Half a Year

After the meeting, as was customary, a grand banquet was held.

The children happily sampled the delicious food Hyuga Shinichi had made himself, eating with relish until their mouths were smeared with grease.

The next day, Hyuga Shinichi didn't leave. Instead, he stayed to teach the adorable children how to practice the Gentle Fist.

After all, great clans like the Hyuga often began training their descendants when they were only three years old.

Time flew by. Before long, half a year had passed, and it was now the thirty-third year of Konoha.

A great deal had happened over those six months. Just before the New Year, astonishing news spread throughout Konoha: the Third Hokage had approved the promotion of the seven-year-old Hyuga Shinichi to Special Jonin!

The news hit like a bomb, sparking heated discussion among the villagers.

People could hardly believe it. Most children that age hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy.

However, when stories about Hyuga Shinichi's exploits began circulating among people who had once been assigned to missions with him, everyone started to realize that this young prodigy truly was extraordinary.

They said that Hyuga Shinichi had been admitted to the Ninja Academy ahead of schedule before he was even three. In just one year, he had displayed astonishing talent and an incredible ability to learn, and he graduated from the Ninja Academy at four. Everyone was amazed.

What came next was even more astonishing. The year he turned five, he passed the Chunin Ninja Exams with ease and was promoted to Chunin.

Now, at seven, he had performed another miracle by becoming a Special Jonin.

Some speculated that Hyuga Shinichi was already at the level of a Jonin, but because he lacked experience, he hadn't yet received the official title.

If he continued completing missions diligently, becoming a true Jonin before the age of ten wasn't impossible. For a child so young, it would be an unprecedented feat. No one in Konoha's history had ever done such a thing.

Meanwhile, Namikaze Minato's training continued as usual. For the first few months, Minato attended academic lessons at the Ninja Academy in the morning, then asked for leave in the afternoon to train with Hyuga Shinichi.

By now, Minato no longer needed to ask his teacher for permission. He said the Third Hokage had personally instructed the teacher to approve any leave Minato requested.

During this time, Minato's frequent absences aroused the curiosity of his classmates.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio of this generation were especially concerned. They wondered if something had happened to Minato, and once they got the chance, they secretly followed him to see if they could help.

Hyuga Shinichi spotted them immediately and called them out.

He explained the situation in detail. When they learned that Minato was training under him, the three of them breathed a sigh of relief.

Hyuga Shinichi had once asked Minato whether taking leave so often might make him grow distant from his classmates.

Minato always said that the other students were very nice and that he had a few close friends.

However, Hyuga Shinichi had never met any of these supposed friends. Aside from training with him every day, Minato didn't seem to have time to play with anyone.

Still, seeing how concerned this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho trio was about Minato eased Hyuga Shinichi's worries somewhat.

Next, Hyuga Shinichi's leave ended, and he resumed missions with Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro.

While he was away, Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro had teamed up to complete missions together, gradually making a name for themselves in the village.

Hyuga Shinichi had played a major role in bringing this about. Cooperation between the Hyuga, Inuzuka, and Aburame Clans had made their team a subject of much attention.

As the first squad made up of members from the "eye," "nose," and "ear" clans, they naturally became the focus of everyone's attention.

Fortunately, Inuzuka Gai and Aburame Tomohiro lived up to expectations. Their skills improved rapidly, and they completed every mission they took on.

Their excellent performance brought the whole team more prestige and praise. Some even said that if the system were more mature, Konoha would have another team comparable to—or even better than—the Ino-Shika-Cho trio.

The current Ino-Shika-Cho trio didn't look down on the Eye-Nose-Ear Team. What's more, they had heard that the next generation of Ino-Shika-Cho knew Hyuga Shinichi and his teammates, so their clans also showed goodwill toward the Eye-Nose-Ear Team.

When Hyuga Shinichi was unavailable to teach Namikaze Minato, Minato's teacher, Jiraiya, stepped in and took leave as well.

From then on, Minato began learning from Jiraiya. Their bond as master and student grew ever closer, and under Jiraiya's careful guidance, Minato's abilities continued to improve.

At the same time, the Eye-Nose-Ear Team performed increasingly well on missions, and their teamwork became flawless.

As time went on, the village entrusted the team with important work, assigning them some of its reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering missions.

With their unique skills, such missions were a breeze for the Eye-Nose-Ear Team unless the enemy had a sensor ninja.

They could even handle high-difficulty missions, such as hunting down a group of rogue ninja.

During pursuit, Inuzuka Gai relied on his keen sense of smell to pick up the targets' lingering scents and infer their route.

As they drew close, Hyuga Shinichi used the Byakugan's unique Telescopic Eye ability to observe the targets' situation in real time.

Meanwhile, Aburame Tomohiro sent out his Sound-Stealing Bugs to quickly gather vital intelligence. Once they confirmed there were no other accomplices nearby, the team could immediately move in to capture their targets.

The Eye-Nose-Ear Team's combat strength was just as impressive as their outstanding reconnaissance abilities.

Aburame Tomohiro would strike first, sending out Earth Centipedes and Kikaichū to launch a surprise attack and create openings for his teammates. Hyuga Shinichi's Byakugan let him spot the enemy's weaknesses with remarkable precision.

As soon as he spotted an opening, he would hand the main attack to Inuzuka Gai, who excelled at breaking through defenses. One Gatsuga was enough to breach the enemy's line and throw their formation into disarray.

Hyuga Shinichi and Aburame Tomohiro would follow up immediately, giving their enemies no chance to catch their breath.

Such an impressive record made the Third Hokage increasingly supportive of the three clans' plan to train a new generation of the Eye-Nose-Ear Team.

The team not only had exceptional reconnaissance abilities, but also formidable combat strength. Even their defensive capabilities were quite impressive.

Imagine having such an invincible team during wartime. It would undoubtedly reduce the cost and losses involved in gathering intelligence by a considerable margin.