Early the next morning, the sun clocked in right on time.
Up on the roof, Saiki sat cross-legged facing the rising sun, maintaining his daily breathing exercises.
With every breath, warm, rhythmic currents were drawn into Saiki's body, circulating through his meridians, nourishing every single cell in his body, before finally converging in the Qi Sea beneath his navel.
For three solid years, he had persisted in this routine every single day. If someone with the Byakugan's x-ray vision were to look, they would discover a dense, high-quality mass of chakra accumulated in Saiki's Dantian, swirling heavily like a thick mist.
Saiki himself didn't fully understand it. After he first managed to refine chakra, he noticed a sensation like a small mouse scurrying rapidly through his meridian pathways.
He then tried to consciously manipulate this energy and felt he could absorb a certain essence from the world around him. Day after day, this energy grew and matured until, currently, it had accumulated into a vast sea of mist within his core.
In truth, Saiki felt like he was practicing Immortal Cultivation, though he wasn't entirely sure if this world actually possessed concepts like "Spiritual Qi" or "Lunar/Solar Essence"; he simply followed his raw instincts and continued his breathing exercises.
Whether the "Natural Energy" of the Shinobi world was the equivalent of "Spiritual Qi," Saiki couldn't say for certain.
The only thing Saiki knew for a fact was that no matter how many Ninjutsu he cast, he only ever consumed his actively refined chakra.
This "Breath" he had cultivated for three years simply continued to grow within his Qi Sea—dense, misty, and utterly inexhaustible!
It felt like a continuous, passive accumulation, quietly waiting for the day when sheer quantity would trigger a qualitative transformation and induce some profound change.
Though he didn't know what tangible benefits it would ultimately bring, Saiki spent half an hour every morning and before bed specifically breathing to expand this internal energy.
Whoosh!
Exhaling a long, deep breath of turbid air, Saiki felt incredibly refreshed and mentally invigorated.
He clenched his fists. His physical body didn't seem to have received any massive, immediate reinforcement, but the daily cultivation kept his mind sharp and energetic, so he didn't consider it a loss.
With a light push of his hands, Saiki leaped directly off the roof. A drop of seven or eight meters was absolutely nothing to Saiki's toughened body; even ordinary Genin spent their days jumping around from roof to roof like that.
"Shizune, are you ready?"
Walking toward the kitchen, he found Shizune packing their lunches for the day.
Naturally, Saiki was the head chef of the household; Shizune merely acted as his sous-chef. The fact that his Flower Clones could eat, train, and even use the bathroom saved Saiki a massive amount of personal time.
"Mm, all set!"
Shizune walked out carrying one large and one small bento box. Saiki took the boxes from her hands and gave her head a playful, affectionate rub.
"Off to class, then. We don't want to be late."
"Mm!"
Shizune nodded obediently before asking, "Lady Tsunade has been gone for days now. I wonder when she'll finally be back?"
After a moment's thought, Saiki replied, "Mm, probably within the next day or two!"
...
In the Hidden Leaf Village, there are two female ninja you absolutely do not want to provoke.
One is the granddaughter of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. She is a legendary super-healer with massive breasts, a crippling gambling addiction, and a streak of bad luck that ensures she loses every single bet. That is Tsunade.
The other has a slightly lower social status compared to Tsunade, but possesses a level of sheer destructiveness and brutality that far exceeds hers. Known as the "Red Hot-Blooded Habanero," she is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki: Kushina Uzumaki.
Today, just like any other normal day, the Hokage office was nearly demolished.
Only after a series of desperate compromises was the building saved from the very real risk of being torn down. Watching Kushina leave—walking like a literal monster, making the entire building tremble with every step she took, her crimson hair fluttering wildly like the tentacles of an angry octopus, projecting a clear "don't mess with me" aura—the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
He had successfully stopped Kushina from executing her idea to leave the village, but figuring out how to assign her "toys" (a Genin team) that could burn off her boundless, violent energy without putting the Jinchuriki at risk had become a massive headache.
To solve this, Hiruzen had to dedicate time to finding new playmates for her.
He meticulously sifted through the files of the upcoming graduating class one by one. Finally, Hiruzen pulled out three specific profile cards.
Shizune: The niece of Tsunade's late boyfriend, Dan Kato. Her background was as immaculately clean and trustworthy as it gets.
Genhai: A commoner, but his family had settled in Konoha since its very founding. His father died on the Hidden Sand front during the Second Great Ninja War. This background had absolutely no issues either.
Saiki Shiroya: A war orphan from the Hidden Rain front. He had thoroughly passed Anbu observation and currently resided in Tsunade's home. His aptitude as a ninja was excellent.
This background didn't present any major problems either; Konoha took in countless war orphans every single year, not to mention this one was personally brought back and kept close by Tsunade herself.
The only thing that deeply dissatisfied Hiruzen was the fact that Saiki's grades in The Will of Fire and Shinobi and Bonds—arguably the most important courses for any Academy student—were hovering dangerously close to the failing line. What the hell was that about?
If a student possessed great Ninjutsu talent but poor academic grades overall, that was completely understandable. There were plenty of historical precedents for that.
But this kid had perfect scores in highly complex subjects like Advanced Mathematics, Practical Applications of Parabolic Physics, and Practical Applications of Chemistry. Yet, he was telling Hiruzen that he couldn't pass The Will of Fire—a subject that literally only required basic rote memorization to score high? This indicated a severe, fundamental problem with the boy's ideology.
Out on the Academy training grounds, preparing for his practical combat exam, Saiki had absolutely no idea his minor "rebellion" had caught Hiruzen's critical eye.
He wanted to stay hidden, yet he couldn't bring himself to properly ace The Will of Fire. Doing so made him feel like he was bootlicking Hiruzen, which was indeed a bit childish and rebellious—much like how a high schooler might despise mandatory political science classes.
Having read far too many conspiracy theories in his past life—witnessing the decline of the Senju clan, the impending Uchiha massacre, and the insatiable greed for power displayed by the Konoha Council—Saiki felt that Hiruzen and his cronies were nothing more than two-faced, dark-hearted hypocrites.
Saiki had the kind of rebellious personality where, if he disliked someone, he didn't even want to pretend to hide it on the surface. Caught between the need to lay low and the desire to not suck up to them, Saiki felt quite conflicted internally.
Dammit, I've been reincarnated for a second life, and I still have to compromise and swallow my pride? If I can't afford to provoke them, can't I at least hide from them?! If push comes to shove, I'll just lay my cards on the table.
Of course, with a personality like his, he was never destined to achieve any grand, world-shaking ambitions. Fortunately, Saiki didn't care about concepts like power or fame anyway. He just wanted to make good money, live a comfortable life, and avoid getting tangled up in Konoha's toxic web of nepotism and politics.
In a sense, even though he was technically part of that nepotism through Tsunade, Saiki only felt he owed a debt to her; he certainly didn't owe Konoha a damn thing.
To avoid falling victim to various conspiracies and schemes, he needed to work hard to become stronger. In the face of absolute, crushing power, petty schemes and tricks were completely useless.
Because of this, he had always kept his profile as low as possible. Aside from keeping the young girls entertained, he never did anything to draw public attention. Even in practical combat exams, he suppressed his scores to the absolute minimum required.
Just as Hiruzen was pondering whether a person like Saiki was truly suitable to become Kushina's student, there was another knock on the office door.
"Enter!"
A woman walked in. She had a long blonde ponytail, a violet diamond mark on her forehead, and a stunningly beautiful face. Her massive, prominent breasts were barely contained by her dark green robe, which had a giant character for "Gamble" emblazoned on the back.
"Teacher Sarutobi."
"Tsunade? When did you get back?"
Hiruzen, who had been frowning in thought, looked up and was momentarily startled to see her.
"I just got back, so I came over to report in!"
Lacking any of the warmth typical between a master and student, Tsunade responded coldly. She had long since been utterly disappointed with Konoha; if it weren't for Shizune and Saiki not having graduated yet, Tsunade would have left the village ages ago.
Seeing Tsunade give him the cold shoulder, Hiruzen didn't mind it and continued asking, "Did things go smoothly?"
"Mm, no problems."
"By the way, did you manage to extract any intel from that Sand Ninja you killed in the back mountains last night?"
Since she had just "arrived," Hiruzen logically assumed she was the one who had returned last night.
Seeing Tsunade had reminded Hiruzen of the infiltration report regarding the Sand scout he had read that morning.
Currently, border frictions between the nations were escalating violently. He had an endless mountain of issues to deal with every day, leaving him completely overwhelmed. Coupled with Kushina's tantrum just moments ago, he had completely forgotten about the incident.
"The back mountains? Killing a Sand Ninja?"
Hearing those words, although she didn't know exactly what happened, Tsunade immediately guessed that it was likely Saiki's doing. After all, that kid frequently went to the back mountains to train until late at night.
She knew exactly what kind of personality Saiki had. Having watched him grow over the past three years, she knew that despite working incredibly hard and possessing terrifying talent—to the point where, at nineteen, if she wasn't serious, even she couldn't easily handle him.
Yet his performance at the Academy was strictly average. He hadn't replicated the "genius" reputation of the White Fang's son, Kakashi Hatake, who became famous far and wide by graduating at five and becoming a Chunin at six.
In Saiki, Tsunade saw only one defining philosophy: the word "苟" (Gǒu - to play it safe/lay low).
Having lived together for so long, they had developed genuine affection. Since her own brother and Dan Kato had both died due to the war, Tsunade didn't feel there was anything wrong with Saiki choosing to play it safe.
Pausing for a moment, Tsunade countered smoothly, "Oh, that! Last night I was calling my little brat in for dinner, so I just swatted the guy. Didn't you guys manage to extract any intel from him?"
Hiruzen didn't suspect a thing from Tsunade's response.
"It's already been handed over to the Anbu for processing."
Looking back at the profile cards on his desk, Hiruzen asked, "What do you think about having Shizune and Saiki Shiroya become Kushina's students? Kushina has been coming here to throw a fit every single day lately..."
At the mention of Kushina, Hiruzen let out a helpless, weary sigh.
Originally, Tsunade had other matters to attend to, but because Saiki and Shizune were graduating these few days, she had rushed back specifically for them.
Hearing Hiruzen suggest making Saiki and Shizune Kushina's students, and thinking of Saiki's calm, pragmatic personality clashing with Kushina's explosive, chaotic nature, a mischievous, wicked grin instantly spread across Tsunade's face.
That brat Saiki was always roasting her; Tsunade had been holding onto a belly full of grievances!
To think he would end up with Kushina—imagining Saiki being tormented by Kushina made Tsunade incredibly happy.
"Ah, no problem at all!" Tsunade agreed with absolute enthusiasm.
Seeing Tsunade agree so readily, Hiruzen still asked one last clarifying question: "That kid, Saiki Shiroya, there are no issues with him, right?"
Hearing this, Tsunade's face instantly darkened. "He's the person I brought back. If you don't trust him, Teacher Sarutobi, you are perfectly free to just pick someone else."
Currently preparing for his practical combat exam and eagerly anticipating which team he would be assigned to, Saiki had absolutely no idea that his fate had already been sealed. The person he was about to face was "The Red Hot-Blooded Habanero of Konoha!"