Seven months later.
On the empty training grounds, a sharp gust of wind cut through the trees. Shanks stood alone, his small figure steady, his eyes focused. He raised his sword, concentrating as a faint red aura shimmered around the blade.
He exhaled slowly.
Then — he swung.
The air cracked. A trail of fire erupted from the swing, blazing across the field and cutting through the grass like a living serpent. When it finally dissipated, the earth where it passed was scorched black.
If a jōnin had seen that, they would've thought it was a high-level Fire Release jutsu. But for Shanks, it wasn't good enough.
He stared at the smoking ground, frowning. "Tch… still weak."
That was the best he could do with his pathetic amount of chakra. He sighed, running a hand through his hair. Fusing chakra nature with haki wasn't something new to him. It had been an idea lingering in the back of his mind since he was young.
He called it chakra nature coating — wrapping his haki with an elemental chakra nature to amplify its effect. In theory, it could be devastating. In practice, it was a nightmare.
Months of training, countless failures, and the only thing he'd managed so far was basic fire coating. It looked flashy, sure, but the power wasn't anywhere near what he wanted.
"Guess this is my limit for now," he muttered. "Time to graduate."
With that thought, his figure vanished from the field, the faint shimmer of his Observation Killer technique hiding his presence completely.
On another training ground, a small blond boy was in the middle of a rather odd exercise. He was blindfolded, standing calmly, while a red-haired girl — wild-eyed and grinning — was doing her best to murder—
well, attack him.
Wooden kunai, pebbles, and even her fists came flying from every direction. And yet, somehow, Minato dodged every single one of them.
Not once did she land a hit.
"Minato! You're pissing me off!" the "beast" shouted, charging at him again.
Minato simply tilted his head slightly, and her attack whooshed past. When he finally stopped and took off his blindfold, he smiled and — cough, cough — faked a little cough.
"Sorry, Kushina," he said. "Seems my senses got sharper since last time."
Kushina puffed her cheeks, crossing her arms dramatically. "Stupid Minato, always so inconsiderate when talking to a lady!"
From the nearby tree branch, Shanks sat watching the scene unfold, deadpan.
"Conquerors, my ass…" he muttered. "So this is how Captain Roger, Rocks, Whitebeard, and Garp were back in the day? Pathetic."
He sighed, shaking his head.
At first, it had been funny. Kushina clearly couldn't stand Minato. She was loud, fiery, and made sure everyone knew how much the blond annoyed her. But then, of course, Minato had to go and save her from bullies. After that, she softened.
Then came the Kumo incident. Kidnappers, chaos — Minato saved her.
(And yeah, Shanks might've helped in the background. No one needed to know that part.)
Now? His "blondie" friend — a boy he thought had the spirit of a conqueror — was conquered by love.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose, annoyed.
He'd seen enough in his past life to know love was dangerous.
He still remembered the truth behind the God Valley incident — how it all started, and how it ended. Love had been at the root of everything. In his eyes, it was a curse.
So as far as Shanks was concerned — love could go screw itself.
He disappeared from the tree branch and reappeared right in front of the two.
"Yo," he said casually. "Minato… and, uh— what was it again? Forgot your name."
Kushina immediately exploded. "God damn it, you smug bastard! For the last time — my name is Uzumaki Kushina!"
"Right, right," Shanks said, completely unfazed. "Anyway, I'm borrowing your boyfriend for a second."
"He's not my—!"
"Yeah, yeah," Shanks cut her off, already grabbing Minato by the arm. "Walk with me."
They stopped a short distance away, near a quiet clearing. Shanks crossed his arms.
"So," he started, "you remember how we said we'd graduate early?"
Minato nodded slowly. "Yeah…"
"I waited months for you, man. Months. You said we'd do it together. Now it's almost the end of the year, and you're still here playing ninja tag with your girlfriend."
"She's not—"
Shanks raised a hand. "Don't even. You think I can't see it? You're worse than Ace when he first got a crush."
Minato scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Look, I just— I wanted more time to train, that's all."
"Training?" Shanks snorted. "You call getting smacked around by an angry tomato training? Don't make excuses."
Minato frowned a little. "You don't get it, Shanks. It's not just about graduating. I want to make sure I'm ready — if I'm going to be Hokage one day—"
"Then act like it," Shanks cut in sharply. His tone wasn't angry, just firm. "You said you'd do this. You said you wanted to prove yourself. A man who doesn't stand by his word isn't worth much."
He let that hang in the air for a moment before continuing.
"I'm done waiting. Either we both graduate this week, or I'm doing it alone."
Minato's eyes widened. "This week?"
"Yeah," Shanks said flatly. "I'm not rotting in that academy any longer. You can stay if you want — but don't expect me to sit next to you for another minute of that torture."
Minato fell silent. He looked down, his hand tightening into a small fist. He wanted to stay near Kushina — that much was obvious — but Shanks was right. A Hokage wasn't someone who hesitated when it came to his word.
Finally, he looked back up. "Alright," he said quietly. "We'll do it this week."
Shanks nodded, satisfied. "Good."
"...But if I fail, it's your fault," Minato added with a smirk.
"Hah. Sure," Shanks said, grinning. "And when you pass, I'll take credit."