Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha.
One is the God of Shinobi, the other is the Asura of the Ninja World.
Those who have not lived through the Warring States Period cannot comprehend the power of these two men!
It was… truly the power of a “god”!!
The Valley of the End.
The valley and the great river stretching for tens of kilometers – who could imagine that this was the result of a battle between two people?!
It was originally a plateau! ~
If you told this to the kids of today, they would probably think it was a mythical story.
Besides, who in the Uchiha clan or the Senju clan today could replicate that kind of world-shattering battle?
No one.
Absolutely no one.
“They were both extraordinary talents of their time…”
Hyuga Sōgen sighed.
The image of those crimson eyes, so eerie and bloodthirsty, with their peculiar patterns, along with the towering wooden giant that blotted out the sun, and the deafening roar that shook the earth… flashed through his mind.
“Sigh~
As an old geezer who has lived since the Warring States Period, reminiscing about the past seems to have become a regular thing for me.
…………
Upon reaching the Ninja Academy, Shichiya found Yakushi Nono.
“Nono, thanks!”
The note Shichiya got before the fight against Uchiha Tetsuka contained information on the opponent, their fighting habits, and the jutsu they mastered.
“It wasn’t much work. I’m happy to help Shichiya-kun.”
Nono smiled faintly, her expression serene and peaceful.
Shichiya was stunned. This was the future’s top intelligence officer—a walking shrine maiden!
At such a young age, and in such a short amount of time, she was able to get intel on Uchiha Tetsuka—she has maxed out her intelligence stats.
This girl’s a talent! ~
It’d be a shame not to snag her early.
In his previous life, as a martial arts assistant instructor, discovering talent, recruiting talent, and nurturing talent had become a habit of thought for Shichiya.
Nono was smiling serenely, realizing that Shichiya-kun was thinking about something concerning her.
Shichiya spoke: “Nono, to thank you, I’d like to ask you – would you be willing to change your living environment?”
“Huh?” Nono was taken aback.
“I mean, would you be willing to move in with the Hyuga family?”
Shichiya bluntly stated his intention.
Such top-tier talent—it would be a huge waste not to recruit her.
He didn’t know how to use this talent yet, but… he’d grab her first.
As for Danzo’s attitude and thoughts…
What business is it of his?
Besides, Shichiya learned from his uncle that the current leadership structure of Konoha included Danzo as the Hokage’s assistant.
He wasn’t yet the “Shadow of the Ninja World” as he would be in the future.
So, there was no need to worry.
Shichiya realized that his mentality had slightly changed.
Before, he was always hesitant about this and that, which wasn’t very smooth, it wasn’t his personality.
“Shichiya-kun, I… I…”
Yakushi Nono’s face instantly turned red, like a bright red apple.
Then, without finishing her sentence, she ran away.
“…”
Shichiya was completely bewildered.
“What’s this all about?”
“Yo, Shichiya, I never thought you’d be so bold, actually confessing to Nono-chan…”
A head of golden hair suddenly popped up from somewhere. Minato winked, a look of amusement and teasing on his face.
“What confession…”
Shichiya’s following words stopped.
He recalled the exchange.
It seemed that… what he said could easily be misinterpreted.
Minato covered his mouth with his fist, “cough, cough”, and put on a heartfelt act.
“Nono, would you be willing to move in with the Hyuga family?”
“Hee hee hee ha…”
Minato couldn’t help but laugh after his performance.
Shichiya had a black line running down his head.
He found Minato had the potential to be a goofball.
“Forget it, I’ll explain later!”
It was just a small misunderstanding; it wasn’t serious enough to make Shichiya feel embarrassed.
…………
Fortunately, Yakushi Nono was a perceptive girl. After calming down, considering Shichiya’s facial expressions and actions from earlier, she realized she had misinterpreted him.
After school.
Nono was waiting at the school gate. When Shichiya saw her, he changed direction and walked away. Minato scratched his head, blinked, and then wisely took off.
“I’ll walk you home!” Shichiya spoke first.
Nono nodded “Mmm” and then turned around.
Halfway there.
Shichiya was about to explain what he said before, to avoid putting any pressure on the little girl.
“Nono, I…”
“I’m sorry, Shichiya-kun, I was so rude this morning.”
However, Nono, seeing what Shichiya wanted to say, apologized first, taking responsibility for her actions.
“But I have to take care of my little brother and sister, so… I’m sorry.”
Shichiya opened his mouth, but didn’t continue.
What was he going to say?
Was he going to say, “It’s okay, bring all the kids from the orphanage to the Hyuga house.”
That was impossible.
The orphanage wasn’t a private institution; its sponsor was Konoha.
If it was just Yakushi Nono, Shichiya could say that they were good friends and he’d bet that Hyuga Sōgen’s influence would get them in, but if he tried to move the entire orphanage to the Hyuga house…
What kind of behavior was that?
As for having Yakushi Nono abandon the other children at the orphanage…
Shichiya shook his head inwardly. It was clearly impossible.
“It’s fine, I just saw your potential, and I want you to develop it to the fullest.”
“My potential?”
Nono pointed at herself, her eyes wide, her glasses making her look a bit adorable.
She didn’t feel like she had any special potential.
Shichiya glanced at her and understood.
Nono had top-notch intelligence talent, but she hadn’t realized her potential due to lack of experience.
“Nono, you’re very talented.”
“It’s not only those who have battle talent that deserve praise.”
Shichiya didn’t hesitate to give her some pointers.
“The place where you can best utilize your potential should be the Intelligence Division.”
“Intelligence?” Nono thought about it.
“Yes.” Shichiya said.
“The Five Great Shinobi Countries, plus dozens of smaller countries, with their social order, and even their different industry norms – it’s all complicated, full of regional peculiarities.”
“To understand all this and be able to use it to your advantage isn’t something everyone can do.”
“And you have the potential for it!”
“You know, understanding others sufficiently…”
“Is also a powerful form of proof!”
………