After receiving his birthday present, Hayate was so excited that he ran straight to the backyard and started whacking the wooden post.
The Short Sword wasn't long, but it was made of Refined Iron and weighed over ten pounds. Hayate had to grip it with both hands to keep it steady.
Inoue Gekko and Matsushita Gekko stood in the hallway, watching Hayate practice on the post with pleased expressions.
"Little Hayate will surely make the Gekko name shine in the future!"
"He'll reach our level in less than twenty years."
Nearby, Hanfu glanced at them in surprise. The two old men had a good eye. In the Original Work, Hayate was already a Special Jonin when he served as an examiner during Naruto's Chunin Ninja Exams. He was only twenty-three then, so that meant it had taken him just seventeen years—or perhaps even less. After all, the Original Work never said when Hayate had become a Special Jonin.
Still, the future would surely change in all sorts of ways because of his presence. Rather than fretting over what lay ahead, he might as well make the most of the present!
So Hanfu sweetly called out, "Grandpa Inoue, Grandpa Matsushita."
The two old men reflexively exchanged a glance at Hanfu's call, each with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.
They might have been bored out of their minds, but they were shrewd old men. After spending time with Hanfu, they had noticed that he called them "old men" when he didn't need anything, but switched to "grandpa" whenever he had a favor to ask...
Inoue Gekko asked calmly, "Little Hanfu, what is it?"
"Um, I'd like to ask you two grandpas to teach me some ninjutsu!" Hanfu was fully in character, his expression earnest and his tone respectful, like a