Graduation

I had finally prevented Sakumo Hatake's suicide. Because of this incident, Kakashi had truly become my best partner, and I had also earned a lot more points in Rin's eyes.

I had thought that now I could peacefully remain at the Ninja Academy until I was nine, then graduate, spend three years doing miscellaneous work, and only then head to the battlefield.

That was how it should have been. It should have been... so why the hell were Kakashi, Sakumo, and I standing in the Hokage's office right now?!

It all went back to the previous evening, the day after Kakashi and Sakumo reconciled.

"Um... Qingyue, right? I didn't get the chance yesterday. Please don't refuse me today. If I don't properly thank you, I won't be able to face the Hatake name!"

At the school gate, Sakumo had simply used picking Kakashi up after school as an excuse to block my way...

"But I still have training today... Fine, I'll go get Rin."

"That would be the child clinging to your side, right? Good, good. If you have any other friends, feel free to bring them too. Consider it thanks for taking care of my son all this time."

Whoa. What a friendly, well-mannered, handsome ninja. So who exactly had Kakashi inherited that smug personality from?

After thinking it over carefully, I wasn't particularly close with Asuma's group.

Although my family and his were both aligned with the Hokage, there were simply too many people gathered around him normally.

Forcing my way in would have seemed overly deliberate, so I might as well let things take their natural course. Other than that, the only acquaintance I had was Obito.

Actually, there was also a branch-family Hyuga I had chatted with before, because the Battle Aura on my body prevented his Byakugan from seeing through my chakra points.

That counted as unexpectedly discovering some useful intelligence. During the Third Shinobi World War, a Hyuga Byakugan would be stolen by Hidden Mist ninja.

If I could retrieve it and return it to the Hyuga, that would be another path to success.

"Then I'll invite Obito too, along with Might Guy. The two of them have an exceptionally good relationship with Kakashi."

The moment he heard those two names, Kakashi's expression darkened.

"When did I ever have a good relationship with those two idiots...?"

"Ahem, Kakashi, having more friends is a good thing. Knowing that you have so many friends at school who care about you puts me at ease too."

"O-Okay."

After that, I held Rin's hand, with Obito and Might Guy following behind us.

There was no need to mention the former. I had just borrowed his words yesterday to persuade Kakashi. As for the latter, after everything that had happened, he was Kakashi's final light—and my current training partner as well.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Might Guy had clearly experienced his father's sacrifice too, yet he still took care of Kakashi's feelings.

If I got the chance, perhaps I could save Might Dai as well? I was quite interested in the Hidden Mist ninja swords.

The accusations against Sakumo on the streets had diminished considerably. At most, a few stray remarks could still be heard in back alleys. It seemed the Third Hokage had stepped in.

According to the speculation of countless netizens, Hiruzen had tacitly allowed Danzo to conduct a public-opinion attack against Sakumo.

It wasn't that the Third Hokage feared being stripped of power. Rather, both old men had their own candidates for the next Hokage.

Although Minato had yet to make a resounding name for himself, he was Jiraiya's disciple, had a kind personality, was close to the jinchuriki Kushina, and had inherited the Second Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique...

Most importantly, Minato loved the village, which was why the Third Hokage would choose him as the next Hokage.

As for Danzo, he was in cahoots with Orochimaru, two scoundrels working together.

Still, I found it strange. Sakumo definitely wasn't part of Danzo's faction, so there was no real need for the Third Hokage to suppress him either.

Given Sakumo's current prestige in the village, winning him over would have been easy.

And with the voices on the streets disappearing so quickly, perhaps the Third Hokage really hadn't known about it?

"First, I must thank all of you for taking care of my son Kakashi. Second, the recent rumors surrounding me became quite serious. Qingyue was the one who helped Kakashi and me communicate, and in the end, he gave me the courage to face all of this. I sincerely thank you! At the same time, I promise that if you ever run into trouble in the future, just say the word!"

"You flatter me, sir. Kakashi and I are good friends, and I admire you as well. Besides, I sincerely approve of what you did. If Rin fell into danger, perhaps I would defy everything for her too!"

"Eep!"

Hm? Rin suddenly let out a strange cry, her face turning as red as a kettle of boiling water.

Nice. One sentence had raised my favorability with two people.

"You brat... Hahaha, I like you! Kakashi said you're very strong, and that you're quite interested in swordsmanship!"

"That's true. I consider my talent for swordsmanship to be much greater."

Kakashi probably hadn't mentioned the Battle Aura to Sakumo. Honestly, Sakumo would probably become even stronger if he learned Battle Aura as well.

But since he had already possessed this level of strength and had fought on the battlefield for so long, learning Battle Aura might instead have side effects. His fighting style had already been set in stone.

"How about it, kid? I'll teach you swordsmanship. Don't let appearances fool you—after all, I am Konoha's White Fang."

"Mm... I appreciate the offer. I would very much like to study the Hatake family's swordsmanship. Unfortunately, my own swordsmanship has already taken shape, and there may be compatibility issues with yours. I noticed that when I trained with Kakashi. But if you could pass on more combat experience and ninja insights, I would be very happy!"

"Since you put it that way, then... hmm, I've decided to temporarily withdraw from the front lines. For the time being, I'll simply become your Jonin instructor!"

"Right, right, so there's no need for the swordsmanship—wait, huh?"

...And that was how Sakumo had dragged me here to the Hokage's office today without even giving me a choice.

Farewell, campus life. After seven years, I was about to become a corporate slave again!

"Sakumo, first, I must apologize to you—as the Hokage and as Hiruzen Sarutobi, a fellow ninja!"

As he spoke, the Third Hokage actually rose to his feet and bowed deeply?

For the leader of a village to make such a gesture toward one of its Jonin... Hiruzen Sarutobi truly was the strongest politician in the world of Hokage. He was raising every ninja as if they were expendable loyalists.

"Lord Third Hokage! Please rise! I know this wasn't your intention, and this isn't something that should make you bow!"

"No, this is self-reflection. A hero of the village was subjected to such accusations. Sakumo, I have let you down."

As expected of the Third Hokage. With just a few words, he had made Sakumo swear loyalty to Konoha all over again.

"Back to the matter at hand, Sakumo. What brings you here today with these two children?"

"It's like this. During this incident involving the rumors, this child named Qingyue helped me. So I wish to temporarily withdraw from the front lines and instead serve as the Jonin instructor for my son Kakashi and Qingyue. After something like this has happened, I truly do not have the mindset to return to the front lines yet."

After hearing Sakumo's words, the old Third Hokage fell silent for a moment, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

His gaze kept shifting back and forth over me before he lowered his head to think again.

The Third Hokage should have known about what I had done at school. Other than my greatest trump card, the Mythical Zoan Fruit, I had not deliberately hidden much. The outside world basically believed that I possessed strength above that of an ordinary Chunin.

"Mm, that won't be a problem. There just happen to be many missions suitable for newly graduated students piling up in the village, with no one to handle them. We'll do as you suggest. But don't you still need one more team member?"

This seemed... like an opportunity to be on the same team as Rin! That way, I wouldn't have to worry about her getting killed!

Obito? Who cared? He wasn't doing badly with Madara anyway.

"The three of us are all more inclined to charge ahead, and we're somewhat lacking in rear support. Injuries would be troublesome too, so..."

Rin! All we needed was Rin! Come on, Brother Sakumo, you really did understand!

"Then let's forget about rear support altogether and pick another child with high mobility, forming a surprise assault squad!"

Huh?