Kōki walked along the roadside, thinking about where he should begin exploring the mysteries of the human body once he obtained his certification.
But before he reached the hospital, his Jonin instructor, Mamoru Uehara, appeared before him again.
"Teacher Uehara, is something the matter?"
"Kōki, after I reported to Lord Hokage to turn in our mission, I received another one. I came to tell you to meet at the village gates tomorrow morning," Mamoru Uehara answered immediately.
"Teacher Uehara, don't we get any time off after a mission?" Kōki was puzzled. As far as he knew, missions were usually followed by a period of downtime so the ninja could rest and recover, both physically and mentally. Why were they starting another mission without a break this time?
"In the past, we did have time to rest after missions. But with tensions rising in the Shinobi World, all ninja are completing their missions as quickly as possible so the village can secure enough resources to prepare for war."
"Our village has already stopped accepting outside commissions. We're just finishing the missions we already have as quickly as possible. Once all the village's missions are complete, every ninja squad will need to be ready to head to the battlefield."
After hearing Mamoru Uehara's explanation, Kōki understood that peacetime missions and wartime missions were entirely different. The anxiety and urgency bearing down on him made him feel all the more keenly what war meant.
With that realization, Kōki was no longer in the mood to think about saving people at Konoha Hospital. After collecting his medical certification from the medical department, he headed home.
Elsewhere, Hiruzen Sarutobi finished handling his administrative duties, let out a breath, and leaned back in his chair, recalling the assessment of Kōki that Mamoru Uehara had just given him.
"Lord Hokage, Kōki Itō performed excellently during this mission, with clearly defined roles for him and his two teammates. Although he was angry at the sight of the abused villagers, he remained calm and waited for the plan to be carried out successfully. Later, when his teammate was injured, he handled that calmly as well. His mental fortitude is also very strong."
"Then, Uehara, does Kōki have any shortcomings?"
"None that I can see for now. If I had to name something, it would be that he lacks the boldness and confidence a boy his age should have."
"With his abilities, he could have rescued the captives and wiped out the enemy throughout the bandit stronghold, but he kept waiting for the plan to succeed. That makes him seem like a qualified ninja, but it also makes him seem somewhat lacking in confidence. Perhaps it was because this was his first mission. I believe that will change as he completes more missions." Mamoru Uehara believed Kōki could have done better with his abilities, so he pointed out his minor shortcomings and room for improvement.
"I understand. Then, Mamoru, I'll continue to leave Kōki in your care. I believe he will gain even more under your guidance."
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
Recalling Mamoru Uehara's words, Hiruzen Sarutobi murmured to himself, "Lacking boldness and confidence?"
"Is it because I forbade you from using Wood Release, Kōki?"
"But I believe the day will come when your pride and confidence shine through."
Unaware of Hiruzen Sarutobi's hopes for him, Kōki hurried home with his head lowered, his mind occupied with tomorrow's mission and how to improve his strength.
Suddenly, with a thud, Kōki felt his head strike something. The force of the impact knocked him off balance, and he landed on his backside. Before he could speak, he heard a voice.
"Hey, watch where you're going! Didn't you see someone was here? You walked right into her!" Kōki looked up to see two girls in front of him. One was sitting on the ground just like him, while the other crouched beside her, supporting her.
As it happened, Kōki knew both girls, and he had seen one of them just a few days earlier.
"Hey, say something! Don't just sit there looking dumb!" The crouching girl seemed rather feisty as she snapped at Kōki.
"Anko, it's fine. It was only an accident," the girl sitting on the ground gently tried to dissuade her.
The girls he had bumped into were Kurenai Yuhi, the beautiful, mature woman famous from the original story, and Mitarashi Anko, whose looks had gone downhill in Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. He immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, Kurenai-senpai. I was thinking about something and wasn't paying attention."
Seeing Kōki's apologetic expression, Kurenai Yuhi smiled and replied, "It's all right, Itō."
"Don't think you can get away with just saying sorry!" Anko protested on Kurenai Yuhi's behalf.
"And you are?" Kōki pretended not to know Anko, putting on a puzzled expression.
Knowing that Kōki Itō had never met Anko, Kurenai Yuhi quickly explained, "Itō, this is Mitarashi Anko. She's a good friend of mine."
Kōki put on a look of realization. "Oh, so you're Yuhi-senpai's friend." In truth, he had known who Mitarashi Anko was all along, and had even seen what he looked like after becoming a middle-aged woman.
Seeing Kurenai and Kōki strike up a conversation, Mitarashi Anko leaned toward Kurenai's ear and asked curiously, "Kurenai, who's this brat?"
Only then did Kurenai remember that Anko did not know Kōki. Pointing at him, she said, "This is Kōki Itō, the student you wanted to know about-the one who applied for early graduation on his very first day at the academy."
Since Anko was two or three years below Kurenai, she had been in class during Kōki's assessment and had not seen him. She only knew there was a younger student who had graduated as soon as he enrolled, so she was a little curious about him. After learning that Kurenai had met Kōki, she had even asked her for some information about him.
"So that's you. You don't look all that impressive." To Anko, Kōki looked ordinary, aside from being a little handsome. She could not sense anything of a genius about him, and her tone was somewhat skeptical.
Kurenai tugged at Anko, signaling her to watch what she said. Anko had never seen Kōki show his power firsthand, but she had. Twice, in fact: once against Obito, and once against Kakashi.
Moreover, the strength Kōki had displayed against Kakashi had earned repeated praise from her father, Konoha's Genjutsu master Yūhi Shinku, who had been standing beside her at the time. He had personally said that Kōki already possessed Chunin-level strength, and that as long as he did not die young, he would surely become an influential figure in the Shinobi World. Someone with such strength and talent was not someone Anko could question.
Seeing Kōki looking down without speaking, Kurenai thought Anko's words had angered him and hurriedly said, "Itō, Anko doesn't know the situation. I hope you won't take what she said to heart."
Kōki did not care about Anko's doubts. He was not a real child, and with a mental age of at least twenty-something, he had long since stopped taking such doubts to heart. He would never hold them against a child. He was simply thinking about how to improve his strength.
Suddenly, he remembered another path to growing stronger. He looked up at Kurenai Yuhi and asked, "Kurenai Yuhi-senpai, may I ask how Jonin Yūhi Shinku is related to you?"