Want to try?

Toru Kujyo smiled as he took off his forehead protector and handed it to Hanabi. "Want to try it on?"

"Can I?" Hanabi's eyes lit up.

"Of course."

Hanabi took the forehead protector and carefully tied it around her forehead. It was far too big for her, almost covering her eyes, and the comical sight made Hinata cover her mouth and giggle.

"How do I look? Do I look like a ninja?" Hanabi puffed out her little chest and asked proudly.

"Yes, you do." Toru Kujyo nodded. "In a few years, you'll have your own forehead protector, too."

"Then let's celebrate with hot pot!" Hanabi suddenly suggested. "You and Hinata both became Genin, Toru! We should celebrate!"

Toru Kujyo looked at Hinata, who nodded in agreement.

"All right, hot pot it is," Toru Kujyo agreed.

"Yay!" Hanabi cheered. "Toru, I want a shoulder ride!"

Toru Kujyo crouched down with a helpless smile. "Climb aboard, little princess."

Hanabi deftly climbed onto Toru Kujyo's shoulders and surveyed her surroundings smugly from above. Toru Kujyo stood up, holding Hanabi's calf with one hand while taking the forehead protector Hinata handed him with the other and tying it back on.

Hinata watched them, her eyes full of tenderness. She knew that her father, who had always seemed cold to the other clan members, trusted Toru Kujyo implicitly. He even tacitly allowed him to take Hanabi out to play. That unspoken understanding came from the care Toru Kujyo had put into nurturing her and Hanabi over the years.

Toru Kujyo glanced up at the distant treetops, where a Hyuga clan member's silhouette flashed past. He smiled faintly, knowing it was a guard Hiashi had sent to protect Hanabi in secret.

"Let's stop by the market for ingredients first," Toru Kujyo suggested.

"Okay! I want candied hawthorn skewers!" Hanabi said excitedly from his shoulders.

"What would you like, Hinata?" Toru Kujyo asked.

"I... I'd like some cinnamon rolls," Hinata said softly.

"Then we'll get both." Toru Kujyo smiled. "Today's a special day."

The three reached the market, chatting and laughing along the way. Sitting on Toru Kujyo's shoulders, Hanabi gave orders like a little princess. "That one! And that one! Let's buy them all!"

Toru Kujyo and Hinata exchanged a look and smiled helplessly. They bought hot pot ingredients, candied hawthorn skewers, cinnamon rolls, and the grilled fish Toru Kujyo liked.

Back home, Toru Kujyo prepared the hot pot while Hinata and Hanabi set out the tableware and snacks.

"Toru, your hot pot is the best!" Hanabi sat in a chair, swinging her legs and watching eagerly as Toru Kujyo sliced the meat.

"That's because I use a secret recipe." Toru Kujyo gave her a mysterious wink.

"What secret recipe?" Hanabi asked curiously.

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret anymore," Toru Kujyo said with a smile.

The hot pot was soon ready, its aroma filling the room. The three sat around the table, enjoying the food and one another's company.

"Oh, right," Hinata said, suddenly remembering something. "Naruto-kun didn't pass the exam. What happened? He worked so hard..."

Toru Kujyo picked up a slice of meat, put it in his mouth, and chewed slowly before answering at his leisure. "Maybe he hasn't mastered the Clone Technique yet."

"But..." Hinata wanted to say more, but Toru Kujyo interrupted her.

"Don't worry. Naruto has his own destiny," Toru Kujyo said with a smile, a hint of deeper meaning flashing in his eyes.

Though puzzled, Hinata didn't press him. She trusted Toru's judgment.

Toru Kujyo looked out the window at the darkening sky, a mysterious smile curling his lips. He knew Naruto was going through a turning point in his destiny right now-stealing the Scroll of Seals and learning the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique.

And on this graduation day, he, too, had made a new breakthrough in strength. The secrets held within those eyes would soon be revealed in full.

"Here, Hanabi. Have some more meat. You're still growing." Toru Kujyo placed a piece of meat in Hanabi's bowl, his smile gentle yet mysterious.

Night fell. Toru Kujyo stood on the roof of his house, gazing at the statues of the four Hokage on the distant Hokage Rock. The evening breeze brushed past him, carrying sounds and scents from all across Konoha.

"Tonight is bound to be anything but ordinary," Toru Kujyo murmured to himself, forming hand seals. "Byakugan!"

Veins rose around his eyes, and his field of vision instantly expanded to an incredible range. Everything within an eighty-kilometer radius appeared clearly before him. It was a range ordinary Hyuga clan members could never attain, surpassing even Neji, the Hyuga Clan's prodigy.

Toru Kujyo focused his attention on the Hokage Office. Sure enough, an orange figure was cautiously sneaking inside.

"Naruto, you haven't disappointed me." Toru Kujyo's lips curved slightly.

Through his Byakugan, he saw Naruto open a hidden compartment in the office and pull out an enormous scroll. It was none other than the legendary Scroll of Seals, a precious scroll containing many of Konoha's forbidden techniques.

"Interesting. Hiruzen Sarutobi deliberately left a replica." Toru Kujyo narrowed his eyes, noticing that the subtle chakra fluctuations on the scroll differed from those of the original.

With the scroll on his back, Naruto quickly left the Hokage Office and ran toward the forest. Meanwhile, the village had already begun to stir, with ninja in green vests rushing about in search of the "thief."

Toru Kujyo shifted his gaze to another room in the Hokage Building, where Hiruzen Sarutobi was speaking with several Jonin.

"The Third seems to have prepared for this well in advance," Toru Kujyo said softly. "This is a carefully planned test."

He continued tracking Naruto and watched him find a secluded spot in the forest, then eagerly open the scroll.

"Now!" Toru Kujyo concentrated fully, pushing his Byakugan's vision to its limit as he carefully examined every character and marking on the scroll.

The first technique recorded on the scroll was the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique. Toru Kujyo never took his eyes off it, committing the technique's formula, seals, and chakra circulation pathways to memory.

"So this is Naruto's cheat? It really is impressive..." Toru Kujyo murmured to himself. "Unlike the ordinary Clone Technique, this creates physical clones. Each one can act and think independently, and even accumulate experience."

His mind raced as he analyzed the technique's principles and possible uses. It consumed too much chakra for an ordinary person, but for a prodigy like Toru Kujyo, whose chakra reserves far exceeded those of his peers, it was entirely feasible.

"With this technique, my training will be several times more efficient." Excitement flashed in Toru Kujyo's eyes. "And it has countless uses in combat, too."

Just then, he noticed Iruka appear near Naruto, followed shortly by Mizuki. A conversation about the scroll and Naruto's origins began to unfold.

"I see. Mizuki is a traitor." Toru Kujyo calmly watched events develop. "And Iruka chose to protect Naruto in the end."