"Shinichi Chiba, Lord Third is looking for you at the Hokage Building. Get over there right now."
Just as Shinichi was on his way to the vegetable market, a figure wearing a dog-mask suddenly appeared before him, speaking in an entirely commanding tone.
Hearing this, Shinichi instinctively frowned and said, "My lord, I need to let my students know first. Please wait a moment."
With that, Shinichi vanished from the spot in a flash.
"Damn it!" the dog-masked man cursed under his breath, hurriedly giving chase.
...
"Duy-seniors, Lord Third has some business with me, so you don't need to wait for me."
With that, Shinichi vanished in another "whoosh," hurrying toward the Hokage Building.
"Might Duy, where is Shinichi Chiba?"
A few seconds later, the dog-masked man reappeared. Sensing no trace of Shinichi's chakra in the surroundings, he demanded of Might Duy.
Realizing it was someone from the ANBU, Might Duy, who had been upside down picking vegetables, hurriedly flipped himself upright.
"My lord, Teacher Shinichi hasn't done anything wrong, has he?" Might Duy asked cautiously.
Duy was a bit bewildered at the moment. Just now, Shinichi had rushed over, dropped the line "Don't wait for me," and then bolted away in a "whoosh."
A few seconds later, an ANBU agent showed up looking for Shinichi, leading Duy to suspect for a moment that Shinichi might have gotten into trouble.
"Hmph, stop prying into matters that don't concern you. Where is Shinichi Chiba?" the dog-masked man said with a displeased expression.
How dare a lifelong Genin "talk back" to an elite ANBU like me? He really must have a death wish.
Might Duy wasn't bothered by the dog-masked man's tone and respectfully replied, "Teacher Shinichi was just here. He said Lord Third was looking for him, so he headed toward the Hokage Building."
After listening to Might Duy, the dog-masked man pondered for a moment before heading in the direction of the Hokage Building.
"Ah, I hope Teacher Shinichi is alright."
Offering a silent prayer in his heart, Might Duy went back to harvesting greens while doing handstands.
...
In front of the Hokage Building, Shinichi stood quietly, watching ninjas file in and out as he waited for the dog-masked man to catch up.
A few minutes later, the dog-masked man finally arrived tardily, and the moment they met, he couldn't help but sneer.
"Hmph, Shinichi Chiba, do you have any idea what you've just done?"
"You've resisted an assignment given to you by Lord Hokage. Just wait until you get thrown into the Konoha dungeon."
With that, the dog-masked man strode into the Hokage Building first.
The surrounding ninjas seemed to recognize the dog-masked man, and upon hearing his arrogant words, a few couldn't help but scoff.
"Flaunting borrowed power again. Hmph, last time our squad was just a few minutes late for a mission, and he failed our entire team right away."
"If he weren't from the Sarutobi clan, I'd beat him to a pulp."
"Seriously, exactly. Last time he came to brief us on a mission, his attitude was as arrogant as they come. If it weren't for..."
Hearing the whispers of the surrounding ninjas, Shinichi paid them no mind and followed the dog-masked man into the building.
After passing through several checkpoints, Shinichi successfully arrived at the Hokage's Office.
He knocked on the door and heard a voice from inside say, "Come in."
"Lord Third!"
"Ah, it's Shinichi! Is there anything you're not used to while teaching your students?"
Seeing Shinichi arrive, Sarutobi Hiruzen put aside the paperwork in his hands and broke into a warm smile.
"Thank you for your concern, Lord Third. The students are all very well-behaved, and with the guidance of the seniors at the Academy, I've settled in quite fine."
"Good, getting used to it is what matters. I hear you've been spending a lot of time with Uchiha Shisui lately. Is there anything special about this boy?"
Hearing Sarutobi Hiruzen's question, Shinichi thought for a moment before replying, "There isn't really anything particularly unusual about Shisui; he simply has exceptional talent."
Hearing the phrase "exceptional talent," Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't think much of it.
There were simply too many people with great talent in Konoha. To look no further: among the Sannin there was Orochimaru, and the White Fang of Konoha was Hatake Kakashi's father Sakumo; more recently, there were Namikaze Minato and Hatake Kakashi. All of these were geniuses.
"You're just a Chunin—can a genius in your eyes really compare to those people?"
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally revealed the reason he had called for Shinichi.
"Shinichi, I need you to promote the Will of Fire to all the children at the Ninja Academy. I'll have a word with Ishikawa shortly so he can assist you with this task."
Hearing this, Shinichi was rendered momentarily speechless. They wanted him to brainwash a bunch of kids and run a pyramid scheme?
"What a truly exceptional leader of Konoha!"
Though he thought this to himself, his reply out loud was:
"Thank you for your trust, Lord Third, but I'm afraid my abilities aren't up to such a heavy responsibility. Perhaps it would be better to have Director Ishikawa take charge of this matter; I'm afraid I'll mess it up."
Seeing Shinichi being so modest, Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with satisfaction and continued:
"Shinichi, don't try to shirk this. Ishikawa has praised you to me multiple times. We all believe in you."
"Well then, thank you for your trust, Lord Third." Realizing he couldn't refuse, Shinichi had no choice but to agree.
"It is precisely because of the selfless dedication and guidance of teachers like you that Konoha can grow ever stronger!"
Ugh. Hearing this, Shinichi didn't even know how to respond. Why did it suddenly turn into an emphasis on selfless dedication? If you hadn't forced this assignment on me, I wouldn't be doing something so devoid of virtue.
"Lord Third, I'll take my leave now to get some preparation work done."
"Very well, go ahead. If you need any help, just speak with Ishikawa. He will certainly assist you."
"Thank you for your trust, Lord Third," Shinichi said in a tone of utmost reverence.
With that, Shinichi turned and left the Hokage's Office.
Watching Shinichi depart, Sarutobi Hiruzen let his smile fade, raised his head to look up at the Hokage Monument, and muttered to himself:
"A storm is coming... Teacher, I hope you can understand my actions from down below."
With that, he bent his head and went back to work.
Leaving the Hokage Building, Shinichi hurried back toward Might Duy's home.
As for the task Sarutobi Hiruzen had assigned him, Shinichi naturally forgot about it the moment he turned around.
The moment he stepped into Might Duy's yard, he saw several people busy with their own routines.
Might Duy and Might Guy were doing push-ups, while Shisui sat off to the side, absorbed in reading the notes Shinichi had given him.
This heartwarming scene made Shinichi feel as though his earlier irritation had vanished without a trace.
Seeing Shinichi arrive, everyone paused what they were doing and called out.
"Teacher Shinichi!" "Teacher Shinichi!"
"Teacher!"
"You're back."
Seeing everyone run over to welcome him, Shinichi felt a faint warmth in his heart, though he still said:
"Didn't I tell you not to wait? There really was nothing much. Let's go inside and eat."
The midday sun shone down upon them, stretching their shadows long and straight.