A fist connected with the back of the first ninja's skull.
The impact sent him careening through the air. His body crashed against a tree trunk with bone-jarring force, and he crumpled to the ground gasping, every muscle screaming in protest. Movement was impossible. Breathing was a luxury.
Ino's jaw fell open.
"Hinata," she breathed, her voice small and uncertain, "tell me I'm not losing my mind. Did Meian just... did he actually take down two ninjas without them landing a single hit?"
Hinata said nothing, but her Byakugan was fully active. Her hands trembled slightly as she pressed them together. What she was sensing didn't make any sense.
The chakra radiating from Meian's body was staggering—not the restrained, growing power she'd detected just days ago, but something vast and controlled. Jounin-level reserves. Maybe beyond.
Mr. Meian... just what are you?
She'd only ever felt that kind of chakra in two people: the Hokage, and Naruto Uzumaki. But Naruto's came partially from the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed within him. Even accounting for that, his natural reserves were extraordinary. Meian's felt different. Deliberately compressed. Waiting.
Ino turned to her, catching the shock written across Hinata's face. "Hinata! What is it? Say something!"
Hinata shook her head firmly, lips pressed into a thin line. She couldn't share this. Not yet. The implications were too staggering to voice aloud.
Across the clearing, Meian stood motionless, regarding the two defeated ninjas with an almost detached curiosity. "That's all it takes to call yourself a ninja now? Or are you just particularly incompetent?"
Both men clutched their ribs and stomachs, groaning. Pain pinned them in place, made their bodies refuse to cooperate.
Meian's expression remained cold, clinical. "I'm only going to say this once: leave me alone. All of you. If I see you again, I'll make sure you regret it."
They nodded so frantically their heads nearly snapped off. What choice did they have?
This wasn't a fight. It was a massacre. Their team captain—a legitimate Chunin—would have been torn apart by this kid. A six-year-old kid.
The reality of it froze their blood.
They wouldn't be foolish enough to test that resolve again.
Meian turned and walked away, his pace unhurried. As he passed by Ino and Hinata, Hinata's eyes followed him, wide and searching.
Ino, meanwhile, practically vibrated with excitement. She skipped in front of him, grinning. "That was incredible! I didn't know you were that strong! Way stronger than anyone our age! There's no way you actually lost to Hinata before. Were you just playing around?"
Meian gave her a flat, unimpressed look. "Not relevant." He glanced at Hinata, whose expression remained unreadable. A faint smile crossed his face. "Let me guess—you already knew?"
Hinata's cheeks flushed. She nodded, her voice barely above a whisper. "Y-yes."
That smile lingered as Meian continued walking, leaving both girls in his wake.
The moment he was out of earshot, Ino grabbed Hinata's arm, her voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "Did you see that? He destroyed them! They couldn't even mount a defense!"
The forehead protectors were the giveaway—these two were definitely Genin, the rank that came immediately after graduation from the Academy. Real ninjas, in other words.
"He's even stronger than I thought," Ino continued, her mind churning. "I need to figure out what he's hiding."
Hinata nodded slowly, still processing what she'd witnessed. "Yes. Mr. Meian is... very strong. I didn't expect him to defeat two ninjas so easily."
"It's unbelievable."
They walked home together in contemplative silence, trying to reconcile the ordinary boy they studied alongside with the force of nature they'd just seen in action.
Meian, for his part, gave the encounter no further thought. Ino and Hinata wouldn't talk—he was certain of that. And those two Genin would never willingly admit to their humiliation. The incident would stay buried.
At home that evening, he spread out the advanced ninjutsu texts Kakashi had left behind. The material was leagues beyond anything in the Academy library—techniques, theory, and historical references that only a Jounin would normally access.
Kakashi had been away on an S-rank mission for over a month. The work had kept him occupied during that time: attending the Academy, maintaining his cover, walking to and from school with Ino and Hinata every day. The attention it drew from Shikamaru and the others was minor—easily managed.
Then a letter arrived.
Kakashi's handwriting was unmistakable. The mission was ending. He wanted Meian to meet him at the Konoha Back Mountain after school tomorrow.
Meian's lips curved into a slight smile. S-rank work for over a month. I wonder what techniques he'll teach me this time.
He burned the letter in the kitchen sink and prepared his schoolbag for the next day.
The following morning, he was halfway to the Academy when a hand landed on his shoulder.
Without turning around, Meian said, "I told you I can sense you."
Ino appeared in front of him, her own bag slung across her shoulder, looking faintly exasperated. "I know you always take this route. I've been waiting here for ten minutes!"
There was an edge of complaint in her voice that caught him off guard.
Meian raised an eyebrow. "Since when do you complain?"
Ino's cheeks puffed out. "Since now! What, is that a problem?"
He smirked and kept walking. Ino fell into step beside him, her annoyance fading into a more familiar smile.
"We're practicing kunai and shuriken throws today," she said. "Have you been training?"
The question was casual, but Meian caught the hesitation beneath it. He knew what she was thinking: He won't show his real strength at school. Too risky. But if he did... he'd outshine everyone. Even Sasuke.
Ino had moved on from her obsession with Sasuke Uchiha weeks ago. Something about Meian was easier to be around—less brooding, less demanding of validation. She'd stopped competing with Sakura over some boy's attention and simply... started enjoying his company instead.
It felt like progress.
"I'll manage," Meian replied, and Ino laughed.
They walked on together toward the Academy, the morning sun filtering through the leaves overhead.
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