Main world.
Summer, year twenty-six of Konoha.
New Capital, British Continent.
Training Ground, Imperial Palace.
Sunlight spilled over the bluestone slabs, baking the ground until it was scorching hot. The training ground was large enough to accommodate several hundred people training at once, but today, only four children stood in its center.
Jilan stood at the front, his short black hair stirring gently in the breeze, his scarlet Two-Tomoe Sharingan rotating slowly in their sockets. He was six this year, but he was already the size of an eight- or nine-year-old, with long limbs and firm muscles. Standing there, he looked like a young pine rooted in rock. A short blade hung at his waist, its black scabbard engraved with the character "Toyo." A sniper rifle was slung across his back, its barrel longer than his arm, its dark muzzle gleaming cold and hard in the sunlight.
Ryukōshi stood to his right, his golden Sharingan glowing faintly in the sunlight, each with one tomoe slowly rotating. He was five this year, half a head shorter than Jilan, but he stood straight, his expression composed, like an unsheathed blade still resting in its scabbard. He wore a white training uniform with a golden Holy Blood Angel emblem embroidered on the collar. His hands hung naturally at his sides, faint golden light flowing around his fingertips.
Jin Zhiyin stood to Jilan's left, his Emerald Green hair shining softly in the sunlight, his golden eyes looking curiously at everything around him. He was also five this year, the same age as Ryukōshi, but a little shorter and slimmer. Beneath his skin, pale green patterns resembling the veins of leaves were faintly visible. He held an oak seed in his hands. It glowed faintly in his palm, as though it were breathing.
Mikoto stood