After Kimimaro and Itachi finished their battle, Naruto and Sasuke—the pair of fated best buddies—were also itching to fight, and started a match in the courtyard.
But with Kimimaro and Itachi's brilliant fight as a comparison, their battle looked a bit childish no matter how you viewed it.
Even so, the two of them weren't actually weak anymore.
Under Hoshiyomi's occasional training, both had grown much stronger than in the original story.
Sasuke, due to his already outstanding talent, hadn't progressed too dramatically.
But Naruto's improvements compared to the original story were extremely obvious.
With proper nutrition and without the Nine-Tails constantly disrupting his chakra, Naruto's growth had been substantial.
Although Naruto still hadn't learned many ninjutsu due to the Nine-Tails' chakra, under Minato and Hoshiyomi's guidance, his taijutsu was far stronger than in the original story.
In pure taijutsu, Sasuke couldn't match him.
However, Sasuke's shurikenjutsu and ninjutsu proficiency far surpassed Naruto's, so Sasuke still held a slight advantage in their fight.
Of course, Naruto had not yet learned the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique.
Once he graduated and Minato taught him that skill, the balance would likely flip.
In the courtyard, Naruto lay on the ground, bruised and swollen, glaring at Sasuke, who was clearly panting heavily but feigning nonchalance:
"Stupid Sasuke, don't get cocky! Winter break is coming, and my dad said he's gonna train me like crazy!
Just you wait—once school starts again, you won't stand a chance.
Before graduation, I'm gonna beat you in front of the whole class!"
Sasuke snorted, pretending not to care:
"A moron like you? Come back after another hundred years."
But inside, he quietly decided that once break started, he had to get his big brother and Shisui to train him too.
While the two boys were silently plotting how to surpass each other, Hoshiyomi suddenly perked up when he heard them mention it.
Life had been so peaceful these past two years that Hoshiyomi had almost forgotten the timeline.
Only when Naruto mentioned winter break and graduation did Hoshiyomi suddenly realize—
There were less than six months left before the "Konoha 12 Genin" graduated.
This realization made Hoshiyomi unexpectedly anxious—not because the plot was about to start and he was unprepared, but because he suddenly realized he had been so focused on training Kimimaro and the two kids that he had completely neglected the romance progress of the Konoha 12.
Hearing Naruto say graduation was only half a year away, Hoshiyomi abruptly woke up—
He had absolutely no idea how their romantic paths were progressing.
Honestly, he was seriously worried that his presence might mess up the love trajectories of the main cast.
Take Naruto and Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura for example:
Hinata originally developed a crush on Naruto because he defended her from bullies while acting as the "Fox Demon Incarnation."
But now Naruto wasn't only not the Fox Demon Incarnation, he was also the Fourth Hokage's son, a complete elite child.
Under these circumstances, whether Hinata would still admire him and become curious about him was… uncertain.
And Sakura—
She would certainly still fangirl over Sasuke, but now Naruto's strength and status were no longer inferior.
Children's feelings were unpredictable—
If Sakura slipped up by just one step and actually switched crushes… what then?
He had reincarnated long before the main plot began.
What did he look forward to the most now?
Watching the love stories of the Konoha 12 play out with his own eyes!
And he had even visited another shinobi world and seen who each of them married there.
If his existence caused the original pairings to fall apart—
Hoshiyomi felt he'd be a sinner.
Glancing at Ryūshin and Rinne beside him, Hoshiyomi hesitated for a moment but still didn't shoo the two kids away. In front of his own children, he asked:
"Come to think of it, all these years I've only ever asked you about your training. I've actually forgotten to ask whether any of you have someone you like at school.
Everyone here today is familiar with each other, so why not take this opportunity to talk about it? You've all been at the ninja academy for so long—you must have someone who's caught your eye, right?"
Just as Hoshiyomi finished speaking, a voice drifted over from afar:
"Well, I may not have come early, but it looks like I came at just the right time. I only just arrived and already heard such an interesting topic. Come on now, tell me—do any of you have a girl you like at school?
If you say it now, Auntie can even help set you up. Who knows—maybe you'll win her heart in a few days~"
The newcomer was none other than Tsunade. She had been preparing tea and snacks for the kids after hearing the sounds of sparring in the courtyard stop, but she never expected to walk out and stumble onto such an amusing topic.
As the saying goes, gossip is humanity's sixth instinct. Tsunade was no exception. Hearing Hoshiyomi's question, she hurried over, set down the tray, and sat beside him without hesitation, teasing the children.
Hearing the two adults' questions, the kids—who were laughing and chatting just moments ago—fell silent. They looked at each other but didn't dare speak.
Ryūshin, hearing his parents' questioning, said speechlessly:
"Dad, Mom, don't you think asking about their love lives at your age is kind of weird? And all of us kids are here—can't you two behave a little?"
Tsunade immediately pulled Ryūshin close and flicked his forehead lightly:
"What's weird about it? Dating at the ninja academy is perfectly normal. Your dad and I started liking each other around that age too. We just didn't get together officially until much later because of… circumstances."
Little Rinne, hearing about her parents' love story for the first time, quickly scooted over, snuggling into Tsunade's arm with curiosity:
"Mom, Dad, did you really know each other that early?"
All the kids perked up their ears silently.
The Gekko family had always had an open parenting style. Hearing Rinne ask, Tsunade answered without hesitation:
"Yep. Your dad and I were in the same class at the ninja academy, along with Uncle Sakumo and Uncle Jiraiya. We only studied there for one year, but even back then I already liked him.
You kids don't know—your dad was very popular back then."
Ryūshin looked his handsome father up and down, then poked Hoshiyomi's arm:
"Dad, if you had so many girls crushing on you when you were little, did Grandma know?"
Hearing that, Hoshiyomi immediately remembered Rie's "painstaking teachings" from back then. His mouth twitched slightly as he thought silently:
Your grandma? Your grandma was the one who was truly effective at setting us up.