Chapter 3

Hokage building.

In Hokage's office.

Namikaze Minato, who had just returned from a mission, was kneeling on one knee, reporting the content of the mission to Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"The above is the whole process of this mission."

In a short while, Minato, who had finished the report, waited quietly for Sarutobi Hiruzen's instructions.

But for a while…

He didn't hear his voice.

Minato raised his head with some doubts.

He saw Sarutobi Hiruzen holding a pipe, in a daze with a sad face.

"Lord Third?" Minato raised his voice slightly.

This brought Sarutobi Hiruzen back to his senses.

"Oh… Minato…"

Sarutobi Hiruzen regained his senses, took a deep breath of the pipe, and exhaled a long string of smoke.

"Did something happen?" Minato asked strangely, wondering why the Lord Third frowned.

"Hey, take a look at this…"

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, tapped his finger on the desk, and motioned for Minato to come forward and watch.

Hearing this, Minato got up and walked forward.

He saw a ninja file sheet on Hokage's desk.

Above the table is a photo of a white-haired teenager wearing a face mask.

And below, is his personal ability and information.

"Hatake Kakashi?"

After seeing the name of the table, Minato understood the reason for the distress of the Lord Third.

Although he hadn't seen Kakashi before, he knew the name slightly.

It is said that he is a mission-first ninja!

In the process of carrying out the mission, even if the companion is injured or besieged by the enemy, he would not care about the life and death of his companions and prefers to perform his tasks.

So now Konoha Shinobi, almost no one wants to perform tasks with him anymore.

"Eh..."

Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed, put down his pipe, and said, "Kakashi is a genius, there is no doubt about it!"

"But for some reason, he was too strict with the rules,"

"So no matter which team he is assigned to, he will arouse conflicts with his other colleagues!"

"This is the seventeenth time he has been complained by his companions…"

After speaking, Sarutobi Hiruzen took two more smoke with his pipe.

It seems that only it can make him less troubled.

When Lord Third introduced Kakashi and mentioned the word "genius", a figure flashed across Minato's head.

That guy was called Shirakumo Hayama, and he was also a genius.

And he was still a ninja at the same time.

But he doesn't seem to be very keen on the task.

Otherwise, with his strength, it is estimated that he would have been promoted to Jōnin just like himself.

Thinking of Hayama, who is lazy, Minato is also a little angry…

But Minato didn't know that he actually misunderstood Hayama.

Hayama is not a genius at all, and there is no laziness!

He can possess the strength of Jōnin, completely because of the hard work of an ordinary person.

As for the reason why he didn't brush the mission and was not eager to get promoted to Jōnin, It's just that he didn't want to get into the sight of high-level people prematurely while he still does not have the ability to protect himself.

After all, as a traverser, he knows very well that Konoha is not as beautiful as it seems, and there are many unknown shadows in the dark…

Minato looked at Kakashi's file list on the table, suddenly a flash of inspiration!

Secret road:

Since Kakashi and Hayama have two different personalities; one was stubborn who prioritizes his tasks, and the other has no enthusiasm for them.

Then why not put the two together to form a team and let them neutralize each other's character?

The more Minato thought about it, the more he felt that this was a feasible solution.

So he proposed to Sarutobi Hiruzen:

"Lord Third, since Kakashi is so obsessed with tasks, why not assign him to someone with the opposite personality to lead the team?"

"A person who is the opposite of Kakashi?"

Hearing Minato's suggestion, Sarutobi Hiruzen thought about it in his head.

But Hiruzen felt like Minato wanted to break his scalp, he didn't think that there would be a Jōnin that had the opposite personality of Kakashi.

So he wondered, "Who is this person you are talking about?"

"Shirakumo Hayama!" Minato answered with a serious face.

"Shirakumo… Hayama?" Sarutobi Hiruzen thought about it for a moment before he knew who Minato was talking about.

"Isn't he Chūnin?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen found it a little strange, he doesn't understand why Minato recommends a Chūnin who is not even qualified to lead the team.

"Yes!"

Minato nodded and said, "Although his rank is only Chūnin, his strength has already reached Jōnin. He is fully capable of Jōnin and fulfilling a Jōnin's tasks."

"you sure?"

Hearing Minato's words, Sarutobi Hiruzen was a little surprised.

Because as the shadow of a village, he didn't know that Shirakumo Hayama had the power of Jōnin.

"Yes!" Minato confirmed:

"I performed a mission with him two years ago, and we had a lot of discussions on the way. If I hadn't used Flying Thunder God, I'm not sure of winning him!"

"Two years ago?"

Hearing what Minato said, Sarutobi Hiruzen was shocked!

Minato is one of the most talented ninjas he has ever seen.

His talent is even stronger than his three disciples.

Even if it was Minato two years ago, his strength is not ordinary Jōnin.

And Shirakumo Hayama, who made Minato use Flying Thunder God to be sure of victory, has reached the strength of a Jōnin two years ago?

Two years ago!

He is just like Minato, but only fifteen or six years old!

At the age of fifteen or sixteen, he has the strength of a Jōnin, and he is definitely a genius.

But after the shock, Sarutobi Hiruzen frowned again.

Since he has such talent, why has his reputation not been obvious?

Are you deliberately hiding your strength?

But why should he hide his strength…

After thinking for a while, Sarutobi Hiruzen still had no clue, and said to Minato:

"Since you recommended Shirakumo Hayama, then you go and call him over!"

"If he is exactly what you said, then he is undoubtedly a genius. If you give Kakashi to him, it won't bury Kakashi's talent…"

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, Minato bowed and went to the door.

Opening the door of Hokage's office, he also met Shimura Danzō, one of the elders.

Out of politeness, Minato bowed again, then turned and left.

"I heard…"

Danzo walked into Hokage's office without knocking, and grumbled to Sarutobi Hiruzen:

"What Minato said was true. Since there is such a genius in the village, it should be reported as soon as possible."

Sarutobi Hiruzen did not respond to Danzo's words, but instead ordered in the shadows:

"Go and gather Shirakumo Hayama's files…"

"Yes!"

In the dark corner, there was a reply.

A figure with a mask emerged from the darkness.

After a while, a file was placed on Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk.

Shirakumo Hayama: Was born 24 years after Konoha has been built. He graduated from the Ninja School at the age of ten, and his parents died in the mission in the same year. He was then later promoted to Chūnin at the age of thirteen. And at the age of fourteen, he was attacked by an enemy when he was on a mission and guided a Jōnin to his death… Currently, he is eighteen years old.

Chakra attributes: wind.

Number of missions performed: 43 times for level D, 45 times for level C, 36 times for level B, 3 times for level A…

After reading Baiyun Zaojiān's file information, Sarutobi Hiruzen's brows frowned.

A ninja who has graduated from a ninja school for nearly eight years has only performed such a task?

This task amount is less than one-third of Minato when he graduated in the same period.

What's more suspicious about the file is that Shirakumo Hayama's mission has been drastically reduced. It started after guiding Jōnin's death. Since then, his information has been scarce.

Finding that Sarutobi Hiruzen looked ill, Danzo also leaned to the table and watched.

Before long, Danzo's sarcastic voice rang from Hokage's office…