Time Flies

Early the next morning, Yuzuru Hyuga went to the park first and gave Itachi a harsh lesson. He hit a little too hard, so Itachi would probably be sore all day. At least he likely would not have time to brood over questions of life and death.

He had previously agreed with Itachi that they would meet every morning to spar and train. Yuzuru Hyuga considered himself a man who kept his promises, so since school kept him from spending the whole morning with Itachi, he might as well find another way to keep him company.

As long as Itachi Uchiha kept hurting, he would naturally think of Yuzuru at every moment and train twice as hard because of it, achieving the goal of "training together" by another means.

And Yuzuru Hyuga moved tomorrow's meeting time up to four in the morning, under the lofty pretense of asking, "Have you ever seen Hokage Rock at four in the morning?"

Under Itachi's gaze, which practically cursed him with his eyes, Yuzuru leisurely headed to the Ninja Academy.

Joining the Ninja Academy was merely a matter of a word for the Hyuga Clan.

To make his graduation seem reasonable, he enrolled directly in the fifth grade. That way, he would theoretically graduate after completing sixth grade. Perfectly reasonable. Yes, reasonable!

Interestingly, since the official enrollment age in the ninja world was six, four-year-old Yuzuru Hyuga now found himself surrounded by classmates who were mostly eleven-year-old youths.

Without even trying, Yuzuru added two more records to his path toward becoming the youngest person in history through nothing but his profile and records—the youngest student ever enrolled and the youngest fifth grader. Unfortunately, the achievement of youngest graduate had already been snatched away by Kakashi, who graduated at five.

Graduating from the Ninja Academy and becoming a Genin at five—was that even human? What kind of child could do that?

And when the teacher introduced the new student as this little bean sprout, most of the children fell into deep thought.

This little brat, who barely reached their waists, was going to be their classmate?

Yuzuru Hyuga, however, introduced himself with ease. Faced with his classmates' curious and doubtful looks, he politely explained things one by one. Though he was young, he integrated into the class surprisingly quickly.

His mental age, combined with his excellent looks, easily made him something like the class darling. The boys had no desire to bully a small child and were more than happy to play the role of big brothers to satisfy their protective instincts. The girls were even more attentive toward him, and within a single day, Yuzuru Hyuga had won them over as motherly fans.

Unfortunately, most of the talented children had already graduated early and been sent to the Third Shinobi War. There were not many fifth graders left in the class, only around twenty. Their talents were ordinary and their backgrounds unremarkable, making them of little use for building connections.

There were not even any familiar characters from the original story.

Quite boring.

Fortunately, Ninja Academy hours were not long, running from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon. The wartime schedule remained in place and did not seem likely to change anytime soon.

After all, everyone had recently been busy building momentum and making preparations for Minato Namikaze's inauguration.

After returning home that afternoon, Yuzuru Hyuga was summoned directly to the training grounds.

Hizashi Hyuga stood in a white robe, eyes closed in concentration, having waited for quite some time.

"You're here."

"Yes."

"I've been waiting for you a long time."

"School just ended."

"Do you have anything to say?"

".Have you read Gu Long's novels?"

"?"

Hizashi Hyuga had long grown used to his son's rambling whenever he faced him. He merely narrowed his eyes and refused to think too deeply about it, lest his crazy son lead him astray.

"Make your move. Today, you won't have the chance to go looking for your Uchiha friend."

He spread his hands and crooked a finger at Yuzuru Hyuga—unaware that, to meet his friend in secret, his son was even planning to cut back on sleep.

Yuzuru Hyuga smiled. "If you'd told me you were willing to be my sparring partner, why would I need that little fool Itachi?"

"You certainly call him affectionately—" Hizashi Hyuga had only gotten halfway through his sentence when he saw two Kunai flying at him in a sneak attack.

He gave a disdainful laugh. "You don't think you can beat me, do you?"

"How do you know that isn't my training goal?" Before Yuzuru Hyuga's words had even faded, he had already rushed in close.

With a casual wave, Hizashi Hyuga knocked the Kunai away with chakra-coated Gentle Fist. "Do it first, then talk big!"

Half a minute later, Yuzuru Hyuga was sent flying by a palm strike. He rolled across the ground several times before getting back to his feet.

"Again."

Bang!

Yuzuru Hyuga was sent flying once more.

"Again!"

Bang!

"Again!"

That afternoon, the training grounds were filled with the endless refrain of "Again."

Once the dust settled, Yuzuru Hyuga, limp as a puddle of mud, was handed over to a Branch House medical ninja. After his more serious injuries were treated, Hizashi Hyuga tossed him into the bathhouse.

After dinner, Hizashi Hyuga had intended to rest, but unexpectedly—

Yuzuru Hyuga, still limping a little, leaned against his doorway with an infuriating smile. "Father, don't tell me you hit me too hard and ran out of stamina?"

Thus, dust once again rose from the training grounds, until Mother came to urge them both to rest.

Since he did not want to summon a medical ninja in the middle of the night, Hizashi Hyuga went a little easier on him. Even so, Yuzuru Hyuga slept on his stomach that night.

His butt had been kicked swollen.

Yuzuru Hyuga merely muttered gloomily to his mother that someone was abusing his authority to settle a personal score.

The result was that Hizashi Hyuga tried to drag him out for extra training that very night.

Time passed in a monotonous cycle of getting beaten, eating, and playing whack-a-mole with Itachi.

Somewhere in between, he also found time to attend Minato Namikaze's inauguration ceremony.

It had to be said, the Hokage's cloak looked pretty cool. If it were pure white, it might suit the Hyuga Clan's style even better.

Other than that, the endless, tedious cycle continued.

And the special training that had originally been meant to last only half a year was extended by another half year because of Yuzuru Hyuga's foul mouth.

There was no helping it. Whenever Hizashi Hyuga thought it was about time to stop, Yuzuru Hyuga would sidle up and say things like, "Father, aren't you afraid that if I train for a year, I'll be able to beat you?"

If Hizashi Hyuga tried to avoid him, Yuzuru Hyuga would whisper in Mother's ear. One day, he would say that his father hit him too hard; the next, he would claim that his father must not love him if he was unwilling to hit him. In short—

There was no way this little brat was going to turn out right.

No matter what, Hizashi Hyuga was still the head of the Branch House, an elite Jonin and one of Konoha's pillars. Though he was somewhat lacking in ninjutsu, in every other regard, he was undeniably among Konoha's top-tier combat forces.

He had thought he could at least keep making that little brat Yuzuru obediently call him Dad for another three to five years.

But as the one-year mark drew closer, things gradually seemed to grow strange, even slipping out of Hizashi Hyuga's control.

Because what Yuzuru Hyuga displayed seemed to grow more and more terrifying, enough to make Hizashi Hyuga's scalp tingle.