"Oh my, you kissed him. Looks like your relationship leveled up again."Yamanaka Inoichi's wife smiled warmly as Ino rushed into the house.
"Mom! You were peeking again!" Ino protested, flustered.
"I wasn't peeking," her mother said cheerfully. "You didn't exactly hide anything."
"…Ugh."Ino had no rebuttal.
After a moment, she straightened and looked serious."Mom, I want to talk to you about something."
Her mother blinked, then smiled knowingly. "Is it about Tōma?"
Ino shook her head. "Not exactly. I want to train harder from now on. So I probably won't be able to help at the flower shop as much."
"Hmm?" Her mother was puzzled. "Why all of a sudden?"
Ino explained Tōma's early graduation and what it meant.
"I see," her mother said, understanding dawning. "That boy really is impressive."
"Then… is it okay?"
"Of course." She smiled without hesitation. "I agree."
"Thank you, Mom!"Ino hugged her tightly, relieved.
Her mother stroked her hair gently. In truth, they had never forced Ino to help at the shop. She had always chosen to do so herself. Now that she had a clear goal, what parent would stand in the way?
The next day at the Ninja Academy, Fujimoto Tōma found himself completely surrounded.
Iruka had just announced his early graduation.
"I wanna graduate early too!" Naruto suddenly shouted, jumping to his feet. "I'm gonna be Hokage! I can't stay stuck in school forever!"
"Naruto!" Iruka snapped. "Fix your theory scores first. And if you still can't properly use the Three Basic Techniques, you won't graduate even in sixth year!"
Naruto wilted instantly. He had no argument.
"So you're really leaving early, huh," Nara Shikamaru said with a sigh.
"Yeah. Staying here doesn't do much for me anymore," Tōma replied.
"You could've left ages ago," Shikamaru said lazily. "Waited this long… was it because of Ino?"
"That's part of it," Tōma admitted. "Not all."
"Troublesome," Shikamaru muttered, scratching his head.Still, his hand clenched slightly on the desk. Getting left behind… yeah, that's annoying.
He glanced at Akimichi Chōji, who was happily eating."Hey, Chōji. Wanna know a way to eat more barbecue?"
"Huh?" Chōji's eyes lit up instantly.
"Keep up with Tōma's growth. You'll definitely get more barbecue."
"More barbecue?!" Chōji burst into flames of motivation. "I'm fired up! I'll work hard too!"
Shikamaru smirked. No guilt at all. Encouraging a friend wasn't a bad thing.
"I wanna graduate too!" Naruto blurted out again.
"Then you'll need to work harder," Tōma said lightly. "The exam focuses heavily on the Three Techniques."
"Ugh… Transformation's fine, but Clone and Substitution are killing me," Naruto groaned.
"I'll come by after school and show you a few tricks," Tōma said after a moment's thought.
"Really? Promise!" Naruto beamed.
"I promise."
After class, Tōma was swarmed. Boys asked how he qualified for early graduation. Girls expressed exaggerated sadness at his departure. He answered calmly, saying his goodbyes properly. It was his last day here. No need to keep up a distant front anymore.
"Fujimoto. Come out with me."
The voice cut through the noise.
Sasuke Uchiha stood there, staring intently.
"Alright," Tōma said, smiling.
They left the classroom and soon arrived at a familiar spot. Tōma remembered beating Sasuke here before.
"What is it this time?" Tōma asked.
"I'm going to defeat you," Sasuke said coldly. "Then I'll prove I can graduate early too."
He lunged forward.
Hearing about Tōma's graduation had shaken him. Staying in the Academy felt pointless now. If he wanted to catch up, he couldn't waste time anymore.
So he chose the simplest path.Beat the one who already left.
Unfortunately, he seemed to have forgotten one thing.
He had never beaten Tōma before.
Moments later, Sasuke was pinned to the ground with one hand.
"Damn it!" Sasuke growled. The gap hadn't closed. It felt wider than ever. He trained hard. So why?
Tōma pressed him down and knocked firmly on the hardest part of his skull.
"You're this desperate to beat me," Tōma said calmly. "Is it because you want revenge on that missing-nin?"
Sasuke went still. No struggle. No words.
"I've heard about what happened to the Uchiha," Tōma continued, sitting on his back. "Honestly, I support your revenge. Telling you to 'let it go' would be inhuman."
"But I can't even beat you!" Sasuke snarled. "How am I supposed to catch up to him? How am I supposed to kill him?!"
Tōma chuckled softly and knocked his head again.
"Hey! Why'd you hit me again?!" Sasuke snapped.
He didn't notice it himself, but he'd been hit there so often that it barely swelled anymore. Just hurt.