The Will of Fire and The Power of Youth

{Third Hokage POV}

This was the second time I saw Kenji, the first time was last year ceremony at the cemetery, he ran to help Naruto, he was weak at that time, but he didn't hesitate to help someone on danger, he was too young to know the Will of Fire, but he already was practicing it, Kurenai told me, his nephew had potential, but he surpassed my expectations.

The moment he accepted to my test, I released a weak Genjutsu, refined by years of hard work, while I wasn't a specialist, my Genjutsu shouldn't be so easy to escape from, but this kid was able to escape from it, almost at the same instant he was being affected by it, like some kind of immunity to Genjutsu, he just disregarded it, like a bear disregards an ant, if he is trained properly, he'll bring an age of prosperity to the Village.

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{Kenji Yūhi POV}

Eight years have passed since the Academy Entrance Test, a lot happened during that time, Naruto was still my friend, but between the Academy, and my training time with aunt Kurenai, the time we spent was little, he wasn't lonely as the canon Naruto, but he didn't have any friends besides me, Iruka and Ichiraku if he could be considered as a friend, the Uchiha massacre happened four years ago, I didn't intervene in any way, I tried to befriend Sasuke in the years after the event, but he wouldn't allow anyone to get close to him.

I was put in the same class as Lee, Tenten and Neji, the last one was a bag of smiles and joy, until the death of his father, after that just like Sasuke, his personality took a hundred and eighty degrees turn, he obsessed with the idea of Fate and how we'll never be able to escape from its shackles, Lee was really friendly, even when others mocked him for being unable to use Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, he just kicked their asses during combat practice, and instead of mocking them, he'll cheer them up saying he looks forward for the next time.

I could have graduated early from the Academy, but that would bring unwanted attention from Danzo, so I chose to stay in the academy for a while, I learned a few Jutsus while I was there, Clone, Transformation, and Substitute, the big guns I learned from aunt Kurenai, besides teaching me her Genjutsu, she also taught me how to create my own, from molding my Chakra to the way I should send it to interfere with the Pathways located in the brain.

My Genjutsu wasn't the only thing that improved, after years of practice, my Illusions were almost flawless, I was capable of casting five at the same time, holding them for ten minutes without side effects, I learned how to supply and drain the Mist Flame in a few seconds, allowing me to change from Simple to Real Illusions back and forth, in a matter of seconds.

Sadly, my Ninjutsu and Taijutsu are lacking compared to my other abilities, since my aunt was a Genjutsu specialist, it was normal for her to not have a great range of Taijutsu techniques, so I decided to look for a mentor or mentors to help me improve both Taijutsu and Ninjutsu, since I wasn't part of a Clan we didn't have access to many techniques besides the ones provided by the academy.

Today is the Graduation Ceremony of my class, we were asked to demonstrate a technique we mastered during our time in the Academy, I performed the Transformation Jutsu, Neji did a Clone Jutsu, and Rock Lee broke fifteen layers of concrete with a punch, after the ceremony I went to the administration office and used some money I was saving to buy another Konoha plaque, as soon as I got home I ripped both plaques and sewed them to a pair of black gloves, not only they look good, they add a tiny layer of protection.

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{Next Morning}

Today I have to go to the Academy again, I'm assigned to Team three, but who are my teammates and leader is still a mystery, the way a team naming works is weird, since after graduation every leader has to do a test, that most Teams fail, the Teams from the previous year that passed retain their number until a new Team pass it's test, changing their name to the Leader name, for example there is Team seven currently but when Naruto approves Kakashi's test the former Team seven will be known as Team Haru, who is the current Leader of Team seven.

I was the last one to arrive at the Classroom assigned for Team three first reunion, to my surprise, Lee and Neji were here, I guess we balance each other abilities, Neji can be classified as a sensor ninja, Rock Lee is classified as a Vanguard ninja, and I am classified as a Support ninja due to my Genjutsu specialty, while I'm trying to become an all-rounder, I can't be considered one yet.

"YOUTH!" we heard the shout before our leader made his triumphal arrival, it was non-other than Might Guy, the strongest Taijutsu Master, while he could be regarded by others as a joke, he will be recognized by freaking Madara Uchiha, he is the one I need to improve, Buddha I thank you for granting me such a blessing.

"HAHAHAHAHA, my name is Might Guy, and I will shape the Power of YOUTH! That resides in each of you" he declared with the weirdness only he is capable of doing.

"But we just graduated from the Academy, aren't we supposed to be ninjas by now?" Neji questioned him.

"Think of it as a way to prove to me, you have the YOUTH! But be careful, because if you were to fail, You won't become ninjas, and the Academy won't take you back nor assign you to another team" Guy said changing his demeanor "The test will be at the training grounds, during the sunset, I'll see you there, and bring your YOUTH!"he shouted before leaving us alone and confused faster than we could blink.