After the establishment of the Ninja Academy, the original Konoha Academy was no longer in use.
Few people visit it now, only those who received their education there, like Fumori Masaki, still come to reminisce about the past.
This time, Fumori Masaki and Tobirama once again arrived at the place where they first studied.
Looking at the academy, which was deserted but not dilapidated, Tobirama couldn't help but smile.
"It seems you come here every now and then, but I haven't been here in a long time.
As a teacher, I'm not even as good as you in this regard, which is truly shameful," Tobirama said, bending down to pull out a weed from the ground.
"Teacher is busy after all, unlike me, who sometimes has a lot of free time," Fumori Masaki said.
"You know it, Koharu and Homura have told me more than once," Tobirama glanced at Fumori Masaki.
"Although there are understandable reasons, you should also find some areas where you can contribute."
"Yes, yes," Fumori Masaki let out a soft "uh" and chuckled evasively.
As they spoke, the two entered their old training ground.
It still retained its past appearance, with traces left on the wooden stakes from shuriken practice.
Tobirama walked to the center, turned to face Fumori Masaki, and said, "Alright, let me see your current strength."
"Are there any requirements, Teacher Tobirama?" Fumori Masaki asked.
"After all, we still need to focus on the Chunin Exams and can't affect our own condition.
So, this time, we'll adopt a'stop-when-hit' combat style, and..." Tobirama smiled slightly, saying, "It will be your Shadow Clone fighting, not your main body."
"A one-shot battle?" Fumori Masaki immediately understood Tobirama's meaning.
A Shadow Clone is identical to the main body in terms of physique and learned jutsus.
Its only drawback is that a Shadow Clone is formed from chakra, and it will disappear once its chakra loses stability.
And the stability of chakra depends on external impact.
For those with a shallow understanding of Shadow Clones, a heavy blow can make the clone disappear.
However, for those with a deep understanding, a Shadow Clone can withstand fatal injuries similar to a normal person before disappearing.
For Fumori Masaki and Tobirama, they had long mastered the method of making a Shadow Clone disappear with a single strike.
"Are you scared?" Tobirama's face held a smile.
"Or are you saying you don't even have the confidence to dodge a single blow?"
"How could that be, Teacher Tobirama? You should also be careful.
It might turn out that you're the one who can't dodge my attack," Fumori Masaki retorted with a smile.
"Then I look forward to that outcome."
Tobirama then formed the Shadow Clone hand sign with Fumori Masaki.
Once the two Shadow Clones appeared in the arena, the two main bodies retreated to the side, and the Shadow Clones in the arena began their duel.
From the clone's perspective—
"Take this, Masahiko," Tobirama warned, then immediately clasped his hands together.
A massive current of water immediately swirled around him, shielding his entire body.
The water rose higher and higher, finally pouring down like a waterfall.
Fumori Masaki didn't draw the Kazekiri; instead, he plunged its staff-like form into the ground, injecting wind-style chakra.
A powerful air pressure expanded from the Kazekiri's center, blocking the incoming impact like a barrier, sending large amounts of water flowing to both sides.
Without looking back, Fumori Masaki immediately pulled out the Kazekiri and swung it behind him, splitting the kunai thrown by Tobirama, who had ridden the water current, in two.
He didn't have time to sheath his sword; instead, he flung out the staff-like scabbard.
Because just then, Tobirama used the Flying Raijin Jutsu marked on the broken kunai to teleport to the other side, and at this moment, the scabbard was flung over.
Tobirama, who was about to launch an attack, quickly dodged.
At the same time, he spat out water needles like a gentle drizzle from his mouth.
This Water Release ninjutsu called "Heaven's Tears" was most unexpected.
Fortunately, Fumori Masaki had already sensed an unusual chakra gathering in Tobirama's throat, and he used the path of sheathing his sword to block the attack.
Fumori Masaki leaped backward, aiming the Kazekiri at Tobirama.
The chakra bound to the surface of the Kazekiri was rapidly released, and a surge of water suddenly erupted in front of Tobirama, forming a wall to block the impact of the Wind Release.
Because Wind Reversal was not an ordinary cut, but focused on impact and pressure, Tobirama clearly knew this.
The Water Formation Wall was not torn apart, but was compressed and spread out, once again making Tobirama disappear.
The battle had only lasted a few breaths, yet both sides had already exchanged offense and defense several times.
An ordinary person would have long since lost, but for Fumori Masaki and Tobirama, this was just the beginning.
In his youth, Fumori Masaki received one-on-one instruction from Tobirama, making him very familiar with Tobirama's fighting style.
With his current strength, as long as he didn't make any fatal mistakes, he would basically not be injured by Tobirama.
Tobirama naturally knew this; he was also very clear about Fumori Masaki's abilities.
His high-speed combat style and sharp Wind Release ninjutsu meant that only he, with his use of the Flying Raijin Jutsu and easily transformable Water Release, could create a stalemate.
No one else could sustain a prolonged battle against such a Fumori Masaki.
Fortunately, Tobirama himself possessed a sufficiently vast chakra, allowing him to use powerful Water Release jutsus multiple times in a waterless environment without issue, though he couldn't sustain it for too long.
He was looking forward to what Fumori Masaki had gained from that place.
It wasn't that he felt Fumori Masaki's strength was insufficient; in terms of strength, Fumori Masaki was fully qualified to be Hokage.
Just as now, Tobirama's multiple teleportations using the Flying Raijin didn't cause much trouble for Fumori Masaki, and his Water Release attacks were also blocked by Fumori Masaki's unconventional wind-style nature.
The Wind Release formed by pressure could act similarly to a Water Formation Wall.
This defensive usage of Wind Release, which was previously only an offensive ninjutsu, was appearing for the first time.
To be honest, even if Fumori Masaki had no new tricks, Tobirama couldn't do anything to him.
Ninjutsu aside, taijutsu was even less likely to compare to Fumori Masaki, who was young, strong, and had a physique that surpassed ordinary people due to his Sage Mode.
As for genjutsu, it also had no effect on Fumori Masaki.
The key to genjutsu is to infiltrate one's yin-release chakra into the opponent's body, causing chakra disruption and thus activating the genjutsu.
However, Fumori Masaki's chakra was not ordinary; it was Sage Mode chakra, a triple combination of physical strength, spiritual strength, and natural energy.
This tripartite structure made his chakra stability beyond imagination, and ordinary genjutsu simply couldn't shake that rock-solid chakra structure.
In other words, Fumori Masaki's abilities were now on par with Tobirama's in all aspects.
Without using any special forbidden jutsus, Tobirama truly had no recourse, and Fumori Masaki also showed no unusual movements, merely repelling Tobirama's attacks, with no obvious enthusiasm for offense.
If this continued, the result might be Tobirama's Shadow Clone disappearing due to excessive chakra consumption.
Fortunately, Fumori Masaki didn't keep Tobirama waiting.
His subsequent performance surprised Tobirama.
Just as Tobirama once again used the Flying Raijin Jutsu to teleport next to Fumori Masaki, he was, as before, forced back by Fumori Masaki, who had already anticipated him.
This time, in addition to the usual Wind Release attack, there was also an impact of an invisible force.
Tobirama easily dodged the Wind Release attack, but he couldn't evade the hidden impact.
He knew this was the impact of natural energy.
In the use of Sage Art, there seemed to be such a technique that extended the attack range.
However, a pure power impact had limited power, only capable of delivering a neck-breaking effect at close range.
At this distance, it couldn't cause enough damage to Tobirama.
Because Tobirama couldn't sense natural energy, he always maintained a cautious distance from Fumori Masaki, only launching a swift strike during the opponent's reaction time.
This was the first time Tobirama had encountered Fumori Masaki's natural energy impact.
He originally thought it would at most cause him some pain, and then he could use the Flying Raijin to teleport away.
However, when the seemingly ordinary power impact reached him, it suddenly became sharp.
The instantaneously increased penetrating power immediately exceeded the balance point of chakra stability, and thus, Tobirama's Shadow Clone immediately disappeared.
"This is..." Tobirama, as the main body, also couldn't feel natural energy, but the sensation transmitted from the Shadow Clone allowed him to understand the situation at the time.
He looked at Fumori Masaki and asked, "Is this the new power you've mastered?"
"Yes," Fumori Masaki dispelled his Shadow Clone and said, "There, I somewhat understood the difference between natural energy and chakra.
Although I still can't directly convert natural energy into chakra, I have mastered a method to apply nature transformation abilities to pure natural energy."
"Applying nature transformation to natural energy?" Tobirama couldn't help but be surprised.
Even his elder brother, who also mastered Sage Art, had never possessed such an ability.
Recalling the attack he had just endured, Tobirama said thoughtfully, "I see, so that was the nature transformation of wind-style chakra?"
"Yes, but it's still not very mature.
The effect of nature transformation is limited.
I don't know if this is as far as it can go, or if there's still room for improvement," Fumori Masaki said.
"If the nature of the power were closer to chakra, nature transformation should be more convenient.
Indeed, even if natural energy and chakra can be converted, their essences are still different."
"Even so, there's still room for improvement," Tobirama said with satisfaction.
"Masahiko, your ninjutsu techniques are now very close to mine, and the physical enhancements brought by Sage Mode have surpassed me.
If it were just a duel, nine times out of ten, I would be the one to lose."
"But in a life-or-death battle, that wouldn't necessarily be the case, Teacher," Fumori Masaki said.
"Hmph, of course not." Tobirama was unwilling to admit in front of his student that he was truly incapable.
Moreover, he genuinely felt that in a life-or-death battle, he still had a chance to win.
A ninja's victory is never solely determined by strength.
Because of their battle, the training ground was left in ruins.
Fumori Masaki and Tobirama began to tidy it up, making it cleaner.
While working, Tobirama said, "Masahiko, the Hokage is a leader trusted by the entire village.
First and foremost, they must possess sufficient strength to earn the respect of their subordinates.
However, as Hokage, one cannot rely solely on power; one must also understand how to govern the village with wisdom."
"Back when Konoha Village was established, my brother believed that the Hokage should not be an existence hidden in the shadows like traditional ninjas, but rather an existence that stands before everyone, like the sun.
Therefore, he carved the Hokage's face into the rock wall for everyone to see.
You must understand what kind of attitude a Hokage, as a beacon of light, should have towards the people of the village."
"It is often rumored that I harbor ill will towards the Uchiha clan and restrict them at every turn.
Indeed, Tobirama Senju has the right, and perhaps even the inclination, to despise the Uchiha clan.
But! The person who is the Second Hokage must never despise the Uchiha clan, but rather turn them into an asset."
"Towards one's own family, the Hokage should warm them like the sun, but towards those who betray the family and those who lurk like hungry tigers, they should be like the bitter winter, making them feel a bone-chilling cold."
Tobirama rambled on, imparting his insights as Hokage over the years to Fumori Masaki.
Fumori Masaki listened attentively.
After the training ground was tidied up, Tobirama finally stopped.
He looked at the training ground before him and said, "Masahiko, I believe you won't disappoint me.
Consider this a kind reminder from an old man."
"Yes, Teacher," Fumori Masaki nodded solemnly.
After a moment of silence, Tobirama slowly said, "Let's go back.
There's still a lot to do.
The second exam should be starting soon, I suppose.
As a supervisor, hurry back to your post."
Fumori Masaki agreed, then bid farewell to Tobirama and left the Konoha Academy.
Tobirama looked back in the direction Fumori Masaki had left, not rushing away.
Instead, he slowly walked through the Konoha Academy.
In that familiar classroom, it seemed as though he could still see the young students studying.
Tobirama recalled the first lesson, when Fumori Masaki's performance stood out from the others.
That was when he truly noticed Fumori Masaki.
In the past, his elder brother had adopted this orphan from the ruined Kazamori clan.
At that time, Fumori Masaki was hot-blooded and impulsive, completely unlike a traditional ninja.
Tobirama didn't dislike him, but he didn't think he could become a formidable ninja.
Eight years later, Tobirama changed his mind.
The once fiery Fumori Masaki became calm and composed after an inexplicable high fever, and he even attained the Sage Mode, which ordinary people couldn't grasp.
According to his elder brother, Sage Mode primarily emphasizes tranquility and unity with nature.
Perhaps this was why Fumori Masaki became calm.
Thinking carefully, the unexpected incident Fumori Masaki experienced that day might have been a good thing for his future.
"What a lucky kid," Tobirama said, looking at Fumori Masaki's old seat, and smiled softly.
"However, this is also the village's good fortune."