Yukito entered Sage Mode. Actually, he had a shadow clone hidden nearby. The clone had entered Sage Mode and then dispelled itself, transferring the accumuted natural energy to Yukito. It was cheating, but Yukito didn’t want to lose!

  Each type of Sage Mode boosted physical abilities. Yukito’s Absorption Sage Mode was no different. Thanks to it, he surpassed Minato’s speed and finally outmaneuvered him.

  “Winner, Kasugano Yukito!”

  Yukito extended his hand. Minato took it and got up.

  “Hey, hey, teach me your cheat too!”

  The two burst into ughter.

  Aah, geniuses!

  Minato had already realized something was off. Not even the teachers noticed anything, since they weren’t familiar with Sage Techniques. They were struggling to follow the fight anyway.

  No—one of them was suspicious. Nawaki, a young Senju jōnin, had once been sent to the Shikkotsu Forest. He knew the fundamentals and characteristics of Sage Jutsu. Mastering it was another issue, but he could definitely sense the presence of a Sage user nearby. Naturally, Yukito wasn’t outside his range.

  It was just that the very idea of a ten-year-old civilian-born mastering Sage Mode was utterly hirious. He wouldn’t have believed it even if someone else told him. So Nawaki concluded he was imagining things.

  Minato didn’t let Yukito off so easily—he had to treat him to yakiniku1Japanese barbecue at the Aburame cn’s restaurant. Sure enough, Kushina joined them too.[Yukito found himself broke afterward.]

  The next day, they were summoned upon arriving at the Academy.

  “Do you want to graduate early, Minato, Yukito? I feel like you two already have enough qualifications,” the headmaster proposed.

  The headmaster of the Ninja Academy wasn’t even an extra in Naruto. Until Umino Iruka became headmaster, no such figure was ever shown. Even Iruka became headmaster because he was Iruka—not because the position mattered.

  Yukito took a mental note of this headmaster. He was a Hyūga named Hyūga Noriyuki. He had some scars on his face and no curse mark on his forehead—probably a main family member. He wore a white kimono with a bck tiger face on it. Kimonos symbolized authority in the ninja world. Normal shinobi—even jōnins—wore tactical gear all the time. Only those in positions of authority wore kimonos casually.

  Minato started fidgeting, trying to refuse. Yukito pced a hand on his shoulder and gifted a smile at the headmaster before agreeing. He was deliberately acting childish.

  Hyūga Noriyuki frowned. He was slightly irritated by Yukito’s ck of respect and carefree attitude. He was a high-ranking citizen of Konoha, nearly equivalent to an elder. Nevertheless, he signed two recommendation letters for them.

  And just like that, they were free from csses for the time being. Yukito thought about going on a picnic, while Minato continued pestering him to teach his Sage technique. It's not that Yukito didn't want to teach Minato, actually he couldn't. Yukito had a rather different constitution than Minato.

  They were walking peacefully along the bank of the Naka River. Peacefully—until a certain redhead barged in.

  ?I thought you guys were my friends! And now you have the audacity to graduate early? What am I supposed to do, sit in css alone?? Kushina yelled, smashing her fist into the ground targeting Yukito and Minato. A mini-crater formed where she punched.

  Neither Yukito nor Minato dared take that deadly hit head-on—they dodged and retreated about a hundred meters.

  ?Hey, say something!? Her Kyūbi chakra began leaking through the seal, making her hair float like nine red tails. Her eyes were glowing read like a demon [their imagination]. Why did this look eerily simir to Yukito’s Sage Mode? Yukito quickly dismissed the thought. It couldn’t be that… right?

  "Don’t you dare run away!" Her words sent chills down Minato’s spine—he was already trying to flee.

  “Why don’t you take the early graduation too? You have all the qualifications!” Yukito decided to py it safe, with fttery. It worked. Kushina’s rage seemed to subside a little.

  After all, he wasn’t bluffing. Kushina’s seal wasn’t faulty like Naruto’s. Hers was a perfect Kyūbi seal. In canon, the sealed Kyūbi in her mindscape looked like Kurama being trained in BDSM. With her Uzumaki constitution, she was a natural-born genius—just cking focus and motivation.

  “Kushina, Uzumaki sealing techniques are so cool, aren’t they? Can you teach me the Four Symbols Seal?”

  As expected, Kushina’s simple mind didn’t dwell on how Yukito knew about it. She proudly puffed up her growing chest. Yukito had been ying the groundwork with subtle praise and admiration for the Uzumaki cn’s techniques, and it paid off. She nonchantly took out a scroll and handed it to them. Apparently, she was still learning it herself.

  Minato didn’t waste a second and started reading. Yukito, meanwhile, showered Kushina with praise and gave her two meat skewers from his pocket—he had swiped them earlier while roaming the town with Minato.

  The Four Symbols Seal was one of the Uzumaki cn’s core techniques. It was a complex jutsu requiring mastery of four basic elements—fire, water, wind, and earth. It needed a blend of all four chakra affinities. Not even the Third Hokage could use it. But it was incredibly powerful. With this, Yukito would be able to handle any tailed beast in the future. Of course, he needed to master it first.

  Soon, the day came for their early graduation test. It required demonstrating the three basic Academy techniques: the Shadow Clone, Substitution, and Transformation. There was also a written exam and a one-on-one spar against a genin. Passing the Academy back then was much harder than in Naruto’s time, where you only needed to perform one of the “Academy Three” jutsu.

  You may wonder why ninjas had to pass a written exam. First, even shinobi need math and logical thinking. Second, it acted as an aptitude test.

  Every ninja is—or will become—a killing machine. Most are mentally unstable. Who in their right mind would try to annihite the strongest cn in their vilge, just to eliminate political rivals? Especially when you have tons of outside mortal enemy? (You know what I mean if you’ve watched Naruto.) Their mental state must be monitored, and that’s one main purpose of the written exam. The whole “Will of Fire” ideology served the same purpose—but that’s a story for another time.

  Two chūnin-ranked Academy teachers oversaw the written exam. The exam hall was nearly empty; Yukito, Minato, and Kushina sat in separate rows.

  “I’m your instructor-in-charge for the exam, Ukibe Nara. You have two hours to complete it. You need to get at least half correct. Afterward, you’ll take the practical test. If you fail the written part, you’ll need to put in extra effort to prove you won’t fail in the field. I suggest you don’t try to cheat— getting caught will revoke your exam rights.”

  The test was basically at an elementary school level. Yukito didn’t even need half an hour to finish.

  “What’s wrong? You can’t take breaks during the exam,” Ukibe said to Yukito, who was standing.

  “I’ve finished writing, sensei,” Yukito replied, handing over his answer sheet.

  __________________________________________

  I've ran out of excuses. Yeah, it's my zy ass which wasn't dedicated enough to write. But I promise, I will do it right next time!