"Enough nonsense!"
"You're an ANBU ninja—how dare you lay hands on the person you're supposed to be protecting!"
"Is this how you're supposed to behave?!"
Inside Kyūsei's living room, Sarutobi Hiruzen stared sternly at the three people lined up in front of him.
To be honest, Nightingale gave him a serious headache as well.
She was a member of the Hyūga main family, which made the situation particularly delicate.
The Hyūga clan had always been Hiruzen's most steadfast supporters—no matter what decision he made, they backed him without hesitation. Nightingale herself was assigned to Kyūsei precisely because of that: her clan background, her main-family status, the Byakugan's sensory abilities… all of it had been carefully considered.
This was both a strategic choice and a gesture of goodwill toward the Hyūga.
Having a Hyūga serve as the jinchūriki's personal ANBU was, in itself, a symbol of trust from the Hokage.
Which meant… he couldn't handle her too harshly.
Nightingale, however, clearly wasn't convinced. She turned her head away slightly, displeasure written all over her posture.
I was the one who got tricked by that brat—so why does it feel like I'm the one at fault?!
"And you!"
Hiruzen turned his glare toward Kyūsei, irritation written plainly on his face.
Messing with others was one thing—but of all people, this little demon had gone and provoked Nightingale.
"Causing trouble day in and day out!"
"Do you have any idea how many incidents you've created in just these few years?!"
"Giving the Inuzuka kid's ninja dog diarrhea-inducing drugs!"
"Spraying insecticide on the Aburame clan's bugs!"
"And you even threw the Uchiha clan's ninja cats into a crate of catnip!"
"I'm not even going to mention you leading that group of hooligans at the academy!"
"If you keep acting this recklessly, something will go wrong sooner or later!"
"Yes!"
"I know I was wrong!"
Kyūsei responded with perfect sincerity.
Admit mistakes when they're made. Stand straight when being punished.
Seeing that earnest expression—one completely devoid of genuine remorse—nearly twisted Hiruzen's beard in anger.
He'd heard those exact words from this brat countless times.
Every single time it was: I'm sorry today, I'll do it again tomorrow.
"It seems I can't let this slide anymore!"
Hiruzen's voice hardened.
"Namikaze Kaoru!"
"Eh?"
"E-eh?!"
Kaoru jumped in fright when the angry Hokage suddenly called her name.
Looking at the blonde girl's flustered, slightly airheaded expression, Hiruzen sighed inwardly.
Was he really angry?
Not particularly.
He just needed an excuse to place Kaoru beside Kyūsei.
And right now, Kyūsei had thoughtfully delivered a pillow when he was feeling sleepy.
"From now on, you'll stay with Kyūsei," Hiruzen declared.
"Even when you train, you take him with you."
"If he does anything reckless, report it directly to me."
"I'll discipline him myself."
"Y-yes~"
Kaoru answered softly.
An angry Hokage was terrifying…
"And you two as well," Hiruzen added, turning to Nightingale and Seiran.
"You're to keep a closer eye on Kyūsei."
"If he crosses the line, stop him immediately."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Both ANBU responded in unison.
Kyūsei, listening to these arrangements, turned his head away with clear dissatisfaction.
"Don't look so unhappy," Hiruzen said coolly.
"I was far too indulgent with you before. It's time you were properly managed."
"And one more thing—don't bully Kaoru."
Watching Hiruzen leave, Kyūsei let out a long sigh.
Yeah… this time, he'd really pissed the old man off.
Nightingale and Seiran returned to their posts. Kyūsei collapsed weakly onto the living room sofa.
"Um… ah…"
Kaoru stood awkwardly in front of him, her hands unsure of where to rest.
"U-Uzumaki… um, Kyūsei…"
"I'll be relying on you from now on…"
Kyūsei looked at the nervous girl and sighed again.
He'd gone to great lengths to avoid this blonde girl—yet in the end, he'd still fallen straight into her hands.
Still…
This was Namikaze Kaoru.
Not Namikaze Minato.
Glancing at her flustered expression, Kyūsei spoke calmly.
"What's your usual schedule like?"
"I—I was about to go train…"
She looked up at him hopefully.
"Kyūsei… do you want to come with me?"
"…Sigh. Fine. Let's go together."
Her eyes visibly lit up at his answer.
Training Ground No. 3 — Konoha
"Y-you've got to be kidding me…"
Kyūsei stared at Kaoru, who was trying to slice a leaf using chakra alone. His mouth twitched.
"You're already training in Wind Release chakra nature transformation?"
Seriously—just what kind of monster was this?
As expected of the so-called Golden Flash. Starting nature transformation training at ten years old.
In the original timeline, Naruto didn't even begin this training until he was sixteen.
"Eh?"
"Kyūsei, can you do it too?"
Kaoru looked at him curiously.
"No," Kyūsei replied honestly.
"I can't do that."
Which made it all the more understandable how Namikaze Minato—no, Kaoru—could effortlessly beat down the Cloud ninja who tried to kidnap Kushina at age twelve.
Starting jōnin-level training at ten…
By twelve, of course they'd be terrifying.
Yeah. Totally makes sense.
"Then what are you training right now?"
Perhaps because Kyūsei wasn't acting cold like before, Kaoru found the courage to ask.
"Oh, this."
Kyūsei opened his right palm.
A short segment of golden chains emerged from his hand.
The Uzumaki clan's secret technique—
Adamantine Sealing Chains.
This technique was practically the symbol of the Uzumaki clan itself.
There was a reason Uzumaki sealing techniques were so feared—and this jutsu was a major part of it.
At a high enough level, even tailed beasts couldn't break free.
In the original story, even while on the brink of death, Uzumaki Kushina had used this technique to restrain the Nine-Tails long enough for Minato to perform the Eight Trigrams Seal and the Reaper Death Seal.
"Wow… Kyūsei, you're amazing."
Even though she didn't fully understand what the golden chains were, Kaoru praised him sincerely.
"Haha, it's nothing special."
"Your nature transformation is amazing too."
Kyūsei was clearly quite pleased by the praise.
Nearby, Nightingale and Seiran watched the two kids exchange compliments with expressions full of disbelief.
Whether it was Wind Release nature transformation or Adamantine Sealing Chains—
both were things almost impossible to master at their age.
There was only one conclusion.
These two were genuine prodigies.
"Hmph. What's so great about that," Nightingale muttered.
"The Hyūga clan's techniques are amazing too."
"Go on," Kyūsei said, patting Kaoru's head.
"Train some more."
"Mm!"
Kaoru ran off happily.
Watching her cheerful retreat, Nightingale couldn't help but feel speechless.
Little sister…
You were sent here by the Hokage to keep an eye on this bastard.
So why do you look like you're completely smitten already?