"All right," Rin said after a moment of consideration. "You can come with us."
Obito's face lit up.
"But you have to listen carefully," she continued. "The hospital class is different from the academy. Everyone attending genuinely wants to learn, so you can't shout, argue, or interrupt the instructor."
"I don't do that!"
Ren and Rin looked at him.
Obito's confidence weakened.
"…Often."
Rin folded her arms.
"If you disturb the lesson and prevent other people from learning, I'll be angry."
That was enough.
Obito straightened immediately and raised one hand as though swearing an oath before the Hokage.
"I promise I'll behave. I'll be the quietest person in the entire hospital!"
Ren doubted that such a thing was physically possible, but he kept the thought to himself.
Rin nodded. "We're leaving at eight-thirty tomorrow morning. Don't be late."
"I won't!"
Obito pumped one fist into the air before turning toward the road.
"See you tomorrow!"
He skipped away with so much energy that no one would have guessed Guy had kicked him out of a combat ring only a few hours earlier.
Ren and Rin watched him disappear around the corner.
They exchanged a look.
Then both sighed.
"Do you think he'll arrive on time?" Rin asked.
"No."
"Neither do I."
After saying goodnight, they entered their neighboring homes.
Warm light filled Ren's kitchen. His mother was sitting at the table with a book beside her and looked up as soon as he opened the door.
"You're late."
"Sorry. The assessment took longer than expected, and I ate at Ichiraku with Rin, Obito, and Guy."
Aoi's eyes moved over him.
His clothes were dusty, his hair was disheveled, and a faint bruise remained on his forearm where Daichi's Gentle Fist had struck.
"What happened?"
"Practical combat."
"Did you win?"
"Yes."
The pride that crossed her face was immediately replaced by concern.
"Are you injured?"
"Only slightly."
Aoi stood, pulled him toward the light, and inspected his arm despite his protests. Once she confirmed that nothing was broken, she finally allowed him to explain the day's events.
Ren did not mention the system.
He told her about the assessment, his match against Daichi, and the instructors' interest in his improved Substitution Technique. He deliberately made the fight sound less dangerous than it had been.
Aoi listened with increasing disbelief.
"You defeated a Hyūga student?"
"It was an academy match, not a real battle."
"With the Three Basic Techniques?"
"Yes."
"And your instructors want to send a report to the Third Hokage?"
"That's what they said."
Aoi stared at him for several seconds before reaching across the table and pulling him into a tight embrace.
"I'm proud of you."
The simple words affected Ren more than the academy's cheers had.
He returned the embrace.
"Thanks, Mom."
After washing and changing clothes, Ren went directly to his room. The moment he reached the bed, he fell backward and spread his arms across the blanket.
The entire day replayed in his mind.
His perfect transformation.
The duel against Daichi.
The 0.2-second substitution.
Visual Sharing.
Spirit of Fire.
The instructors' report.
Tomorrow's medical training class.
"Today was exhausting."
Yet a smile remained on his face.
For years, Ren had feared that his ordinary talent would carry him directly toward an early grave.
Now paths were opening in every direction.
He closed his eyes and summoned the system one final time.
"Transformation Technique, Clone Technique, Substitution Technique, Great Fireball… goodnight."
The Transformation Technique appeared first, her expression unusually gentle.
[Transformation Technique: "Goodnight, Ren. You worked hard today. Rest properly and let your body recover."]
[Transformation Technique favorability +1]
[Transformation Technique — 71/100 — Intimate]
The Clone Technique refused to answer directly, but her portrait remained visible for several seconds longer than usual.
The Substitution Technique offered a shy wave.
The Great Fireball Technique declared that powerful flames did not require sleep, then disappeared almost immediately.
Ren's breathing slowed.
Within minutes, he was asleep.
---
The following morning, sunlight spread across Konoha beneath a clear blue sky.
A sharp cry echoed above the village.
A messenger hawk descended from the clouds and landed on the railing atop the Hokage Building. The sealed container attached to its leg bore the markings of an intelligence unit stationed near the Land of Lightning.
An ANBU operative wearing a dog-shaped mask approached the bird. He removed the message, carried it to the Intelligence Division for decryption, and delivered the resulting report directly to the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind a desk buried beneath official documents.
He looked younger than the aging leader remembered by future generations. His back remained straight, his hair retained most of its color, and the lines around his eyes had not yet deepened.
Even so, the responsibilities of leading Konoha had already begun to weigh upon him.
Hiruzen accepted the report.
"Good work."
His eyes moved rapidly across the page.
The longer he read, the more severe his expression became.
"The Land of Lightning again…"
Kumogakure patrols had increased near disputed territory. Trade caravans reported unusual troop movement, while several informants had disappeared within the past month.
Individually, each incident could be dismissed.
Together, they formed an unsettling pattern.
Hiruzen set the document down.
"What is Minato's current status?"
The masked ANBU bowed.
"Minato has crossed into the Kumogakure region with his team. They have successfully contacted our informant and are preparing to retrieve the intelligence. If nothing unexpected occurs, they should return within several days."
"Send word the moment they report."
"Yes, Lord Third."
The ANBU vanished in a swirl of leaves.
Hiruzen leaned back and lit his pipe. Smoke rose toward the ceiling as he looked through the office window at the village below.
Six years had passed since the end of the Second Ninja World War.
For a world that had left the Warring States Period less than half a century earlier, six years of relative peace was already an achievement.
But peace had never erased old hatred.
It merely gave the great villages time to recover their strength.
Recent movements along the borders carried a familiar scent—one Hiruzen had encountered twice before.
"The Third Great Ninja War…"
He spoke the words quietly, as if saying them too loudly might make them inevitable.
Konoha had not fully recovered from the previous conflict. Another war would consume resources, destabilize alliances, and send a new generation of young shinobi into battle.
Hiruzen rubbed his temples.
His gaze fell upon another stack of documents.
The top file bore the seal of the Ninja Academy.
It was a preliminary report from the previous day's practical assessment. Final rankings would not be announced until the academic examinations were complete, but instructors were expected to report unusual performances immediately.
Hiruzen picked it up.
"I wonder how Asuma performed."
He turned the first page.
Asuma's results were strong. His Three Basic Techniques, weapons handling, and practical combat remained among the best in the year.
A fatherly smile touched Hiruzen's face.
Then he noticed the name listed at the top of the preliminary composite projection.
"Ren?"
The name was familiar.
Hiruzen searched his memory.
Ren consistently held the highest academic marks in his year. During the previous semester, he had written an unusually polished essay on the Will of Fire and the importance of unity under Konoha's leadership.
The essay had praised the village administration—and Hiruzen personally—with such precision that it bordered on flattery.
Hiruzen had appreciated it anyway.
Of course, it was still slightly inferior to the essay Asuma had written two years earlier.
My Father, the Hokage.
Objectively, the structure had been uneven, the handwriting messy, and several sentences had wandered away from the assigned topic.
As a father, Hiruzen considered it a masterpiece.
Ren's file showed a familiar pattern.
Exceptional academic performance.
Average practical scores.
Strong tactical knowledge but limited physical ability and ordinary chakra reserves.
Students with similar profiles appeared every few years. After graduation, many entered clerical or intelligence roles. Some became academy instructors. Those with a strong scientific foundation occasionally joined Konoha's research divisions and assisted shinobi such as Orochimaru.
Ren seemed destined for one of those paths.
Until now.
Hiruzen read the instructors' observations.
Exceptional command of the Three Basic Techniques.
Defeated a Hyūga student with the Byakugan activated.
Demonstrated unusual tactical awareness and exploited a known limitation in the Byakugan's field of vision.
Developed a personalized Substitution Technique requiring little apparent preparation and no visible hand seals.
Activation speed bears superficial resemblance to space–time displacement.
Hiruzen stopped smoking.
He read the final sentence again.
"Space–time displacement?"
Space–time ninjutsu was not an ordinary branch of chakra manipulation.
It was rarer than the five elemental transformations and more difficult to comprehend than most conventional Yin or Yang Release techniques.
In Konoha's history, only two shinobi had achieved truly outstanding results in that field.
The first was the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
The second was Minato Namikaze.
Minato's mastery of the Flying Thunder God had already elevated him into Konoha's youngest generation of elite Jōnin. His growing reputation among enemies would soon become impossible to ignore.
If another child possessed similar talent, the implications were enormous.
Hiruzen's excitement lasted only a moment.
He forced himself to examine the report more critically.
"The Substitution Technique and Flying Thunder God operate on completely different principles."
One relied on movement and deception.
The other involved a genuine space–time formula.
Performing one technique at exceptional speed did not guarantee talent for the other.
Still, Instructors Oki and Himura were both experienced Chūnin. Neither man was prone to exaggerating a student's performance.
Ren had also developed the variation without clan instruction.
That alone deserved attention.
Hiruzen closed the file.
"If the academy's final results confirm this assessment, I'll meet him."
Perhaps Ren possessed no space–time aptitude at all.
Perhaps he had simply discovered an unusual application of a basic technique.
Either outcome remained valuable.
At a time when war threatened the borders, Konoha could not afford to overlook talent.
---
At the same time, inside the Hyūga clan compound, Daichi stood before a mirror.
He had washed away the dirt from yesterday's battle, but weariness remained beneath his pale eyes. A bruise darkened his side, and every movement reminded him of Ren's kick.
He stared at his reflection.
The apology returned to him.
The whispers.
The disbelief on his classmates' faces.
Most painfully, the instant when his Byakugan had failed to locate Ren.
Daichi dressed and left his home.
He crossed several courtyards before reaching the residence of an older branch-family cousin.
Hizashi Hyūga was training outside.
His palms struck a wooden practice dummy with precise, controlled force. Each impact left a new depression in the wood, yet his posture remained fluid and composed.
Daichi waited quietly.
Interrupting Gentle Fist practice was considered disrespectful.
After completing the sequence, Hizashi lowered his hands and exhaled. Only then did he notice the boy standing at the edge of the courtyard.
"Daichi."
Daichi stepped forward and offered him a clean towel.
"Good morning, Cousin Hizashi."
Hizashi accepted it and wiped the sweat from his face.
"You don't usually visit this early. Are you having trouble with your training?"
Daichi hesitated.
Hizashi had instructed him many times before. As members of the branch family, they shared techniques, frustrations, and an understanding of the limitations placed upon them.
Normally, Daichi would have explained the problem immediately.
Today, the words felt difficult to speak.
"I lost a match yesterday."
Hizashi's expression remained calm.
"Losing is not unusual. Understand why it happened, and the defeat will become useful."
"My opponent was a civilian academy student."
That drew more attention.
"Did he use an unfamiliar technique?"
"The Transformation, Clone, and Substitution Techniques."
Hizashi stopped wiping his face.
"All three?"
Daichi nodded.
Then he asked the question that had tormented him throughout the night.
"Cousin Hizashi… under what circumstances could the Byakugan lose track of an enemy using the Transformation Technique?"
Hizashi frowned.
"It shouldn't."
"What if the enemy transforms into a small object?"
"The Byakugan would still detect the chakra within the transformed body."
"That's what I thought."
Hizashi studied him.
"Explain exactly what happened."
Daichi described the scattered shuriken, the four illusionary clones, and the moment Ren's original body disappeared from his vision.
As he spoke, Hizashi's expression gradually changed.
"When you moved, did the enemy's position remain directly behind your upper body?"
Daichi stiffened.
"I… think so."
Hizashi's pale eyes sharpened.
There was only one explanation.
The transformed Ren had not fooled the Byakugan.
He had hidden within its narrow blind angle—and somehow remained there while Daichi moved.
That meant the academy student understood a weakness most outsiders did not even know existed.
Hizashi set the towel aside.
"Show me every step of the fight."
Daichi looked up.
"Now?"
"Now."
Hizashi activated his Byakugan.
Veins rose around his eyes as an oppressive focus filled the courtyard.
"I want to know how a civilian child learned where the Hyūga cannot see."