They stepped out of the Administrative Building.
"Alright, Hinami! Next stop: Academy registration. How are we feeling? Nervous?"
"Is today actually the registration day?" Hinami asked, ignoring Guy's attempt to coddle her. She had been wondering since last night; it seemed far too convenient that she had arrived in Konoha exactly when enrollment opened.
Guy laughed and shook his head. "Of course not. The Academy has three terms a year. The first is April to July, the second is August to November, and the third is January to March. It's August now, so children your age have already finished a full term. If you don't want to wait until next year, you'll have to join as a transfer student."
Hinami nodded. "I see. And the entrance exam?"
At the mention of the exam, Guy's expression drifted into a nostalgic daze. He remembered his father's encouragement all those years ago.
"The entrance exam consists of only one task: Chakra Extraction. If you can learn the technique, refine a bit of chakra, and activate your 'chakra seed,' you're in. There's no longer a time limit."
He spoke the last part with a hint of hard-won pride. Back in his day, he had been rejected because he couldn't extract chakra within the allotted time. It was only after he proved his dedication by running until he collapsed that the Third Hokage gave him a chance. Since he had gone on to become a Jonin through pure Taijutsu, the Academy rules had been amended.
"Don't worry, Hinami," Guy encouraged. "You'll pass with flying colors."
Hinami gave a noncommittal nod. A Chunin exam might be a challenge—given how monstrous Konoha's Genin tended to be—but an entrance test for toddlers?
Please.
The Academy sat just across the street from the Administrative Hall. Within minutes, they passed through the modest front gates. A five-story orange building loomed ahead, topped with a circular sign bearing the "Fire" kanji. Directly in front of the building lay a massive, oval training ground.
Under the sweltering sun, dozens of small children were lined up, taking turns throwing kunai at scarred wooden targets.
Hidden beneath her blindfold, Hinami's Byakugan flared to life. The veins around her temples bulged, and the entire layout of the school—and every person in it—flashed into her mind with crystalline clarity.
On the training field:
"Uchiha Sasuke. Seven rings. Excellent. Next! Uzumaki Naruto!"
The Uchiha Massacre had not yet occurred. A young Sasuke walked back to the crowd with his chin held high, basking in the high-pitched cheers of the girls—Sakura and Ino being the loudest.
"Hmph!" A blonde boy with whisker-like marks on his cheeks huffed, his face a mask of poorly hidden envy.
"Hurry up, don't dawdle!" Iruka Umino shouted, checking his clipboard.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Just watch me!" Naruto scooped up a ridiculous armful of kunai and shuriken, already imagining the girls swooning over him once he outperformed Sasuke.
In the distance, Guy noticed Hinami's pace suddenly quicken. Her path became a strange, jagged "S" shape, as if she were navigating a deadly battlefield rather than a school courtyard.
Before he could ask, a shuriken whistled through the air, clattering clumsily onto the patch of dirt Hinami had occupied only a second prior. Laughter and Iruka's frustrated shouting echoed from the field.
Guy looked at Hinami in disbelief.
"My sensory range is... decent," Hinami said simply, making a tiny "pinch" gesture with her fingers.
Guy nodded, impressed. In a world of hidden arts and bloodline limits, a blind girl walking all the way to Konoha alone clearly had some tricks up her sleeve.
They soon reached the Admissions Office.
Knock, knock!
"Come in."
The office was small and sparse, dominated by a single desk. Behind it sat a lean man in a standard green flak jacket. He looked up, his dark green eyes as cold and lifeless as stagnant water despite his handsome features.
"I am Kazama Yue," he stated flatly. "How can I help you?"
"Hello, Kazama-sensei! This is my daughter, Hinami." Guy stepped aside to present her. "We'd like to apply for a transfer enrollment."
Yue's gaze swept over Hinami, lingering on the black blindfold. He squinted, and when he looked back at the smiling Guy, his face was a mask of icy disdain.
"Are you joking with me?"
The heavy tone made Guy's smile falter. Hinami said nothing, but her grip on her cane tightened.
"The blind cannot become shinobi."
"But, Hinami is—"
"I only say things once," Yue interrupted, looking back down at his paperwork. "Please leave."
To Yue, being a ninja wasn't a game. It was a profession defined by blood and death. Every shinobi was a survivor who had crawled out from under a pile of corpses. A blind girl in the Academy? Ridiculous.
He looked at the lingering Guy with growing disgust. A child might have a naive dream, but a father who humored such dangerous delusions was truly repulsive.
"Kazama-sensei, if you would just consider—"
"There is nothing to consider, Might-san." Yue's patience snapped. "I will not enroll your blind daughter. Not now, not ever. Get out."
"You—!" Guy started to argue.
BOOM!!!
A heavy, bell-like thud shook the floorboards. Both men jumped, their eyes snapping toward the source of the noise.
The silver-haired girl stood calmly, her hand resting on the head of her cane. The metal tip had buried itself three inches deep into the floor. Fine, spider-web cracks radiated from the point of impact, shattering the ceramic tiles.
"Since neither of you can convince the other," Hinami said coolly, "I have a suggestion."
Yue looked at the ruined floor, then at the expressionless blindfolded girl. The rejection he was about to bark died in his throat. This wasn't what he expected. A spark of genuine interest flickered in his dull green eyes.
"And what would that be?"
"A duel. Whoever wins is right."
Guy looked ready to jump in—he desperately wanted to punch the arrogant teacher—but Hinami wasn't looking at him.
Creeeak.
She pulled the cane from the floor, trailing a bit of dust. She raised the staff with one hand, pointing the metal tip directly at Yue's handsome face.
As Yue's smile vanished, Hinami's lips curled into a sharp smirk.
"Downstairs. One-on-one."
"Just you and me."