"…Alright then."
Rin Nohara thought about it carefully before finally nodding. Her tone carried a gentle seriousness as she looked at Obito.
"But Obito, you have to promise something first. When we go tomorrow, you must listen carefully and behave yourself. Don't disturb others during the class."
She crossed her arms slightly, trying to appear stricter than usual.
"If you start making noise like you do in the academy and disrupt everyone's learning… I'll be very angry."
"Heck yeah!"
Obito's eyes immediately lit up. He pumped his fist into the air with exaggerated enthusiasm.
"Don't worry! I'll definitely listen carefully!" he said loudly. "See you tomorrow!"
"Right. We're leaving at 8:30 in the morning," Rin reminded him calmly. "Don't oversleep."
"Oh!"
Obito nodded rapidly, then dashed off down the street with an excited grin, almost skipping as he went.
Watching his energetic figure disappear around the corner, Ren and Rin exchanged glances.
Both of them sighed almost at the same time.
"…That guy really never changes," Rin muttered.
Ren chuckled softly. "At least he's enthusiastic."
The two waved goodbye to each other and headed toward their own homes as the evening sun slowly dipped behind the rooftops of Konoha.
---
After returning home, Ren stepped inside and called out.
"I'm back!"
His mother, Aoi, was already preparing dinner in the kitchen.
"Oh? Ren, you're back early today," she said warmly.
Ren walked in and briefly told her about what happened at the academy that day—about the practice session, Obito's excitement, and the plan to attend the special lesson tomorrow.
Aoi listened patiently while stirring the pot.
"That sounds interesting," she said with a smile. "Just make sure you don't push yourself too hard."
"Don't worry, Mom."
After dinner, Ren quickly washed up and returned to his room.
The moment he entered, he collapsed onto the bed dramatically, spreading his arms and legs wide like a starfish.
"Ahh…"
He stared at the ceiling.
"Today really was a fulfilling day."
He had practiced several techniques continuously throughout the afternoon.
The Transformation Technique, the Clone Technique, the Substitution Jutsu, and even the Great Fireball Technique had all shown improvement.
Ren closed his eyes slowly, feeling the fatigue of the day catch up to him.
"Transformation Technique… Clone Technique… Substitution Jutsu… Great Fireball…"
He muttered sleepily.
"Goodnight… sweet dreams…"
A faint mechanical voice echoed softly in his mind.
[Transformation Technique: Mm, sleep well, Little Sanjō.]
[Transformation Technique Favorability +1]
Ren was already asleep before he could respond.
---
The Next Morning
The sky over Konoha was clear and bright.
Golden sunlight spilled across the rooftops of the village.
Screech—!
A messenger hawk glided through the air with powerful wingbeats before landing gracefully on the railing of the Hokage Building.
An ANBU operative was already waiting.
Without hesitation, the masked ninja stepped forward and removed the small sealed letter attached to the hawk's leg.
The hawk took off again almost immediately, disappearing into the sky.
The message was quickly delivered to the Intelligence Division, where experts decoded the encrypted contents.
Soon after, the translated intelligence report arrived at the desk inside the Hokage's office.
"Good work."
Hiruzen Sarutobi—who at this time still appeared vigorous and strong—accepted the document calmly.
He scanned through the contents rapidly.
His expression soon grew thoughtful.
"The Land of Lightning again…" he murmured quietly.
"It seems those fellows from Kumogakure have been quite restless lately."
Across from him stood an ANBU ninja wearing a dog-faced mask.
Hiruzen lifted his head.
"How are things on Minato's side?"
The masked ANBU immediately bowed respectfully.
"Reporting to Lord Third Hokage. Lord Minato has already led his team to infiltrate the Kumogakure region. They have successfully contacted the informant stationed there."
"Barring any accidents, the intelligence should be retrieved within the next few days."
"Good."
Hiruzen nodded slowly.
"Report to me immediately once there is any new information."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
The ANBU vanished in a blur the moment the order was given.
The office fell silent.
Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and slowly lit his pipe.
He took several deep puffs.
White smoke drifted through the air.
It had already been six or seven years since the end of the Second Ninja World War.
For a world that had only escaped the chaotic Warring States Period less than fifty years earlier, such a long period of peace was actually quite rare.
But recently…
Something felt wrong.
Over the past few months, intelligence reports from various countries had gradually increased.
Small border conflicts.
Strange troop movements.
Unusual diplomatic activities.
All these clues made Hiruzen uneasy.
As someone who had witnessed the founding of Konoha and personally experienced two major ninja wars…
He had developed a keen instinct for danger.
And right now…
That instinct was telling him something.
Hiruzen exhaled a long stream of smoke.
"…Could it be…"
"…Another Ninja World War is about to begin?"
The thought lingered in his mind like a shadow.
He rubbed his temples with a tired sigh.
Then his eyes shifted to another stack of documents on the desk.
These were reports from the Konoha Ninja Academy.
Because he had been dealing with village affairs earlier, he hadn't had time to review them yet.
Hiruzen casually picked up the top report.
"I wonder how that kid Asuma has been performing lately…"
He muttered to himself.
Asuma Sarutobi—his youngest son—was currently studying at the academy.
Although Hiruzen rarely showed favoritism, he still occasionally paid attention to the boy's progress.
Flipping through the report, he quickly reached the section listing exam results.
"The first place in this exam is…"
Hiruzen paused slightly.
"…Ren?"
The name immediately sounded familiar.
He remembered it.
The reason was simple.
This student named Ren had once written an essay that left a deep impression on him.
It was during the final exam last semester.
The essay topic had been about the Will of Fire.
Ren's writing had demonstrated a very thorough understanding of the concept.
Not only that…
He had also expressed great admiration for the leadership of Konoha—especially for Hiruzen himself.
The essay had been sincere, thoughtful, and emotionally compelling.
Hiruzen had been quite pleased after reading it.
Of course…
It was still slightly inferior to a certain essay written two years ago.
Hiruzen smiled faintly as he remembered it.
The title of that essay had been—
"My Hokage Father."
Yes.
That one had been written by Asuma.
It was a proud moment for Hiruzen as a father.
However, because Hiruzen had paid attention to Ren before, he was also aware of something else.
Ren's performance at the academy had always been…
Extremely unbalanced.
In cultural subjects, Ren consistently ranked first in the entire grade.
But in practical combat classes…
He usually only ranked somewhere outside the top ten.
After combining all scores, his final ranking normally hovered around fourth or fifth place.
In other words—
If Ren could raise his combat scores just a little…
His overall ranking would easily become first place.
Unfortunately, that improvement never seemed to happen.
Hiruzen had seen students like this before.
After graduation, most of them followed careers such as:
Working in the Intelligence Division decoding signals.
Teaching at the Ninja Academy.
Or, if they possessed exceptional scientific ability…
They might join Konoha's Research Institute and assist Orochimaru with experiments.
However…
Hiruzen's gaze suddenly sharpened when he read the teacher's evaluation attached to this latest exam.
"Deep understanding and skillful application of the Three Basic Jutsu."
"Excellent tactical thinking."
"Spontaneously improved the hand-seal formula for the Substitution Jutsu."
"Suspected talent in Space-Time Ninjutsu."
Hiruzen raised an eyebrow.
"Oh?"
That was a surprisingly high evaluation.
One must understand—
Space-Time Ninjutsu was extremely rare.
It was even rarer than the Five Element techniques.
Even rarer than many Yin–Yang Release abilities.
Since the founding of Konoha, only two individuals had achieved truly remarkable accomplishments in this field.
One was the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
The other was—
Minato Namikaze.
Minato had become a Jonin while still in his teens.
His legendary technique, the Flying Thunder God, had already earned him the nickname:
"The Yellow Flash."
If another ninja with similar potential appeared…
The significance would be enormous.
Still, Hiruzen remained cautious.
"The principles behind the Substitution Jutsu and Space-Time Ninjutsu are not the same," he muttered.
"Being skilled with one doesn't necessarily mean the other can be mastered."
He tapped the report thoughtfully.
"But if both Oki and Himura gave such an evaluation…"
"…Perhaps I should meet this child personally someday."
---
Meanwhile — Hyuga Clan Compound
Inside the Hyuga clan's residence area, a young man stood before a mirror.
Hyuga Homon splashed water on his face.
He looked slightly tired.
After drying his face, he stepped outside and walked toward a nearby house.
That was the residence of his cousin.
Hizashi Hyuga.
When Homon arrived, he saw Hizashi already practicing Gentle Fist in the courtyard.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Each strike landed on the wooden training dummy with precise force.
The dummy was already covered with dents and cracks.
Homon quietly stood to the side and waited.
He didn't interrupt.
Only after Hizashi finished his training did Homon step forward and hand him a towel.
"Good morning, Brother Hizashi."
Hizashi wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Morning, Homon."
He looked at his younger cousin with curiosity.
"So? What's the matter?"
"More problems with your training again?"
"Come on, tell me."
As members of the Hyuga branch family, the two cousins had always been close.
Hizashi was several years older and had already become a ninja.
So most of the time…
He acted as Homon's mentor.
Naturally, he assumed Homon had come to ask about cultivation again.
But Homon hesitated.
"…I do have a problem."
He pursed his lips slightly.
Then he asked a strange question.
"Brother Hizashi…"
"Under what circumstances…"
"…would the Byakugan fail to see through someone using the Transformation Technique right in front of you?"
Hizashi froze.
"…What?"
His expression instantly changed.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
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