Hiruzen Sarutobi watched with a faint smile as the little white-haired runt tailed the blond boy.
"Those two… kind of hard to miss with hair like that."
"What are they up to?"
He let out a slow breath. The fine arcs of lightning across his skin calmed, and he moved without a sound toward them.
Minato Namikaze had a white towel tied around his head like a simple band, his breathing steady as he ran loops around Hidden Leaf Village.
It was one of his daily routines, something he never skipped.
Minato's plan for his future was clear in his head.
He had decent talent with the five nature transformations, but what he was truly gifted at was taijutsu.
Speed, strength, dynamic vision, nerve response, all of it put him at the very top among his peers.
A few days ago, after Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned him work to plug gaps for the Patrol Unit, he and En Uchiha had tested each other out.
Minato had realized something then.
Even a two-tomoe Sharingan couldn't fully lock onto his speed anymore.
Which meant he was on the right track.
Most shinobi, no matter how many techniques they have, are still fragile.
Find an opening, cut through their throat or heart, and the fight ends.
And with the sealing jutsu Kushina taught me… even annoying enemies can get their Chakra sealed away.
Minato ran with the same warm smile he always wore, like morning itself had learned to grin.
Inside, his thoughts were sharp.
He really did have a personality like a little sun, but only for people he considered his own.
Toward enemies… he could be emotional too.
Usually when he was looking at the body afterward.
Keep pushing. Life's good, but you can't protect anything without strength…
He picked up his pace.
His relationship with Kushina had been moving fast, quietly supported by the village.
That fiery Uzumaki girl hadn't just taught him sealing techniques. She'd even shared some of the stipend the village gave her.
Her reason had been blunt and simple.
Boys his age were still growing. He needed to eat well, and eat a lot.
Minato was grateful to her. And the reason he had that stipend in the first place, the slightly unusual place he now held in the village, only made him love Konoha and respect the Hokage even more.
The moment Minato sped up—
The shadow behind him stiffened.
Kakashi's heart jumped. Faster?
Keeping up was already hard enough. If Minato pushed the pace again, Kakashi's stamina would drop too fast, and then he couldn't guarantee his "attack" would land.
It all came from a bet with his father.
If Kakashi wanted to graduate early, he had to successfully "ambush" Minato Namikaze. If he did, Sakumo Hatake would file the request for him.
Hmph. Where do you think you're going…
The white-haired kid made up his mind, slipping out of the shade and closing in fast.
A sudden burst of speed. Planning against someone who wasn't ready. He threw everything into it and reached for that blond hair.
Just one strand. That was all he needed.
And even if Kakashi was a little smug these days from being called a genius all the time… ambushing a fellow shinobi in the village still felt wrong.
If he went too far, even a sincere apology later wouldn't make it okay.
That thought flickered through him—
And Minato tilted his head, cleanly dodging Kakashi's hand.
"Hatake Sakumo's son, right?"
"You've been following me for days. I thought you were just keeping me company on my morning training."
"So you wanted my hair? Sorry. Kushina probably wouldn't agree to that…"
Kakashi's vision blurred for a second.
Minato, who had been right in front of him, was suddenly behind him, teasing like it was the most casual thing in the world.
"What are you even talking about?" Kakashi snapped inside his head, irritation flaring. Who asked you what she'd agree to?
Fine. The sneak attack failed.
But when someone got cocky, that was the best time to hit back.
His dad said it only needed to count as a touch.
Kakashi reacted instantly.
Chakra wrapped his feet. He drove off the ground hard, whipping his leg back like a scorpion's tail and kicking toward Minato with everything he had.
Minato looked mildly surprised.
This little runt had something to him.
Still, he caught it easily, and once again, he was standing behind Kakashi like he'd always been there.
That's not Academy student level, Hiruzen Sarutobi judged silently from above, his Chakra hidden. His taijutsu is better than some Chunin.
Which only proved it.
Targeted "advanced" training at the Academy was necessary.
There was no need for these good seedlings to panic and rush out early. Build the foundation properly, look at the long game, and the payoff was bigger.
If it was teamwork they needed, then the village could just design a few specialized missions for them…
Hiruzen's smile deepened.
"Oh? Sakumo's here too."
From another high point, he spotted a familiar figure moving in like a ghost, closing in on Kakashi and Minato.
Worried about his son?
Down on the street, Kakashi was getting more and more desperate.
How was this guy always behind him?
Even when sparring with his father, he'd never been made to feel this helpless.
Is he… stronger than Dad?
Kakashi tried to force one more struggle—
And Minato tapped his shoulder.
Black marks crawled over Kakashi's body without a sound, spreading in an instant and sealing his movement completely.
The Cursed Seal of Self-Binding.
"Man, you've got a lot of energy, Kakashi…"
Minato smiled like a little sun and ruffled his hair. "Relax. You just can't move, that's all. No harm."
"Sakumo-uncle told you to come find me, didn't he? He said he had an excellent son."
"And he wasn't wrong. You're seriously impressive. A real genius."
Minato praised him without holding back.
Kakashi, frozen in place, didn't feel happy at all.
If anything, it sounded like he was being mocked.
"I'm gonna have to leave you here for a bit," Minato said cheerfully. "I've still got a hundred laps left. I'll undo it later."
Then he gave Kakashi's head a rough, merciless rub.
Kakashi's vision went dark for a second.
Yeah. This guy talks nice, but he's totally getting revenge.
He has to be.
"Kakashi, see that?"
A voice cut in behind Minato.
"At this age, Minato's already mastered sealing jutsu this deep, and he's tempered his body this far…"
"Yet he still stayed in the Academy for years."
Sakumo Hatake appeared soundlessly behind Minato and casually started ruffling his hair too, smiling as he spoke.
"So you need to build your basics properly. Don't rush graduation."
Minato's eyes widened a fraction.
He'd thought using a curse seal on a kid already counted as fighting dirty.
But now it was like… you beat up the little one and the grown-up shows up.
So this was the White Fang of the Leaf.
The man who'd created the ultimate taijutsu technique "One Thousand Years of Death."
That cold, stern face really was a lie. You couldn't trust it at all.
Kakashi stared at Sakumo with something close to worship.
Dad…
Why do you look so cool today?
Not far away, Might Duy and Guy came running up and stopped dead, staring at the scene with wide eyes.
And then, like always, they both started tearing up.
"See that, Guy!"
"Everybody's working hard in real combat!"
"We're adding three hundred more laps…!"
And right then—
Sakumo Hatake and Minato Namikaze seemed to sense something at the same time.
They lifted their heads together.
Everyone followed their gaze.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood above them in black training clothes, arms crossed, a smile resting at the corner of his mouth.
Looking down on them all.
"H-Hokage-sama!" Might Duy yelped dramatically.