After the holidays ended, it was finally the first day back at the Ninja Academy.
Hinata and Sasuke returned to campus with one shared expectation:
Naruto.
But when they stepped into the classroom—
His seat was empty.
Both of them froze.
They looked at each other, silent worry filling their eyes.
After asking around and getting absolutely zero useful answers—because apparently the entire class had the observational skills of a brick—they went straight to the teachers' office and found Iruka Umino.
After hearing why they came, Iruka scratched his head, looking genuinely confused.
"I was actually about to ask you two the same thing," he admitted. "Naruto hasn't shown up, and there's been no news about him in the village recently."
Hinata and Sasuke exchanged another look.
They had spent the entire holiday training at home. They didn't pay attention to village rumors.
They hadn't expected Naruto to just… vanish.
If they really couldn't find him, what were they supposed to do?
Seeing their gloomy expressions, Iruka sighed.
"Go back to class for now. After school, I'll take you to see Lord Third. He should know what's going on."
"Please remember…" Hinata said softly.
With no better option, they returned to class.
Naruto's empty seat felt louder than any noise in the room.
After school, Iruka brought them to the Hokage Building.
Inside the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, was handling paperwork—because apparently that was his true eternal enemy.
He extinguished his pipe and delivered the explanation he had prepared in advance.
"I know why you're here. It's about Naruto."
"He has passed a special assessment and officially graduated early. He is now a Genin and has been assigned to missions outside the village."
"So Naruto graduated…" Iruka murmured.
Early graduation was impressive.
But as a teacher, Iruka couldn't help feeling uneasy. Rushing a child into the battlefield wasn't always healthy—especially a kid who already carried the Nine-Tails inside him like a cursed furnace.
Still, he respected his students' growth.
Hinata hesitated, then spoke softly.
"Hokage-sama… when will Naruto come back? Everyone in class misses him. I… also want to see him."
Hiruzen gave a gentle, unreadable smile.
"I don't know the exact time. When there is news, I will inform you. Don't worry too much."
"But—"
Hinata was cut off.
Sasuke stepped in smoothly.
"It's fine. As long as Naruto's alive, he's fine. He's strong. If someone's unlucky on that mission, it won't be him."
He crossed his arms.
"Instead of worrying about him, worry about yourselves. Naruto hates weak people."
Hinata blinked.
That… actually sounded accurate.
After leaving the Hokage Building, Iruka parted ways with them.
Just as Hinata prepared to head back to the Hyuga compound, Sasuke stopped her.
His expression was sharp.
"You noticed it too, right? Something's wrong."
Hinata looked down.
"Sasuke-san… you mean Naruto-kun graduating so suddenly?"
Sasuke nodded.
"The old man said Naruto graduated and left for missions. But there's no way Naruto would leave without telling us."
His eyes darkened.
"Unless he didn't graduate."
"Unless he left the village."
Hinata's eyes widened.
"Now that you mention it… the picnic Naruto held at the end of last semester… it felt almost like a farewell party. I thought it was strange at the time."
Sasuke gave her a long look.
"Impressive. I thought you just blushed and short-circuited whenever you saw him. Didn't expect you to actually observe things."
Hinata puffed her cheeks slightly.
"Why are you so desperate to find Naruto?" she asked.
Hinata answered honestly.
"He promised to come to my house after school started. He broke that promise. That makes me sad."
Then she looked up at him directly.
"Why are you looking for Naruto-kun?"
Sasuke crossed his arms, his gaze turning cold and dangerous.
"Unlike you and your love-brain problems, I trained with Naruto."
"I need to become stronger as fast as possible."
"So I can kill that man."
"Which man?" Hinata asked, confused. She didn't know about the Uchiha massacre.
Sasuke's voice dropped.
"That has nothing to do with you."
He exhaled sharply.
"But since we both want to find Naruto, we'll form an alliance. Share information."
"I suspect Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi know something."
Meanwhile, back in the Hokage's office.
After the students left, Hiruzen turned to the ANBU operative in the shadows.
"It's been a week. You still haven't brought Naruto back?"
His idea had been simple.
Find Naruto.
Apologize properly.
Fix everything.
Naruto wasn't like the Uchiha. He was Minato Namikaze's son. The only Nine-Tails jinchūriki Konoha had.
Losing him wasn't an option.
The ANBU lowered his head.
"Jinchūriki-sama's anti-tracking ability is extremely strong. One squad tracked him for three days, only to discover the target was a Shadow Clone."
"We cannot distinguish the original body from the clone."
Hiruzen frowned.
"Wasn't there a Hyuga in the tracking team?"
The ANBU gave a bitter smile.
"Even with the Byakugan, they couldn't tell. The jinchūriki has infused Nine-Tails chakra into the clones. They appear identical."
He hesitated.
"Our team suspects he possesses long-range sensory abilities and has been deliberately playing with us."
Hiruzen fell silent.
So Naruto wasn't just running.
He was toying with ANBU.
After a long pause, Hiruzen waved his hand.
"Suspend the retrieval mission."
"No need to waste manpower."
"You have more important tasks."
"Yes, Lord Third."
The ANBU vanished.
Hiruzen relit his pipe and opened a dusty drawer.
Inside was an old file marked with a toad-shaped seal.
He performed a summoning technique.
A small toad appeared.
This was one of the contact methods for Jiraiya.
Of his three former students—Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru—only Jiraiya still answered his calls.
Even if Jiraiya didn't always agree with him… he still cared about the village.
If Hiruzen's way of raising Naruto had failed—
Then maybe Jiraiya should take over.
After all, Jiraiya had long wanted custody of Naruto.
Hiruzen placed a handwritten letter into the toad's mouth.
The toad vanished in a reverse summoning.
For the first time in days, the weight on Hiruzen's shoulders lightened slightly.
But only slightly.
Because now he had to deal with everything else.
Investigating the Uchiha remnants who escaped.
And worrying about the border.
Recently, both Iwagakure and Kumogakure had begun making suspicious moves near the Land of Fire, reaching out to smaller neighboring shinobi villages.
Those small villages weren't particularly valuable on their own.
But if they fell under the influence of the other Great Nations?
That would be a serious problem.
And Konoha—
Already bleeding internally—
Couldn't afford another war.
Not now.
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