thousand Sunagakure shinobi!"
The mention of Hayashi instantly shifted the atmosphere.
For a moment, the classroom became chaotic, with students passionately defending their preferred candidates.
Kushina leaned against the podium, allowing them to continue. She listened with mild interest while observing the scene.
The names being discussed were all famous figures of Konoha: the Sannin, the Yellow Flash, the White Fang.
Obito, who had started the discussion, looked extremely pleased with himself. He even shot a smug glance toward Kakashi, who was sitting nearby.
Kakashi responded with a tired expression and muttered, "Idiot."
Obito snorted and turned away, then shifted his attention to the girl beside him.
"Rin, who do you support to become the Fourth Hokage?"
Rin tilted her head slightly in thought. "It's a difficult choice. But if I had to decide, I would choose Lady Tsunade."
"Lady Tsunade?" Obito repeated.
Rin nodded with admiration. "Yes. She's the strongest female ninja in the entire shinobi world right now. If possible, I would also like to learn medical ninjutsu."
Obito blinked. "You really like medical ninjutsu?"
"Yes," Rin replied softly. "If I can learn it, I can help heal everyone."
As she spoke, her gaze briefly drifted toward Kakashi.
Obito, however, did not notice this at all. Instead, he became even more excited.
"That's great. Then when I fight against the Kage of other villages in the future, I won't have to worry about getting injured."
Silence followed.
Even Kakashi, who had been listening quietly, did not know how to respond.
Rin asked next, "What about you, Obito? Who do you support?"
Without hesitation, Obito said loudly, "Of course it's Big Brother Hayashi. He has a good relationship with my family. If he becomes Hokage, I can, I mean, I will help him manage the village properly in the future."
He quickly corrected himself after noticing Rin and Kakashi's strange looks.
Rin then turned again. "Kakashi, what about you?"
Kakashi shook his head slightly. "I don't know."
Choosing between his father and his teacher was not something he could easily decide.
At that moment, Obito suddenly stood up again and slammed both hands on the desk.
The sound startled everyone in the room, including Kushina.
All eyes turned toward him once more.
Obito's face turned red as he hesitated, then blurted out, "Maybe the Fourth Hokage will be me someday."
The classroom immediately burst into laughter.
Even Kushina could not help but smile. "Obito, thank you for the joke. Sit down now."
Obito's face burned even hotter as he slowly sank back into his seat.
Then he muttered under his breath, "I meant the Fifth Hokage…"
Before he could recover, another voice rang out.
"I support Kushina-sensei becoming the Fourth Hokage."
The classroom went silent.
Guy stood proudly with both hands raised, full of energy.
Kushina blinked in surprise, then her eyes curved slightly. "No, no, I can't do that."
After a brief pause, she added, "Still, good taste. Guy, you are excused from this week's academic assignment."
The classroom erupted again, this time with students quickly following Guy's lead.
"I support Kushina-sensei too."
"I also vote for Kushina-sensei."
Obito sighed dramatically in defeat.
"Unbelievable…"
He muttered under his breath, regretting that he had not thought of it first.
Soon after, class ended.
Kushina gathered her materials and prepared to leave for Tsunade when someone stepped in front of her.
Kakashi.
"What is it, Kakashi?" Kushina asked. She had always liked him. He was Chen's student, and his academic performance was excellent.
Talented students naturally received more attention.
As for troublesome ones like Obito, she still found them somewhat amusing. At least they made teaching less boring.
Kakashi spoke politely, "Kushina-sensei, I want to graduate early."
The entire class immediately reacted. Even though his voice was not loud, everyone heard it clearly.
Kakashi was one of the top students in the academy. In terms of talent, there were very few who could compare to him.
By wartime standards, he was already qualified to become a genin.
However, Kushina shook her head.
"Have you completed the task Hayashi gave you?"
Kakashi paused, then shook his head.
Surprisingly, Kakashi had already completed one of the most difficult tasks first, Earth nature transformation.
As expected of someone many would later call a future Kage-level talent.
Kushina crossed her arms. "Then you can't graduate. You need at least two chakra nature transformations completed."
Most jōnin could only fully master more than two types of nature transformation. Chen clearly had no intention of letting Kakashi leave the academy too early.
At the very least, he would not graduate at five years old like in the original timeline. That would only harm his development.
Graduating early meant entering the battlefield immediately, and there was no one available to properly supervise him.
Even Hayashi and Sakumo were both commanders. They could not take a child that young into active combat zones.
So Kakashi remained in the academy.
"I understand," Kakashi said quietly before returning to his seat.
He wanted to fight alongside his father and teacher, but he also understood the reality.
A genin-level strength was not enough for survival in the current war.
Watching him return, Kushina let out a small sigh.
Kakashi wanted the battlefield. She understood that feeling better than most.
Her hands slowly tightened.
No, she could not wait anymore.
She would go to the Third Hokage herself and request deployment.
As a jōnin of Konoha, Uzumaki Kushina.
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