Late March, Year 42 of Konoha.
The Ninja Academy's entrance exam results went up the same day enrollment was set to begin. Children and their parents crowded around the bulletin board, buzzing with excitement.
At the front of the crowd, a father and son in matching green jumpsuits were drawing stares for all the wrong reasons.
Might Duy, thick-bearded and utterly indifferent to the snickering around him, held his son up high and kept shouting encouragement. Might Guy twisted left and right, scanning the list for his name, and when it refused to appear, his voice dropped to a mutter.
"Not here... not here... still not here..."
He'd half-expected this ever since the test ended. Knowing didn't make it easier. The disappointment settled across his face like a cloud, and the voices around him only made it worse.
"There! I found it!"
"I passed!"
"That's my boy..."
"Congratulations!"
Happy laughter rippled through the crowd. The children were six, give or take, and their parents beamed. Being a ninja was dangerous work, sure, but it paid well and carried respect. For civilians, it was the fastest ladder out of poverty.
"Son, keep looking..."
Duy's expression had gone rigid, but his voice stayed loud, stayed sure. He got halfway through the sentence before something cool hit his face. He looked up. Guy was crying.
"It's not there, Dad. My name's not on the board."
"Guy, you gave it everything you had. That effort will pay off. It will."
Duy raised his voice as the tears kept coming, louder and louder until he drowned out every laugh and whisper in the crowd.
"The road ahead is soaked with tears, but you will find your name on it! Keep searching!"
"Yes, sir!"
Guy swallowed his disappointment and answered fast, voice cracking but firm. The tears stopped. He went back to scanning left and right, hunting for a name that wasn't there.
"Might Guy..."
Genma Shiranui stood near the front, wincing at the noise above his head. At six years old, he already fancied himself mature, and he muttered with all the world-weariness he could muster.
"That guy's hopeless. The name's not gonna magically write itself in."
Beside him, Ebisu nudged his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. Sympathy flickered across his face. "I can barely watch this."
Naoya Furukawa had been listening to them both, but his attention stayed on the father and son. Their energy was flagging. He raised his voice.
"Don't forget there's a supplementary admission list. Relax. He'll get in."
Duy and Guy spun around in unison, eyes wide, thick black brows climbing their foreheads like they'd just heard the most important news of their lives.
Under that burning double stare, Naoya shifted, suddenly self-conscious. He glanced down at his black high-collared t-shirt and dark pants, ran a hand through his wavy black hair.
He opened his mouth to explain further, but the two of them beat him to it.
"THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!"
They shouted it together, both flashing a thumbs-up and grins so blinding Naoya could've sworn their teeth actually sparkled.
Everyone nearby took an involuntary step back. The whole area went quiet, until a voice cut through the awkward silence from behind.
"Naoya, let's go. The orientation's about to start."
Kakashi Hatake stood with his hands in his pockets, a patterned scarf wrapped high enough to cover half his face. Calm as ever.
The crowd's noise rushed back in. So did the laughter.
Before Naoya could offer any more encouragement, Genma and Ebisu grabbed him by the arms and hauled him away. Behind them, the father-son duo had already launched into their next declaration.
"If I can run five hundred laps around the field, I'll definitely make supplementary admission!"
"GUY!"
Naoya glanced back. Father and son stood side by side, fists clenched, tears streaming, burning with passion. He could only sigh to himself.
That is an anime-level volume of tears.
A recent kidnapping attempt on a Jinchuriki candidate had put Konoha on edge. The village smelled war on the wind, and under orders from the top brass, the Ninja Academy had loosened its age requirements for enrollment.
Konoha wouldn't throw freshly minted Genin onto the front lines, but the village needed to start building its reserves early. More Genin meant more hands for the low-risk missions that still needed doing.
Inside the tiered classroom of Year One, Class A, Ryosuke Kimura fielded questions from parents with the patience of a man who'd done this a hundred times. The Chunin instructor had an ordinary face and a scar running down his left cheek, and not once did his pleasant expression waver.
When the orientation ended and the last parents filed out, he looked down at the two boys standing beside Sakumo Hatake and let out a warm laugh.
"Teaching geniuses is going to be stressful, isn't it? At their age, I was still playing ninja in the backyard, and Kakashi's already mastered the Clone, Transformation, and Substitution Techniques. Just what you'd expect from Sakumo's son."
Every parent and child still lingering turned to stare at the masked boy. But Sakumo, dressed casually and looking nothing like the legendary shinobi he was, ruffled Naoya's hair instead and smiled.
"Naoya's ninjutsu aptitude is actually better than Kakashi's."
A beat of surprise rippled through the room. Sakumo continued, tone easy but serious.
"I'd appreciate it if you pushed them both hard these next few years. Getting into the Academy is just the beginning."
Kimura blinked. Praise like that from the White Fang of Konoha carried weight. He thought back to the entrance exam results and nodded.
Like Kakashi, Naoya wouldn't even turn five until September.
"Lord Sakumo, Sensei Kimura, I promise I'll work twice as hard."
Naoya was quick to respond, letting just the right amount of earnest excitement show on his young face. Beside him, Kakashi turned his head away and muttered under his breath.
"Father, I'll have C-rank ninjutsu mastered soon enough."
Kimura laughed out loud at that, delighted at the prospect of teaching two prodigies. "Ha! This is what rivalry between geniuses looks like! Give it your all, Kakashi, Naoya!"
Both boys gave a small bow. A cluster of girls nearby hadn't stopped staring. The other boys clicked their tongues in unison. Handsome and talented. The worst combination.
"Naoya! Kakashi! Wanna play kick the can?"
Genma stood in the doorway, a Tricolor Dango skewer clamped between his teeth, a crowd of classmates gathered behind him. Naoya suppressed a sigh and put on his brightest face.
"You're it! I'm coming!"
Kakashi wanted to follow. His feet didn't move. He looked up at his father, then muttered to no one in particular, "I just want to train..."
Sakumo gave his dishonest son a pat on the back and watched him shuffle out after the others with the reluctance of a cat being carried to a bath. Only then did he nod to himself.
A steady stream of Academy instructors came by to pay their respects. The White Fang of Konoha greeted each one without a trace of arrogance. When the last had gone, his thoughts drifted to the Furukawa couple, who'd chosen to sacrifice themselves for a mission not long ago, and he said quietly to himself:
"Naoya will make a fine ninja."
On the Academy grounds, Naoya vaulted over the wooden fence, channeled chakra to the soles of his feet, and hung upside down from a branch. He stretched out his right hand, pressed his palm against the trunk, and activated his Collection Technique.
The familiar glow of "Essence" flickered into his field of vision. A slow smile crossed his face, and a thought took shape.
If I could use Collection on an entire God Tree... what would I get?