Time always slips by without notice.
In the blink of an eye, nearly a full year had passed.
During this year, Ryūshin and Rinne continued their elementary-school-style daily life.
Naruto and the others had moved up to sixth grade and were preparing for graduation.
On the surface, nothing major seemed to have changed within the Ninja Academy.
Well—there was one noticeable exception:
For some unknown reason, the Hyūga family's younger daughter, whom they had visited during the break, suddenly skipped a grade and joined the Academy's third year.
Ever since the generation with Itachi, no student in Konoha had applied for a grade skip.
So Hanabi's advancement caused quite a stir.
But Hanabi's talent lived up to the pressure—
after effortlessly defeating several overconfident third-years, all doubts vanished.
After entering the third year, Hanabi formed a small trio with Ryūshin and Rinne.
Hanabi and Rinne became the classic love-and-war best-friend duo:
One a proud, chuunibyou-leaning tsundere
and the other a soft, airheaded sweetheart.
This combination made the prematurely mature third-year boys exclaim "Oh no…"
—but none of them were strong enough to impress the two girls anyway.
As for the dynamic between Ryūshin and Hanabi…
that was far more complicated.
When Hoshiyomi and Tsunade asked about it, Ryūshin replied without hesitation:
"I will never date someone with chuunibyou.
I'd rather die single, choke on dog food, and rot outside the house
than ever date a chuunibyou girl."
Tsunade, upon hearing this declaration, immediately recognized the expertise and fully expressed her excitement for the future.
...
"Brother, time to wake up and eat~
If you don't get up now, you'll be late for school."
In Ryūshin's room, little Rinne sat by the bed, gently calling out to him.
After several attempts with no result, she hesitated, then slowly extended her hand.
"Brother, wake u—"
THUD!
A dull crash echoed across the floor.
Ryūshin lay on the ground, rubbing his shoulder with a pained grimace.
"Rinne… from now on, you don't need to handle something small like waking me up.
Let Dad do it."
Rinne giggled awkwardly, seeing her brother rubbing his shoulder, then said helplessly:
"But… Dad was the one who told me to come wake you up…"
Thinking darkly that he'd definitely find a chance to tell Mom about that woman who winked at Dad during their last shopping trip, Ryūshin rubbed his shoulder and went downstairs with Rinne.
In the Gekkō household kitchen, Tsunade was smiling while serving breakfast.
Hoshiyomi silently polished the Mikazuki Munechika at his waist.
When he noticed Ryūshin arriving, he smiled mischievously:
"Finally awake? How was your rest?"
Ryūshin rolled his eyes dramatically and answered with a fake smile:
"Heh heh, thanks for your concern."
Hoshiyomi was long used to his son's attitude.
He wasn't annoyed—if anything, he found it entertaining.
He took a sip of tea and said casually:
"Hurry up and eat. I'll take you two to school afterward."
Ryūshin raised an eyebrow in disbelief:
"Hah? You didn't bother taking us when we first enrolled.
Why suddenly act like a chauffeur today?"
Rinne also nodded with her little head:
"Daddy, Brother and I are seven already.
We're big kids now. Big kids don't need their parents to walk them to school."
Hoshiyomi gently patted his well-behaved daughter:
"Daddy's just in a good mood today.
Thought I'd accompany you and visit your school.
And also go have a look at your principal, that old geezer."
Ryūshin muttered from the side:
"You reversed the main reason and the excuse…"
Hoshiyomi tossed a steamed bun at him and snapped:
"Just eat your bun."
After breakfast, Hoshiyomi took his two children and headed toward the Ninja Academy.
On the way, they happened to run into Guy and his students, who were about to head out on a mission.
Guy, of course, greeted Hoshiyomi with a big smile.
Neji bowed respectfully beside him, while Tenten and Lee stood there looking confused, not understanding the situation at all.
Hoshiyomi didn't pay much attention to Tenten or Lee.
Instead, he focused on sensing Neji's chakra level.
What he discovered surprised him greatly.
He had originally thought that Neji's training speed in the original story was already astonishing.
But now, comparing the two, Neji's current progress was actually slightly ahead of where he had been in canon.
At this point, he was probably close to the level he would have during the Chūnin Exams next year.
Hoshiyomi even suspected that Neji had already fully mastered Palm Rotation.
In the original story, Neji had figured out Palm Rotation on his own with no teacher.
Now that he had his father's guidance, learning it must have been far easier than before.
After confirming Neji's strength, Hoshiyomi sighed:
"Looks like the vow you made that day wasn't empty talk.
Good. Keep working hard.
I look forward to the day you break free from the caged-bird seal."
Neji nodded silently.
Compared to the arrogant, destiny-obsessed version of him in the original timeline, he was far more pleasant now.
After saying goodbye to Guy's team, Hoshiyomi turned to Ryūshin and raised a brow:
"So?
Do you have confidence in reaching his current level within three years?"
Ryūshin thought for a moment before answering:
"Surpassing him before graduation shouldn't be a problem."
Hearing that, Hoshiyomi smiled with satisfaction.
He knew his son wasn't boasting—Ryūshin's talent for swordsmanship far exceeded his own.
Even without a system to boost him, at his current pace, reaching jōnin level before graduation wasn't unrealistic.
Hoshiyomi rubbed his son's head roughly and nodded in approval:
"Good. Worthy of being my seed."
Rinne suddenly leaned over with curiosity:
"Daddy, what is 'your seed'?
Am I your seed too?"
Uh... I guess I spoke too carelessly.
...
After watching his two children walk into the school, Hoshiyomi remained at the entrance quietly.
When the time reached 8:30 and the flow of people around the Academy had nearly disappeared,
a sudden wave of spatial distortion rippled out from a nearby alley.
Hoshiyomi instantly drew the Mikazuki Munechika from his waist, his blade slicing through the air like lightning toward the disturbance—
only to be blocked effortlessly by a special kunai.
Seeing this, Hoshiyomi grinned in satisfaction, sheathed his sword, and said:
"Not bad.
Seems your years as Hokage didn't dull your training.
As long as you can still react like that, I can retire in peace."
Minato chuckled and waved a hand:
"Hardly.
Sensei, you're not old at all.
Let's save talk like that for another twenty or thirty years."
The two walked side by side into the Academy, heading straight toward the principal's office.
Inside, Hiruzen was already seated, smoking his pipe as he waited.
Konoha's old, middle, and young pillars of strength had gathered for one purpose only—
the upcoming genin graduation and team assignments.