Obito agreed with a sulky face, then turned to Kakashi again:
"Kakashi, since you're back, you won't be leaving the village again anytime soon, right?! Tomorrow I'm challenging you! You'd better wait at home—don't go anywhere!"
"Heh."
Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets and walked off.
"AAAH!! I'm so pissed—smug bastard Kakashi!"
Obito looked furious.
Seeing that,
Kurenai, who was still standing by the roadside, edged closer to Mikami Yuu and asked in a low voice, "Are those two always like that?"
"No."
Mikami Yuu shook his head and pointed at Guy not far away. "It's the three of them who are always like that. You'll get used to it."
"Anyway, it's late. Let's all head home. See you again at the graduation ceremony in two days."
As Mikami Yuu spoke, the last few people who hadn't left finally turned and dispersed. Mikami Yuu himself, like Rin, left Yakiniku Q and went home to rest.
…
That night.
Deep underground in Konoha.
Inside a vast hollowed-out chamber.
Candlelight flickered, casting dim yellow shadows on the walls.
A man with a sinister aura sat in the room, reading a report. His head and body were wrapped in thick bandages, leaving only one eye exposed—an eye that glinted like a wolf's, chilling anyone who met it.
This man was none other than Konoha's "Hokage's aide," the leader of Root, the future "5.5th Hokage," Senju Tobirama's student, and the darkness of the ninja world—
Shimura Danzō!
Suddenly,
the sound of wind came from outside.
Then a Root ninja wearing an animal mask appeared in the room, kneeling on one knee and presenting a scroll with both hands.
"Danzō-sama, this is the ranking and detailed intel from this year's Ninja Academy graduation exam. Please review it."
Danzō didn't take it immediately. "Get to the point."
"Yes."
The Root ninja continued, "The top-ranked graduate this year is named Mikami Yuu. Civilian-born, age nine. Excellent written scores. In practical assessment, he defeated Hyūga Kamon, Nara Mayumi, and Sarutobi Asuma consecutively on his own. Skilled in the Three Basic Jutsu, Great Fireball Jutsu, Wild Water Wave…"
"Oh? A civilian?"
Danzō's interest finally stirred.
Generally, Root couldn't just reach into the Ninja Academy and take people whenever they wanted.
After all, the Academy taught the "Will of Fire." The children produced there were the Hokage faction's base, and the Hokage's students and guard squads throughout history were almost always chosen from among them. It wasn't something others could casually interfere with.
But—
"Can't take at will" didn't mean "can't take." It just meant you needed the right timing.
A few years ago, when the so-called genius Kakashi emerged, Danzō had secretly approached him too—but the darkness in that boy's heart wasn't deep enough, so Kakashi hadn't accepted the offer.
Now,
Danzō finally took the scroll and opened it, scanning a few lines.
"Is his background clean?"
"Both parents grew up in Konoha. The father is a chūnin, also the first ninja in the Mikami family, and has been stationed on border duty for the past two and a half years. The mother works at the Konoha library. Preliminary judgment: household is clean, no special background connections.
"In addition, he's been auditing the medical training course at Konoha Hospital. Yakushi Nonō is one of the instructors—she may know more."
The Root ninja reported meticulously.
"Clean… strong… not yet fully shaped…"
Danzō tapped his fingers lightly on the desk. "Hiruzen is still as naïve as ever—he likes to leave good seedlings in the sunlight. A gem like that can only be polished in the darkness of the Root, where it can truly reveal its edge…"
After a pause, Danzō raised his head.
"Bring Nonō to me. Tell her I want to speak with her about something. As for this Mikami Yuu… have someone keep an eye on him and watch his movements. If an opportunity presents itself, I'll go speak with Hiruzen."
"Yes!"
The Root ninja answered, then quietly melted back into the shadows.
…
The next morning.
Faint dawn light. The fog still hadn't dispersed.
Just like he had been doing recently, Mikami Yuu showed up at the village gate on time, inhaled the crisp winter air, and began his ten-lap morning run around Konoha.
He'd actually wanted to rest for two days.
After all—before graduation, he ran every day to get stronger. Now that he'd graduated, he was still running every day… what was the point of graduating, then?
But the problem was—
[Eight Gates: Wow! So energetic this early in the morning? Looks like you really took my words seriously. I like that "say it and do it" spirit! Keep it up! (She puts her hands on her hips, grinning a mouthful of white teeth, as if a flame-like silhouette is dancing around her.)]
"…Heh."
Mikami Yuu didn't really want to talk to this stingy taijutsu that never gave affection points just from talking.
Before long,
his training top was soaked with sweat.
But Mikami Yuu's pace remained steady, his breathing even. With +16 Constitution and all his hard training lately, he was no longer the mess he used to be.
Midway,
two familiar green figures shot out from a side path.
"OOOOOH! Yuu! I knew you'd be here! The graduation exam just ended and you're already training again—truly my lifelong rival!"
Guy ran on his hands, legs pumping alternately, moving almost as fast as normal running, his face full of that signature shining smile.
Might Duy followed close behind, also running on his hands, voice booming like a bell:
"Seeing Yuu-kun work so hard makes my and Guy's hot blood boil too! Ah! This is the resonance of youth!"
Mikami Yuu twitched his lips. "Morning, Uncle Duy. Guy."
"Haha, morning!"
Duy shouted as they ran. "Guy told me—yesterday in the exam you fought three people at once and beat the Hyūga and Nara kid, and even the Hokage's son. Is that true?"
"Just got lucky."
"Haha! That's not luck—that's youth's brightest light! Your effort and sweat got the best reward!"
Duy yelled.
"Mm-hm! Dad's right!"
Guy chimed in, then immediately started shouting again:
"Yuu! Yesterday I was too busy fighting that dead-last Obito, I didn't get to properly duel you! After we finish running, let's have a hot-blooded taijutsu showdown and test each other's youth!"
"…Leaving the duel aside—what did you just call me? 'Lifelong rival'?"
Mikami Yuu caught the blind spot. "Isn't that Kakashi?"
"Kakashi is my lifelong enemy, of course! Someday I'll defeat him!"
Guy flashed a thumbs-up, grinning with sparkling white teeth.
"…Alright."
Mikami Yuu didn't bother arguing about titles—it was all talk anyway.
And he was happy to accept Guy's challenge. Compared to ninjutsu, taijutsu was still one of his weaknesses, and Guy was a true specialist—an ideal sparring partner.
About an hour later,
they stopped at the edge of a forest in Konoha.
Mikami Yuu had barely sat down to rest for a moment when Guy flipped up to his feet, eyes blazing, and took a fighting stance.
"Yuu—come on!"
"…Your recovery is ridiculous."
Mikami Yuu took a deep breath. Knowing there was no dodging this fight, he stood as well, clenched his fists, and let chakra surge. A pale green chakra outline formed around his body.
"Eight Gates… First Gate of Opening—OPEN!"
"Come on!"
~~~
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