Shirota Hon stood frozen, the breath hitching in his throat as he looked at the man before him.
Minato... noticed the ANBU?
The realization hit him with the force of a physical blow. The ANBU were the Hokage's direct shadow—an elite corps of killers and specialists whose stealth was legendary. For a seven-year-old boy, a mere student, to pierce the veil of their concealment was a feat that defied every law of the Academy.
Shirota felt a sudden, hollow sense of inadequacy. He had prided himself on knowing his students, yet today had proven that Minato Namikaze was a riddle he didn't have the tools to solve.
"It is my incompetence, Lord Hokage," Shirota murmured, bowing his head in shame. "I only realized today how little I truly know about my own students."
The middle-aged man beside him chuckled—a warm, gravelly sound that carried the weight of decades of authority. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, took a slow puff from his pipe, the embers glowing in the twilight.
"Do not belittle yourself, Shirota-sensei," the Hokage said, his gaze fixed on the golden-haired boy disappearing into the village streets below. "This world is never lacking in talent. But Minato... he is no ordinary student. Every move he makes suggests a mind far beyond his years."
Shirota looked at Hiruzen with reverence. This was the man who had studied under the First and Second Hokage, the man hailed as the "God of Shinobi." If anyone knew the scent of true genius, it was the "Ninjutsu Professor."
"I should be honored," Shirota whispered. "To have a pillar of the village growing in my own classroom."
The Hokage watched a few green leaves drift past the window. "Tell me, Shirota-sensei... how would you feel if I found a specialized mentor for your student?"
Meanwhile, having parted ways with Mikoto, Minato moved like a ghost through the thickening shadows. He was following Kushina, but his focus was actually locked on the two predatory presences trailing her from the rooftops.
His heart hammered against his ribs. How did I see them? With his previous strength, those two would have been invisible. But now, his skin prickled with the sensation of their gaze. Their chakra felt cold, disciplined, and vastly superior to his own.
He moved with an instinctive agility, keeping low and utilizing the twilight to mask his golden hair. He watched Kushina approach an inn—her current residence.
Guards, Minato noted, his eyes narrowing. The inn wasn't just a place to sleep; it was a fortress. The security detail was far too high for a mere transfer student.
Oh no—I've been spotted!
The intuition hit him like a cold bucket of water. One of the figures in the shadows had shifted their focus. The predator had found a new target.
Minato didn't panic. He glanced at the ground, his eyes locking onto a thin, weathered tree stump near the edge of the alley.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two ANBU landed on the cobblestones, blocking the path. They looked down at the blonde child, who stood there with a blank, almost vacant expression.
"Boy," one of the masked men growled, "why are you following us?"
The child didn't blink. He didn't even breathe. One of the ANBU reached out, placing a firm hand on the boy's shoulder.
Bang!
A cloud of white smoke erupted. When it cleared, the "Minato" they were holding had vanished, replaced by a piece of wood.
"Substitution? No—Transformation!" the ANBU hissed, his eyes widening behind his mask.
To use the Henge no Jutsu with such precision that it fooled an elite operative... it was a slap in the face. They looked toward the busy street corner, realizing that a young man who had just casually strolled past was likely the real Minato. They had been so focused on Kushina that they had allowed a child to play them like fiddles.
Blocks away, Minato was a golden blur, his feet barely touching the ground.
Bang!
He dispelled the transformation, leaning against a brick wall as sweat beaded on his forehead. A chill ran down his spine. If those men had been enemies instead of Konoha's own shadow, he would be dead.
Substitution, Transformation... basic Academy skills, he thought, his chest heaving. But I used them to escape the Hokage's own shadow.
The questions in his mind were now a tangled knot. Kushina was being guarded by the ANBU. She was a priority to the Hokage himself.
Who is she? And who is the woman in my dreams?
The mystery was a dark ocean, and he was only standing on the shore. But for now, Kushina was safe. Minato pushed himself off the wall, his azure eyes flashing with a renewed hunger.
He didn't head home. He headed for the back mountains. The night was his only teacher, and he had a power within him that needed to be tamed.