"Hagoromo, is there any point for us to enroll? It just feels like a hassle."
Mirai looked at Hagoromo with a bewildered expression, as did Haku and Kimimaro. With Hagoromo teaching them ninjutsu, what was the point of going to the Ninja Academy?
They were currently at Hagoromo's house, having just finished lunch. As for the document Mirai held in her hand... it was a paper of extreme significance to all of them.
It was an admission notice issued by Konoha's enrollment office, calling upon all age-appropriate children who aspired to become ninjas to join the Academy.
Furthermore, it required these children to complete their enrollment procedures before the following spring.
Although Kimimaro and Haku were slightly over the usual age, once this winter passed, Mirai's age would be just right for the Academy, so Hagoromo planned to stuff her in.
He was going to stuff all three of them in together.
As for Mirai's question, Hagoromo's answer was... "To be precise, entering the Ninja Academy doesn't carry any practical meaning."
Under Hagoromo's tutelage, even the current Mirai possessed a skill level that far surpassed the Academy standard. It was glaringly obvious that the school couldn't teach her anything useful.
"However, as I've told you before, a lot of times, people..."
"According to the Pareto Principle, a lot of times, the things people do are meaningless," Mirai finished the second half of his sentence.
Was this statistics? Sociology? Or philosophy? Did the 80/20 rule even apply to a situation like this?
For Konoha, having the Fourth Hokage's daughter enroll in the Ninja Academy was naturally something they desperately wished for, as it carried immense symbolic meaning. And for Hagoromo, he couldn't keep Mirai glued to his side forever. He needed a daycare...
And in Konoha, the only institution that fit that description was probably the Ninja Academy.
His decision also indicated that, even after his current mission was over, he wouldn't resume his trip around the world. Settling down in Konoha long-term seemed practically set in stone.
After all, he fully understood now that his previous aimless "searching" was actually yielding nothing. Since blindly stumbling around like a headless fly wouldn't help him find what he was looking for, he had to revert to his original strategy.
It was like playing an escape room game. Before the player could find the key to the final door, they had to find the other keys step by step. Skipping the intermediate steps was impossible.
Regarding the Ninja Academy enrollment, Hagoromo didn't just arrange it for his trio; he also poked his nose into Naruto's affairs and arranged it for him too. In reality, he didn't need to worry about it at all, as the Third Hokage already had detailed plans in place.
The Uchiha clan was still in an eerily calm state. Hagoromo actually hoped they would make their move sooner rather than later. The sooner it was over, the sooner he wouldn't have to be bogged down by the issue.
The Uchiha should have realized that the longer they dragged it out, the more comprehensive Konoha's countermeasures would become, even if their own preparations grew more thorough. In terms of power disparity, this delay was highly detrimental to the Uchiha.
It wasn't that a rebellion had absolutely zero chance of success. But to defeat a stronger opponent from a position of weakness, the element of "surprise" was far more critical than any meticulously laid plan...
Yet for the Uchiha, "surprise" was no longer an option.
During this time, Hagoromo had already begun quietly keeping tabs on Danzo's movements, and he was doing so under the official guise of the Hokage's orders.
After expressing his concerns to the Hokage, Hagoromo logically received authorization. To prevent Danzo from acting rashly, Hagoromo legally and officially gained the authority to monitor him.
If you wanted to survive and thrive in Konoha, this was extremely important. With such an order in hand, Hagoromo could legitimately do something about Danzo when the time came.
As long as he didn't blow things out of proportion, the Third Hokage couldn't blame him, and the upper echelon would have no excuse to sanction him. This was Hagoromo flexibly exploiting Konoha's rules.
In the afternoon, the three children had their training sessions. Mirai was currently grimacing as she hugged a pile of scrolls to study, while Kimimaro and Haku began their taijutsu training out in the courtyard.
In Hagoromo's view, given Haku and Kimimaro's current age, physical conditioning and taijutsu were far more important than practicing standard ninjutsu. Building a solid taijutsu foundation from a young age held immense significance for a ninja's entire career.
Kimimaro went without saying—he was a physical fighter by nature. Surprisingly, however, Haku was also incredibly gifted in taijutsu. This somewhat exceeded Hagoromo's expectations.
Ever since Hagoromo started teaching him, Haku had improved by leaps and bounds in this short period. From having absolutely zero foundation, he could now fight "on par" with Kimimaro... Of course, this was with the caveat that most of Kimimaro's abilities were currently sealed. Even so, if they both fought seriously, the loser would still most likely be Haku.
After all, their baseline foundations were different. Still, this couldn't negate Haku's talent, especially considering that just a few months ago, he was being chased through the streets as a helpless stray.
Sitting on the porch, Hagoromo lazily sipped a cup of tea. He occasionally called out to correct Haku and Kimimaro's stances while remaining available to solve any problems Mirai ran into.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
Mirai, who was struggling with a complex sealing jutsu problem, seemed to sense something. She was about to stand up, but after Hagoromo tilted his head and shot her a glance, she obediently sat back down.
Before anyone could answer or grant permission, a little head poked through the doorway.
Naruto peeked into the courtyard. The first thing that caught his eye was naturally Kimimaro and Haku's sparring match. This was on a completely different level than the childish brawls he usually got into. His eyes practically went glassy.
The movements of those two kids, who weren't much older than him, were so fast and dangerous that Naruto could barely keep up... Is this how ninjas train?
The most accurate description for him right now would be: the classic layman watching a spectacle.
Finally managing to pull his gaze away, Naruto scanned the area and spotted Hagoromo sitting on the porch. It was a miracle he had managed to navigate halfway across Konoha to find this place.
Naruto carefully skirted around Kimimaro and Haku's "battlefield" and walked up to Hagoromo.
He was being trailed by an unseen Anbu ninja. Hagoromo naturally noticed, but it seemed it wasn't the same person as a few days ago; the guard rotation changed frequently.
"Naruto, can you refine chakra on your own now?" Hagoromo asked upon seeing the little brat approach.
Only a few short days had passed. If Naruto had managed to figure it out purely through trial and error, that would be highly praiseworthy.
However, Hagoromo's expectations were entirely superfluous. His imagination was far too optimistic; there was no way such a miracle had occurred. It was glaringly obvious that Naruto's talents did not lie in this area. Compared to mental comprehension, he was much better at muscle memory.
"I can! ...I think?"
"Probably?"
"Anyway, when are you going to teach me ninjutsu?!"
The harsh reality was that Naruto hadn't understood a single word written on Hagoromo's scroll, which was why he lacked any real confidence.
"Then focus your chakra and let me see."
Seeing Naruto's lack of conviction, Hagoromo felt he needed to verify it with his own eyes.
And then... Naruto just stood there, completely clueless about what to do.
"Um... what exactly is chakra?"
With that single sentence, Hagoromo knew exactly how far Naruto had gotten. He was still standing a hundred and one meters behind the starting line of a hundred-meter dash. He still needed to take a few steps forward just to get to the starting block.
"Mirai, come over here and teach him what chakra actually is."
Little Mirai had been pricking her ears up and eavesdropping from inside the house the whole time, so Hagoromo simply called her out.
Mirai walked out wearing a strict "I'm the Big Boss" expression, her little face set perfectly straight. So... are you actually happy Naruto is here, or not?
"Hold out your hand." Her tone was a flat-out command.
Miraculously, Naruto obediently held out a hand, and Mirai grasped it firmly with her own.
"Do you feel it?"
"Whoa... it feels like something is running wild inside my body!"
Naruto felt the chakra Mirai was transmitting over, but his choice of words almost made her punch him.
Running wild?! It's circulating through your pathways... running wild.
"The thing you're feeling is called chakra. It is the foundation for a ninja to use ninjutsu. If you want to learn ninjutsu, you must first master this energy," Hagoromo explained from the side.
He finally understood. Lecturing Naruto about the combination of physical and spiritual energy was probably completely useless. It was much better to just let this brat experience what chakra was directly.
"Weird. I feel like I've had this feeling before... or maybe I haven't? It feels kinda familiar, though."
It wasn't strange for Naruto to occasionally sense the chakra in his own body. First, he was born with a massive foundation for it. Second, Hagoromo's long-term electric shocks and Lightning Style stimulation had ingrained this sensation deep into his physical memory.
"As long as you concentrate, you can master this power too. Only then can we talk about learning ninjutsu."
"Of course I can master it!" Naruto initially declared with brimming confidence.
"But what if I can't...?" Then a tiny wave of anxiety washed over him.
"If you can't... then forget about learning the Fourth Hokage's ninjutsu. You won't even be able to become a ninja."
Being entirely "self-taught" wasn't a theoretical impossibility; after all, creatures called "geniuses" did exist. But for a ninja, before they could start "teaching themselves," they at least needed someone to lead them through the door. If he couldn't even master the basics of chakra, then he could kiss any dreams of a bright future goodbye.