"Long time no see, Senpai Hakushi."
This boy was none other than Sakumo's son, Hatake Kakashi.
After Hakushi took the initiative to greet him, he immediately responded.
"Here, Kakashi. This is a gift to congratulate you on becoming a Genin."
Hakushi placed a gift box into Kakashi's hands.
Kakashi received it solemnly and thanked Hakushi.
After sitting down, Hakushi spoke with deep emotion: "Speaking of which, it's really amazing. Kakashi, you're only five years old but you've already graduated from the Ninja School and become an official Genin. This has broken the record for the fastest to become a Genin since Konoha Ninja School was founded."
Kakashi replied indifferently, "It wasn't a big deal. The graduation exam was hardly a challenge."
This was his natural attitude; for him, the difficulty of the graduation exam was virtually non-existent.
Even though many people called him a genius and thought such results were normal for him, they always overlooked the effort and sweat this "genius" put in behind the scenes every day.
These people only judge others through their own narrow understanding, believing only what they think is right, ignoring others' efforts and struggles, and dismissing it all as "genius".
Hakushi knew Kakashi wasn't being humble; he was simply expressing his honest view.
And it was true—he entered Ninja School at age four, and now graduated at five… Top scores in both theory and practical exams, with no possibility of cheating.
It was said that even the Third Hokage was alarmed when Kakashi applied for early graduation.
Konoha had gained yet another genius ninja.
The cradle of geniuses.
This is how many Ninja Villages described Konoha.
Hakushi thought this description was entirely accurate.
"So, what about our gifts? This party is also to celebrate Ruri and me becoming Jonin."
"I know, I've already prepared everything."
That's right, today's gathering wasn't just to celebrate Kakashi graduating Ninja School and officially becoming a Genin—it was also specially arranged to celebrate Ruri and Ayane both becoming Jonin.
Hakushi handed gift boxes to Ruri and Ayane.
Only then did Ruri and Ayane seem satisfied.
"Ruri and Ayane have already become Jonin... I guess it won't be long before our squad parts ways,"
Sakumo sighed softly at this moment, his tone tinged with regret.
He really wished he could keep the original formation of Sakumo Squad, but Ruri and Ayane's identities were too special.
Their joining his team had always been, at least in part, a matter of arrangement between the Uchiha and Hyuga—a kind of training experience.
Now that they've become Jonin, their time training in Sakumo Squad naturally had to end.
With their current strength, Sakumo admitted he could no longer mentor them appropriately; facing both at once, he might even lose.
Still, seeing the village gain two powerful new forces, Sakumo's frustration vanished in an instant.
He was genuinely happy for Konoha's prosperity.
So for Sakumo, this party was also a significant farewell gathering.
Over there, Kakashi also gave the gifts prepared by himself and Sakumo to Ruri and Ayane.
Just then, Hakushi took out the last gift box from the gift bag, placed it before Sakumo, and smiled, saying, "That's why I prepared four gifts. Please accept it, Sensei Sakumo."
Sakumo was slightly startled, then accepted the gift with a smile.
"You're still as considerate as ever. You'll definitely be a good man in the future. Well, I won't refuse the gift then."
Before Hakushi could reply, Ayane laughed and said, "Of course, I have the most authority when it comes to that."
Ruri stared coldly, a terrifying killing intent flickering in her eyes.
Ayane sat there with elegant indifference, not affected at all by Ruri's murderous aura.
"Looks like you've forgotten who is really on top."
"Getting angry all the time will make you age faster, you know."
The tension flared instantly between the two of them.
Kakashi watched the two women radiating murderous intent and, wise beyond his years, patted Hakushi on the shoulder.
"Your generation's world really is colorful, Senpai."
"Don't talk like an adult,"
Hakushi gave him a helpless glance.
"Thanks for your hard work."
"Still not cute at all. At this rate, you'll have no friends."
Kakashi didn't comment; after all, his popularity was just average.
Apart from being close to the members of Sakumo Squad, he didn't have many people he could really talk to.
Even at Ninja School, there were only a handful.
Most people kept their distance from this "genius".
"I don't need those things. My goal is to surpass my father."
Kakashi spoke seriously.
"Swordsmanship training is very tough, especially Sakumo Sensei's style. I trained before, but it was too hard and I didn't stick with it."
"That's why you're still a Genin."
"..."
No way to argue back.
"I'm a Medical Ninja. I don't need to be that strong—being able to escape and use Medical Ninjutsu is enough. Fighting is rough work; it's not what Medical Ninja are meant to do."
Hakushi took pride in being a Medical Ninja.
Kakashi had no complaints. Among ninja, rank is determined by strength.
Judging only by Medical Ninjutsu, Hakushi was indeed qualified to be a Chunin.
But... there was no special system in Konoha for rating Medical Ninja separately.
However, the value of a Medical Ninja isn't measured by Genin, Chunin, or Jonin ranks.
For most Medical Ninjas, those ranks make little difference. The real measure is how advanced their Medical Ninjutsu is.
Not everyone is like Tsunade of the Sannin, mastering Medical Ninjutsu to its peak while also keeping terrifying combat strength.
After that, everyone wrapped up their conversations and happily enjoyed their ramen.
Of course, Sakumo ended up paying the bill.
After paying, Sakumo felt a certain relief—as this party marked the disbanding of Sakumo Squad, he'd finally be free from the "Queen of Appetites".
Over the past three years, footing the bill had given him psychological trauma.
But what followed was a deep reluctance to part ways.
In these three years, Sakumo Squad completed a hundred percent of their missions—whether high-difficulty A-Class or the most daunting S-Class Missions, always bringing back excellent results.
No matter the enemy, they were eliminated swiftly and silently.
The reputation of the Konoha White Fang only grew, making other villages nervous. More and more people came to spy on him, hoping to develop a plan to kill Sakumo.
But even with strategies in hand, assassinating Sakumo remained a daunting task.
Other villages agonized over how to get rid of Sakumo.
Because of this, the two girls in the squad also became famous—proof of their ninja clans' strength. With two more genius ninjas, Konoha aroused even more jealousy, and other villages were tempted to destroy these prodigies on sight.
As for the team's Medical Ninja, Hakushi, he continued to be overlooked.
Medical Ninjas are nothing to be concerned about.
If it were a Medical Ninja like Tsunade's level, that would be a different story—but unfortunately, Hakushi was not.