A boy walked over, his face tender and looking even younger than Sakumo Hatake, perhaps five or six years old at most.
His expression was very cold, and despite his cute appearance, he gave off an unapproachable vibe.
Sakumo Hatake felt that this person would be difficult to deal with, but since he was here, he must be someone who would be studying under the same master.
He politely stepped forward and said, "I am Sakumo Hatake.
You must also be here to study under Lord Fumori Masaki, right?"
The boy nodded slightly, his slightly narrowed eyes fixed on Sakumo Hatake, and he said expressionlessly, "So you are Sakumo Hatake.
I know you.
You transitioned from a samurai to a ninja, yet you received high praise from the teachers at the academy."
Although the boy didn't seem easy to get along with, his words were gentle, and Sakumo Hatake secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He didn't want any unpleasantness with his fellow disciples, so he smiled and said, "No, that's just…"
Before he could finish, the boy interrupted, "However, don't think you can get complacent just because of that.
Being a ninja isn't as easy as you imagine."
Sakumo Hatake was taken aback, not expecting the other party to change his attitude so abruptly, which caught him off guard.
However, he quickly smiled and replied, "I didn't mean that.
To become an excellent ninja, I still have much to learn."
"Hmph, I hope so," the other party said before introducing himself, "My name is Hattori Heizo.
Please guide me in the future."
Upon hearing that name, Sakumo Hatake immediately recalled the background of the Konoha families he had learned from his father—the Hattori clan was one of the ninja clans that joined during the early establishment of Konoha Village.
Among many ninja clans, they belonged to the smaller group, for a simple reason: they had always upheld ancient traditions.
Initially, missions carried out by ninjas were generally assassinations; they would never appear in front of crowds unless absolutely necessary.
However, in the late Warring States period, conflicts between ninja clans intensified.
Originally, individuals were hired to deal with others, but later, entire clans were hired by local nobles.
To counter these ninja clans, the opposing local nobles also had to hire ninja clans of similar scale.
It was from this point onward that conflicts between ninja clans became commonplace.
While maintaining the secrecy of ninja operations, they began to don armor, wield samurai swords, and engage in direct confrontations with enemies.
The Hattori clan, however, was different.
The ninjas they trained only accepted assassination missions and never engaged in direct confrontations with any other ninja clan.
To ensure the success rate of assassinations, family members were trained from a young age, and the rigorous training resulted in a high mortality rate.
Therefore, even though the Hattori clan, like other ninja clans, allowed adult males to marry multiple women and bear children, very few survived.
But precisely because of this, the ninjas produced by the Hattori clan were one-in-a-thousand assassins, a rarity in the atmosphere of the late Warring States period.
Perhaps they were not as strong in direct combat as those ninja clans that began large-scale conflicts and, to some extent, changed traditional combat methods, but their assassination skills were even more superior.
However, the Hattori clan also had to adapt their way of life to the new era, so they joined Konoha Village and began living openly within the village.
But their internal training did not stop, and their assassination skills remained unparalleled.
During the First Shinobi World War, ninjas from the Hattori clan assassinated important leaders of enemy samurai legions or enemy commanders on ninja battlefields more than once, achieving significant military merits.
However, the losses were equally heavy.
The already sparsely populated Hattori clan was said to have only fewer than five family members remaining.
Hattori Heizo also studied at the Ninja Academy, but because he was in a different class, Sakumo Hatake had never met him.
However, he heard that when Hattori Heizo practiced with others, the outcome was often decided in an instant, just like the Hattori clan's tradition.
If one couldn't assassinate the target quickly, they would be surrounded and killed, so they had to develop swift and ruthless skills.
It was said that Hattori Heizo at the Ninja Academy hoped to hone his direct combat abilities while preserving his family's traditions.
His elders in the Shinobi World War were killed once exposed due to their lack of direct combat ability.
However, it seemed no one in his class could withstand their family's traditional methods, so direct confrontation was never even discussed.
Upon realizing this, Sakumo Hatake suddenly felt a chill down his spine because he recalled their positions just now.
If Hattori Heizo had harbored hostility, even if Sakumo knew, whether he could have avoided a sudden attack was uncertain.
—Indeed, anyone chosen to be Lord Fumori Masaki's student is no ordinary person.
Sakumo Hatake sighed inwardly and smiled, "Please guide me."
Hattori Heizo seemed unaccustomed to this.
The Hattori clan was a very traditional ninja family; speaking and acting cautiously was their usual style.
Because of this, they were more stubborn in certain areas and disliked unconventional approaches, such as Sakumo Hatake, who came from a samurai family, which they found displeasing.
"The other person hasn't arrived yet.
Do you know who it might be?" Hattori Heizo asked.
"I don't know.
The teachers at the academy didn't say.
What about your side?" Sakumo Hatake replied.
"Me neither," Hattori Heizo shook his head.
"However, if one of us is you, then in terms of strength, the other person shouldn't be too far off, after all, we have important responsibilities."
"It's the Chunin Exams, right?
Lord Hokage plans to have five ninja villages jointly host them, and it seems we are being trained as candidates to participate," Sakumo said.
"Yes, that's why we've been at the academy for over a year and were directly graduated and sent to a prominent figure like LordFumori Masaki.
According to the academy's predetermined system, even with the corresponding strength, one must complete cultural classes at the academy before graduating.
It's said that this was also proposed by LordFumori Masaki, but in my opinion, it's unnecessary.
What's the use of learning such things?" Hattori Heizo said.
"Is that so?" Sakumo Hatake neither confirmed nor denied.
At the Ninja Academy, commoners initially learned to read and write, while those who were already literate studied literature.
The content covered a lot, from the history of the country, the origins of samurai and ninjas, folk culture, and so on.
In his opinion, these contents were quite interesting.
Of course, most people, like Hattori Heizo, found them meaningless, but under the academy's promotion, these were all compulsory subjects.
The two waited in the training ground.
Sakumo Hatake wanted to communicate more, but Hattori Heizo was not a very talkative person.
Except for some emotional outbursts or necessary matters, he remained silent at other times.
Sakumo Hatake tried to lead the conversation, but soon ran out of things to say.
As the atmosphere between them grew a little awkward, the third person finally arrived.
It was a blonde girl.
Although she wore ninja attire convenient for movement, the fabric used indicated that she came from a relatively large ninja clan, at least one that Hattori Heizo's own family couldn't match in status.
"Ah, you two must be Sakumo Hatake and Hattori Heizo, the excellent talents chosen by Fumori Masaki," the blonde girl immediately named both of them.
Sakumo Hatake and Hattori Heizo exchanged glances; this proved that she could obtain information through some channel, considering they themselves didn't know who their fellow disciples were.
More importantly, the other party directly referred toFumori Masaki asFumori Masaki.
"Yes, I am Sakumo Hatake, and he is Hattori Heizo," Sakumo Hatake introduced them to each other.
"I am Tsunade.
Please guide me," Tsunade said gracefully, gently resting her hand on her hip.
"Please guide me," Sakumo Hatake felt a little happy in his heart.
The cheerful Tsunade was a stark contrast to the taciturn Hattori Heizo, so he had a good impression of Tsunade.
"Is that so, you are the princess of the Senju clan," Hattori Heizo said, showing a hint of surprise upon hearing this.
"The Senju clan, the one that established Konoha Village…" Sakumo Hatake looked at Tsunade in surprise upon hearing this.
He knew of the Senju clan, but he didn't know the details of the Senju clan, and only the clans that joined Konoha Village from the very beginning, like the Hattori clan, knew who the direct granddaughter of the First Hokage was.
"Yes, my grandfather is the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju," Tsunade said with a smile, her hands behind her back.
"But don't be nervous; we'll be comrades from now on, so just be natural."
That being said, studying in the same place as the princess of the Senju clan always put pressure on people.
Sakumo Hatake and Hattori Heizo exchanged glances again, feeling that things would be a bit tough in the future.
However, even the princess of the Senju clan would come to study, which meant that Fumori Masaki's abilities were outstanding and that he was highly trusted by the Second Hokage.
Thus, the three great figures who would later resonate throughout the ninja world met at this moment.
At present, they were still ignorant children, preparing for their upcoming life as fellow disciples, exchanging greetings, and deepening their impressions of each other.