"Adri—Ayato—good evening."
Hinata shyly padded up to Ayato, tugging at his sleeve. Her tiny voice was soft and timid; with the noise from the battles below, most around them didn't catch what she said.
"Good evening." Ayato turned, smiled, and ruffled Hinata's hair. He blinked his unusual eyes to read her chakra—using his doujutsu's insight he could sense that little Hinata had already grasped the basic restorative technique, Gentle Step Back. He'd been giving her little pointers whenever time allowed; after all, raising a cute kid like this was enjoyable—and it showed: Hinata's strength was already well beyond a typical chunin's.
"Pink, huh." Ayato mumbled.
"Huh?" Hinata cocked her head, puzzled by the comment. She flushed lightly, about to scold him, but Ayato pinched her cheek instead and praised, "You've been working hard—you've mastered Gentle Step Back."
"Hehe." Hinata beamed like a little cat and snuggled closer to Ayato. She'd always wanted his approval; his praise made her glow.
"Keep it up," Ayato said, then glanced back at the matches. If only the grown women were as easy to handle as his little Hinata, he'd have started his harem ages ago. Too bad—all of them were stubborn, proud, and not nearly so manageable.
Hinata clung to his sleeve and blinked up at him with hopeful eyes. Ayato popped a chip close to her face and asked, "Want some?"
She shook her head, simply staring up at him.
"Want me to hold you?" he asked.
"Yes." Hinata nodded without hesitation.
"Being spoiled is fine. I can hold you even when you sleep." He scooped her up and hugged the small, fragrant girl to his chest while watching the arena.
Hinata's sweetness caught Yūhi's eye. She watched Ayato and the little girl and felt a twinge of surprise. In her memory Hinata had been timid; seeing her cling to Ayato made Yūhi's cheeks warm with an embarrassed blush—she quickly looked away. The idea of being held like that made her blush in a different way.
From the stands, Mei Terumi watched Hinata too and considered the child harmless: a kid playing at staking her claim over Ayato. Mei had far bigger concerns—she had only one real rival here: Yūhi. Kids didn't matter.
Ayato munched his chips and glanced down at the field. "Time to show them what I taught them," he said to himself. Teaching students was tedious—but sometimes entertaining.
On the battlefield, Kankuro sneered at Naruto. "So this is your skill? Don't embarrass Ayato—your teacher wouldn't approve of such trash."
Naruto, battered and scratched, pushed himself up from the dirt. "When I was at my lowest, Ayato helped me. He's rough sometimes, but he showed me my own path. He believed in me. So I won't let you insult him!" Naruto flared with outrage. "If you talk trash about Ayato, I'll gut you!"
Kankuro's fingers danced—puppet strings already humming. "Ayato taught you nothing but hot air, right?" He grinned. A large, brown-black puppet snapped toward Naruto with knives flashing.
"Multi Shadow Clone Technique!" Naruto formed seals and a cloud of white smoke birthed dozens of clones—they rushed Kankuro with kunai.
Kankuro's puppet spat a purple gas that filled the arena. One by one, Naruto's clones dissolved into smoke under the poisonous vapor. From the balcony, Gaara watched with unimpressed calm and muttered, "Kankuro, finish this quickly."
Kankuro's puppet lunged, swallowing the real Naruto inside its belly. The crowd winced—Naruto looked trapped; many feared the worst. Might Guy readied to intervene.
"Puppets are boring toys. Watch closely—this is how I train them." Ayato rose and stopped Might Guy with a casual hand. Everyone on the stands looked at him in confusion—had Ayato taught Naruto anything useful against a puppet master? This looked hopeless for Naruto.
Kankuro smirked and stabbed inward at the puppet's belly where Naruto was trapped. "Die, little fox. Then you can thank your teacher—Ayato."
Panic swept the stands. Naruto's allies braced. Suddenly a low rumble rolled across the arena—smoke billowed white and rose like a pillar.
"Summoning Technique—!"
The smoke peeled away to reveal an enormous toad, its mouth clenched around a stub of a cigarette, towering like a small mountain—Gamabunta had been called.
"Summoning?!" Everyone froze. Naruto stood atop Gamabunta, chest out, as the huge toad glowered.
Unbelievable. Naruto had summoned Gamabunta—the same great toad Jiraiya once called. The crowd buzzed incredulously; Naruto, once a hopeless failure, had performed a summoning jutsu of legendary scale.
Gamabunta snorted and blew a plume of smoke. "You again? Don't summon me unless it's serious!" he bellowed, irritated at Naruto's frequent summons.
Ayato watched impassively. Gamabunta had little choice but to honor his pact—especially with Ayato standing nearby. Gamabunta grudgingly stayed; Naruto's grin shone like sunshine.
"Get him," Ayato said calmly. "If something happens, I'll take responsibility."
Naruto pumped his fists: "Let's go, Gamabunta! We'll beat him!"
Gamabunta only huffed and vanished into smoke, leaving Naruto bewildered on the field. The toad's exit left the audience baffled—did Ayato force the contract? Had he ordered Gamabunta to appear and then acceptably let him leave? Either way, the crowd stared at Ayato in stunned curiosity.
Kankuro sneered, but soon his face changed when Naruto's clones reformed—this time shaping an unfamiliar, tight blue sphere in their palms.
"Rasengan!" the clones shouted—the roar of rotational chakra coalescing into the spiraling ball of energy.
One after another, multiple Narutos charged—each with a spinning, gleaming blue orb—hurtling straight at Kankuro's puppet.
The upper ranks of the audience went silent. The Rasengan: developed by the Fourth Hokage, a notoriously difficult shape transformation technique—yet here was Naruto's clone army all wielding it. Many jonin had failed to master Rasengan; a genin like Naruto suddenly using it? Impossible.
Whispers spread. "Ayato taught him Rasengan? How—?" "He taught Naruto Rasengan? Ayato's teaching ability…" Everyone's disbelief hardened into awe.
Moonlight Gales raised his hand. "Winner: Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto beamed and looked up to the balcony where Ayato sat. He gave a thumbs-up. "Didn't embarrass you, right, Ayato?"
Ayato gave a small upward curl of his mouth. "Not bad, you little idiot."
Sasuke scoffed. "If I'd been in that match, I'd have finished the opponent instantly." Naruto, hearing Sasuke's snooty taunt, shot back with a red-faced glare.
Torn between shock and reluctant admiration, the elders realized something: Ayato wasn't just lucky or flashy—he could actually teach. He'd turned a struggling student into someone capable of summoning and shaping chakra at a level nobody expected.
Naruto strutted up to the balcony, waving the victory off with boyish pride; Sasuke watched, poker-faced but thoughtful. The crowd's murmurs simmered into a buzz that reached even the three watching Kage—their eyes on Ayato had changed. He was no ordinary teacher.
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