A month later.
The morning sun hung lazily over the training ground, where two figures clashed again and again. Wooden blades cracked through the air, leaving faint trails of dust with every swing.
Minato jumped back, sweat dripping down his forehead. He was panting lightly, his bright eyes locked on Shanks, who stood across from him, calm and relaxed as always.
Shanks twirled his wooden sword and smirked. "You're getting faster."
"Still not fast enough," Minato said, then dashed forward again. Their weapons met with a thwack, the echo bouncing between the trees. Shanks barely moved his feet, his stance unshakable. He was clearly holding back, and both of them knew it.
For a moment, the two exchanged blows at high speed, Minato attacking from every angle, trying to find an opening. His movements had become sharper since their first spar — more precise, more calculated. Then, without warning, Minato dropped low and swept at Shanks' legs before stepping in and sending a light jab toward his ribs.
The punch landed.
Shanks blinked and looked down at where the hit connected. "Well, well," he said with a grin. "It seems your reaction improved again."
Minato straightened up, smiling slightly. "It did. But still not enough to beat you."
Shanks shrugged. "Of course not. I've already got years of training behind me. You won't beat me now"
It wasn't entirely a lie. Between this life and his previous one, Shanks had more experience in battle than most shinobi twice his age.
Minato tilted his head. "You said now."
"Yeah," Shanks replied, smiling faintly. "I might look strong now, but unlike you — who probably has double the chakra I do — I rely completely on my body. This little body's gonna be my limit for a while. Until it starts growing, I won't get much stronger. So if you train hard before then… you might have a shot at beating me."
Minato blinked in surprise, then sighed in relief. "So I still have time to catch up."
Shanks raised a brow. "Why are you sighing? Even if I don't improve much for a couple of years, you're not beating me anytime soon."
"I wasn't sighing in relief," Minato said awkwardly, clearly lying.
"Haha, sure you weren't," Shanks chuckled, tossing his sword on the ground and flopping down next to it.
After a moment of silence, Minato spoke up. "Hey, why don't we apply for early graduation?"
Shanks turned his head. "What's that?"
"You don't know?" Minato asked, surprised. "If a student's strong enough and isn't learning anything new, they can apply for early graduation. It lets them take the genin exams early."
"Oh," Shanks said. That was news to him. If he'd known earlier, he would've done it already. He hated studying more than anything.
"Well, you said it yourself — you won't be improving much for a while," Minato continued. "The academy's basically useless for you. And let's be honest, you don't even pay attention in class. By the way, I know you've been copying my answers during tests."
Shanks tilted his head. "Nah, that's just your imagination, mate."
"Sure," Minato said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I already know everything for this year. In a few months, I could probably finish the entire curriculum. As for my strength… I think I can handle it."
Shanks sat up, thinking. Truth be told, the academy bored him to death. The only reason he showed up was to kill time and mess around. If he became a real shinobi, he could go on missions — travel outside the village. The idea of seeing new places again brought a faint smile to his face.
And more importantly… he'd be allowed to drink again.
"Oh, booze," he muttered under his breath. "I missed you."
"What?" Minato asked, confused.
"Nothing," Shanks said, waving him off with a grin. "Alright, sounds like a plan."
The next morning, Shanks strolled into the academy, oddly cheerful for once. Knowing this torture might finally end soon put him in a good mood. He dropped into his usual seat next to Minato, who was already there, half-buried in his notebook.
After a few minutes, the classroom door opened. Their homeroom teacher stepped in, holding a stack of papers.
"Alright, quiet down everyone," he said. "Before we start, I have an announcement. Today, a new student will be joining our class."
The room buzzed with curiosity. Shanks lazily leaned back in his chair, half-interested.
The door opened again — and a girl walked in. She had bright red hair tied in a short ponytail, lively eyes, and the kind of grin that could fill a room.
"My name is Kushina Uzumaki!" she said confidently, hands on her hips. "And I'm gonna become the Hokage, dattebane!"
Shanks blinked. "What the hell is a dattebane?" he muttered out loud. "And why is everyone obsessed with being Hokage in this village?"
He turned to ask his blond, Hokage-obsessed friend what he thought about it — but stopped when he noticed something off.
Minato wasn't moving. His eyes were wide, glued to Kushina like he'd just seen the Sage of Six Paths descend from heaven.
"Shanks," Minato said quietly, his voice weirdly serious. "I think we can stay in the academy for a couple more years. Early graduation's… overrated."
Shanks stared at him in disbelief.
"..."
"You motherfucker."