[Chapter Size: 2400 Words.]
Third Person POV
Konoha, 43.
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At the training field, Minato watched the first children begin forming their hand seals before launching their jutsus, one after another, each one had to demonstrate mastery over the D-rank jutsu that Minato had assigned.
They tried, but most were not so lucky. It was still difficult to control chakra, when they did not have so much training in it.
Minato could not help comparing that class to his own when he was a student as well. The current class was far behind, even with so many names that would become famous in Konoha in the future. Compared to the Elite Class project that Konoha had created in his time at the academy, the performance of Kakashi's former class was inferior.
Minato did not say that just because he had been the prodigy who achieved the highest score ever recorded at the Academy, but because the village's incentive was much smaller for this current class.
He knew that the Elite Class had been an investment that Konoha made at that time, when tensions were rising before the Second Shinobi World War. The Third Hokage himself had invested in it to the point of creating prodigies to protect Konoha, he was not wrong after all.
In the original timeline, there had been nothing like that, but probably, due to the presence of Tsuna, as the heir of the Senju clan and of three other Uchiha, Hyuga, Jinchūriki, in addition to all kinds of students who achieved high performance in the initial tests — including Minato himself, who obtained good results in the exams to enter the Academy, he was not among the top at that time, but enough to stand out — Then the project was created.
After all, every student who showed potential had a chance to enter the elite program. They even checked chakra nature.
Some students of this generation even had the ability to enter Minato's class. Kurenai and Asuma, as well as even Guy, if he had tried harder, could have managed to enter the class of which Minato, the two Hyūga brothers, Hiashi and Hizashi; the Ino-Shika-Chō trio; the two talented Uchiha who caught Madara's attention; Kiba's mother; and other famous names were part. Obviously, also his 4 wives.
He found it strange that Hiruzen, before leaving office, had not invested more in that. After all, the Elite Class was a tremendous success. Everyone stood out from the Second War until this moment. Few were below the level of a common jōnin, and although there was nothing as shocking as Minato himself and his companions, who had made their names in the ninja world, still the class's average result was extremely high. Most of the ninjas who participated became jōnin, many of them elite jōnin.
Minato wanted to see that again. That was why he himself had introduced chakra paper, to check each person's element from the very beginning, knowing that this class was lacking when it came to chakra control.
He knew the kind of deficiency Naruto would have in the future. It made no sense that the new genin of the Leaf still did not learn to walk on trees and on water, their element and even some jutsus that the academy should give them... something that Minato's Elite Class had in his time.
But what Minato found was none of that. He would change it. He would create a gigantic foundation of new talents for Konoha, and the reform would come from the lowest base. That was why he would not be as naive as the Third Hokage had been.
If Naruto had had proper guidance from the beginning, he would have gone through far fewer hardships than he faced in his original life. If he had had someone to teach him early on, many things would have been different.
It made no sense for the Academy itself not to teach basic chakra control, element discovery and even more practical fundamentals. The three basic jutsus together were almost useless on the battlefield. That was preparing children for war and sending them to the front line. Wasn't that cruel?
Even in times of peace, they were not properly prepared to become ninjas. What kind of shinobi force do you want to create for your village if you do not even strengthen the roots of future ninjas?
That was why he was so determined to come to the Academy. He wanted to improve those children. He wanted to understand the system and change it himself. Chūnin were suitable teachers, but they were also limited. Minato wanted to place jōnin, even if only temporarily for about a month or even weeks, just to teach them and pass on a higher-level foundation of Konoha before their own teachers did.
That had been made clear with the Aburame teacher, who was still a chūnin when he began teaching, even though he already possessed jōnin-level ability. It was only a matter of time until he received the promotion. Even so, the one who taught the Elite Class had been a true jōnin at that time.
Now, Minato put that thought aside. He would analyze Konoha's educational system later. If he were to become Hokage, that would be one of his first measures. But he would leave that for later. For now, he had his students to guide, and they needed him.
A boy who was clearly the son of civilians caught his attention. He was clumsy, but there was effort there. That boy could reach the level of jōnin one day. Even if it were a low level, it would still be possible. In terms of strength, perhaps in twenty years.
Minato could already classify each of the children in front of him. Obviously, there were variables, but he could see the history of chakra, effort and talent, which basically was the trio of conditions he defined as how far a person could go.
The boy began to perform the jutsu. He did not have much talent, but the effort made up for it. Minato could see the injured hands, a clear sign of intense training in the past few days.
When he finally completed the Earth Release jutsu, the ground in front of him, within a ten-meter diameter, began to turn rubbery, moving up and down. It was a basic jutsu, but that was the introduction to elemental techniques for those children.
It was no wonder that all the students were fascinated when he began distributing elemental jutsus to everyone, knowing that it was extremely difficult and that, normally, only clan children had access to that kind of teaching.
That increased their enthusiasm even more, and the effort grew especially among those who came from civilian backgrounds.
"That was very good. Let's move on to the next," Minato suggested, clapping for the student, who became a little embarrassed by the praise while also receiving some applause from his classmates.
The next was Obito.
Obito clearly had the chance to reach an Elite Class, but he needed to put in a lot of effort and have good guidance if he wanted to pass. After all, he had not caught Madara's attention in that timeline, nor had he managed to manipulate the powers of Mokuton inserted into his body, much less awaken a Mangekyō as powerful as Kamui. The question was: would Obito be able to accomplish something like that this time?
In any case, Obito stood in the middle of the field, adjusted the goggles on his forehead and smiled before looking at Rin.
"Look at me! See how incredible I am!", he exclaimed.
Rin nodded excitedly, cheering for him. Among the other girls, she was the only one who did that, and it was clearly support more like a sister than anything else.
Obito began completing all the hand seals until he finally conjured his Fire element and spat out a fireball. It was nothing impressive; in fact, it had half the power it should have had. He pushed himself to the limit until the flames completely extinguished, visibly exhausted.
"Well, that's already a start, but you need to train your element even more, Obito," Minato said, clapping.
Even though the flames had not been more impressive than the previous student's Earth jutsu, Minato encouraged him.
Obito, who had been a little discouraged, upon hearing the teacher, managed a better smile. It did not reach his eyes, but it was a satisfied smile.
"Thank you, teacher! Rin, did you see that? I can still push myself further!", he exclaimed, approaching Rin, while she smiled and cheered for him.
Minato then saw Asuma stepping into position. He also chose the Fire element, focused on embers.
The relationship between Minato and the boy was not the best. Asuma looked at him with a certain anger. After all, his father had been brought down because of Minato's actions and plans. While Minato was hailed as a hero by the village, Hiruzen and the Sarutobi family were viewed poorly, along with the clan of the other elders.
Minato did not care. He could perfectly understand why the boy was angry. Any child his age would try to find someone to blame, without understanding what truly lay behind all of it. And Minato knew that children in this world might be taught to kill, but they were still far too naive at that age.
Asuma launched a perfectly formed fireball of embers and ashes. Unlike Obito, the flame was up to three times larger than the one he had released.
"Very good. Excellent control of the element," Minato praised.
The boy did not even smile. Minato knew that Asuma could obtain any jutsu through scrolls in his clan, but he still wanted to test the boy's natural strength.
Asuma looked at Minato with a certain coldness before returning to stand near Kurenai, who began whispering something, telling him to be more respectful toward the teacher.
At the same time, Minato called the next one.
"Rin."
The girl prepared herself despite being clearly nervous, while Obito shouted for her, making a scene. She formed the hand seals and released a torrent of water.
It was not as powerful as Obito's flames, but it was not far behind either. She actually did not have much talent.
It was not as if Minato's original class had been absurdly powerful from the beginning. In fact, it had even been average, even with Kakashi standing out. Minato stopped thinking about it. Obito had only awakened his powers later, and even Kamui was not invincible. If someone had enough knowledge of how his eyes worked, they could defeat him much more easily, just as Minato had done in the original timeline.
Minato watched each of the students complete their jutsus, giving mental grades to each one. He did not need to write anything down; he memorized everything with ease. Even so, he clapped enthusiastically for every student who tried, regardless of the result.
There were three students left. Two Hyūga from the class, from the main house, including a familiar face.
Now it was Guy's turn.
Minato had taught him a Soru technique from the Six Styles of the Navy, something his father had already trained, but had never directly taught his son, considering it inappropriate to pass it on without asking permission.
The boy took the initiative and stepped into the field. Before starting, he stretched a little and positioned his feet on the ground.
He needed to take ten high-speed steps on the ground with momentum, as if it were a teleport.
His classmates watched curiously. Some mocked him, saying that Guy had no talent with elements nor even with the three basic jutsus.
Then he moved.
It was not perfect, far from being an ideal Soru. However, the eyes of the other children widened when Guy appeared on the other side, about ten meters from his starting position.
"Did he teleport?", the children exclaimed.
"Wait… could it be that he learned the same jutsu the teacher is famous for?", another exclaimed, pointing at Minato.
Minato laughed before answering. "No. What he did was a high-speed movement technique. Let me show you."
Minato placed one foot forward and leaned slightly. In the next instant, he disappeared and reappeared about fifty meters away, almost at the fence at the end of the Academy's training field.
A chorus of exclamations echoed among the students, who looked at him in shock.
Minato disappeared again and reappeared exactly where he had been before.
"That was not a teleportation technique. That specific jutsu is mastered only by me and his father. I invented it and passed it on. Now Guy is also learning it," Minato explained.
The students murmured among themselves, looking at Maito Guy with a certain envy. Some even asked for the technique, but unless their bodies were trained, there was no possibility of them learning it, even if they wanted to.
Minato then brought the students back to the classroom and asked them to write a report for the next class, describing the difficulties they were facing when casting the jutsus. It would be an exercise in self-awareness and also a way to give him direct feedback, so that he could better guide them in learning the elements.
Minato watched the children leave. His eyes fell on Obito and Rin.
"Obito," he called. The boy with goggles looked surprised.
"Today's class is not full-day, and I noticed some difficulties of yours with the Fire element. You have potential, but you still need guidance," Minato began.
The boy frowned and lowered his head slightly, embarrassed. Rin also seemed worried, remaining by his side.
"I would like to read your report on the matter, but before that… would you like to accompany me to my house? You as well, Rin. I will help you with the Fire element. My wife can help too, and two of my wives master the Water element. They can give some tips."
Obito and Rin widened their eyes, surprised by the proposal.
"Of course I'd like to go!", Obito shouted immediately.
"Wait, sensei… why are you inviting us?", Rin asked, finding it a bit suspicious.
Minato smiled lightly. He wanted to start familiarizing himself with his future students. Besides, it was either that or dealing with the village's bureaucracy. Sakumo would certainly call him if he noticed that he had nothing to do that afternoon.
Minato preferred not to get involved with politics. Not that day. If he could stay as far away from it as possible, he would.
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