Hiruzen exhaled, folding his arms. "If you your training, your soul will start to deteriorate your body from the i. And you will die."

  A cold chill ran down my spine.

  I was walking on the edge of life ah this eime… and I didn't even know it.

  I ched my fists, my breathing shaky. If Hiruzen hadn't told me, I would've died again—just like before, without knowing the reason why.

  I forced my body to tremble slightly, my voiing out smaller than I intended. "W-Will I die, Hokage-sama?"

  For the first time, his expression softened. "No," he said firmly. "You just o train your body properly. And there's an upside to all of this."

  I perked up slightly. "Upside?"

  He gave me a small, knowing smile. "By the time you're twenty, your chakra reserves should reach at least half of a Tailed Beast's."

  My breath hitched.

  ' Half? Of a Tailed Beast? '

  That level of chakra was absurd. Insane. People feared Jinchūriki because of the sheer volume of chakra they possessed, and I could potentially reach that level naturally?

  "You'll learn more about Tailed Beasts in the Academy, or you read about them in the library," he tinued. "For now, focus on training. Also—" his gaze sharpened, "meet me in a month. I will allow you to choose a reward."

  My fingers curled slightly into my palms as his words settled in. He had expectations for me.

  I took a shaky breath before f my voice to sound steadier. "I'll train hard and live up to your expectations, Hokage-sama." Theating for a sed, I added, "But… I have some questions ."

  Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Oh?" There was mild amusement in his tone. "Go ahead."

  And so, for the half an hour, we discussed various aspects of the soul and chakra. He crified several of my doubts, some of whily deepened my curiosity.

  A strong soul could meaao genjutsu, enhanced learning capability, or even… an affinity for forbidden arts.

  No wonder he's ied.

  Then he handed me a small talisman.

  "This was created by the First Hokage," he expined. "It will suppress your spiritual energy, preventing others from sensing your soul's strength. There are people who would exploit your potential if they knew about it, so ake it off."

  I ran my fingers over the talisman, feeling the faint pulse of energy within it.

  'Danzo'

  The name fshed in my mind instantly. If anyone would take an i i was him. If he knew I could potentially amass the amount of chakra of a Tailed Beast by twenty, he would not let me roam free.

  I o be careful.

  With that thought lingering in my mind I was going to left when I again heard his void pressure in the room increased.

  The Hokage csped his hands together. "Tell me, Kazeo. What do you want from this academy? What do you seek to bee?"

  A loaded question.

  No, A trap.

  Kazeo khe answer he gave now could affect the Hokage's perception of him for years to e.

  A on? A prodigy? A future leader? Or a threat?

  The wrong response could put him on a path he didn't want.

  He met the Hokage's gaze, his voice quiet but firm.

  "…I want to be strong."

  The old man nodded slightly. "For urpose?"

  Kazeo didn't hesitate. "To survive. To not die like my parents died , a nameless death."

  'And also to find a way meet my real parents '

  A flicker of something crossed the Hokage's face. Approval? I? Amusement?

  "…That is a wise answer."

  Then, without warning, the suffog pressure in the room lifted. The tension that had ed around Kazeo's shoulders like invisible s suddenly loosened.

  The old man smiled, warm and grandfatherly again. "Very well. You may go."

  Kazeo didn't move immediately.

  Just like that?

  His instincts told him this wasn't over.

  But pushing further would only invite suspi.

  So he stood, gave a respectful bow, and turoward the door.

  As he reached for the hahe Hokage's voice stopped him.

  "O thing, Kazeo."

  Kazeo paused.

  "…Do you believe in the Will of Fire?"

  His fingers froze against the door.

  Slowly, he turned his head, meeting the Hokage's gaze once more.

  This time, the warmth was gone.

  The old man's eyes weren't those of a kind leader.

  They were the eyes of a ruler. A strategist. A man who had sent huhousands—to die with a single and.

  The weight of the vilge rested on this man's shoulders. And at this moment, Kazeo felt the full force of that authority.

  He inhaled slowly.

  Then he gave a small, thoughtful nod.

  "I… don't know yet."

  A beat of silence.

  Then, to my surprise, the Hokage chuckled.

  "Ho. Good."

  I gave a final bow ahe office.

  As soon as the door shut behind me, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.

  That was close.

  That man… wasn't simple.

  I wasn't in danger. Not yet. But the Hokage had noticed me.

  I left the offid headed toward the Academy, where the proctors were waiting to take us to our neartments—rent-free until we became full-fledged shinobi.

  //////////////

  (Hiruzen's POV) –

  To say I was surprised would be an uatement.

  The moment I sehat presence—a soul far to for a mere child—I knew something was amiss.

  At first, I thought it was a mistake, a misreading of my own senses. But the more I focused, the clearer it became. That density, that weight... it was unnatural.

  I traced it to a bck-haired boy standihe Academy entrance, an orphan lost in the sea of war's aftermath. Nothing in his liood out. No noble blood, no special Kekkei Genkai, nothing that should have made him remarkable.

  A, he was.

  A soul of such magnitude was a rarity, b on impossibility.

  I had only entered oher soul of that caliber in my lifetime—Hashirama Senju.

  But even Hashirama, for all his power, had been a man shaped by experience, by time. This boy? He was just six. Six!

  A, when I looked into his eyes, I didn't see a child.

  I saw calcution.

  Sharp, trolled, dangerous calcution.

  I had read reports—fragments of intelligence from long-fotten scrolls, whispers from those who studied the anomalies of the human soul. People with powerful souls matured faster, their intelligence sharper, their memories near-perfect. They saw the world differently, absorbed knowledge like a sponge, and processed information years ahead of their peers.

  I had expected this boy to be more intelligent than others his age.

  But this? This was something else entirely.

  It was like staring at a grown man locked in a child's body.

  He observed everything. Measured every word, every shift imosphere, every hidden i behind my questions.

  I o test him further.

  So, I issued a challenge—ohat would determine whether he was truly worth my time.

  Secure first p the entrance exam.

  A simple request, but one desigo push him. His body was suffering from exhaustion—he should have colpsed halfway through. But instead, he endured. He forced himself beyond his limits, ging to sheer willpower and strategy.

  That was enough.

  I brought him here.

  Of course, I couldn't reveal what I knew. Children were uable, and this one... this one was far too aware for his own good.

  So, I told him the truth—just sprinkled with enough fear about fake information of death to motivate him.

  And it worked.

  Watg him tremble slightly, nodding along, I inwardly smirked.

  And I watched.

  His body remaiill, his faeutral, but his eyes—they sharpened. Calg. Assessing risk. Not like a child, but like a seasoned shinobi.

  For the first time in decades, I felt a chill run down my spine.

  Even I hadn't expected this level of trol.

  This wasn't just intelligence.

  This was the mind of someone who uood power, whhe weight of his words, who knew he ying a ga

  me far greater than he should have been capable of.

  'Who are you, really, Kazeo?'

  And more importantly—'what will you bee?'

  There was also another problem.

  The anization.

  ( To be tinued....)