Preparing for Graduation

Sakumo's eyes lit up so brightly that Hoshi grew a little worried. He knew Sakumo's temperament well—this guy was a stubborn fanatic. Once he set his mind on doing something, it would be hard for even ten oxen to drag him back.

Hoshi was genuinely afraid that Sakumo might become obsessed with developing this technique, causing his strength to stagnate or overexerting himself and leaving behind hidden injuries.

If that happened, Hoshi's guilt would be immense. Thinking that, he quickly put on a stern face, patted Sakumo on the shoulder, and warned, "Sakumo, our Hayate family notes specifically mention that when practicing this technique, you must proceed step by step. Otherwise, a mistake could easily leave you with hidden injuries.

"When you try developing it in the future, you'd better keep that in mind. I suggest waiting until you become a Chunin before attempting to develop this ninjutsu."

Seeing Hoshi's utterly serious expression, Sakumo hesitated for a moment before ultimately accepting his advice. "Don't worry, Hoshi. I understand that much. I'll wait until my strength reaches the Chunin level before trying to develop this technique."

As he said this, he seemed to think of something. After checking that neither Orochimaru nor Jiraiya was nearby, he leaned close to Hoshi's ear and whispered, "Hoshi, don't you think we're progressing too slowly like this? I feel like there's nothing left for me to learn at the Ninja Academy.

"I feel like I gain less from an entire day at school than I do from that short time sparring with you after class.

"Sometimes I think I might as well apply to graduate early."

Sakumo's words stirred something in Hoshi's heart. To be honest, his main purpose in attending the Ninja Academy had never been to learn anything. He had come here for Tsunade, Sakumo, and the others.

By now, Hoshi had already formed good friendships with them. With that being the case, there really seemed to be no need to remain at the Ninja Academy.

But after thinking it over, Hoshi felt it was still a little inappropriate. Orochimaru had only just transferred into Class A and become friends with them. If they turned around and applied for graduation right away, what would Orochimaru do?

Truthfully, out of everyone in the group, Orochimaru was the one Hoshi worried about most. In his view, the biggest reason Orochimaru would embark on that future path of betraying his master and forsaking his origins was that no one had noticed the changes in his heart.

Hoshi believed that as long as he paid more attention to Orochimaru and offered some guidance at the crucial turning points in his life, he should be able to steer Orochimaru onto the right path.

Since fate had brought him to the Naruto World, of course he also wanted to try changing many of the tragedies from the Original Story and altering some people's destinies.

Hoshi looked up at Sakumo and said, "Actually, I also think there's nothing left to learn at the Ninja Academy. But school only started two months ago. Even if we apply to graduate, Teacher Mitsui won't agree.

"I figure he'll only reluctantly agree once more than half of the first school year has passed."

After hearing that, Sakumo thought for a while and felt that Hoshi made sense. Given Teacher Mitsui's personality, he definitely would not agree to let them graduate so early. He followed Hoshi's lead and said, "In that case, let's stay a little longer. We can use the time to wait for Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

"Their talents are no less than ours. Give them two or three months, and they should be able to meet the graduation standards too."

"Tomorrow, we can talk to them about it and have them start preparing for early graduation as well," Hoshi said with a smile.

"Not just them—we should make some more preparations too. The Graduation Exam might be easy to pass, but future ninja missions won't be. We need to work harder and make ourselves safer."

After they finished discussing the matter, it was already getting late. Sakumo did not want to trouble Aunt Rie again, so the two parted ways and returned home.

After getting home, Hoshi thought it over and brought the matter up to his mother at the dinner table.

Rie was strongly opposed when she first heard it. After all, the Hayate family only had this one remaining heir. If anything happened to him, she would have no face to meet her husband even after she died.

Left with no choice, Hoshi could only bring up how he had killed Chunin spies. His mother froze when she heard that. "You mean that yesterday, while you were training, you ran into Iwagakure spies and killed them all?"

Hoshi nodded innocently. After thinking for a moment, he got up and ran back to his room, then brought out the Konoha-Style Swordsmanship Insights Grandma Mito had given him and showed them to Rie.

"Mom, look. This was the reward Grandma Mito gave us after she found out what happened."

Rie opened the Scroll, and her hands trembled with excitement as she looked at the writing within. Although she did not practice swordsmanship, her husband's influence had given her a fair amount of knowledge about such things.

The Scroll in her hands was undeniably genuine. It truly contained the swordsmanship insights of the Second Hokage. Thinking of that, Rie's heart was filled with mixed emotions.

For the Hayate Clan, which had declined to such a state, this Scroll would not be an exaggeration to call a family heirloom.

When Rie shifted her gaze from the Scroll back to Hoshi himself, she could no longer restrain herself. Two streams of tears immediately ran down her face. She set down the Scroll and suddenly walked over to Hoshi.

She grabbed Hoshi around the waist, lifted him up, and smacked his butt twice. To be honest, Hoshi was stunned—not because his mental age, nearing thirty, could not accept being spanked.

Rather, in his memories, Rie had never hit him before. Yet today, after he had brought out a Scroll that could practically be called a treasure, Rie had actually spanked him. Where was the justice in that?

He did not dare struggle either, afraid that using too much strength might hurt Rie, who was only an ordinary person. He could only ask in confusion, "Mom, what are you doing?"

"You little brat! Something this serious happened, and you didn't even tell your mother! If you weren't planning to graduate early, were you going to hide this from me forever?"

Hoshi had no answer. He could only let Rie do as she pleased while repeatedly admitting his mistake. After hitting him twice, Rie finally let him go and pulled him close.

"If you truly have the ability to protect yourself, then your mother supports your choice. But you must, absolutely must remember this: whether you graduate early or on schedule, you must protect yourself during your future missions.

"You are the Hayate family's only heir. If something happens to you, the entire Hayate family will be finished. You must remember that."

Hoshi fell silent as well, quietly listening to Rie's heartfelt advice. Even his heart felt a little sore now, and he had the urge to cry.

But in the next moment, Rie's words left Hoshi rooted to the spot again. Wiping away her tears, she continued, "So, Hoshi, you should bring a girl home for your mother to see. That'll put my mind at ease too. Once I'm holding a grandchild, you can do whatever you want."

Hoshi: _

Give me back my touching moment!