Busy with his work, Aoike no longer paid much attention to Sasuke. The first phase of developing his new technique was complete, leaving him with much more time to spare.
A gigantic fireball burst from his mouth, and the lake beneath his feet evaporated into a thick cloud of steam.
Sasuke, who had been climbing a tree in the distance, was startled and fell. He saw that Aoike's first Great Fireball was a full size larger than his own.
Along with his surprise came an even stronger sense of frustration. How long would he have to train like this before he could get revenge?
The strain on his mind made even tree climbing feel much harder.
Aoike saw it and shook his head inwardly. Sasuke was still too immature at this age, and Aoike had no intention of trying to talk him out of it.
When Sasuke was consumed by revenge, he had no heart. He didn't have Naruto's perseverance or attitude. Aoike could be a little closer to him out of respect for his deceased family, but keeping things friendly was enough.
The days that followed were mostly spent in intensive training. Perhaps it was because of the mysterious bond between Indra and Asura, but every so often Aoike would run into Naruto fishing in the forest.
By the end of the break, Aoike could perform the technique from the scroll. He still had some way to go before mastering it completely, but it was good enough for now.
Aoike went to Ino's family flower shop once more...
This time, he stood before the grave for a long while and realized there was nothing left to say. His tears had run dry; all that remained was silence.
Once the seed of bloody revenge had been planted in his heart, all that was left was to give it time.
Not long after school started, in Iruka's office.
"What?!"
"You want to apply for early graduation?"
His voice was so loud that the other teachers glanced over curiously.
"I don't agree!"
"Don't throw your life away just because of your pride."
"I admit you're a strong fighter, well above the level of a student, but whether we're talking about battle instincts, tactics, traps..."
As he spoke, Iruka suddenly stopped.
The Byakugan reflected his face clearly in Aoike's eyes.
"I have my own reasons. You'll see for yourself during the assessment, Sensei. Here's the clan leader's signature."
Aoike handed Iruka a graduation application. Hyuga Hiashi's name was written in the guardian section.
A few days earlier, Aoike had had a friendly conversation with the old man from the Hyuga clan to get permission for early graduation.
Hiashi was extremely displeased that Aoike had stepped outside the plans he'd made for him. He had even activated the Caged Bird Seal, putting Aoike through a great deal of pain.
To lull Hiashi into a false sense of security, Aoike had offered him the training method for Wind Style Mode and repeatedly assured him that he was still a good boy. Only after Aoike declared that he would always protect the Main House did Hiashi relent. Aoike wasn't worried that someone else might simply learn the Wind Style Chakra Mode from the method.
There were plenty of requirements for learning Wind Style Chakra Mode.
You needed the Byakugan and had to know Rotation. Otherwise, you wouldn't even know where the body's chakra points were, let alone how to master them. You also had to learn to sense the state of the wind and make high-precision changes to the nature of wind chakra. (Aoike could already use chakra to draw on leaves.) And you needed at least two cards' worth of chakra...
Go ahead and try. One attempt would be enough to leave you speechless.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, Iruka took the application to the Third Hokage for a decision.
After all, the village was fairly peaceful now, and early graduation was no easy feat. The Third Hokage probably wouldn't approve of Aoike acting recklessly...
Before Iruka could recover, the Third Hokage had already signed and stamped the form. Iruka stared blankly at the Hokage's calm expression, then suddenly understood.
I really was a fool. I really was.
The Hyuga were staunch supporters of the Hokage. How had I not considered that they might have already discussed this?
Word of Aoike's plan to graduate early spread from the teachers' office. The students at the Ninja Academy over the past few years were certainly good at gathering information.
By the time Iruka returned to the school, everyone knew.
Sasuke took it the hardest. They'd agreed during training that they'd improve together, and then, just a few days later, Aoike had gone off on his own.
The graduation assessment was set for three days later. Rumor had it that the Hokage would attend, and the school had taken the opportunity to secure funding to nearly double the size of the training grounds.
Of course, the Hokage couldn't make such a grand occasion out of one student alone. This time, the event was billed as a major assessment of the Ninja Academy, with Aoike's graduation exam scheduled as the grand finale.
Three days later~
The Hokage arrived as promised, and the students grew restless. What child hadn't dreamed of becoming Hokage?
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood on the raised platform, watching the energetic children with deep satisfaction.
"This is the future of Konoha!" A breeze swept past his Hokage Cloak. From afar, he looked every bit the kindly elder.
People who had lived a long time often enjoyed looking back on the past, trying to find traces of their younger selves in the people of today.
Under the teachers' direction, the training ground was divided into four areas. Most students before Boruto: Naruto Next Generations hadn't learned any techniques, and the few who used a style technique finished safely under their teachers' protection.
Sarutobi Hiruzen silently took note of the promising students who performed well. Danzo, standing behind him, did the same.
Thanks to the efforts of the Darkness of Konoha, the village's top fighters had been all but wiped out. The arm lined with Three-Tomoe Sharingan gave Danzo tremendous confidence, and with Root at his side, he could now be called the most powerful man in the village beneath the Hokage.
To strengthen his own forces, Root's struggle with Anbu over talent had never stopped.
Of course, the small fry of today no longer interested Danzo. His true target had always been Naruto Uzumaki, also known as
the Nine-Tails!
The matches came one after another, with Hyuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke attracting the most attention.
Neji's Gentle Fist against Rock Lee's Strong Fist, and Hinata Hyuga's Byakugan against Uchiha Sasuke's Sharingan, were both impressive matchups.
Sasuke had improved during the break, too. After using a Great Fireball to conceal Shuriken, he caught Hinata off guard just after she activated her Byakugan.
Climbing trees and Water Walking had greatly improved Sasuke's chakra control. He hid Shuriken inside the Great Fireball, then took advantage of Hinata's focus on the fireball to spring out suddenly and win the match.
Aoike knew this was because Hinata hadn't mastered the Byakugan yet. Having X-ray vision didn't mean you could see through everything. Her field of vision covered 360 degrees, but her brain's ability to process the information hadn't improved at all.
Like a computer with a weak processor and a powerful graphics card.
Fights between ninjas ended quickly. On average, each match lasted only a few minutes.
Fortunately, the training ground had been expanded. By noon, the school-wide assessment was nearly over. After the lunch break, only a small group remained.