"Minato, you…"
As soon as those words were spoken, Shikaku and the others turned to look at Minato with surprise.
"I always thought you were the honest, well-behaved type… I didn't expect this..."
"No! Don't get the wrong idea!"
Minato waved his hands quickly, looking slightly flustered as he tried to explain:
"It's not like I wanted to skip class and be a bad student—"
"It's just that… the things taught at the academy are way too basic. Staying there all day feels like a complete waste of time."
"I know we've only been enrolled for a month, but I've already finished the entire first-year curriculum."
"Actually, I've even gone ahead and studied most of the second-year materials through the library!"
"I just don't want to waste precious time."
"And… what Ren Takashi said earlier really struck a chord with me. I don't want to end up in a situation one day where I need strength—only to regret it forever because I wasn't strong enough to protect my comrades."
"I'm sure you feel the same way, don't you?"
"Mm!"
Shikaku and the others nodded almost instinctively.
"Then why don't you join us?"
"With Ren Takashi guiding us, we'll definitely improve much faster!"
"You guys probably don't know yet, but he's insanely talented. He picks things up fast—understands them even faster."
"These past few days, I've made more progress under his guidance than I ever did training on my own."
"Don't you want to finally earn the approval of your families—to become true prodigies?"
Minato extended the invitation again, this time with a bit of temptation in his tone.
Ren Takashi glanced at Minato, mildly surprised.
His look seemed to say: "So that's the real you, Minato? You're not as innocent as you look, huh?"
Minato noticed Ren's gaze and returned a sheepish smile.
Come on—when had he ever been the overly serious type?
He was clever—exceptionally so.
He and Ren were definitely planning to use Shadow Clones to sneak off from class moving forward. Now that Shikaku and the others had found out, pulling them into the scheme was simply the safer route. Less chance of leaks that way.
If their teachers ever discovered the plan… it wouldn't end well.
"For real?"
Shikaku and the others looked toward Ren Takashi with disbelief.
"Try it and see for yourselves," Ren said with a smile. "I'm always happy to train and grow together with others."
"…Alright. I'm in."
After a moment of consideration—and under the blazing stares of Ren and Minato—Shikaku glanced at Inoichi and Chōza. The three exchanged nods, and Shikaku was the first to give his answer.
"We're in too," Inoichi and Chōza chimed in immediately afterward.
It wasn't that they were all suddenly burning with the desire to become stronger.
Mostly, they just found the idea of skipping boring classes to go train far more appealing.
"Then it's settled. Welcome aboard!"
Ren and Minato shared a look, then each extended a hand. The others followed suit, stacking their hands together in a sign of agreement.
"Next step—your top priority is to learn and master the Shadow Clone Jutsu as quickly as possible. That won't be a problem, right?"
"Do you need me to teach it to you?"
Ren followed up, striking while the iron was hot.
"No need—we'll just ask our families to teach us."
"They'll be happy to, especially if we show initiative."
Shikaku shook his head, politely declining.
He wasn't looking to owe Ren a favor—not over something like this. Favors, after all, weren't easy debts to repay.
"Alright, then we're set! Once you've got the Shadow Clone Jutsu down, we'll fully launch the plan."
"In the meantime, if you're interested, you're welcome to join us after school at our secret training spot—get a head start."
Ren extended the invitation once again.
"Sure—might as well see if Minato was exaggerating!"
Naturally, Shikaku and the others weren't going to refuse.
With this pact, their bond grew stronger—there was now a sense of camaraderie between them.
"Tsk, tsk… using Shadow Clones to ditch class and train?"
"Not a bad idea, kid."
"I'm starting to look forward to taking you as my student…"
Outside the window, Tsunade stood with her arms crossed and a slight smirk on her lips.
Clearly, she'd been eavesdropping for a while now.
And thanks to her exceptional concealment skills—and the fact that Ren hadn't activated his sensory technique—he hadn't even noticed her presence.
Or so she thought...
That afternoon, after classes ended, Ren led Minato and the Ino-Shika-Chō trio to their secret training base near the Nankaga River and began their session.
Not only did Ren train himself, but he also used a Shadow Clone to guide the others—correcting their techniques, pointing out flaws, and offering detailed advice.
Under his instruction, Shikaku and the others felt their understanding suddenly click into place. Their training efficiency multiplied.
More importantly, training felt fun.
Especially when you could feel yourself improving—it was borderline addictive.
Even Shikaku wasn't immune.
"This kid really knows his stuff… For someone barely five years old, his experience and ability to teach are way beyond his age."
"Is this what they call genius?"
Tsunade watched from the shadows, her eyes filled with admiration.
She found herself more and more impressed by Ren Takashi.
What she didn't know… was that Ren had sensed her presence the moment they left school.
And he'd already guessed her identity.
In fact, some part of today's performance had been deliberately staged for her to see.
Only by proving his value could he truly earn Tsunade's attention—and perhaps her recognition as a disciple.
Of course… Ren didn't yet know that the Third Hokage and Tsunade had already decided to take him on.
Over an hour later, as dusk began to fall, Ren dispelled his Shadow Clone and clapped his hands.
"Alright, it's getting late. Let's call it for today. We'll continue tomorrow."
"Let's all try to master the Shadow Clone Jutsu as soon as possible—then we'll have even more time every day to train and grow stronger."
"Let's work hard together."
"One day, I hope all of us can become legendary shinobi—heroes of the ninja world."
"Protecting Konoha… protecting our families… and guarding all that we hold dear."
"Yeah!"
Shikaku and the others felt their blood stir. They nodded with conviction.
"Really… thank you, Ren Takashi—for inviting us and for being so dedicated to helping us."
"I honestly think your guidance is better than what the jonin our families arranged provide."
Shikaku looked at Ren with genuine gratitude.
"Definitely," Inoichi nodded. "Thank you, Ren—I feel the same."
"Your explanations are much easier to understand and absorb."
"You're practically a master already!"
"Totally agree—thank you, Ren!" Chōza echoed enthusiastically.
"Haha, come on now—I can't compare to your family tutors. I'm sure they're way more qualified. I'm just glad my advice helped."
"No need to thank me—we're friends, aren't we? And friends help each other."
Ren responded with a humble smile.
"They might be stronger than you now," Shikaku said, "but they're nowhere near as good at teaching."
"At least not for us."
"You're right—we're friends. So if you or Minato ever need anything, don't hold back."
"We'll do our best to support you however we can."
Inoichi and Chōza both nodded in agreement. "Exactly what Shikaku said—we've got your back."
Friendship had to be mutual.
One-sided giving was neither fair nor right.
And none of them were the type to take advantage of others.
In short—they had truly accepted Ren Takashi as their friend.
...