The fight came to an end.
Akira Hyūga won in overwhelming fashion.
Although Nawaki was unwilling to accept it, he had no choice but to admit defeat. He hadn't expected that after leaving the Ninja Academy, Akira's strength would grow so quickly.
"Come on," Akira said, looking at the three dejected kids. "I'll treat you to yakiniku."
"All hail the First Generation!!" Kushina's eyes sparkled.
At this point, Akira felt he could almost be compared with Hashirama Senju.
After all, one had founded Konoha… and the other had reformed the Ninja Academy into a hot-blooded training ground.
Hopefully Tobirama wouldn't have any opinions about that comparison.
Minato smiled as well, and Nawaki had already recovered his spirits.
"Let's go."
At the Yakiniku Restaurant
Akira quickly realized something.
He regretted this decision more than anything else in his life.
He stared at the stacks of empty meat plates beside Nawaki and Kushina. The plates were piled into a small mountain.
Minato sat nearby with a shy smile.
Why are you smiling shyly?!
No wonder Kushina calls you a sissy sometimes…
Akira had completely forgotten how much Nawaki and Kushina could eat.
My wallet… he howled inwardly.
At this rate, one meal would slim down his savings faster than any diet in the world. People struggled to lose weight—but wallets seemed to manage it effortlessly.
Minato, already full, asked curiously,
"First Generation… what's your dream?"
Why did conversations over meals always turn into discussions about dreams?
Akira set down his chopsticks and thought for a moment.
"I don't really have any special dream," he said casually.
"I guess… wiping out the four other Great Ninja Villages would be a start."
In Konoha, you obviously couldn't talk about destroying Konoha itself.
If he eliminated the Five Great Villages, the experience points alone would probably be enough to max his level—and maybe even synthesize all seven elemental releases.
Minato's smile froze.
That… wasn't a small dream at all. And wasn't it a bit extreme?
Somewhere out there, the people of the other villages would be in tears if they knew they were part of someone else's dream.
"That's a bit…" Minato began awkwardly.
"Only that path can bring peace," Nawaki said with a sigh of conviction.
Minato and Kushina both fell silent.
They knew Nawaki dreamed of dominating the ninja world—but they hadn't realized how extreme that dream was.
"Minato," Akira said, changing the subject, "what about you?"
"I want to become Hokage," Minato replied, scratching his head awkwardly.
At least his dream sounded normal.
"I'll be the Hokage!" Kushina declared immediately.
Minato's expression turned serious.
"That's the one thing I won't give up."
Akira and Nawaki exchanged glances.
Fortunately, neither of them had any real interest in becoming Hokage.
…Wait.
Actually, Nawaki did.
"If it's Hokage," Nawaki said calmly while picking up a piece of meat, "I won't give it to either of you. Because only as Hokage can I unify the ninja world and bring peace."
Akira silently set down his chopsticks.
Maybe he should move to another table.
This one should really be called the Hokage Dream Table.
Why don't you all just fight it out now?
That Night
Snow crunched under Akira's feet as he walked home.
His rented house was near the outer district of Konoha. The inner district was absurdly expensive—three thousand ryō would barely get you a closet there.
Under the moonlight, a slender figure stood outside his gate.
A green vest. Blonde hair tied into a ponytail.
Akira smiled faintly.
"Well, if it isn't Teacher Tsunade. What brings you to visit a former teammate?"
Tsunade crossed her arms, staring at him coldly.
"Nawaki came to see you today?"
"He's about to become a ninja," Akira replied lightly. "Isn't Lady Tsunade being a bit overprotective?"
Her answer came in the form of a kick.
Akira raised both arms to block.
Bang!
He slid backward across the snow before stopping.
"So confident," Tsunade said coldly, lowering her leg. "Your strength must be giving you courage."
"Stay away from Nawaki."
She had already noticed something wrong with Nawaki's thinking—and she knew exactly where it came from.
"Tsunade-sensei," Akira said calmly, "I already told you. You're interfering too much. Nawaki has his own path to walk."
Tsunade's expression darkened. She bit her lip, unable to argue.
She believed Nawaki was heading down the wrong road. As his sister, she felt responsible for guiding him.
Akira continued quietly:
"A bird in a cage will eventually try to break free. How can you put shackles on Nawaki as well?"
"Everyone has their own path. You can't control it. Neither can I."
He walked past her, turning his back completely as he opened the door.
If Tsunade chose to attack, he might not react in time.
Tsunade stood there in silence. She heard the door open… and close.
She looked up at the night sky.
The stars shone brightly—but they could not illuminate the endless darkness.
"…Breaking free from the caged bird," she murmured softly.
Inside the House
Akira let out a breath.
"Running right after acting cool really does feel good."
Of course, he hadn't actually been careless.
While walking past Tsunade, he had quietly dropped a kunai behind him. If anything went wrong, he would have used the Substitution Technique immediately.
He wasn't stupid enough to leave himself completely defenseless.
Tsunade clearly had a problem with him now, because of Nawaki.
But things were different from before. In just half a year, Akira's strength had already reached jōnin level.
Without fighting to the death, even Tsunade would have difficulty subduing him.
And this wasn't even Tsunade at her peak yet.
"Byakugan."
Through his vision, Akira watched Tsunade standing outside for a long time before finally leaving.
She understood—nothing she said now would change anything.
"Nawaki really knows how to cause trouble for me…"
Meanwhile
Tsunade returned home and went straight to Nawaki's room.
"Sister…" Nawaki stiffened, looking like a child caught doing something wrong.
Wait—he hadn't actually done anything.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, putting on an obedient expression.
Tsunade hesitated, unsure how to speak.
Grandmother Mito had withdrawn into herself after the destruction of the Uzumaki clan. Her health was poor, and she rarely left her room.
That left Tsunade as the only one who could guide Nawaki—but she was busy herself, and Nawaki's upbringing had been somewhat neglected.
"Nawaki," she said at last, "stay away from that Hyūga Akira."
Nawaki looked surprised.
"Sister… I think you misunderstand Big Brother Akira."
Tsunade snorted.
"What misunderstanding? He's reckless and lawless."
Nawaki considered his words carefully.
"Sister… Big Brother Akira isn't the person you think he is."
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