Back at the academy, inside the principal's office.

Many academy instructors are gathered inside the office.

"So, any promising students except the members of the shinobi clans." The principal asks the instructors.

The Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi is also standing beside him.

"There are quite a few from my class." One of the instructors reports to the principal.

"Go ahead, Tenzo."

The instructor reports his finding to the principal.

"A student with an eidetic memory. That's indeed a brilliant student."

The other instructors also report to the principal.

"What about you, Hiruko? Your class has the most elite shinobi clan members. So, any noteworthy civilian among them."

"Hmm… there are three students that caught my attention." Hiruko nods his head.

"One of the students is a quick learner and almost grasps everything I teach in the class. The second student is quite good with social skills. Within a single day, he managed to befriend almost ninety percent of the class. There were only a few people who shunned him, otherwise he was able to mingle with almost every one of his classmates."

Hiruko remarks.

"That's quite promising. The ability to grasp anything is a sign of a prodigy. As for the second student, the ability to breach the personal space without making the other party uncomfortable and befriend them is quite useful in gathering intel as a spy." Hiruzen nods his head.

"What about the third one?" He asks the instructor.

"Hmm… the third student is a peculiar one. During the entire session of the class, he didn't show any emotions on his face. He was attentive in class but didn't stand out much. What is notable is that during the arithmetic class, he solved the problems within a minute. To test him out, I deliberately raised the difficulty of the problems. But still, he managed to solve them within five minutes."

Hiruko places a paper on the table.

"These are the question I asked him and all of his answers were correct."

Hmm…

The rest of the instructors curiously stare at the questions. There are slightly surprised for a few seconds but then return to their casual behavior.

"That's also quite splendid. He sure has talent." The principal nods his head.

"So, what's so notable about him? If it's just that, then I am sure you won't pay much attention to him." Hiruzen asks him.

"Well… he is friends with the prince and princess of the Senju and Uzumaki clan, and the first prodigy I mentioned is also a part of the group. Among the four, he seems to be the one in the leading position. Also, it was your student Tsunade who recommended them to my class." Hiruko reveals the information to Hiruzen.

"Hmm… now, that's quite fascinating. Keep an eye on him. Shinobis with leadership qualities are hard to come by. Talent alone isn't enough." Hiruzen nods at them.

--------------------

An hour later, in the central shopping district.

"Hey guys, I am not late, am I?" Nawaki waves his hand at Minato and Yuji. He has wearing a backpack like Yuji and Minato.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

"You are on time!" Minato nods at him.

"Now, let's go! I am very curious about the secret location."

"Alright, follow us!"

Yuji and Minato lead him toward the Hokage Monument. Soon, they arrive at the hill near Hokage mountain. The trio walks through the narrow paths in the forest and soon arrives near a bush.

"We are here!" Yuji removes the bushes from the entrance of a passage.

"Let's go!"

The trio enters the narrow passage and soon exits at the other end of the hill.

Burble… Burble…

The sound of flowing water echoes in their ears.

"Wow!" Nawaki's eyes glow.

"I never knew such a place existed in Konoha." The beautiful scenery mesmerizes him. He dashes towards the shallow side of the river and removes his clothes to take a dip in the river.

Minato and Yuji also follow him. They remove their clothes and places them near their backpack to jump in the river.

'It might look silly, but it's not bad to act as a kid for this body.'

Yuji soaks himself into the water.

Fwoosh…

Nawaki throws a pail of water at Minato. The latter dodges the sneak attack which ended up splashing Yuji's face.

"Now you have done it!" Yuji splashes some water on Nawaki's face. The latter uses Minato as a shield and drowses him in water.

"It's on!" Minato also splashes water on Yuji. The kids frolic in the water for a while.

After half an hour,

"Let's catch some fish!"

The trio dries themselves and wears a change of clothes from their bags. They break the branches of a nearby tree and tie a thread with a hook at its end.

"Now, we need some bait"

Yuji flips nearby rocks.

"Found them"

He picks up an earthworm and ties it to the hook.

"Woah!" Nawaki stares at the process with stars in his eyes.

"This is my first time fishing." He replicates Yuji's actions and prepares a fishing pole for himself.

"Now it's time to catch some fish."

Yuji throws the hook toward the deep end of the river. He ties his fishing pole to a nearby rock.

"While we wait for some fish, let's light a fire in the meantime."

"I will gather some dry woods and leaves." Minato wanders around to look for some fuel for the fire.

Hmm…

Yuji raises his head and slowly looks around.

'Strange! Why do I feel like someone was watching me?'

Yuji turns towards the forest across the river.

'That forest is scary! There are many crazy predators in that forest. It must be one of them. Thankfully, they can't crossover since that side of the river is quite deep.'

"What about me? What should I do?" Nawaki asks him in excitement.

Nawaki's questions snaps his out of his thoughts.

"Why don't you keep a lookout for fish?" Yuji asks the latter.

"Alright!" Nawaki focuses his eyes on the three fishing poles.

Yuji gathers some rocks and makes a makeshift fireplace with them. He takes out some utensils from the bags and washes them with the river water.

Soon, Minato arrives with a bunch of dried leaves and wood. The duo places them in the fireplace and Minato takes out a matchbox from his bag. He ignites the leaves and blows air on them to light a fire.

"It's done!"

Huff… Huff…

Minato pants slightly and wipes some sweat from his forehead.

"Yuji, which fish dish are you going to make today?" He asks Yuji in excitement.

"Is it steamed fish, poached fish, or fried fish?" Minato salivates at the thought.

"Today I will make grilled fish!"

"Oooh!" Minato and Nawaki stare at him in amazement.

Fwish… Fwish…

The string of one of the fishing poles turns taut.

"I hooked a fish!" Nawaki yells in excitement.

"I will help him out." Minato swiftly dashes towards Nawaki and holds the pole. He slowly reels the thread and pulls the fish towards the shore with Nawaki's help.

"Right on time!" Yuji takes out a knife from the bag.

He pats the fish with the knife and slowly removes the scales and fins of the fish.

Yuji heats some vegetable oil in the pan. He sprinkles some garlic powder, salt, and pepper in the pan. He places the fish on a wooden board and applies some butter on both of its sides. After buttering the fish, he sprinkles some garlic powder, salt, and pepper on it. After prepping the fish, he places it in the pan with hot oil.

Sizzle… sizzle…

Sizzling sound echoes in their ears as the fish begins to cook in the hot oil. An enchanting fragrance wafts in the air.

Gulp…

Nawaki gulps his saliva at the smell. Drool leaks from his mouth as he stares at the appetizing fish.

Yuji chops a lemon and tosses it in the pan. He chops another lemon and squeezes it over the fish.

"So fragrant! I… I can't wait to eat it."

Gulp…

Nawaki and Minato gulp their saliva.

"It will be done in another five minutes." Yuji tosses over the fish to grill its other side.

'Staying in the orphanage, I soon realized that my body isn't getting enough nutrition to grow properly. So, I thought of getting some fruits and other eatables from the outside. It was during this time that we came across this passage.

I had some previous experience as a chef in a five-star hotel. It was part of my mission to poison a high-profile figure. So, I had to master the art of cooking to a certain level.'

Yuji removes the pan from the fire and takes out some cutleries from his bag.

"Grilled fish with grilled lemon, ready!"

"That money came at a convenient time. Now, we can eat fish on plates." Minato speaks in excitement.

"All this time, I am tired of eating it on a leaf."

Minato rubs his hands in excitement as he picks a fork to take a bite out of the fish.

"Hoho… that's quite an enticing fragrance!" A voice falls in their ears.

"Ah!" The group's expression freezes.