"You're now in your third year at the Academy. Some of you have even qualified for the graduation exam. But none of you can afford to relax just yet, because if you stagnate, you might be surpassed by the younger generations."
Kouda Moto addressed the students in the classroom, and everyone responded in unison. With that, the week's lessons came to an end.
Without anyone realizing it, it had already been over half a year since Minato left for his mission in the Land of Hot Springs.
"Minato, where should we go today?" Kushina eagerly approached Minato's seat. Ever since last time, she had been spending nearly every weekend wandering Konoha's streets with him.
At first, they had sneaked out secretly, but later, thanks to Lady Mito's influence, their outings became an open thing.
"Today, there's a flower shop opening nearby. Let's check it out," Minato smiled.
Meanwhile, Mikoto had already been waiting by the classroom entrance for the two of them, a pair already widely regarded as the "couple duo" in class—though only the two of them remained unaware.
As the trio reached the school gate, Mikoto smiled at the pair and said, "Hope you both have fun."
Kushina was about to invite her along, but before she could speak, Mikoto vanished with a few quick steps.
Watching Mikoto disappear, Minato narrowed his eyes slightly. At first, he had thought she kept declining Kushina's invitations due to Uchiha clan training restrictions. However, over these past few months, he realized the real reason seemed different.
It seemed something about Mikoto had changed since the ten-day Chakra Aptitude Testing period.
Kushina pouted slightly, then began eagerly urging Minato to take her to the new flower shop.
...
At their speed, the pair soon arrived in front of the newly opened flower store. A fragrance of flowers wafted toward them. Standing before its entrance, they instinctively took deep breaths.
"What beautiful flowers!" Kushina exclaimed excitedly, her gaze fixed on the various colors and shapes of blossoms.
Seeing her so happy, Minato couldn't help but smile as well. Yet just as he was about to follow Kushina into the shop, a vaguely familiar figure caught his attention.
About thirty to forty meters away from the flower shop, standing in front of another store, was someone Minato instantly recognized by his back.
Although somewhat changed compared to half a year ago, Minato still immediately identified him—it was Sarutobi Ao.
He was the young genius of the Sarutobi Clan. However, the clothes he wore weren't typical ninja attire; long robes completely covered his somewhat thin physique.
Minato noticed Ao walked stiffly.
"Injured?" Minato murmured to himself. He deeply respected this young genius who had trained alongside Nawaki. Deciding to walk over and greet him, he slowly stepped forward.
Just as he approached Ao, someone suddenly rushed out directly from a side alley.
Minato turned his gaze sideways, and a delicate, refined face came into view.
"Senior Shurou?"
Minato was taken aback. The girl standing slightly taller than him was someone he'd seen back during the Chakra Aptitude Test—Nawaki's teammate.
"Come with me."
Shurou didn't offer Minato much explanation before grabbing his hand and swiftly pulling him into the alley behind them.
Only after entering the alley did she release his arm.
Still puzzled, Minato asked, "What's going on?"
Without answering, Shurou instead asked, "You were about to go greet Sarutobi Ao just now, right?"
"Yeah, why?" Minato felt even more confused. Was saying hello really such a big deal?
Looking seriously at Minato, Shurou said, "Then I'd advise you not to see him if I were you..."
"Why?" Minato blinked.
Shurou hesitated slightly, clearly reluctant to tell him certain things.
Frowning, Minato thought of Kushina waiting at the flower shop and turned to leave.
Swish!
At that moment, someone appeared before him.
"Senior Nawaki?" Seeing the figure, Minato's expression brightened slightly.
After all, they regarded each other as friends, but since the older boy had already become a ninja, Minato hadn't seen him since the Chakra Aptitude Test (a trial assessing one's chakra potential).
"Minato." Nawaki's face also bore a faint smile, though it carried bitter undertones.
"What's wrong with you two?"
Minato couldn't understand why both Nawaki and Shurou were acting so strangely today.
Nawaki hesitated the same way Shurou had.
"Minato!"
Kushina's voice rang out from behind them. She had already reached the mouth of the alley and was running toward them.
Nawaki stepped aside, making space for Kushina. "It's Kushina."
"Senior Nawaki," Kushina greeted politely before turning her attention back to Minato. "Why did you suddenly run off here?"
Minato found this rather surprising—he'd just gotten here, and she'd already tracked him down.
"Senior Shurou pulled me here," he replied honestly without hesitation.
Kushina shifted her gaze from him and saw Shurou standing not far behind. A trace of hostility flickered in her eyes.
The moment passed quickly, and Kushina raised one eyebrow, puzzled at herself.
Shurou let out an awkward laugh.
A faint tension settled over the group. Minato turned to look at Nawaki. "Senior Nawaki, what exactly is going on? Why shouldn't I meet with Sarutobi Ao?"
This direct question made Nawaki appear even more conflicted.
Sighing, Shurou stepped forward beside Nawaki and said, "Well, let's just tell them."
"To be honest, I really did sense Sarutobi Ao earlier. That's strange..."
Kushina hesitated briefly before speaking. Under Mito's six months of training, her sensor ability had actually become extremely powerful, though Mito had never told her how to actively use this ability.
"The reason I didn't let you meet him is because I was afraid your presence might awaken something in him again," Shurou explained, ignoring Nawaki's attempt to stop her.
Upon hearing this, both of them were stunned. Minato asked, "Awaken something in him? What exactly happened?"
Shurou hesitated, glancing toward Nawaki, who gave a slow nod in reply. However, Minato noticed that Nawaki was now clenching his fists tightly.
After a pause, Shurou turned her gaze to the two of them and continued, "That's because Sarutobi Ao... is no longer a ninja..."
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