Asuma's engagement banquet was held on schedule. A month later, his and Kurenai's wedding took place. Kiyosuke and Kakashi attended as best men, while Rin and Anko were bridesmaids.
At the wedding, Hiruzen Sarutobi was all smiles, grinning at everyone he saw. His youngest son's marriage was finally settled—he couldn't be happier. Even when his eldest grandson tugged on his beard, he didn't get angry.
In contrast, Yūhi Shinku was gnashing his teeth. His precious daughter had been stolen away—how could he possibly be happy about it?
He and his wife cried their eyes out as they sent their daughter off. When Kiyosuke and the others came to fetch her, Shinku even threatened Asuma, saying that if he dared mistreat Kurenai, he'd personally come to assassinate him.
Asuma was so frightened he hurriedly promised over and over that he'd take good care of her.
From that day on, Yūhi Kurenai became Sarutobi Kurenai.
After the wedding, life returned to normal. In the blink of an eye, it was time for Naruto's graduation.
Naruto had been taught by Kiyosuke, so there was no way the Clone Technique would be his weak point. That was a joke. Shadow Clone Technique? He could do it in his sleep. The moment Iruka saw it, he immediately marked him as passed. Mizuki, who had been hoping to stir up trouble, found no opening and had no choice but to let it go.
At that moment, Kiyosuke was summoned by Hiruzen Sarutobi to the Hokage's office.
"Huh? You want me to take on a squad?" Kiyosuke said, dumbfounded.
He had been planning to slack off and observe things from the shadows. Why was he being roped into teaching?
"Well, Kurenai was just promoted to Jōnin, and the plan was to assign her a genin team. Everything was already arranged, but then she got pregnant. Now we need someone to fill in, and frankly, you're the only one in the village who has both the time and the ability to do it," Hiruzen said, utterly unbothered. This guy had been slacking off for years. Ever since he brought Karin back, he hadn't gone on a single mission. Time to put him to work.
"So, which team am I taking?"
Once graduation was over, the genin were assigned to their teams. All Kiyosuke had to do was pick them up.
"This team." Hiruzen handed him a list. Just as Kiyosuke expected, it was the trio originally meant for Kurenai—Hyūga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino.
"All from ninja clans. You won't need to teach them much. Easy work," Hiruzen said, knowing full well Kiyosuke was a lazy bastard. These three came from established clans and mostly relied on inherited techniques. The teacher's role would be minimal, and even if Kiyosuke slacked off, it wouldn't impact them too much.
"Alright, I'll take them. By the way, who's Kakashi getting?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno."
Still the same trio. Kiyosuke had no objections. Kakashi was the best fit—aside from his weak chakra reserves, he was practically perfect.
"Sounds good. We meet them tomorrow, right?"
"Right. Oh, I've already assigned Karin to the Konoha Hospital under Rin's supervision."
"Got it."
He had already spoken to Rin about it beforehand. She would teach Karin medical ninjutsu. It might be a waste to use the chakra reserves of someone from the Uzumaki clan for healing, but it would help Karin learn to control her powers and keep her special abilities hidden.
At that moment, a kid with a scarf came charging in, holding a kunai in his hand.
"Old man! Let's fight! The title of Fifth Hokage belongs to me, Konohamaru-sama!!"
Thud!
The boy tripped over his own scarf and faceplanted after just a few steps.
"..." Kiyosuke.
"..." Hiruzen.
"Ow! Damn it! Was that a trap?"
As expected of the Third Hokage's grandson—he could even come up with such a clever excuse to ease his own embarrassment.
"Are you alright, Konohamaru-sama? Huh? Kiyosuke?" A man in sunglasses opened the door and spotted Kiyosuke, greeting him with a nod.
"Oh, Ebisu. You a private tutor now?"
"Yes."
Ebisu was currently Konohamaru's tutor. The family was too busy to care for the kid, so they had entrusted him to Ebisu.
"I see."
With a sigh, Hiruzen said, "Kiyosuke, do me a favor and take Konohamaru off my hands for a day."
"You want me to take care of this brat?"
"Stop calling me a brat, you—ow ow ow!" Konohamaru wailed as Kiyosuke smacked him on the head. Holding the lump on his head, he crouched down with tears glistening in his eyes.
"I can't cry… I'm Konohamaru-sama!"
"Oh? So you've got some backbone. Fine, I'll take him." Kiyosuke grabbed Konohamaru and walked out. Ebisu followed closely behind, while Hiruzen sighed and went back to his paperwork.
"Hey! Put down Konohamaru-sama right now!" Konohamaru squirmed and shouted, but Kiyosuke said nothing. He carried him straight to Naruto.
Naruto, now wearing his genin headband, was proudly boasting to Ichiraku about how awesome he was. When he saw Kiyosuke approach with Konohamaru in tow, he blinked in confusion.
"Kiyosuke-san, who's that?"
"The Third Hokage's grandson. He's your problem now." Kiyosuke tossed Konohamaru to Naruto and strutted off.
"What are you looking at, huh? I'm Konohamaru-sama!" Konohamaru declared boldly.
Naruto looked at him once—then punched him on the head.
"A brat like you acting all arrogant? Third Hokage's grandson? I'm the Fourth Hokage's son, you hear me? Do you see me going around shouting it?"
He snorted and gave Konohamaru another whack.
Konohamaru held his head, crouching on the ground. But he still didn't cry.
"I'm going to defeat you! Then I'll become the Fifth Hokage! Come on! This is a showdown between heirs to the Hokage legacy!" Konohamaru shouted, drawing a kunai and charging at Naruto.
Thump!
He tripped again.
"..." Naruto. "Did Kiyosuke-san seriously just dump a total idiot on me?"
"Who are you calling an idiot?!"
"You, duh!"
Naruto gave him another beating, then took him for some ramen.
Naruto wasn't the type to bully little kids.
Still, Konohamaru was probably going to annoy him all day long.
...
Hyūga Residence
Kiyosuke's arrival surprised Hiashi Hyūga. Although Kiyosuke often showed up, it was usually by hopping the wall to snag a free meal. This time, he came in through the front gate and even needed to be formally announced. First time for everything. Was it for a mission?
Hiashi, showing proper manners, welcomed Kiyosuke.
"To what do I owe the honor of your visit to the Hyūga clan today, Kiyosuke-sama?" he asked.
Kiyosuke took a sip of tea and said casually,
"Well, the Hokage assigned Hinata to me as my student, so I'm here for a little home visit. We know each other well already anyway."
Hiashi's hand trembled slightly.
"Wasn't she assigned to Sarutobi Kurenai?"
"Oh, Kurenai's pregnant. Damn that Asuma bastard," Kiyosuke muttered, gritting his teeth. Anyone who didn't know better might think something serious had happened.
"Pregnancy is good, pregnancy is great!"
With Kiyosuke teaching Hinata, she was bound to grow stronger. Excellent. Once Kiyosuke left, he'd immediately send the Sarutobi family the finest congratulatory gifts.