Before long, the three of them arrived near the Hokage's office.
In addition to that, Minato was also carrying three bamboo rats.
"Don't mind him," Yuki Seisui said to Uchiha Haru with a smile. "That panda sage just has a sharp tongue but a warm heart."
"Otherwise, he wouldn't have given us the bamboo rats."
Uchiha Haru nodded. "Mm."
"Do you two even realize I'm still standing here?" Minato looked at them helplessly. "Just wait, someday I'll be lovey-dovey in front of you two as payback!"
"Heh."
Yuki Seisui let out a short, mocking laugh.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Minato snapped, clearly annoyed.
"Nothing. Just... something."
Just as Minato was about to argue, a voice called out from behind, "You three still haven't gone home yet?"
Turning around, they saw Sarutobi Hiruzen approaching with a white-haired man in a mask, Sakumo Hatake.
"Good evening, Grandpa Third!" Seisui greeted sweetly. "We just finished training."
He quickly snatched two squirming bamboo rats from Minato's hands and offered them up with a smile. "The panda sage gave us these. We can't eat them all, Grandpa Third, why don't you take some and try?"
Hiruzen looked at the bamboo rats in Seisui's hands, then chuckled and accepted them. "Well, I won't say no then."
He handed one of the bamboo rats to Sakumo Hatake beside him. "Here, give it a try. It's from young Seisui himself."
Sakumo didn't say anything, only quietly accepted the bamboo rat and glanced at Seisui.
He had originally planned to personally teach the boy some swordsmanship, but seeing him now, it seemed unnecessary.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, everyone went their separate ways.
That night, near Seisui's home, Haru and Minato sat eagerly by the fire where the bamboo rats were roasting, occasionally gulping down their saliva.
"Smells amazing," Minato said, leaning closer to inhale the aroma, visibly drooling.
Seisui smirked at the sight.
Normally, bamboo rats were about 40 cm long and weighed around 5 or 6 pounds. But the ones gifted by the panda sage were unusually large, each easily weighed over 15 pounds.
"There's still two months until the Chunin Exams," Seisui said as he turned the spit. "I expect shinobi from other villages will start arriving soon."
"Once we finish the exams, the three of us won't need to take missions for a few years."
Minato blinked in confusion. "What's wrong with taking missions?"
Seisui sighed and didn't answer. Haru responded instead, "If we don't have to go on missions, we can focus all our time on training."
"To get stronger."
She gently stroked the sword next to her. "And besides, missions can get you killed."
The three continued chatting while watching the fire.
After they finished eating, Minato returned home alone.
Seisui walked Haru back toward the Uchiha district.
Haru glanced sideways at him and raised her sword slightly. "I'm perfectly safe on my own, you know."
Seisui gave her a look. "…You're a girl. Let me walk you back."
She didn't argue after that and simply let him escort her.
Now that he had taught them the Rasengan, there was no need for the three of them to train together anymore.
Seisui remained in the Panda Clan's territory, splitting his days between sage training and ninjutsu. His life was full and focused.
He had managed to enter Sage Mode, but it still took several hours to build up to it, and even then, he couldn't maintain it for more than a few minutes. He was still far from being able to instantly activate it and keep it going.
He didn't want to be the kind of guy people joked about being "short and quick."
==========
One month later.
Seisui and Haru walked through the village streets. By now, some shinobi from other villages had started arriving in Konoha.
Guards from the police force could be seen patrolling more frequently.
Whenever one of them spotted Haru, they'd respectfully greet her with, "Miss Haru."
Then, they'd glare daggers at Seisui.
But since Uchiha Setsuna, the elder of the clan, had tacitly approved of their relationship, the others couldn't do much.
Unlike the Hyuga clan, the Uchiha didn't oppose marriage outside the clan, so they only glared at him with bloodshot eyes instead of doing anything more.
Still, it made him uncomfortable.
If you married into the Hyuga clan, you got the cold stare of the Byakugan. If you married into the Uchiha clan, you got glared at by Sharingan.
He was fed up. When would it finally be time for "kept men" to rise up?
As he pondered these thoughts, he noticed a familiar figure ahead and called out, "Big Bro Duy!"
Might Duy turned around, confused at first. When he recognized Seisui, his face lit up. "Seisui!"
Several other genin nearby, recognizing Might Duy, backed away from him in disgust, casting puzzled looks at Seisui and Haru.
Seisui jogged over, pulling Haru along by the hand.
"Big Bro Duy, what are you doing here?"
Duy scratched his head and pointed toward some ninja tool stalls. "The Chunin Exams start in a month, so I'm buying gear to prepare."
Seisui was surprised. "You're entering too, Big Bro Duy?"
"Yep!" Duy pumped his fist in the air. "Even if I've been a genin forever, I still want to become a Chunin!"
"My youth is without regrets!"
Seisui gave him a thumbs-up. "Youth is all about charging forward without hesitation!"
"Waaah!" Duy burst into tears, moved beyond words. "You really get it!"
"You're the true inheritor of youth that I recognize!"
Haru's lips twitched slightly as she glanced at Seisui, silently praying he wouldn't turn out like that.
"You guys are here for the Chunin Exams too?"
A voice came from behind. Seisui turned and saw a teenager with slicked-back yellow hair and a Cloud Village forehead protector.
It was A, future Raikage, son of the current Raikage.
But for now, he was still just the young A.
"That's right!" Duy declared loudly. "I'm one of this year's Chunin hopefuls!"
A ignored him and turned to Seisui. The boy looked even younger than him but already wore a forehead protector.
There was no way Konoha would let a kid graduate just for fun. He had to be something special.
"Seisui!" Minato came walking over, curiously eyeing A.
"Another one?" A muttered, glancing between Minato and Seisui.
Seisui gave Minato a nod, then smiled at A. "We'll be participating in the Chunin Exams too. Let's all do our best."
"Looks like the competition's going to be intense this time," said a girl wearing a Sand Village forehead protector, watching from a short distance away.
"According to our intel, that one's the Raikage's son."
"And those three Konoha genin are the rumored young prodigies making waves lately."
"Looks like you've got some strong opponents this year, Pakura," said Chiyo seriously beside her.
=============
95+ Advance Chapters Available on Patreon.com/Veltoria