"Duck!"
Just as Hyūga Tōda was drowning in despair, a lazy voice rang out in his ears.
In the next instant, a flash of yellow appeared in front of him.
Kizaru moved first despite attacking later. The moment he released the jutsu, he followed through with the plan he had already prepared. Like a flicker of light, he appeared between Tōda and Yamakawa Seiji almost instantly.
With one hand pressing down one head and the other hand pressing down the second, Kizaru stood there with that same calm smile on his face.
Then, facing the enormous wind sphere roaring toward them with enough force to tear apart everything in its path, Kizaru raised his long, powerful right leg.
Chakra flowed over it in an instant.
Then he kicked upward.
Boom!
The massive sphere of wind was launched straight into the sky like a ball struck cleanly off the ground.
A second later, it exploded high above them, bursting into violent gusts that swept across the entire training field.
The students watching from around the grounds were hit by the rushing wind and cried out in alarm, squeezing their eyes shut, lowering their heads, and throwing up their arms to shield themselves.
"Wow… now that's dangerous."
Even with the gale lashing out in all directions, Kizaru stood firm in the center without budging an inch. Still holding down both his teacher and classmate, he tilted his head up toward the sky and spoke as if he were admiring the weather.
"If you knew it was dangerous, then don't go throwing around ninjutsu like that!" Yamakawa Seiji snapped.
His head was still being pushed down, and the teacher had to swat Kizaru's hand away before he could finally lift it. His heart was still pounding, and the moment he looked at Kizaru, anger flared right back up again.
For a split second, Yamakawa Seiji genuinely wanted to curse him out.
But he was a teacher.
This was the Academy.
They were surrounded by students.
And most importantly… the strength gap between the two of them was a very real thing.
So Yamakawa Seiji endured it.
Compared to the furious teacher, Hyūga Tōda was still in a daze. Even after the danger had passed, he remained half-crouched there, his head lowered where Kizaru had pinned it.
"Come on, Sensei, I knew what I was doing," Kizaru said with an easy smile. "See? Nobody got hurt."
Yamakawa Seiji took a deep breath.
Then another.
And another.
He kept repeating the same thing to himself in his heart.
Don't lose your temper. You're a teacher. This is the Academy. The students are watching. Don't lose your temper.
"You…" Yamakawa Seiji stared at Kizaru, only to realize he had no idea where to even start.
After a long pause, he finally said in complete seriousness, "Kizaru… you should apply for early graduation. If you stay at the Academy any longer, all you'll do is waste your talent."
Kizaru put on an unusually solemn face.
"Sensei… I just can't bear to part with you all."
Yamakawa Seiji's cheek twitched.
For a moment, he had absolutely nothing to say.
"Ahem."
Just as the atmosphere was starting to freeze over, a deliberate cough came from nearby.
"Hokage-sama!"
"Wow! It's Hokage-sama!"
"Grandpa Hokage is here!"
Hearing Grandpa Hokage from every direction, the still very much middle-aged Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly felt an urge to light a pipe on the spot.
Why are children from this generation so bad at speaking?
Even while grumbling internally, Hiruzen kept that warm, kindly smile fixed on his face as he greeted the children crowding around him.
He patted one child on the head, ruffled another's hair, and gently moved through the cluster of excited students before finally making his way to the center of the field.
"Hokage-sama! My negligence forced you to come here in person. I'm deeply sorry!"
The moment Yamakawa Seiji saw Hiruzen approach, he hurriedly turned and bowed in apology.
Still smiling, Hiruzen walked over, reached out, and patted him lightly on the shoulder.
"Seiji, raise your head," he said kindly. "This wasn't your fault. You've worked hard."
Hearing the Hokage's comforting words, Yamakawa Seiji was so moved he nearly teared up on the spot.
Watching the Third Hokage smoothly put on his public-facing kindness act, Kizaru's gaze drifted sideways toward Danzō, who stood not far away with his usual cold expression.
Looking as approachable as a funeral portrait.
Kizaru couldn't help sighing inwardly for his uncle's political instincts.
Honestly, no wonder you never became Hokage properly. If you keep walking around with that kind of face all day, who'd ever vote for you?
"Kizaru-kun, are you hurt anywhere?" Hiruzen asked at last, turning his attention to him.
Kizaru stopped roasting Danzō in his head and answered with a smile.
"I'm fine, Hokage-sama."
Hiruzen visibly relaxed, then shifted his gaze toward Hyūga Tōda—
whose head was, for some reason, still being kept down by Kizaru's hand.
"And you, Hyūga-kun? Are you alright?"
Tōda, who had only just begun recovering from the shock, suddenly snapped back to reality.
And then it hit him.
The Hokage had seen everything.
Seen him freeze up.
Seen him panic like some fraud.
Seen him kneeling there like an idiot.
Shame and frustration exploded inside him at once.
He hurriedly tried to raise his head to answer—
Only to realize Kizaru was still holding it down.
"Kizaru! Let go of me!" Tōda shouted immediately.
Kizaru blinked, as if he had only just noticed.
"Oh? My bad."
He quickly withdrew his hand and gave Tōda an apologetic look.
"Sorry, Hyūga-san. You looked like you were about to fall over, so I figured I'd keep you from embarrassing yourself any further."
Tōda's face went red instantly, embarrassment and irritation twisting together so hard he couldn't even get a word out.
In the end, he could only grit his teeth, ignore Kizaru, and turn toward the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama! I-I'm fine!"
Hiruzen nodded gently.
"It's good to have spirit," he said. "But in the future, don't be so reckless. Correctly judging both your own strength and your opponent's is a basic quality every excellent shinobi must have."
"I understand, Hokage-sama…" Tōda lowered his head in embarrassment.
Hiruzen reached out and patted the back of his head.
"But your performance today was admirable," he continued, his tone warm and encouraging. "You didn't lose heart even against a much stronger opponent. You kept trying to challenge him head-on. That was brave. I'm sure you'll become an excellent shinobi one day."
Kizaru watched from the side.
Alright, alright. The encouragement speech, the kind smile, the perfect timing… this old man really is smooth with this stuff.
No matter how much Kizaru complained in his head, the effect was immediate.
Tōda slowly raised his head again, his pale eyes fixed on the Hokage, shining so brightly they practically sparkled.
From that moment on, Hyūga Tōda officially became Hokage-sama's loyal little admirer.
After soothing the Hyūga boy, Hiruzen turned back toward Kizaru.
Now this one…
This was the real reason he had come.
"Kizaru-kun," Hiruzen said, his expression full of approval, "with your talent and your current level of skill, remaining in the Academy truly is a waste. Apply for early graduation. When the time comes, I'll personally place your forehead protector on you."
Faced with Hiruzen's extremely suspicious attempt to push a six-year-old child into the workforce early, Kizaru rejected him without hesitation.
"Hokage-sama, I'm only a little better than the others my age," he said with a harmless smile. "As a shinobi, I still have a lot to learn. I'd like to continue studying at the Academy a while longer."
In Kizaru's view, trying to make a six-year-old graduate early, accept missions, and possibly even end up on a battlefield someday was proof enough that this world was insane.
It made him want to curse.
He wanted to say more...
But then he noticed the looks around him.
The students nearby were all staring at him with naked envy in their eyes, as if they wished they could swap places with him on the spot.
Seeing that, Kizaru decided there was no point saying anything else.
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