"What a troublesome little brat."
Konoha — inside the Hokage Building.
Minato Namikaze sat at his desk, staring at the stack of documents before him. Rubbing his temples with a weary expression, he looked both conflicted and mildly exasperated.
The Third Hokage wasn't in the village. That meant—for once—Minato actually had the freedom to make his own decisions.
He let out a quiet sigh, his gaze landing on two application forms spread out before him.
Early Graduation Requests.
One belonged to Itachi Uchiha of the Uchiha Clan. The other—to a boy he'd been keeping an eye on for quite some time: Hakken Yoru.
Like Minato himself, Hakken was born a commoner. But the boy's talent… far surpassed his own.
In Hakken, Minato saw something he himself had never truly possessed—an indomitable spirit.
At the very least, Hakken had the courage to resist, to push back against the world. That was why Minato had his own plans for the boy's future.
Once Hakken graduated, he had even considered taking him on as a disciple. To guide him personally. To help him accomplish the dreams Minato himself had once failed to achieve.
That was Minato's quiet wish.
But never—not in his wildest expectations—had he imagined the boy would pull something this bold. Applying for early graduation. And doing so alongside the Uchiha Clan's prodigy, Itachi Uchiha.
What was he supposed to do now?
"The tallest tree in the forest is the first to catch the wind." Minato knew that standing out too soon could be dangerous. Graduating early didn't mean the boys would have the strength to protect themselves.
He turned the pen slowly in his hand, thoughts racing.
He didn't know how long he sat there, lost in consideration.
When the faint sound of the office door creaking open reached his ears, Minato's eyes flicked to the forms again. And in that moment, he made his decision.
With a swift stroke of his pen, he wrote:
"Upon recommendation from Chūnin Instructor Ryūji Yamazaki, grant Hakken Yoru and Itachi Uchiha early graduation status."
"Effective immediately—they are recognized as ninja of Konoha."
Setting the pen down, Minato exhaled softly.
Since this was Hakken's own choice, he would respect it.
Approving the application… was the only thing he could do.
"I hear the Ninja Academy has two remarkable youngsters."
Puffing on his large pipe, Hiruzen Sarutobi walked cheerfully into the office. As soon as he approached, he spotted the two already-approved graduation applications on the desk.
He opened his mouth, glanced at Minato, but ultimately decided not to speak further.
Just moments ago, he'd had a talk with Danzō.
There was no doubt—his old comrade had set his sights on those two. Unfortunately, Minato's stance was already perfectly clear. Asking for them now would mean swallowing more pride than even Hiruzen could manage.
"Yes, two fine young talents," Minato said. "They even broke Kakashi's record for early graduation."
"I believe they'll become outstanding ninja of Konoha."
Minato nodded brightly, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
"Outstanding ninja of Konoha."
He clung firmly to those words.
...
The next day, news spread like wildfire throughout Konoha.
Barely a week after the Academy's opening, two youths had blazed through the entire curriculum as if riding rockets and applied for early graduation.
One was Itachi Uchiha—the prodigy of the Uchiha Clan.
The other, an unheralded name until now—Hakken Yoru. But today, he stood as an undisputed genius.
Their strength had earned unanimous recognition from the entire elite class of this year's Ninja Academy.
Hmph.
And really, how could it not?
If they'd remained in class, the pressure on their peers would have been unbearable.
Even more surprising was the astonishing speed of the village's response.
Minato Namikaze, in his capacity as the Fourth Hokage, had formally approved their early graduation. From this day forward, the two would be officially recognized as shinobi of Konoha.
Three days later, they were to appear in the Hokage's office, where they would receive their ninja forehead protectors.
They had truly graduated early.
In only one week since enrollment, they had achieved what other children spent years working toward.
The news spread like wildfire.
No effort was needed to circulate it—the entire village erupted with excitement.
This was the kind of news that stirred the heart.
Konoha had been quiet for too long.
Still not fully healed from the scars of the Third Shinobi World War, the village needed such news to wash away the lingering grief left by war.
"I knew it," a smooth, almost serpentine voice whispered. "Someone like you would never linger in such a childish place."
Sizzle.
As an unknown liquid poured into a test tube, Orochimaru stood in the dim light of his laboratory, his tongue flicking across his lips, his expression one of dark amusement.
"Well then, let me see... Hakken-kun, what makes you so different from Itachi-kun?"
He stepped toward the trembling test subject before him, his grin twisting into something truly monstrous.
...
No matter what the outside world thought of it, none of it mattered much to Hakken.
He no longer needed to attend the Ninja Academy.
All he had to do was wait three days and then head to the Hokage Building to receive his forehead protector.
Whether or not they would assign him a Jōnin instructor was of no concern to him.
Because of his presence, the terrifying pace that had once seen Itachi graduate a year early in the original timeline had been pushed even further ahead.
But there were things that couldn't be solved merely by graduating.
He vaguely recalled Itachi's first C-rank mission—how he'd returned alone, awakening the Sharingan in the aftermath.
Yes, that had been Obito's doing, under the guise of "helping him discover his own limits."
So, whether it meant taking on missions or eventually joining the ANBU, Hakken would continue forward as he always had.
In the years ahead, he would temper himself in his own way—grow stronger by his own hand—until he possessed the power to change everything.
On the training grounds, two figures clashed once again.
Blades swung. Steel met steel.
Slash after slash—unceasing, unrelenting.