Time Flies

The next morning, Yuzuru Hyuga went to the park first and gave Itachi a thorough lesson, hitting a bit too hard—he figured the kid would be sore all day and probably too busy hurting to dwell on any life-and-death philosophical nonsense.

He'd agreed with Itachi to meet every morning for sparring and training, and Yuzuru Hyuga considered himself someone who didn't break promises. So, since class kept him from playing with Itachi all morning, he'd just find another way to stay by his side.

As long as Uchiha Itachi was in constant pain, he'd naturally think of him every moment, train twice as hard because of it, and achieve the goal of "training together" in a different sense.

On top of that, Yuzuru Hyuga moved tomorrow's meeting time up to four in the morning, calling it: "Have you seen the Hokage Rock at four in the morning?"

Under Itachi's glare—one that cursed him with both eyes—he strolled off to the Ninja Academy.

Joining the Ninja Academy was just a word for the Hyuga Family.

To make his graduation look reasonable, he directly enrolled in the fifth grade. That way, theoretically finishing sixth grade and graduating was perfectly logical. Yep, logical!

The funny thing was, since the shinobi world's official enrollment age was six, Yuzuru Hyuga, now only four, faced classmates who were mostly eleven-year-old kids.

Without even trying, relying solely on his record and history to shoot straight for number one, Yuzuru Hyuga added two more achievements—youngest enrollee, youngest fifth-grader. Too bad the title of youngest graduate was already snatched by Kakashi Hatake, who graduated at five.

Graduating the Ninja Academy as a Genin at five? Was that even human? What kind of kid could do that?

When the teacher introduced the new classmate as this little bean, most of the kids fell into deep thought.

This brat, barely reaching their waists, was supposed to be their classmate?

Yuzuru Hyuga introduced himself with easy confidence, politely answering the curious gazes and questions from his classmates. Despite his young age, he surprised everyone by fitting in pretty quickly.

His mental age, paired with his good looks, made him the class mascot in no time. The boys didn't feel like bullying a little kid and were happy to play the big brother role to satisfy their protective instincts, while the girls doted on him even more, turning into mommy fans within a day.

Too bad most of the talented kids had already graduated early and been sent off to the Third Shinobi World War. The fifth-graders left in the class were few—only about twenty—with average talent and ordinary backgrounds, useless for building connections.

Not a single familiar face from the original story.

Pretty boring.

At least the academy hours were short, from nine in the morning to three in the afternoon, sticking to the wartime schedule. For now, it didn't look like that would change anytime soon.

Everyone was busy lately building momentum and preparing for Minato Namikaze's inauguration.

After coming home in the afternoon, Yuzuru Hyuga was called straight to the training ground.

Hizashi Hyuga stood in a white robe, eyes closed, waiting for a long time.

"You're here."

"Yes."

"I waited a long time for you."

"School just let out."

"Anything you want to say?"

"...Have you read any Gu Long novels?"

"?"

Hizashi Hyuga was long used to his son's rambling when facing him. He just narrowed his eyes, refusing to overthink it, so he wouldn't get led around by his crazy kid.

"Make your move. Today, you won't have a chance to go find your Uchiha friend."

He spread his hands and beckoned to Yuzuru Hyuga—little did he know, his son was even planning to cut into his sleep time just to meet that friend.

Yuzuru Hyuga smiled. "If you'd said earlier you'd spar with me, I wouldn't have needed that little idiot Itachi."

"You sure talk fondly," Hizashi Hyuga said, only to see two kunai flying at him in ambush.

He smirked disdainfully. "You don't actually think you can beat me, do you?"

"How do you know this isn't my training goal?" Yuzuru Hyuga's words hadn't even faded before he was already charging in close.

Hizashi Hyuga waved a hand casually, and the kunai were deflected by Gentle Fist coated in Chakra. "Say that after you've done it!"

Half a minute later, Yuzuru Hyuga was sent flying with a palm strike, rolling several times on the ground before getting up.

"Again."

"Bam!"

Yuzuru Hyuga flew backward again.

"Again!"

"Bam!"

"Again!"

The afternoon training ground was filled with nothing but the word "again."

When the dust settled, Yuzuru Hyuga, limp as mud, was handed over to the Branch Family's Medical Ninja. After treating the more serious injuries, Hizashi Hyuga tossed him into the bath.

After dinner, Hizashi Hyuga planned to rest, but he hadn't expected—

Yuzuru Hyuga, still limping a bit, leaned against his doorframe with an annoying grin. "Father, you didn't hit me too hard and run out of stamina, did you?"

So the dust in the training ground kicked up again until his mother came to drag them both to bed.

Not wanting to call a Medical Ninja late at night, Hizashi Hyuga went easier on him. Even so, Yuzuru Hyuga still had to sleep on his stomach that night.

His butt was swollen from the kicks.

Yuzuru Hyuga only muttered quietly to his mother about someone settling a personal grudge.

And the result was that very night, Hizashi Hyuga wanted to drag him into extra training.

Time passed in an endless cycle of three points: getting beaten, eating, and whacking moles (Itachi).

In between, he even squeezed in time to attend Minato Namikaze's Coronation Ceremony.

He had to admit, the Hokage Robe looked pretty sharp—if it were pure white, it might have suited the Hyuga Family's style even better.

Beyond that, it was back to the same endless, monotonous loop.

And what was originally supposed to be only half a year of Special Training stretched into another six months, all because of Yuzuru Hyuga's sharp tongue.

No help for it—every time Hizashi Hyuga thought about wrapping it up, Yuzuru would sidle over and say things like, "Father isn't afraid that after a year of training, his son might actually beat him, is he?"

If Hizashi tried to avoid him, Yuzuru would whisper in his mother's ear—one day complaining that his father hit too hard, the next day whining that if his father didn't want to hit him, it must mean he didn't love him. In short—

That little brat was definitely beyond saving.

Hizashi Hyuga, for all his shortcomings, was still the Branch Family Head and an Elite Jonin who formed the backbone of Konoha. Though his ninjutsu was somewhat lacking, in every other aspect he was an absolute top-tier combat force in the village.

He had originally thought he could at least make sure that little brat Yuzuru kept calling him "Dad" obediently for another three to five years.

But as the one-year mark drew closer, things began to seem... gradually strange, even slipping beyond Hizashi Hyuga's control.

Because the things Yuzuru Hyuga was showing him were starting to make his scalp tingle more and more.