Hiruzen smiled and waved his hand, his face kind as he said, "Could everyone please step back a bit?"
After the onlooking students and parents had retreated, clearing a large open space, Hiruzen began forming hand seals… deliberately slowing down his movements so that Makoto beside him could see clearly.
Seeing those familiar hand seals, Makoto's heart stirred slightly.
The next second, as expected.
Hiruzen parted his lips slightly and shouted:
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Boom!
A massive fireball, as large as a basketball court, erupted from his mouth.
The scorching heat wave instantly swept across the entire playground, as if the temperature had suddenly risen by over ten degrees. The faces of everyone around were reflected red.
This scene left not only newcomers like Tomoya and Utaha, who had only been in the game for two days, but even 'veteran players' like Eriri and Yukino, who had already preliminarily mastered Chakra condensation, completely dumbfounded.
'This... this was genuine Ninjutsu?'
A moment later, the great fireball gradually dissipated, and the playground returned to calm.
Hiruzen turned to look at Makoto, his tone carrying a hint of encouragement: "This is the basic Ninjutsu of Fire Release, the Great Fireball Technique. Since you have Fire Nature Chakra, you should be able to learn this move. How about it, want to give it a try?"
"Th-This is truly... what it means to be called the 'strongest in the entire village'..." Ran murmured softly.
Sonoko pressed her lips together, her eyes shining: "C-Can we learn such a powerful technique too?"
As the second daughter of the Suzuki Family, she had already experienced luxuries that ordinary people couldn't reach in a lifetime. But power like this, even she, the daughter of such a top-tier wealthy family, had never possessed.
And compared to the simple-minded Sonoko, commoner kids like Hachiman thought even further ahead.
He swept his gaze over the players around him, whose eyes were filled with fervor, and his heart couldn't help but sink: 'If all these people mastered such power and returned to the real world...'
As soon as the thought surfaced, he shook his head vigorously.
'Never mind, this wasn't something I could stop anyway.'
Just then, everyone saw Makoto raise his hand and begin mimicking Hiruzen's hand seal gestures just now.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
The reappearance of the massive fireball left everyone speechless.
Hiruzen looked at Makoto, his eyes filled with surprise and joy.
'He learned it in one try?!'
He remembered hearing that Itachi had also successfully performed the Great Fireball Technique after seeing it only once.
'That meant... this child's talent was on par with Itachi's?!'
What was even more shocking were the other players around. Kazuya, Megumi, and other newcomers hadn't even condensed Chakra yet, and yet Makoto had already mastered such a terrifying Ninjutsu.
"I knew it! Makoto is the best!"
Airi was the first to cheer.
Beside her, Marina and Kayoko also showed gentle smiles.
But even more excited than the Aizono mother and daughters was Mrs. Yukinoshita.
This beautiful woman in plain clothes was now clenching her fists tightly, staring at Makoto as if she were a hungry weasel eyeing a fat chicken.
'I knew it! I knew it!'
'Makoto was the one who could lead the Yukinoshita Family to rise to the top in one step!'
Seeing her mother's reaction, Yukino silently pinched the hem of her clothes.
She looked at Makoto's back on the playground and murmured to herself: "I'll catch up soon."
"Makoto, would you be willing to become my disciple?"
Hiruzen suddenly said something astonishing.
As soon as he said this, even the onlooking teachers like Iruka and Mizuki were startled.
Makoto, as a Transmigrator, was also stunned for a moment. This move was indeed unexpected.
But upon careful thinking, it wasn't strange.
After all, the Konoha Elder Council's actions over the past nearly half a century had already squandered most of the legacy left by Hashirama and Tobirama.
Now, in all of Konoha, if you removed the two powerhouses, Kakashi with his Mangekyo and Might Guy with his Eight Gates, the only genuine Kage-level Ninja left was Hiruzen himself.
It can be said that, to squander things so badly, the four members of the Elder Council were truly something else.
Now, with a seedling suddenly appearing whose talent rivaled Itachi's, how could Hiruzen not firmly grasp it?
Makoto didn't hesitate and immediately cupped his hands in salute: "I, Nishikawa Makoto, pays respects to Hiruzen-sensei."
He didn't care how many terrible things Hiruzen and the Konoha Elder Council had done.
What mattered was that this man could give him benefits right now. That was enough.
But then he suddenly remembered something.
Killing the teacher seemed to be a fine tradition of Konoha... he wondered if it would happen to him someday.
Hiruzen smiled so wide that the wrinkles on his face could crush mosquitoes.
At this moment, he almost suspected he was the illegitimate child of the Sage of Six Paths, left behind in the human world.
Even though Konoha's geniuses died off one after another, new ones always emerged.
White Fang died, but the Sannin appeared… the Sannin left, but Namikaze Minato appeared… Namikaze Minato died, but Shisui Uchiha appeared… Uchiha Shisui died, and now Nishikawa Makoto appeared.
Truly… he, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was the chosen one.
It seemed he could serve another twenty years without a problem.
"Congratulations to Hokage-sama on gaining a beloved disciple!"
Iruka was the first to applaud, leading the cheer.
Others quickly snapped out of it, and applause thundered. The players were initially a bit stunned, but seeing the natives around them applauding, they reluctantly joined in.
What was originally supposed to be Makoto's graduation exam had, unexpectedly, turned into a disciple-taking ceremony.
In front of many natives and players, Makoto offered tea to Hiruzen, formally completing the disciple ceremony.
The new players might not have fully understood the weight of the title 'Hokage', but after this day, they understood… the Hokage was the strongest person in this village, even one of the five strongest people in this world.
And now, Makoto had become that person's disciple.
A step to the sky.
These words described it perfectly.
By the time the school bell rang, Makoto was already wearing the forehead protector symbolizing a Konoha Ninja.
That shining forehead protector made all the players even more clearly aware… from this moment on, Makoto was no longer in the same world as them.
Thoughts varied.
Tomoya, Kazuya, and the others gritted their teeth secretly. They wished they could replace him.
Ran, on the other hand, began to worry about her childhood sweetheart in the real world… Kudo Shinichi.
She had heard that Shinichi had joined that special investigation team looking into Makoto.
After witnessing Makoto's power firsthand, she just wanted to hurry back to reality and advise Shinichi: Mind your own business, otherwise... you might not even know how you die.
"Alright, alright, the school bell has already rung. Everyone go back to the classroom! Don't forget, you're still students."
Iruka stepped forward and clapped his hands.
Instantly, all the players except Makoto had to file into the classroom.
Before leaving, Airi and Marina, one on each side, each kissed Makoto on the cheek.
This scene made many male classmates grit their teeth, but to be honest... they were already used to it.
Makoto left the school with the parents, preparing to go to Hiruzen… oh no, to pay a visit to his esteemed 'Hiruzen-sensei'.
"Makoto-kun, do you have time to have dinner together tonight?"
Mrs. Yukinoshita walked up to him, her tone gentle.
Hearing her mother's voice behind her, Yukino's body suddenly trembled. Haruno couldn't help but quietly remark:
"Well... Mother is even more certain about him now."
Hearing this, Hayato's expression became somewhat subtle: "Haruno-nee, you say that..."
The Hayama Family he belonged to had been a subsidiary family of the Yukinoshita Family since the previous generation.
But even calling it a 'family' was an exaggeration. At best, it was an elite household. For generations, they had served as deputies in the Yukinoshita Company, far from being called a 'family'.
And Haruno was the object of Hayato's secret affection.