04

-Flashback-

12 years ago

When the sun was the hottest in the day, at noon of a day in summer, Sakumo Hatake, a genin, was training on the grounds.

He had talent but was not acknowledged. He worked hard but did not see any results.

After swinging his blade endlessly and bathing in sweat, he sat under a tree's shade.

At that time, a man in his twenties appeared behind Sakumo.

Sakumo saw him and asked," Hello Mr, What are you here for?"

The man did not reply, he simply stood there, staring at Sakumo.

After a few seconds, the man finally spoke," Are you a genin, kid?"

"Yes," Sakumo replied.

"Hmm, where is your teacher?" The man asked.

"My previous two teachers died on missions with me and from then on, I was called the 'Harbinger'. Since then, I have had no one to teach me anything."

"... You know what, I am a Konoha jonin too. Show me your skills. Although I already saw you training, let's have a spar. I'll decide from that whether you're a good enough seed to be nurtured."

Sakumo wanted to reject it but he didn't know why, he just followed the man's words.

Not even 5 minutes later, Sakumo was beaten indiscriminately and was lying on the ground.

"Not bad at all, kid. Your movements have the smoothness and agility required to be a strong blade user. What do you say, kid, do you want to be my student." The man asked.

"I do need a teacher. I am not able to go on missions without one. But my previous-" Sakumo was getting sad and started remembering his previous teachers.

"Ha, don't worry about that. I am strong, no one can touch me." The man said to assure Sakumo.

"Then… I don't have many options anyways so, yes. I will be your student from now on, sensei." Sakumo said.

"By the way kid, what is your name?" The man asked.

"My name is Sakumo Hatake."

After listening to his name, the man was about to leave.

"What is your name Sensei?" Sakumo suddenly remembered he never asked the man's name.

"Fuduka Norio," The man said as he turned around and disappeared using the body flicker technique.

Sakumo was stunned for a moment.

"Fuduka Norio… The Sword Demon Fuduka Norio? Whoa, he's my Sensei? Shit-" Sakumo was excited about his training under the famous 'Sword Demon'.

Around that time, Fuduka Norio received the name of Sword Demon after he was able to successfully rescue a Konoha team from 10 squads of Kiri Shinobi, that too, alone.

-Back to the present-

The famous 'White Fang' of Konoha had come back to Konoha after a year of non-stop fighting against Suna.

After a week of rest, he was called into the Hokage's office.

"Is the Hokage sending me back so soon? I haven't even heard Kakashi call me dad… What a sad life *sigh*" Sakumo said to himself while getting ready to go to the Hokage's office.

Sakumo reported at the Hokage's office as soon as he got ready. Sakumo went inside the office and like every other ninja would, Sakumo bowed in front of Hiruzen.

"Raise your head, Sakumo. First of all, good work on the frontline," Hiruzen said.

"Thank you, Lord Hokage," Sakumo said while straightening his posture.

"Well Sakumo, I have a mission for you. You need to train these two students… Well one of them is a temporary one but still." Hiruzen said as he handed Sakumo an envelope which had information about his students.

"Sorry for rejecting, Lord Hokage, but I have already said that I will not train anyone," Sakumo said.

"Ah, I know that. Just see their information first. I am sure you would like to teach them."

Sakumo listened to Hiruzen's words and opened the envelope. As he read the contents of the paper in the envelope, his eyes widened.

He then looked at Hiruzen and asked," Will these kids follow me when I leave for the frontline again?"

"It is completely your wish, they are your students," Hiruzen said as he gestured for Sakumo to leave.

Sakumo left the office and after getting out, he thought,' Let's see how much of his power you inherited, kid."

-At the academy-

The students in the class were all talking with each other.

The door slid open and Fukuzaki entered the classroom.

His presence alone silenced the whole room. Such is the power of a teacher on his students.

"Good Morning everyone. Today is the day you guys start your training with you jonin sensei so all the best for that… Now, I will announce everyone's teams.

Team 1 -

Uchiha Mikoto

Uzumaki Kushina

Uchiha Ryu

Jonin Sensei — Kyosuke Mina

Team 2 -

Tatsuya Mawou

....

Team 10 -

Inoichi Yamanaka

Choza Akimichi

Shikaku Nara

Jonin Sensei — Nara Shikami

Team 11 -

Namikaze Minato

Yukan Norio

Jonin Sensei — Sakumo Hatake

...

Soon, all the teams were announced but Yukan was still very confused about his team.

Both he and Minato were at the top, no doubt so they should not be in the same team to provide the teams with some balance.

"Fukuzaki Sensei, why are me and Minato in the same team when we were at the top?" Yukan asked.

"Hmm? That is something your team's jonin will answer," Fukuzaki said.

"Now, everyone's jonin sensei will soon come. Leave with them." Fukuzaki said and left the class full of kids alone.

One by one the Jonin sensei came and took their teams away.

Kushina wished Yukan and Minato the best of luck and left with her team.

When only 4 teams were left, the door slid open once again and a tall man with grey hair and a blade hanging on his back appeared.

As soon as he entered, he said," I am Sakumo Hatake. Namikaze Minato and Yukan Norio, come out and follow me."

As soon as Sakumo said that, he walked out of the class and did not even wait to see Yukan and Minato's faces.

Both Minato and Yukan hurriedly followed Sakumo out of the academy.

Sakumo took them to a training ground. There was nothing there except for a big tree in the middle, other than that, only rough ground could be seen.

This was the same place where Sakumo had met Fuduka for the first time.

"First, let me answer a question you guys would surely have. You both are in the same team because Minato's sensei, Jiraiya, is still on the frontline. I hope you are clear now. Let's start with introductions." Sakumo said.

"I'll go first. My name is Sakumo Hatake, 25 years old. My dream is something you don't need to know about. I like to train and I dislike a lot of things."

Sakumo introduced himself in a short sentence, like a machine.

After Sakumo, it was Yukan's turn to introduce himself.