Senju Haruto wasn't trying to show off.
He didn't have some over-the-top "Strongest Pretender" system that required dramatic flair to level up. He was simply stating the facts, calmly and plainly.
Sure, enrolling in the Ninja Academy had been part of his original plan, but that was mostly to follow procedure—and to access specific sign-in locations.
Even from the beginning, Haruto had always intended to graduate early.
If he stuck around the Academy, just going through the motions—attending classes, leaving school every day, waiting to graduate alongside Naruto—by the time that actually happened, Orochimaru would already be launching his attack on the Hidden Leaf.
At that point, no matter how strong he was, he'd still officially be a genin. No comparison at all to someone like Jiraiya or Tsunade.
Looking at the overall Konoha timeline, there was no doubt that the best opportunity to become Hokage would be during the chaos after the death of the Third.
Haruto just hadn't expected to obtain the Wood Release kekkei genkai on only his fourth sign-in.
He had assumed such a high-tier reward would take much longer to acquire. In the meantime, learning a few jutsu at the Academy had seemed like a reasonable plan.
But now? That was no longer necessary.
"Come to think of it, none of the so-called Konoha 12 really mastered their skills at the Academy, did they?" Haruto couldn't help but reflect with some amusement.
Naruto's two iconic jutsu—Rasengan was learned from Jiraiya, and the Shadow Clone Jutsu had been stolen from the Scroll of Seals.
Sasuke's Sharingan was innate, and his Chidori was taught by Kakashi.
As for the others? They either relied on secret clan techniques or learned under the guidance of jonin mentors.
The Academy only really offered basic skills like the Clone Technique and Transformation Jutsu.
But now, Haruto had a kekkei genkai—Wood Release—and could already use the superior Wood Clone Technique.
Transformation? That was child's play. One look was all he needed to master it.
Even if he graduated now, he wouldn't be losing out on anything.
In fact, regardless of whether his fourth reward had been Wood Release or not, Haruto had already been planning to bring up early graduation with Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Graduating early, becoming a genin, and receiving training directly from a jonin—that was clearly the most efficient path for him.
And it wasn't unprecedented either.
Take Uchiha Itachi, for example.
He graduated early, became a genin at age seven, and by Haruto's current age, he was already leading the Anbu.
Meanwhile, his peers had barely finished school.
If he could do it, then why not Haruto?
Because he was an Uchiha?
Haruto was a Senju, thank you very much.
Because he had the Mangekyō Sharingan?
Haruto had a sign-in system!
Even if Itachi suddenly activated Susano'o in front of him, Haruto could calmly ask:
"You too, wish to dance?"
But Hiruzen didn't respond right away. He simply sat there in thoughtful silence.
This request had caught him off guard—but at least it was more reasonable than that ridiculous name change yesterday.
Besides, after what happened the day before, Haruto had clearly proven that his strength far surpassed that of his peers.
Maybe even stronger than some jonin.
Letting Haruto graduate early and assigning a jonin to mentor him… yes, that made sense.
"I'll consider it," Hiruzen finally said after a long pause. "There are still more than two months left before the next graduation exam. Until then, continue attending Iruka's class."
"Understood." Haruto nodded.
While Hiruzen hadn't given a firm answer, his message was clear:
If Haruto could pass the exam in two months, early graduation would be approved.
At the same time, it left room for adjustments if anything unexpected happened during that period.
After all, Hiruzen had only said he'd "consider it."
But as far as Haruto was concerned, it was pretty much a done deal.
"By the way," Hiruzen suddenly stood up, as if something had just occurred to him. "Would you like to visit Hinata?"
"Hinata?"
"Yes. She was shaken after being kidnapped by a Cloud ninja, but aside from the trauma, she's physically fine. She's currently resting at home under the pretense of medical leave since the matter hasn't been fully resolved."
Hiruzen made no effort to hide the truth.
Based on the intel he had, it was Haruto who had saved Hinata that day.
In fact, Haruto probably knew the details even better than he did.
Besides, Haruto had shown incredible promise. With the right cultivation, even if he couldn't be the next Hokage, he could certainly carry on the Will of Fire and protect Konoha with unwavering loyalty.
Introducing him to the Hyūga clan early certainly wouldn't hurt.
More importantly, this was a chance for Hiruzen to further strengthen ties with the Hyūga as well.
"I happen to be heading to the Hyūga compound myself. Why don't we go together?" Hiruzen invited, casually picking up his Hokage hat and placing it on his head.
"Sure," Haruto replied with a nod. He didn't think Hiruzen was the type to waste time on pointless gestures.
Just look at Naruto when he became the Seventh Hokage—running around like an overworked salaryman every single day.
Now compare that to Hiruzen. His workload mostly seemed to consist of strolling around the village and doing the occasional home visit.
They were both Hokage—how big could the difference really be?
People said Hiruzen had Danzo, but Naruto had Sasuke and Shikamaru as high-level aides too.
With that in mind, Haruto suspected Hiruzen's real reasons for the visit were layered.
On the surface, it was to check on Hinata.
But behind the scenes, he was probably trying to:
Discuss how to handle the diplomatic fallout from the Cloud incident with the Hyūga clan, and
Build a connection between Haruto and Hinata.
After all, the Hyūga clan's strict hierarchy between main and branch families was well-known.
As the eldest daughter of the main family, Hinata was clearly being groomed as the future head.
If Haruto was being trained as the next Hokage, then this visit—while appearing to be a simple courtesy—could actually be a strategic move to forge an alliance.
Still…
That was just Haruto's personal guess. As for Hiruzen's true intentions, only the old man knew for sure.
"Let's go." Hiruzen finished gathering his things and brushed past Haruto, opening the office door and stepping outside.
Haruto quickly followed.
"Come to think of it… I wonder what Naruto and Hinata's relationship is like at this point in the timeline?"
"Regardless, I did rescue her from danger. What if she ends up falling for me instead…"
Haruto couldn't help but reflect on how Hinata had originally fallen for Naruto: it was because Naruto had stood up for her during a difficult time.
After that, her feelings slowly grew.
In other words, a shy girl like Hinata was probably very susceptible to falling for someone who treated her kindly.
But once she did, she'd stay loyal for life…
"Sigh."
Haruto let out a quiet breath.
With how outstanding he was, wasn't it only natural for girls to fall for him?
But what if too many girls liked him? What would he do then?
"All I want is to quietly sign in, grow stronger, and become Hokage. I don't want to waste energy on romance…"