Much had changed over the past two years.
For example, there was the change in Shin'un's strength.
Relentless, grueling training had made Shin'un's body faster, allowing the extraordinary reflexes granted by [Extreme Reaction] to gradually reveal their true capabilities.
A simple combination of the Body Flicker Technique and close-range kunai combat was enough to easily defeat most aspiring ninja at the Ninja Academy level.
Many of them merely sensed a figure rushing toward them before they felt a kunai pressed against their necks.
Aside from his strength, there was also the change in Shin'un's ranking in the elite class.
Two years ago, although Shin'un had been the undisputed top student in academics, his performance in combat sparring had been downright awful.
So back then, Shin'un had been a complete bottom-of-the-class loser.
But things were different now.
His increased strength had quickly made up for the shortfall in his combat sparring scores.
As a result, Shin'un now ranked among the best in his class.
The changes did not stop there.
One bright spring afternoon, Shin'un's entire class had been holding combat sparring practice on the training ground as usual.
Shin'un's opponent had once again been Uchiha Yūichi.
The match had once again ended in Shin'un's victory.
But unlike on other days, a girl from another class had watched the entire fight between Shin'un and Uchiha Yūichi.
From then on, Shin'un had gained a fangirl who hovered around him.
She had even worked hard to improve her grades and strength just to see Shin'un a little more every day, successfully applying for a transfer to his elite class a year ago.
That girl was the Shiina Kō Minato Namikaze had mentioned.
She was practically the ultimate evolved form of those celebrity chasers.
Time passed quickly, and the Ninja Academy's afternoon sparring lesson soon ended. Mizukawa Masaru dismissed them right there on the training ground.
Since he had agreed to talk with Minato Namikaze after school, Shin'un waited right at the school gate.
After a short wait, Minato Namikaze had yet to arrive, but someone else Shin'un did not want to see showed up instead.
Shiina Kō, Kushina Uzumaki, and Uchiha Mikoto walked out of the Ninja Academy gates together.
"Hey, Shin'un! What are you doing here? Waiting for our Shiina Kō?"
The moment they met, before Shin'un could speak, Kushina greeted him with her usual boisterousness.
Shin'un had intended to pretend he had not seen them and avoid the three girls' notice, but now he had no choice but to speak.
"Don't make things up. I'm waiting for Minato."
As he spoke, Shin'un stole an inconspicuous glance at Shiina Kō, who stood beside Kushina.
In front of Shin'un, Shiina Kō usually acted shy.
She tugged at the hem of her clothes with both hands, her long black hair draped over her shoulders, occasionally raising her head to glance at Shin'un.
Shin'un was not like the future Naruto Uzumaki, who was incredibly dense in certain respects.
Shiina Kō's behavior was far too obvious. Anyone could tell what she truly felt.
Honestly, Shin'un was rather pleased to have a fangirl at the Ninja Academy, even if there was only one.
It proved he had at least some charm.
But whenever Shiina Kō stood in front of him, he simply could not get used to it, and he always felt a little guilty.
After all, Shiina Kō, standing before him, was only ten years old at most.
She was not even as tall as a high table.
With such a young child standing shyly before him, tugging at her clothes and looking at him, Shin'un really could not feel happy about it.
"If there's nothing else, get going. I have something serious to discuss with Minato Namikaze."
Standing before Shiina Kō, Shin'un only felt increasingly uncomfortable all over, and he hurriedly urged Kushina to leave.
"What, you're not happy to have a fangirl?"
After teasing Shin'un a little, Kushina left with her two close friends.
Watching Shiina Kō's retreating figure, Shin'un felt even more pressure than he did when facing the Third Hokage.
After waiting there a little longer, Shin'un finally saw Minato Namikaze appear at the Ninja Academy gates.
"You're here?"
"Sorry. You know it was my turn to clean the classroom today."
"I know. So what did you want to tell me on the training ground today?"
Shin'un still had to train that night, so he asked directly.
At Shin'un's words, Minato Namikaze's brow gradually furrowed.
"I've just been feeling a little uneasy, so I wanted someone to talk to."
"Uneasy?"
Hearing why Minato Namikaze had sought him out, Shin'un could not help freezing for a moment.
He immediately grew curious. What could make the future Fourth Hokage feel uneasy?
"Uneasy? Why?"
Shin'un asked directly.
Frowning, Minato Namikaze explained:
"Mostly, putting the recent news together has left me feeling a little uneasy."
At that point, Minato Namikaze looked up and said:
"Let's find a training ground to talk. I remember you have a habit of doing extra training every night."
"That works out. I need to train tonight too."
Whoosh!
With a rush of air, a kunai struck the bull's-eye on a large tree with perfect accuracy.
Some distance from the tree, Shin'un lowered the right arm he had raised to throw the kunai and turned toward Minato Namikaze on the other side of the training ground.
"You're saying the recent events in the Land of Rain have been making you uneasy?"
Minato Namikaze was practicing Wind Release. Hearing Shin'un's question, he dispelled the small vortex of wind in his hand.
"That's right. It was just a clash with Sunagakure between an assassination mission and a protection mission. Why has it caused such a stir this time?"
"It's not like this hasn't happened before, but don't people usually follow the unwritten rules and let skill decide?"
Shin'un walked over to the tree to retrieve his kunai, inwardly marveling at Minato Namikaze's insight into the state of the Shinobi World. He turned his head and asked:
"That's what's making you uneasy?"
Minato Namikaze was no longer in the mood to train either, so he simply lay down on the grass and looked up at the sky.
The summer sky stretched endlessly overhead, and the setting sun painted the distant clouds a deep red.
Such a sight made it hard not to feel at ease, yet Minato Namikaze's mind was a tangled mess.
Minato Namikaze gazed at the sky and took a deep breath.
"It's not just that. Mostly, it's because some things in the village have been strange lately."
Shin'un raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
"Strange? How?"
After thinking for a moment, Minato Namikaze turned to glance at Shin'un and decided to tell him everything he had observed over the past few days.
"There have been a lot of strange things going on in Konoha lately."
"These past few days, grain carts have only been entering the village gates, never leaving."
"For over a decade, the prices of ninja tools in the shops have stayed stable, but recently they've actually started rising. Explosive tags in particular-even the lowest-grade explosive tags cost a fortune now."
"There are just as many people coming to Konoha to post missions every day as usual, but the missions in the mission hall have been gradually decreasing, and they're all missions that can be completed in a short time."
"There are a lot of ninja in the village sitting idle without missions now. It's a complete waste of resources. The village would never have tolerated something like this before."
"..."