Chapter 43: Students

Konoha

Hokage's Office

At the same time that the graduation was going on, a meeting was happening inside the Hokage's office to decide the paths that the students would go on after their graduations.

Tobirama stood behind his desk, and standing in front of him were 5 of his 6 students.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Kagami Uchiha, Torifu Akimich, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane all stood around the desk, with them all standing at attention to show respect to the man they called sensei. The only one not present was Danzo, who repeatedly stated his desire to not become a jonin sensei as he felt it didn't fit him.

"Have you all decided on which students you would wish to have? If so, tell me the students you want and why you believe they would be the best combination. Afterward, I will decide if any alterations need to be made." Tobirama said.

The first to respond was Torifu as he said "I request Inoka Yamanaka, Shikai Nara, and Choma Akimichi. I believe we can help them develop the Ino-Shika-Cho formations to a higher extent than anyone before them. They already have a high level of teamwork and can work even better if they learn to develop each other's strengths and weaknesses."

Tobirama nodded before turning towards Kagami and asking "And what about you Kagami?"

"I would like Kenta Uchiha, Himichi Hyuga, and Akari Sarutobi. Kenta and Akari already have a small level of teamwork and have great cooperation with each other. And even though Himichi doesn't cooperate with them often, I believe he will also be a great benefit to the team. Finally, I can see the Will of Fire in Kenta, and I believe he can overlook the boundaries of a clan, the same way I did." Kagami said with a smile.

Tobirama seemed surprised at Kagami's words before he smiled and turned toward Homura and asked "Have you made your decision as well, Homura?"

"Yes sensei, I request Sakumo Hatake, Might Duy, and Dan Kato. All three of them excel in their respective departments of ninjutsu, kenjutsu, and taijutsu. And even though Duy is unable to use any ninjutsu, his strength has increased with him using the 8 Gates Technique. Dan also has a special talent for Yin Release that is unexplored, while Sakumo has an extreme talent for Lightning Release and kenjutsu. They would be a great assault team that is able to take down any enemy." Homura said.

Tobirama thought about it for a second, and then agreed. He knew the strengths of many of the children due to both Yoma giving him reports as well as him giving them the jutsu that they learned.

"What about you, Koharu?" Tobirama asked his female student.

"I request Shinku Yuhi, Hiruko, and Shiro Aburame. I believe they could be great at intelligence gathering and espionage due to Shinku's genjutsu and Shiro insects. Hiruko can be a great asset in a fight if they are discovered or need to escape quickly." Koharu said to which Tobirama agreed.

He then looked at his final student and asked "I can assume you want Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya right?"

Hiruzen nodded and spoke "Yes sensei, I believe I would be the best fit to teach them. I request Jiraiya because I feel he has a unique and innovative personality that you usually don't find in standard shinobi. Add on the fact that he doesn't use any standard taijutsu style when he fights, simply relying on his instincts to fight, it makes him an unpredictable and dangerous fighter in close combat. Orochimaru is the one who I'm able to relate to the most due to both of us possessing all 5 of the base chakra natures. He can become a dangerous ninjutsu master and may even learn my compound ninjutsu if he masters them completely. Finally, there's Tsunade. Her strength is unprecedented for someone her age with her level of Water, Lightning, and Earth Releases rivaling even some of the best jonin of Konoha. Her Fuinjutsu is powerful enough to completely change the course of a battle, and her medical ninjutsu is so good that she is practically a life saver in the hospital. While I don't think that their is much I could teach her other than my compound ninjutsu, I still believe that she could be of a major asset to the team if she were to heal Jiraiya and Orochimaru in battle."

Tobirama simply stared at him before saying "Very well, those are your genin teams, report to the Academy first thing tomorrow morning."

The group of 5 then quickly left the Hokage's building, however Tobirama remained and was deep in thought.

While he had told his students that he was telling them to become sensei's to help widen their horizons and to become teachers, the true reason was because the war was getting more and more difficult by the day.

At the beginning of the war, Konoha was able to practically decimate Kumo forces due to Tobirama's brilliant strategies and such large-scale battles not being common in the Shinobi World. However, as time began to go on and the other villages began to adjust to the new ways of warfare, the battles became gradually harder with them creating tactics of their own. At the current point, a stalemate stood as many of the older members of the Village fought against those of Kumo, with the Gold and Silver Brothers leading the Kumo forces. Tobirama hoped to keep his students away from the battlefield for as long as possible, so he hoped this would allow him to keep this safe.

He turned toward the Hokage's mountain behind him and looked at the first face.

He showed a rare sign of weakness and sorrow as he spoke "Sometimes I wish you were still here, Elder Brother."

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