Time flowed on, quiet and relentless.
Since Naruto's first high-risk mission, quite a while had passed. The Third Hokage clearly wasn't in a hurry to let Team Seven take on anything dangerous again. After what happened in the Land of Waves, it was safer to keep Naruto busy with lower-ranked missions for now.
Tōma slipped back into his familiar rhythm, moving between different teams, busy yet oddly relaxed.
His genjutsu training had reached a point where even Yūhi Kurenai could only sigh in regret. Not because he had mastered everything, but because there was no longer a need for structured teaching. From here on, he could refine it on his own.
In taijutsu, Might Guy's guidance steadily pushed him forward, though the gap between them remained enormous. Tōma couldn't even see Guy's ceiling yet.
As for ninjutsu, Lightning Release had improved further under Kakashi's guidance with Chidori. Wind Release, however… Tōma smiled faintly. The Rasenshuriken was finally complete. Even without testing it at full power, the pressure coiled inside it was unmistakably dangerous.
He had also successfully recreated the Flying Thunder God formula from Mount Myōboku. For now, it was a reduced-scale replica, copied almost exactly. Some sealing lines felt redundant to him, but without certainty, he'd preserved everything. The array was carved into the ceiling of his bedroom and carefully concealed.
At the moment, Tōma was leaving the Hokage's office and heading toward Asuma's training ground.
His thoughts, however, were elsewhere.
The issue of killing intent still lingered.
It was ironic. When Tōma felt fine, those with sharp senses thought he was drowning in bloodlust. Now that he could clearly feel a thin fragment of imbalance remaining, everyone else insisted he was fully recovered.
That last sliver didn't fade with time. No matter how long passed, it stayed exactly the same.
After finishing his genjutsu lessons, Tōma had asked the Third Hokage directly. The answer he received only made things murkier.
Once you've killed, you can never return to the state of having never killed.
Time alone couldn't erase that.
What mattered wasn't technique or healing, but Tōma's own heart.
And with that, the old man had simply smiled and changed the subject.
Tōma still found it frustrating. Couldn't he have been clearer?
But he understood the point. This wasn't something anyone else could fix for him.
Lost in thought, he arrived at Asuma's field.
"Yo, Tōma. Here to pick up Ino again?" Asuma teased as soon as he saw him.
"Yeah. Just came from Auntie," Tōma replied casually.
"A-Auntie? It's not settled yet!" Asuma coughed, his face turning red as he laughed it off.
Tōma looked past him to where Ino was still training, focused and relentless.
"They're working hard," Asuma said, stepping beside him. "More than I expected. Especially Ino. She exceeds my expectations almost every time."
"Yeah," Tōma replied, his gaze softening.
Asuma was about to call out to her when Tōma stopped him. "It's fine. Let her finish."
Asuma followed Tōma's line of sight, then smiled knowingly.
Tōma sat down and watched quietly. He'd noticed long ago how hard Ino pushed herself, trying to close the gap between them.
But at Tōma's level, even small improvements created an enormous distance for others. Catching up to him wasn't realistic.
He'd worried she might feel pressured or discouraged.
Instead, Ino had been the one to say it first. She wasn't stressed by his strength. She was proud of it. And even if she could never reach him, she would keep following in his footsteps anyway.
The words he'd prepared to comfort her had never left his mouth.
Watching her now, Tōma felt the smile on his face deepen. He was more and more certain of his feelings.
Eventually, training ended. Shikamaru noticed Tōma first and gave a lazy wave, then glanced at Ino and sighed internally.
Every day, this couple and Asuma-sensei too. Emotional damage on top of physical exhaustion.
"Ino," Shikamaru said, rubbing his temples. "Your guy's here."
Ino paused, hands on her knees, then turned. When she saw Tōma waving at her, her eyes lit up. Fatigue vanished as she jogged over without hesitation.
Shikamaru watched, tongue clicking.
So that's love, huh.
He turned to the completely flattened Chōji. "Hey. Get up. If you don't, we'll miss dinner."
"Food?!" Chōji sprang up instantly.
"…Figures," Shikamaru muttered.
Ino reached Tōma, cheeks puffed. "When did you get here? Why didn't you call me?"
"Just arrived," Tōma said lightly, fixing her messy hair. "Didn't want to interrupt our Ino's training."
"W-We're not at that stage yet…" Ino blushed, but didn't pull away.
"Soon enough," Tōma replied with a smile.
Her face turned even redder. Their parents had already met. And things had gone very smoothly.
Tōma pinched her cheek gently, unable to resist.
He remembered the earlier discussion between their families. The Yamanaka had suggested that one future child might take the Yamanaka name. Tōma hadn't answered immediately, not because he disagreed, but because it wasn't something to answer lightly.
Ino, however, had shut it down herself.
Her parents hadn't brought it up again.
Tōma already had his own thoughts on it. Names mattered less to him than people did. When the time came, he could always give them a surprise.
Looking at Ino now, cheeks flushed and eyes bright, Tōma felt the certainty settle deep in his chest.
This was the person who would walk beside him for life.
"Ino," he said softly. "I like you."
She froze for a moment, then her eyes shimmered.
"I like you too," she said, smiling through it. "More than anyone."
...
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