Early graduation?

Yakiniku Q.

"Me, fight Gamabunta? Seriously?"

Moonlight Ruyun froze with a slice of grilled meat held halfway to his mouth, staring at Tsunade as she struggled not to laugh.

He wasn't surprised that Minato had learned the Summoning Technique.

But summoning Gamabunta right after learning it? Wasn't that a little over the top?

He glanced at Minato, who was quietly focused on eating his grilled meat.

He had to admit, that chakra capacity made him a little jealous.

I need to find equipment that increases my chakra reserves as soon as possible!

That was his greatest weakness right now.

If he didn't make up for it, Minato's strength would probably skyrocket before long, leaving him in the dust again.

He began considering a few things that had appeared in the original story.

Tailed beasts, the Dragon Vein, hashirama cells, the Sky Ninja village's Zero-Tails, and Takigakure's Hero Water.

Tailed beasts... I can't get my hands on those yet.

Would the Dragon Vein count as an equipment material?

In the original story, Naruto had once gone on a mission involving the Dragon Vein and unexpectedly met a young Minato.

Not only did it contain an immense amount of energy, it also possessed some ability to traverse space and time.

The only problem was that the Dragon Vein existed as energy, without a fully physical form.

He wasn't sure whether it could actually be used as an equipment material.

For now, he made a mental note of the Dragon Vein.

As for hashirama cells...

He glanced at Orochimaru, who was leisurely eating his grilled meat, unsure whether he had joined the Wood Release experiments yet.

Hashirama cells were the ideal choice.

He was almost certain that hashirama cells could be used as an equipment material!

In the original story, Danzo and Orochimaru had conducted countless human experiments, causing one tragedy after another, only to produce a single "budget" Wood Release user: Yamato.

Ordinary people simply couldn't withstand the cells eating away at them.

But I'm different. I just need to refine them into equipment!

Once he refined them into equipment, he could solve his chakra problem and possibly even awaken Wood Release.

A true win-win. He would win twice.

The only problem was how to get his hands on hashirama cells...

Zero-Tails... if I remember correctly, Konoha defeated the Sky Ninja village during the Second Shinobi World War. The Land of Sky, huh?

And there's Takigakure's Hero Water.

Hero Water supposedly increased a ninja's chakra dozens of times over. The price was that it took a bit of a toll on their lifespan.

He had no interest in drinking the stuff, but using it as an equipment material was another matter entirely.

"What are you thinking about? Scared?"

Jiraiya waggled his eyebrows.

Moonlight Ruyun chewed his meat without answering and turned a pleading gaze toward Tsunade.

He wasn't going to let himself be pressured.

Even if he hadn't had time to read a single one of those books yet.

Still, putting all that aside, didn't she bear at least some responsibility as his future teacher?

Tsunade rolled her eyes. That damned disciple, that inherently evil Moonlight brat, had cost her half the bill at Yakiniku Q.

"Once you finish those books, I'll let you sign the Shikkotsu Forest Summoning Contract."

"Thank you, teacher!"

He enthusiastically placed freshly grilled meat into Tsunade's bowl.

A Summoning Contract was great. Once he became a contractor of Shikkotsu Forest, he might even be able to farm some new equipment materials.

As for those books, that would be a breeze. What was so hard about reading?

So what if the stack was taller than he was?

So what if every single book was packed with technical terminology?

They were just a few books!

I need to find some equipment that improves my aptitude as a medical ninja...

That was what he was thinking.

Kushina and Nawaki put down their chopsticks in unison.

Nawaki stared straight at Orochimaru, hope practically spilling from his eyes.

Orochimaru glanced at Tsunade and Jiraiya, who were enjoying the show, and said calmly, "Once you graduate, I'll let you sign the Ryūchi Cave Summoning Contract."

Nawaki was overjoyed. "Thank you, teacher!"

Now Kushina was even more anxious.

Ruyun was Tsunade's disciple, Nawaki was Orochimaru's disciple, and Minato was Jiraiya's disciple. All three either had summoning beasts already or would soon have them.

It felt as though she alone was an outsider, with nothing at all.

But she didn't know whom to ask, so she could only look from one person to another.

Seeing Kushina's exaggerated pout, Moonlight Ruyun could only turn another earnest gaze toward Tsunade.

Tsunade pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Kushina, you can train with me for now."

Kushina smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Tsunade!"

Ruyun was Tsunade's disciple, and now she would be training with Tsunade too. Could anything in the world be more wonderful?

A few minutes later.

Jiraiya took a sip of sake, looking troubled. "I've been wondering whether we should let them graduate early. What do you think?"

Huh?

Everyone turned to look at Jiraiya.

Moonlight Ruyun's interest stirred. Early graduation?

With his current strength, staying in the Ninja Academy to attend classes was already something of a waste of time.

His most pressing concern was finding more equipment materials.

And for now, there were no equipment materials left to farm at the Ninja Academy.

From that perspective, leaving the village on missions seemed like a good option.

Minato looked thoughtful. If not for Moonlight Ruyun, he probably would have applied for early graduation before long.

Kushina stole a glance at Ruyun. If we graduate, could we end up on the same team?

Nawaki, on the other hand, looked miserable. Why hadn't they brought up early graduation sooner? He was already in his sixth year, finally nearing the end of the long wait.

And now they were talking to him about early graduation...

"Jiraiya!!!"

Noticing how tempted they were, Tsunade rejected the idea without hesitation. "Absolutely not. The ninja world isn't as wonderful as you imagine. Stay in school."

"...Ahem. With their strength, there isn't really anything left for them to learn at school. Giving them some experience ahead of time would be good too. What do you think, Orochimaru?"

Orochimaru was rather exasperated by Jiraiya's habit of dragging him into things, but this time, he largely agreed with the idea.

"Rather than sending them onto the battlefield knowing nothing, letting them practice with low-rank missions first might be a good choice."

Tsunade was speechless.

For the next ten minutes, Moonlight Ruyun and the others focused on eating.

Tsunade and the other two argued over whether to arrange early graduation for their disciples.

No one could convince anyone else, and they were heading toward a stalemate.

Moonlight Ruyun spoke up. "Could we go on missions without graduating early?"

Jiraiya clapped his hands, a smile spreading across his face. "Exactly! It's all training anyway. You don't need to graduate early. I can take a few low-rank missions under my name and hand them over to you for practice."

In principle, only those who had become ninja and received their own ninja registration numbers were authorized to accept missions.

Taking missions on someone else's behalf, under their name, was against the rules.

But... with Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru standing together, those three practically were the rules.

Tsunade considered it, then nodded.

It was a reasonable compromise.

She didn't want to see them enter the ninja world too soon. If they didn't graduate and only went on the occasional mission for practice, there wasn't much of a problem.

"...All right. I'll choose their missions."

She looked at their expectant faces, leaned forward, and curled her lips into a smile. "Well, then. Are you ready to experience the ninja world?"