"What's with the swagger?"

  Looking at Uchiha En's retreating figure, Kushina finally snapped back to reality, muttering under her breath.

  Last time, she had forced herself into a confrontation with Uchiha En, only to feel the overwhelming gap between herself, him, and Minato. It wasn’t that her talent was cking, but compared to these two, Kushina had spent too little time at the Ninja Academy.

  Her recent growth had actually outpaced the likes of Mikoto from before. Even Minato was taken aback by her progress.

  "Kushina, good morning!" she heard as she entered the cssroom. Minato’s gentle smile greeted her.

  The pout on her face softened into a faint blush. While she and Mikoto had become closer recently, Kushina was no longer as awkward as she used to be around Minato.

  "Morning." Kushina responded.

  Minato continued smiling. "You’re here early today."

  In almost a year of school, Minato was always the first to arrive at the cssroom, something he had grown used to. Mikoto was usually second, but today, Kushina had arrived much earlier than usual, probably to avoid waiting for Uchiha En, but why was she here so early?

  Minato gnced at her and noticed a strange glint of joy in her eyes, but there was something hidden underneath… loneliness.

  He had intended to ask how her break had been, but then remembered the Anbu following her around. She wasn’t exactly free.

  It made sense now why she came early after the break—she likely wanted to escape being alone.

  "Heh." Kushina gave Minato a smile, thinking it was fwless.

  What she didn’t know was that Minato had already seen through the loneliness in her eyes.

  Without her knowing, Minato silently swore to himself that he would help her get out of this surveilnce.

  Minato didn’t care about Kushina’s status. He just knew one thing: her happiness meant his happiness.

  He didn’t press the topic any further. Kushina took her seat, gncing at Minato from time to time, a subtle pink flush still on her cheeks.

  Just then, a familiar voice broke the moment.

  "You two are here so early."

  Mikoto, the third to enter the cssroom, greeted them with a smile when she saw Minato and Kushina already seated.

  They both said "Good morning," and Mikoto sat beside Kushina, and the two began chatting. Girls didn’t need a specific topic to chat about—they just enjoyed each other's company.

  ...

  After a day of csses, Minato saw Mikoto and Kushina off before returning home and getting started on his training for the day.

  Under the dimming sky, he moved quickly through the streets on the edge of Konoha, always alert. After all, Jiraiya-sensei had warned him that obstacles would be pced in his path from time to time.

  By the time he completed his twenty ps, night had fallen.

  After a short rest, Minato returned home, following Jiraiya’s instructions to prepare a simple dinner for himself. Living alone, he had picked up some cooking skills, though they weren’t anything spectacur.

  After dinner, he still had plenty of time. Minato didn’t pn to rest just yet.

  He cleaned up his dishes and then went to his room to practice his hand seals.

  ...

  Over the next days, Minato stuck to what seemed like a simple practice routine. As Jiraiya had promised, he occasionally threw obstacles his way—sometimes with shuriken or stones, other times with summoned creatures of greater size to block Minato's path.

  These summoned beasts were strong, but their agility was a bit cking. Jiraiya’s intention was clear: to create challenges for Minato, but also allow him opportunities to finish his training.

  Amid all the obstacles, Minato’s progress accelerated, and his ability to adapt amazed Jiraiya. His reflexes were growing stronger with each passing day.

  And so, a year passed.

  Whoosh!

  Along the edge of Konoha, Minato’s figure flew through the streets, moving so quickly that, if you only watched with your eyes, you would catch only his afterimages.

  Swish! Swish!

  Minato turned a corner and several bck streaks shot toward him, targeting vital points. These attacks were so fast that an average person wouldn’t have time to react, but Minato's face, now brighter and more handsome from a year of training, showed a faint smile.

  He pulled out a few real shuriken—not the practice ones from the Academy—but the real deal, ones he had "borrowed" from Jiraiya.

  Cng! Cng!

  Minato sent the shuriken flying, knocking the incoming projectiles out of the air with precision. Without slowing down, he dashed forward.

  "Good kid."

  Jiraiya, watching from the shadows, quietly praised him. Minato had never been taught shurikenjutsu by Jiraiya. Instead, he had learned the technique from his previous encounter with Uchiha En, picking up the Uchiha cn's skill for throwing shuriken.

  Although it wasn’t the full extent of the Uchiha shuriken style, Jiraiya never expected Minato to improve so much in just one year—even in shurikenjutsu.

  As for his speed, even middle-ranking ninjas couldn’t compare. Jiraiya had struggled to follow him in the shadows—something that had never happened before.

  This kid’s progress was nothing short of astonishing.

  Over the past year, Jiraiya had focused on Minato’s basic physical training. Apart from summoning jutsu, he hadn’t taught him any other ninjutsu. But as expected, Minato had taken his speed to the next level, avoiding every obstacle and even retaliating.

  Minato's strength now surpassed that of the teachers at the Ninja Academy—though he hadn’t revealed it yet.

  How would people like Chinen Hon and the others feel when they realize they’ve been surpassed by an eight-year-old kid?

  The Seventh Training Ground in Konoha.

  It was a rest day, and after completing his training for the day, Minato arrived.

  Jiraiya was already there, waiting.

  Minato knew that it was only Jiraiya's shadow clone—his real body was elsewhere.

  "Sensei, today I’m going to defeat your shadow clone!" Minato decred.

  He bowed slowly, but when he raised his gaze, there was a fire in his bright blue eyes—one that didn’t match his usual gentle demeanor.

  Whoosh!

  In the next instant, Minato’s body turned into a fsh of golden light, and he unched an attack!