Naruto: Hidden Hokage

Hokage's Office

Sarutobi Hiruzen stared into the crystal ball in front of him like a witch gazing into her cauldron.

The translucent orb shifted, revealing the scene from Class 1-A.

Hiruzen had two sons.

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

But his younger son, Sarutobi Asuma, was at the rebellious age, constantly opposing him and causing him much frustration.

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

Kids will be kids.

But competition brought motivation.

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

With Yorin in the mix, perhaps his unruly son would finally start to change.

"Sei," Hiruzen called out.

"Yes," came a voice from the shadows—it was Anbu ninja Sei.

"Bring me all of Yorin's records from the past three days. Right now."

"Understood," Sei replied before vanishing.

Hiruzen placed great hopes on Yorin.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have taken Yorin away from Danzo Shimura.

Now, with Asuma reigniting his fighting spirit, Hiruzen felt he had killed two birds with one stone.

In less than three minutes, Sei returned, wearing a frog mask that left only her short hair visible.

Hiruzen took the file and flipped through it, his brow furrowing as expected.

It was no surprise—Danzo hadn't completely given up. Fortunately, there had been no incidents.

As he read further, a smile spread across his face.

He's a hardworking, good kid.

A knock at the door interrupted him.

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

The door opened to reveal a blond youth.

"Minato," Hiruzen greeted, his gaze sharpening.

"What's the matter? Did something happen with Kushina?"

Kushina Uzumaki was the Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails, the most powerful of the tailed beasts.

Being a Jinchūriki meant bearing a village's ultimate weapon, but it also came with the risk of losing control or being targeted by enemy villages.

Recently, the Hidden Cloud had even attempted to kidnap Kushina.

If not for Minato Namikaze, Konoha would have permanently lost its Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.

"She slipped out of the barrier again today," Minato said with an apologetic smile.

"She used her sealing techniques to immobilize her two Anbu guards."

"Minato, I know how much you care for Kushina, but the Nine-Tails is no trivial matter. You can't let her act recklessly," Hiruzen admonished, exhaling smoke.

"I understand!" Minato's expression turned serious.

"No need to be so tense," Hiruzen said with a laugh.

"Now that you've mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, I doubt Kushina will ever be kidnapped again."

The Flying Thunder God Technique was a space-time ninjutsu that allowed instant teleportation to marked locations.

With Kushina marked, Minato could appear by her side no matter the distance.

From this moment on, Minato was undoubtedly the fastest man in the ninja world.

Back in Class 1-A.

Yorin's eye twitched.

Why do ninjas need to learn math?

A problem involving the parabolic trajectory of a kunai stared back at him.

Sure, I get it, but does this help against Susano'o? What's next—taking on Danzo with a kunai?

A commotion broke out in the classroom.

Looking up, Yorin saw a group of students heading outside, led by Kakashi Hatake and Obito Uchiha.

"Obito's challenging Kakashi again," Shizune said, shaking her head.

"I've lost count of how many times I've seen this since school started."

"Who wins?" Yorin asked casually.

"Kakashi, every single time. He's a certified genius," Shizune replied matter-of-factly.

Yorin nodded.

In just three days, he'd already noticed Kakashi's immense popularity—akin to Sasuke Uchiha's in the original story.

Read more, admire the Uchiha less.

As Yorin glanced outside, Obito had already lost. Kakashi hadn't even needed to lift a finger.

Obito's attempt at Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique had burned his throat, leaving him coughing violently as if he might hack up a lung.

But despite the pain, Obito felt a strange happiness—Rin Nohara was tending to him with care.

Gentle gestures often led to illusions—like believing someone liked you.

Unfortunately, destiny's gifts were already priced in the shadows.

Back home after school, Yorin trained with kunai and shuriken after dinner.

Unlike before, Kurenai joined him this time.

A week flew by.

Yorin integrated into the class, meeting all his peers.

Beyond notable characters like Kakashi and Asuma, there was Mizuki—a minor character who would later tempt Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals, inadvertently gifting him the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Sunday Morning

Yorin threw a kunai, which landed squarely on a wooden post.

A string of text appeared in his vision, and he sighed in relief.

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

Trigger Condition: Achieve basic proficiency with shuriken and kunai throwing.

Effect: Increases arm strength by 10%; guarantees hits on stationary targets within 100 meters.

Note: Can be combined with the E-Rank perk "Seven Ninja Tools" to form the D-Rank perk "Ninja Tool Mastery."

Clenching his fist, Yorin felt a subtle surge of strength.

It wasn't much, but it was real progress.

Shaking off the thought, Yorin focused on the new perk in his system.

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

Trigger Condition: Master all seven ninja tools.

Current Progress: 10%.

So shuriken and kunai count toward this, but I still need to learn five more tools?

It made sense that the difficulty was higher, as it led to a D-Rank perk.

Picking up the scattered kunai and shuriken, Yorin prepared to leave.

Having already informed Mahiru that he'd be visiting the orphanage, his real destination was the Hidden Cloud spy meeting.