Living next to Takuya for so long, Minato wasn't too keen on the idea of moving out.
"Suit yourself," Jiraiya shrugged, sprawling out on the couch. He casually asked, "How's the training going?"
Ever since Minato had gotten his hands on the Flying Thunder God technique, he'd been practically obsessed with learning sealing techniques.
"I've made a lot of progress," Minato replied with a confident smile. Even though the training was exhausting, he was genuinely happy.
The faster he mastered the Flying Thunder God technique, the quicker he could catch up to Takuya's pace. Otherwise, he'd always be trailing behind, eating dust—if he was even lucky enough to be that close.
Once the gap between two shinobi's abilities grew too wide, even their relationship could change. The distance between them would grow in more ways than one.
That was something Minato didn't want. So, he pushed himself harder and harder to keep up.
As long as you understand that yourself, Jiraiya thought, deciding to leave it at that. He clapped his hands and stood up.
"All right, pack your stuff and go find that brat Nawaki. We're heading to the Land of Rivers soon."
"We're going to the frontlines? What about Takuya?"
Takuya was still out on a mission and hadn't returned yet.
"He'll probably join us soon enough," Jiraiya said. The village wouldn't just leave someone as powerful as Takuya sitting around. At least, that's what Jiraiya assumed.
He figured that once Takuya's mission was over, the village would send him to the battlefield in the Land of Rivers.
By the time Takuya joined them, they might've already pushed the enemy back into the Land of Wind.
"Got it, I'll go get Nawaki," Minato said, not even bothering to pack his things before dashing off.
Watching him run off, Jiraiya couldn't help but chuckle. "That kid... Oh well, I guess it's my responsibility as his teacher."
When Nawaki heard they were heading to the frontlines, he was a little taken aback. Wasn't Takuya still out on a mission?
Minato explained the situation, and only then did Nawaki start packing.
The two of them, along with Jiraiya, left the village, heading for the Land of Rivers.
Meanwhile, Takuya was completely unaware of all this, still in the middle of his mission to escort the wounded back to the village.
By the time he returned to Konoha, Minato and Nawaki had already been gone for two days.
After handing the injured over to the medical team, Takuya made his way to the Hokage's office to officially report the completion of his mission.
He knocked on the door, and when granted permission, he stepped inside.
"Hokage-sama, the escort mission is complete. I'm here to report in."
"Well done," the Third Hokage said, nodding briefly. He didn't make a big deal out of it, simply acknowledging Takuya's success before looking over the mission report and stamping it.
With that, the escort mission was officially wrapped up.
Just as Takuya was about to leave and finally get some rest, the Hokage called out to him.
"Takuya, the new class of academy students is about to graduate. You're already a jonin now, and I've noticed that many enemies are keeping an eye on you in the Land of Rivers. I'd like you to stay in the village for a while and take on the role of a jonin instructor, leading a squad of new genin."
"Me?"
"A jonin instructor?"
Takuya's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't understand what was going through the Hokage's mind.
He was supposed to become a jonin instructor?
Was this some kind of joke?
The new graduates were only eight to ten years old. And he was... well, ten. How was he supposed to be their instructor?
As for the Hokage's reasoning about threats, Takuya wasn't too concerned. Let them keep watching, he thought. What was the big deal?
Still, the idea of staying off the battlefield and not having to fight enemy forces was appealing to him.
What the Third Hokage didn't realize was that Takuya had no real interest in racking up war achievements or boosting his reputation.
Given the choice, he'd much rather laze around the village.
So if the Hokage wanted him to stay behind, Takuya wasn't going to argue.
But being a jonin instructor? That felt a bit... absurd.
"With your strength and your accomplishments, even I am impressed," the Third Hokage continued. "Besides, Minato and Nawaki have been training under your guidance. I know this.
"I believe you have what it takes to be an excellent instructor and to raise the next generation of Konoha's best."
"What about my team?" Takuya asked, scratching his head, feeling a bit out of his depth. This whole situation didn't seem right.
The Third Hokage handed him three files and explained, "Minato and Nawaki have already left for the Land of Rivers with Jiraiya. Orochimaru will be joining them there. I believe that as teachers, they need to take responsibility for their students, not leave them behind while they go off on their own."
Takuya sighed inwardly. Poor Nawaki... he just hoped the kid would be okay.
He wasn't too worried about Minato, but Nawaki? If things went like they did in the original timeline, he'd end up getting blown to pieces by explosive tags.
Takuya had warned him countless times. Surely, nothing would go wrong now.
Nawaki had become incredibly cautious on the battlefield. He'd even gotten to the point where Minato found his constant jumpiness exhausting.
But if Nawaki still ended up dying to an explosive tag... well, then he and those tags were just destined to cross paths.
Leaving the Hokage's office, Takuya decided to treat himself to a soak at the hot springs. He rented a private bath, settled in, and began flipping through the files he'd been given.
"Cough, cough!!"
"You've got to be kidding me," Takuya muttered, completely taken aback by the first file he opened.
It was a Hyuga.
No, not just any Hyuga. A Main Branch Hyuga.
The picture showed a kid with a smooth, unmarked forehead, free of any caged bird seal. This was definitely a member of the Hyuga main family.
The Hyuga clan wasn't like the Uchiha. Most of the main branch members were homeschooled, never even setting foot in the ninja academy.
Hinata Hyuga was one of the few exceptions.
In many ways, the Hyuga were even more conservative than the Uchiha.
Takuya couldn't wrap his head around how someone from the Hyuga main family had ended up in his squad.
The other two were more standard fare—academy students with above-average grades. They weren't exactly prodigies, but they were better than most of their peers.
But this Hyuga... that was definitely unusual.
Clearly, someone had shoehorned this kid into his squad at the last minute.
Takuya quickly decided not to bother with those annoying questions.
Main branch or not, it didn't matter much to him. The Hokage had assigned this squad to him, so it wasn't really his concern.
As long as the kid survived, that was enough for Takuya.
Why worry about the rest?
Besides, having a member of the Hyuga main family on his team meant that the village wouldn't assign them any missions that were too difficult.
And that kind of treatment suited Takuya just fine.
Meanwhile, after a day of training, Hyuga Suzune followed her usual routine of greeting her father.
"Father, I've completed today's training," she said, kneeling respectfully on the floor, not a hint of sloppiness in her posture.
The Hyuga elder glanced at his daughter, clearly satisfied with her discipline and dedication.
"Very good," he said with a nod. "Starting tomorrow, you'll pause your training. I've arranged for you to join the ninja academy as a transfer student."
"A transfer student?"
Suzune looked at her father in surprise.
She'd spent her entire life training within the Hyuga compound, never once setting foot in the academy.
Now, she was suddenly being sent there as a transfer student?
And it had all been arranged without her knowing?
Sensing her confusion, the elder spoke calmly, "This is the clan head's decision. Your jonin instructor will be one of the village's most talented shinobi."
"Yes, Father."
As a member of the Hyuga clan, Suzune had little choice in the matter. She had no real say in her own future.
Whether it was her training, her development, or even her future marriage—it would all be dictated by the clan, even though she was part of the main branch.
Not every Hyuga was lucky enough to be born as Hinata, with a father determined to change the clan's future after being inspired by his brother.
And not every Hyuga would meet someone like Naruto Uzumaki, a future Hokage who could reshape their world.