At that moment, the door suddenly swung open from the outside.
A white-haired boy wearing a face mask, exuding an intense aura of "pretentiousness," walked in.
White Fang's face immediately broke into a bright smile as he quickly stepped forward to greet him.
"Kakashi, school's over? How was your day at the academy? Were you bullied by any classmates?"
Hearing this, Kakashi's face instantly showed a helpless expression.
After all, he was the perpetual runner-up, and his demeanor and appearance were quite outstanding—how could he possibly be bullied by others?
If it weren't for his father's interference, he wouldn't bother "playing house" at the Ninja Academy.
Aside from that annoying woman, Kakashi looked down on everyone else at the Ninja Academy; he could easily defeat them with one hand.
Seeing that Kakashi didn't respond, White Fang wasn't angry. Instead, he pointed to Hayato Ren and introduced him:
"This is my good friend, Hayato Ren. You can call him Uncle Ren. Go on, greet him."
Upon hearing this, Kakashi's face twisted into an expression as if he'd just eaten a pound of dirt.
He had certainly heard of Hayato Ren's reputation and even admired him to some extent.
But wasn't it a bit presumptuous to call him "uncle" right off the bat?
The age gap between them didn't seem that large, after all.
So, after nodding at Hayato Ren, Kakashi bypassed White Fang and headed upstairs to his room.
White Fang sat back down opposite Hayato Ren, wearing a slightly troubled expression.
"Sigh, Kakashi has been becoming less and less human lately. He used to cling to my leg and call me 'Daddy,' but now he's so tight-lipped. Is this the legendary rebellious phase?"
To this, Hayato Ren could only shrug, offering a helpless expression.
Suddenly, Hayato Ren stood up, his face stiffening.
"Is the Ninja Academy out already?"
White Fang glanced at the clock on the wall—5:00 PM—and nodded in response.
"I believe the Ninja Academy lets out at 4:00 PM. You should know better than me. What's wrong? Do you have something urgent?"
White Fang's words were the final straw that broke the camel's back.
Because he had lost track of time, it seemed he had stood up Konan for a full hour.
At this thought, Hayato Ren didn't even bother bidding farewell to White Fang. Instead, he directly used the Flying Thunder God technique to teleport to Konan's side.
Watching Hayato Ren's sudden disappearance, White Fang's expression remained unchanged, though he muttered with a sigh:
"Kids these days are so impatient."
After saying this, White Fang picked up his teacup and took a sip.
....
Staring at the familiar gate, beads of sweat instantly formed on Hayato Ren's forehead.
Konan had really been waiting for him outside the Ninja Academy all this time.
When Hayato Ren suddenly appeared, Konan's face immediately broke into a radiant smile.
"Brother Ren, you're here."
But seeing Konan's brilliant smile only made Hayato Ren feel a pang of guilt.
After giving a stiff nod, he took Konan's small hand and began walking slowly toward home.
Somewhat to Hayato Ren's surprise, Konan didn't seem particularly angry at all.
Her steps were light and cheerful throughout the walk, and she even hummed a carefree little tune.
However, the more Konan acted as if nothing was wrong, the guiltier Hayato Ren felt.
So he cautiously ventured to ask:
"Konan, are you angry that I was so late?"
Konan looked up with a puzzled expression.
"Not at all. You came to pick me up in the end, Brother Ren."
"But what if I never showed up? You wouldn't have waited forever, would you?"
"I'm not a fool. Of course I wouldn't wait forever. I would have gone home by myself when it got dark. Brother Ren must have had something very important to do, so I wouldn't be angry."
Seeing Konan's genuine expression, Hayato Ren let out an awkward laugh.
It would have been one thing if he had actually been delayed by important matters that afternoon.
The problem was that he had spent the afternoon drinking tea and chatting at White Fang's house, completely losing track of time.
Looking at it this way, Hayato Ren really wasn't being a responsible person.
...
Two years later, Konan "swished" open the curtains in the room.
Under the sunlight, the eyelids of the three people in bed began to twitch.
"Brother Ren, Sister Kushina, Sister Mikoto, wake up! It's getting late. I've already made breakfast."
"Mmm, just five more minutes. I'll get up in five minutes."
After saying this, Kushina wrapped her arms around Hayato Ren's neck and closed her eyes again.
Watching Kushina's actions, Konan couldn't help but cast an envious glance.
Meanwhile, Mikoto, who was nearby, opened her eyes and showed an embarrassed expression.
[What a failure! To think I needed Konan to wake me up. This is just too pathetic.]
While mentally scolding herself, Mikoto turned her gaze toward the culprit - Hayato Ren, who after briefly adjusting to the sunlight, had already returned to dreamland.
Seeing Hayato Ren sleeping so soundly, Mikoto slapped him on the waist.
This successfully brought Hayato Ren, who had just started a chess game with the Duke of Zhou, back to reality.
Looking at Konan's expectant face not far away, Hayato Ren yawned.
Was today some special occasion? Why would Konan specifically come to their room to wake everyone up?
After a chaotic commotion, Hayato Ren finally got himself ready and headed to the dining room to enjoy the breakfast Konan had prepared.
Seeing the lavish spread on the table, Kushina couldn't help but exclaim:
"Is today some special day? The breakfast is so extravagant!"
Kushina had asked the very question Hayato Ren had been wondering about earlier.
Mikoto, standing nearby, didn't hesitate to call her out.
"What kind of sister are you? Today is Konan's graduation and team assignment day from the Ninja Academy. Starting today, Konan will become a Ninja."
After speaking, Mikoto couldn't help but cast a gentle gaze toward Konan.
Back when Mikoto had just graduated, she too had been so excited that she stayed up late and woke up early the next morning, just like Konan.
"Hehe, so that's how it is. No wonder..." Kushina let out a hearty laugh.
For Konan, starting today, she no longer had to play "house" games at the mere Ninja Academy. It was truly worth celebrating.