"Hagoromo, does enrolling actually mean anything for us?" Mirai asked, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"It just feels like a lot of trouble."
Haku and Kimimaro shared the same look.
With Hagoromo teaching them personally, why would they need to attend the Ninja Academy at all?
They were currently at Hagoromo's residence, having just finished lunch. As for the document Mirai was holding in her hands—
It was something of major importance to all of them.
An enrollment notice from Konoha's Ninja Academy, calling on children of appropriate age who aspired to become shinobi to register.
The notice required that enrollment procedures be completed before the coming spring.
Haku and Kimimaro were technically a bit over the usual age.
But once winter passed, Mirai would be exactly the right age.
Hagoromo intended to send her in.
All three of them together.
As for Mirai's question, Hagoromo replied calmly:
"Strictly speaking, entering the Ninja Academy doesn't really have any practical meaning."
With Hagoromo's instruction, even Mirai's current level already far exceeded what the Academy could offer. It was obvious the school wouldn't be able to teach her anything useful.
"But," Hagoromo continued, "I've told you before—people often—"
"—end up doing things that have no real meaning most of the time, according to the eighty–twenty rule," Mirai smoothly finished for him.
Was that statistics? Sociology? Philosophy?
Could the Pareto principle really be applied like this?
From Konoha's perspective, having the Fourth Hokage's daughter attend the Ninja Academy was a symbolic win—one they would be more than happy to accept.
As for Hagoromo, he couldn't keep Mirai with him at all times.
He needed a place that functioned as a daycare.
And in Konoha, the closest equivalent was the Ninja Academy.
This decision also made one thing clear:
After his current mission ended, Hagoromo had no intention of resuming his travels around the world.
Staying in Konoha long-term was already a foregone conclusion.
His previous aimless "search" had led nowhere, and he had fully realized that by now.
If blindly wandering couldn't find what he was looking for, then he had to return to his original strategy.
It was like solving an escape-room puzzle.
Before finding the final key, you had to collect all the others—step by step.
Skipping stages was impossible.
Arranging Academy enrollment wasn't limited to Mirai's group.
Hagoromo had also taken it upon himself to sort things out on Naruto's side—though in truth, the Third Hokage already had detailed plans in place.
The Uchiha clan remained in an eerie calm.
Hagoromo almost wished they would act sooner, just so the matter could be settled and stop weighing on him.
The longer the delay, the more thorough the Uchiha's preparations became—but at the same time, Konoha's countermeasures would only grow more complete.
In terms of raw power balance, prolonged delay was extremely unfavorable to the Uchiha.
Rebellions weren't impossible to succeed.
But when the weak rose against the strong, suddenness mattered more than even the most meticulous planning.
Unfortunately for the Uchiha—
Surprise was no longer an option.
By now, Hagoromo had begun quietly monitoring Danzō's movements—under the Hokage's authority.
After explaining his concerns to the Third Hokage, he received authorization without much resistance.
To prevent Danzō from acting rashly, Hagoromo was officially granted the right to observe him.
In Konoha, this was critically important.
It meant that if necessary, Hagoromo could act against Danzō with legitimacy.
As long as he didn't go too far, the Third Hokage wouldn't be able to reprimand him, and the higher-ups would have no excuse to punish him.
A flexible use of Konoha's rules.
That afternoon, the three children had training.
Mirai wore a deeply troubled expression as she hugged a pile of scrolls, struggling through sealing-technique theory.
Meanwhile, Kimimaro and Haku were sparring in the courtyard, focusing on taijutsu.
In Hagoromo's view, at their age, physical training was more important than ordinary ninjutsu practice.
Building a solid taijutsu foundation early could have a profound impact on a shinobi's entire life.
Kimimaro went without saying—taijutsu was his specialty.
But Haku's talent in taijutsu surprised Hagoromo.
Since Hagoromo began teaching him, Haku's progress had been explosive.
In just a few months, he had gone from zero foundation to being able to spar with Kimimaro without falling far behind—
Of course, that was with most of Kimimaro's abilities sealed.
Even then, if they fought seriously, Haku would likely still lose.
Their starting lines were different.
But that didn't diminish Haku's talent.
Just a few months ago, he'd been a child chased through the streets.
Hagoromo sat under the veranda, leisurely holding a cup of tea.
From time to time, he corrected Kimimaro and Haku's movements, while also keeping an eye out to help Mirai if she ran into trouble.
Just then—
A knock sounded at the door.
Mirai, struggling with a difficult sealing problem, seemed to sense something and started to stand up.
Hagoromo tilted his head and glanced at her.
She obediently sat back down.
Before anyone answered—
A head had already poked in through the doorway.
Naruto peeked into the courtyard.
The first thing that caught his attention was Kimimaro and Haku's sparring.
This was on a completely different level from the rough fights he had with other kids.
Naruto stared, eyes wide.
The movements of the two children—barely older than him—were fast, sharp, and dangerous.
So this is how ninjas train…?
At this moment, the most accurate description was:
A complete outsider watching the excitement.
After finally tearing his gaze away, Naruto scanned the yard and spotted Hagoromo sitting under the veranda.
It was impressive enough that he'd crossed half of Konoha just to find this place.
Carefully skirting around the "battlefield," Naruto approached Hagoromo.
An unseen ANBU shadowed him from behind.
Hagoromo noticed, of course.
It wasn't the same one from a few days ago—they rotated frequently.
"Naruto," Hagoromo asked, "can you extract chakra on your own now?"
Only a few days had passed.
If Naruto had figured it out by himself, that would have been genuinely impressive.
Unfortunately, Hagoromo's expectations were a bit too optimistic.
Naruto's talent clearly didn't lie in theory.
He learned through his body, not his head.
"I can! …Probably?"
"Maybe?"
"Anyway, when are you going to teach me ninjutsu?"
In reality, Naruto hadn't understood a single word on the scroll.
That was why his confidence wavered.
"Then focus your chakra and show me," Hagoromo said.
Given Naruto's uncertainty, Hagoromo decided to verify it personally.
And then—
Naruto froze.
"…Um. What exactly is chakra?"
That single sentence told Hagoromo everything.
Naruto was standing a full hundred meters before the starting line.
"Mirai," Hagoromo said, "come teach him what chakra actually is."
Mirai had been eavesdropping the whole time anyway.
She walked out with a stern, big-sister expression.
Was Naruto's arrival making her happy—or unhappy?
"Hold out your hand."
It was an order.
Strangely enough, Naruto obeyed immediately.
Mirai grasped his hand with her own.
"Do you feel it?"
"Eh… something's running around inside me."
That description nearly earned Naruto a punch.
Running around?
This was chakra flowing through the chakra network.
"What you're feeling is called chakra," Hagoromo explained.
"It's the foundation of all ninjutsu. If you want to learn techniques, you have to first master this energy."
He'd figured it out.
Trying to explain spiritual and physical energy to Naruto would be pointless.
It was far better to let him feel chakra directly.
"Strange… I feel like I've felt this before. Or maybe not? It feels kind of familiar."
That wasn't surprising.
Naruto occasionally sensed his chakra.
First, he'd been born with that foundation.
Second, years of electrical stimulation and Lightning Release exposure had ingrained the sensation into his body.
"As long as you focus, you can learn to control this power," Hagoromo said.
"Only then can we talk about ninjutsu."
"I can totally do it!" Naruto declared confidently—
"…But what if I can't?" he added, worried.
"Then," Hagoromo replied calmly,
"forget about learning the Fourth Hokage's techniques. You won't even be able to become a ninja."
In theory, self-teaching wasn't impossible.
After all, something called "genius" did exist.
But for a shinobi, before self-learning could even begin, someone had to open the door.
If you couldn't even grasp chakra—
Then dreaming about the sea breeze and spring blossoms was just nonsense.
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