"Duck!"
Just as Hyuga Toda was starting to despair, a languid voice reached his ears. A yellow figure appeared before him.
Moving faster than anyone could react, Kizaru—who had already planned his move while performing the jutsu—flashed between Hyuga Toda and Yamakawa Kiyoshi.
He pressed one head down with each hand, a calm smile never leaving his face.
After pushing the two on either side of him down, Kizaru faced the enormous wind ball, which radiated immense power and threatened to slice everything in its path to pieces. He raised his long, powerful right leg.
He coated his right leg in Chakra and kicked upward with force, sending the wind ball soaring into the sky like a soccer ball.
The enormous wind ball shot skyward from the impact, then exploded, turning into a fierce gale that swept in every direction.
The students watching from around the field were blasted in the face by the wind. They could only close their eyes, bow their heads, and shield themselves with their hands.
"Wow! That was scary!"
The gale swept outward, but Kizaru, standing at its center, was unaffected. Still holding his teacher and classmate down with both hands, he gazed up at the sky with an air of deep emotion!
"If you know it's scary, then don't go using jutsu recklessly!" Yamakawa Kiyoshi said, pushing Kizaru's hand aside and lifting his head.
Still shaken and not yet fully composed, Yamakawa Kiyoshi glared furiously at Kizaru, itching to curse him out!
But he held it in. He was the teacher, his students were all around them, and he had to consider the difference in their strength.
Unlike the furious Yamakawa Kiyoshi, Hyuga Toda was still frozen, with Kizaru's hand pressed against his head. He hadn't come to his senses yet.
"Don't worry, sensei! I told you, I know what I'm doing. Look, everyone's fine!" Kizaru replied with a smile.
Taking a deep breath, Yamakawa Kiyoshi kept telling himself, Don't get angry. You're the teacher, this is a school, and the students are all around you. You can't lose your composure.
He repeated it over and over in his mind, struggling to calm himself.
"You..." Yamakawa Kiyoshi didn't know what to say. After a moment, he looked at Kizaru and said earnestly, "Kizaru, you should apply for early graduation! Staying at school will only waste your talent!"
"Sensei, I can't bear to leave you and everyone else!" Kizaru replied with "sincerity" written all over his face.
Yamakawa Kiyoshi's cheek twitched a few times. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
"Cough!" Just as the atmosphere reached a stalemate, someone coughed nearby.
"Lord Hokage!"
"Wow! It's Lord Hokage!"
"Grandpa Hokage's here!"
Hearing someone call him Grandpa Hokage, middle-aged Hiruzen Sarutobi felt a pang of melancholy and wanted a smoke.
Whose kid was that? They really didn't know how to talk. So annoying!
He complained silently to himself, but kept a kind smile on his face as he warmly greeted the children crowding around him.
He ruffled one child's hair, patted another on the shoulder, and made his way through the crowd to the sparring field.
"Lord Hokage, I'm sorry for making you worry. This was my failure, and I sincerely apologize!" As soon as Hiruzen Sarutobi approached, Yamakawa Kiyoshi turned to face him and bowed.
Still smiling, Hiruzen Sarutobi stepped up to Yamakawa Kiyoshi and patted him on the back as he bent over. "Kiyoshi, stand up. This wasn't your fault. You've worked hard, too."
Moved by Lord Hokage's reassurance, Yamakawa Kiyoshi nearly burst into tears.
Watching the Third Hokage put on his friendly "political show," Kizaru glanced over at Danzo, who stood nearby with a cold expression, neither moving nor speaking, and couldn't help worrying about his uncle's political acumen.
No wonder you've never become the official Hokage. Why keep such a sour look on your face all the time?
"Kizaru, are you hurt?" After comforting Yamakawa Kiyoshi, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his attention to Kizaru.
At the Hokage's concern, Kizaru stopped grumbling about Danzo and answered with a smile, "I'm fine, Lord Hokage."
Hearing Kizaru's answer, Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed relieved. Then he looked at Hyuga Toda, whose head Kizaru was still pressing down.
"Hyuga, are you all right?"
At Lord Hokage's concern, Hyuga Toda finally snapped out of it. He realized Lord Hokage had seen him frozen with fright, and he felt both embarrassed and angry.
He hurriedly lifted his head to answer, only to realize Kizaru still had a hand on it.
"Kizaru, let go of me!" Hyuga Toda shouted at once.
Hearing Hyuga Toda shout, Kizaru acted as if he'd only just noticed. He quickly moved his hand away, his face full of apology. "Hyuga, I'm really sorry. I scared you."
At Kizaru's words, Hyuga Toda's fair little face flushed red. He was both embarrassed and angry, but had no answer. Ignoring Kizaru, he looked at the Hokage standing before him.
"Lord Hokage, I'm fine!"
"Having fighting spirit is a good thing, but you can't be so impulsive next time. A good ninja needs to assess their own strength and their opponent's correctly," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, taking the opportunity to teach him a lesson.
"I'll remember, Lord Hokage!" Hyuga Toda lowered his head, somewhat ashamed.
Hiruzen Sarutobi patted the back of Hyuga Toda's head, then offered some words of encouragement. "Still, you did very well today. You faced a strong opponent without losing heart, and did everything you could to find a way to win. What a good boy! I'm sure you'll become an excellent ninja someday!"
Well, you've managed to say both the nice thing and the opposite, Kizaru thought as he watched the scene.
Whatever Kizaru thought to himself, Hyuga Toda's head, which had been bowed, rose again after the Hokage's encouragement. He gazed at the Hokage with his Byakugan, his eyes seeming to shine.
From that moment on, Hyuga Toda became one of Lord Hokage's devoted little admirers!
After reassuring the Hyuga Clan's child, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Kizaru beside him. This astonishingly talented kid—well, let's call him a kid for now—was his real target.
"Kizaru, with your strength, staying at school would be a waste of your talent. Apply for early graduation! I'll personally pin your Forehead Protector on you," Hiruzen Sarutobi said encouragingly.
"Lord Hokage, I'm only a little stronger than my classmates, and I still have plenty of shortcomings as a ninja. I want to stay at school and keep learning." Faced with Hiruzen Sarutobi's "sinister intentions" of sending a mere six-year-old like him away from school to earn money, Kizaru refused outright.
Making a six-year-old a ninja, sending him on all kinds of missions, and even throwing him into battle—this world really made Kizaru feel like everything was screwed up!
Kizaru wanted to say more, but when he saw his classmates looking at him with envy, he decided there was nothing else to say.