After a long series of "aaaaa—AAAA—", Naruto finally fell back down from midair.
Considering Naruto's durability at this age…
Well, it basically didn't exist.
So Mirai very gently caught him before he hit the ground. After all, she couldn't just let her "little brother" smash himself half to death.
"Th-thanks…" Naruto's face was pale. Out of instinct, he tried to thank her for the rescue.
However—
The red-haired girl cut him off with a sweet smile, completely unapologetic.
"You're welcome. But this spar has only just begun."
At that moment, even Naruto—despite not being the sharpest kunai in the pouch—instinctively sensed danger.
"Still…?"
"You want to keep going? Great!"
Naruto had already had more than enough of that weightless experience, but Mirai clearly hadn't thrown him nearly enough yet.
And in situations like this, of course, the match revolved entirely around her.
So—
Naruto Uzumaki's experience that day was more than enough to compose a heart-rending tragedy.
Yes, he could keep screaming now.
Because he was flying again.
And then—
Throw, catch, throw again, endlessly cycling!
To throw her "little brother" even higher, Mirai was using Lightning Release–enhanced taijutsu. Pure physical strength wouldn't be enough for a girl her age to hurl someone nearly her own weight.
She was truly sparing no expense.
This was what real big-sister love looked like.
In a world where the most advanced transportation was still horse-drawn carts, Naruto Uzumaki became the first person in shinobi history to experience motion sickness from repeated aerial launches.
After tossing him more than ten times, Mirai was finally satisfied and stopped.
Naruto was saved at last…
Or so he thought.
"First Children's Squad Round-Robin Tournament," Hagoromo announced flatly, with the emotional range of a bored narrator.
"First round winner: Uzumaki Mirai. Next match—please continue."
"Uzumaki Naruto versus Haku of the Yuki Clan."
To Naruto, this was nothing short of a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
He hadn't even recovered yet—there was another match?!
At this point, it became clear who the real villain was.
To deepen Naruto's understanding—and force him to properly build his foundations—Hagoromo believed a bit more suffering was necessary.
After all, boys with thick nerves needed stronger reminders.
The so-called round-robin tournament was, in truth, a solo suffering loop for Naruto alone.
Each of the three companions would take turns thoroughly bullying him.
Only then would the cycle be complete.
If Naruto wanted to spar with everyone, the bare minimum requirement was learning to properly control his chakra.
"I… I…"
Naruto genuinely didn't know how to respond anymore.
He was at that awkward stage where he desperately wanted to vomit—but couldn't.
Instinctively, he wanted to refuse.
He finally realized that his behavior could be perfectly categorized as courting death.
"You scared?" Hagoromo asked casually.
And just like that, Naruto was baited without the slightest resistance.
Outplaying Naruto's intelligence was simply too easy.
"No! I'm not scared—let's do it!"
But right after saying that, his confidence faltered, and he turned to Haku.
"Um… Sister Haku… please go easy on me."
Haku froze for a moment, then smiled.
Yes—this "sister" smiled even more beautifully.
And honestly, this wasn't Naruto's fault.
No one had ever told him that Haku was a boy.
From a chakra nature standpoint, because of Ice Release, Haku was naturally adept with Water Release and Wind Release.
He didn't use Lightning Release-enhanced taijutsu—but as long as chakra was involved, taijutsu was still taijutsu.
So Naruto flew again.
Being mistaken for a girl could be mildly irritating for Haku at times.
More importantly, he understood Hagoromo's intent perfectly.
This was about teaching Naruto through experience.
So… might as well go all out.
Then came Kimimaru.
There wasn't much to say.
He simply copied the previous two.
By the end of the day, Naruto Uzumaki had completely overcome his fear of heights.
From then on, even "falling three thousand feet straight down" would leave his heart calm like still water.
Truly.
At the same time, his way of addressing Mirai permanently upgraded to:
"Boss Sister."
After all, she had started everything.
Those two words perfectly summarized the hardships of his life.
What a painful realization.
Even worse—
She was technically his younger sister.
In the end, Naruto obediently returned to water-walking practice…
After finally throwing up.
Thus, the life lesson he summarized was:
Listen to Mirai.
Don't let her get hurt.
Grow up fast—
Only then can you challenge her.
Growing up fast, however, was impossible.
But a milestone of growth arrived soon enough.
With the arrival of spring, the new term at the Konoha Ninja Academy officially began.
And Hagoromo packaged all four children together and sent them straight in.
This had long been decided.
As for the Academy—
You could call it elementary school.
Or middle school.
Or even a full secondary education.
After the war ended, the Academy system was restructured.
The old three-year crash course was abolished.
It was now a six-year, full-time, compulsory education system.
Hagoromo had already explained this to the kids.
Mirai found it interesting due to its novelty.
Naruto, thrilled to attend school with peers his own age, was genuinely looking forward to it.
Haku and Kimimaru, meanwhile, simply followed Hagoromo's arrangements.
They were guardians, bodyguards, and teammates all in one.
Even though they were three years older, they were still meant to stay with Mirai.
On enrollment day, Hagoromo's group drew plenty of attention.
After all—this was the White Yaksha personally escorting children to school.
Just look at them: red hair, white hair, blond hair, black hair—
An impressively complete color palette.
The ceremony itself was simple.
Surprisingly, the Third Hokage did not appear.
At this time, even he—who normally valued the next generation above all—was stretched too thin.
After delivering them to the classroom, Hagoromo should have left.
On the surface, he did.
In reality—
He didn't.
He had finally begun to understand a certain feeling.
Better to quietly observe for now.
Their class consisted of thirty students, taught by a chūnin instructor.
Hagoromo didn't recognize him.
The instructor explained the purpose of the Academy, future curricula, and sprinkled in some ideological material that bordered on propaganda.
To his credit, the man genuinely believed in what he was teaching—
Which gave his words some persuasive force.
Assuming, of course, that a room full of small children could understand any of it.
The class included:
Uchiha Sasuke, already mastering the basics of Cool Release at a tender age
Hyūga Hinata, whom Hagoromo had once inadvertently saved
And other familiar heirs, including the Ino–Shika–Chō trio
"Next student," the instructor called after one child with an entirely forgettable introduction.
This time, it was Mirai's turn.
Her red hair made her instantly noticeable.
As she stepped forward, all eyes followed her.
"I usually don't—"
She paused mid-sentence, realized something, and decisively changed course.
"My name is Uzumaki Mirai. That's all."
"…That's it?"
The chūnin instructor, Umino Iruka, blinked.
He very much wanted to announce that this child was the daughter of the Fourth Hokage—
But that would have been inappropriate.
Creating such an obvious hierarchy in a classroom was terrible pedagogy.
Still… one sentence felt too minimal.
"Yes," Mirai nodded, then walked back to her seat without elaboration.
Everyone she caught whispering about her hair—
She remembered them all.
Six years was plenty of time.
Beat them up once.
Then beat them up again.
None of the students in that classroom knew it yet—
But this moment marked the beginning of
the iron-handed rule of a certain second generation.
As for Hagoromo?
He was guilty of a classic mistake.
In his concern, he forgot one simple fact—
Mirai could always tell whether he had really left or not.
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