At night — Ichiraku Ran shop.
Guts and Namikaze Minato sat side by side.
In stark contrast to the Hokage, who had barely finished his first bowl, Guts had already stacked more than a dozen empty bowls beside him, forming a tower half a ter tall.
"One more."
Guts waved his hand lazily.
The shop owner, long accustod to this bottomless pit, delivered another steaming bowl without missing a beat.
"So, that's why you called out?"
Guts asked casually, snapping apart a pair of disposable chopsticks, ready to dig into his next bowl of ran.
Namikaze Minato had invited him tonight to talk about Hyuga Hanabi, a gifted young kunoichi who had graduated early this year.
Knowing that Guts had briefly trained her in the past, Minato was hoping to persuade him to take up the role of a Jōnin instructor once more,this ti, with Hanabi under his guidance.
Guts slurped so noodles and said bluntly, "Just replace that Haruno girl. Problem solved."
Minato blinked, unsure if he heard that right. "You an… Sakura?"
"Yeah. She's got no clan, no power, and contributes nothing but yelling. Just brush her off and put Hanabi in her place."
He shrugged like it was the simplest thing in the world.
Moreover, from start to finish in the ani, aside from that forced mont where Kishimoto, the author of Naruto, had her land a single punch on Kaguya purely for plot convenience, she didn't contribute much.
If anything, she was more annoying than useful.
Not even on Neji's level.
Brushing her off wouldn't be a big deal.
Guts thought to himself.
Minato let out a helpless sigh. "Guts… that's harsh. We're all Konoha shinobi. Everyone deserves equal treatnt."
Guts gave him a sideways glance while grabbing his next bowl. "If you weren't that kind of guy, I wouldn't have let you take the Hokage seat."
Minato chuckled.
Guts took another slurp and added, "Anyway, forget team placent. I'm planning to leave the village for a bit. I'll take the brat with . Might be fun to raise a wild cat into a house pet."
He grinned to himself, already imagining the look on Hanabi's face.
Minato's expression turned serious. "Leaving the village? Why? Sothing happened?"
"I'm not sure yet," Guts said, finishing his broth in one gulp. "But I've sensed sothing strange. Sothing... not of this world."
His eyes narrowed.
"It might be interesting."
When Minato heard him say that, his expression changed but in the end he didn't ask anything.
A short while later, the two left Ichiraku Ran.
Minato was about to flash away when the owner called out, "Lord Hokage! You forgot the bill!"
Looking back at the towering stack of bowls, Minato's mouth twitched.
He reached for his thin wallet and sighed.
The next day – Ninja Academy classroom.
"Onee-san!"
A loud voice rang out as Hanabi dashed into the classroom, ignoring the shocked stares of her peers and leaping into Hinata's arms.
"Who's that? She kinda looks like Hinata," Ino asked curiously.
Hanabi puffed out her chest with pride. "I'm her younger sister. I passed the early graduation exam and ca here for team placent."
Everyone blinked in surprise, only now noticing the Konoha forehead protector around her neck.
"She's so small…"
So murmured, clearly shocked that a girl her age had actually passed.
But that was the difference between the current peace era and the war-torn generations. Back in Guts's ti, or even Shisui's, this wouldn't have raised any eyebrows.
Even Naruto and Sasuke turned to look.
Sasuke clenched his fists, frustration flickering in his eyes.
He was still mad about Naruto stealing his first kiss.
But more than that, he was angry at himself.
"So it's possible to graduate this early? Damn it… I wasted so much ti!"
Becoming a ninja earlier ant more chances to grow stronger, and get closer to his goal of revenge.
Then Kiba scoffed.
"Tch. A kid like her passed? Guess the exams were too easy this year."
Before anyone could stop her, Hanabi stepped forward.
WHAM!
Her palm struck Kiba in the gut with terrifying force, sending him flying across the room. He slamd into the wall, leaving a crack behind.
"S-Scary…" Naruto muttered.
Everyone stared at Hanabi in disbelief.
"How the hell is she that strong!?"
Hanabi just snorted and sat beside Hinata, acting like nothing happened.
Hinata leaned toward her, whispering sothing gently, but Hanabi just pouted.
Monts later, Iruka walked in to announce the team assignnts.
As expected, Team 7 was revealed: Naruto, Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura.
The room imdiately buzzed with chatter.
anwhile, Hanabi was fuming, when Hanabi heard that her sister had been placed in the sa team as that dog-like guy, Kiba.
She imdiately shot a glare his way, causing the already nervous boy to flinch in fear.
Tch… why didn't they put and Onee-san in the sa team?
Hanabi pouted slightly, clearly displeased.
Hinata tried to console her, but it was no use.
Not long after, the classroom door slid open.
Kurenai stepped in, her warm smile instantly lighting up Hanabi's face.
"Class 8, follow ."
"Kurenai-sensei!" both Hinata and Hanabi shouted together, clearly fond of her.
Of all Guts's acquaintances, Hanabi liked Kurenai the most. She had a gentle, big-sister aura and always treated her kindly.
With a smile, Kurenai guided Hinata, Kiba, and Shino out.
Then ca the next entrance.
"Class 10, follow !" a bold voice rang out.
It was Anko, strutting in with a dango stick in one hand and a soup cup in the other.
"Her chest is huge…" Ino muttered, glancing down at her own chest and sighing.
"Is that the Sahada I've heard about?" Shikamaru murmured, eyeing the blade on Anko's back.
anwhile, Chōji only had eyes for the snacks she carried.
He grinned.
"I like her already."
After a long debate, Asuma had been retired from the position of instructor, and Minato had ultimately chosen Anko to lead Team 10.
Now, only Team 7 and Hanabi remained in the classroom.
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