Time flows like a river.Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
On a half-rotted training ground, Uchiha Jinzō was dangling upside down from a tree branch, munching on an apple, when Minato Namikaze suddenly flickered into view and jabbed a finger at him.
A hole appeared in the tree where Jinzō's head had been. He twisted lazily out of the way, took another loud bite of his apple, and leaned back as if Minato wasn't even there.
"Careful, Minato-chan. I just washed my hair," Jinzō deadpanned.
Both disappeared in a blur of movement, their afterimages clashing across the training ground like sparks.
Not far away, Uzumaki Kushina stood under another tree, tossing a pebble between her hands. With a casual flick, she snapped it forward. The rock smacked against a branch — and a rain of kunai and shuriken fell.
Kushina weaved through the downpour like a piece of paper in the wind. Not a single blade touched her.
Watching her, Hyūga Kiyoshi's jaw tightened. He wanted to deny it, but the truth was brutal.
Minato had mastered all four techniques in just three months. Not only mastered — he used them with the ease of breathing. Kushina too had nailed Shave and Paper Body.
Meanwhile, he… had only managed Iron Body, and even that felt shaky. The gap was humiliating.
But the one who really broke him was Uchiha Jinzō.
That guy was a monster. Agile beyond reason, reflexes sharp enough to toy with Minato, and the Four Styles at his fingertips. Even without ninjutsu, Jinzō fought on a level that felt closer to a jōnin than a twelve-year-old kid.
Kiyoshi clenched his fists. That thing is not a human… he's a demon in human skin.
On the field, Minato and Jinzō traded blows. Jinzō tilted his head and avoided another finger-gun strike that blasted a neat hole through the trunk behind him. He counter-swept, and Minato reacted instantly — hands catching the incoming leg, flipping his body into the air.
But Jinzō simply accelerated, his follow-through strike hammering Minato in the stomach and sending him flying.
Minato twisted midair, landing lightly against a tree trunk.
"Still need to polish your form," Jinzō said encouragingly, finishing the last bite of his apple.
Minato dropped down and sat on the dirt, looking both frustrated and impressed."Jinzō… how the hell are you so strong?"
Jinzō shrugged. "Train harder, Minato."
The truth was, his own growth had slowed. His body was still in a growth phase, and progress was frustrating. But Minato's insights, Kushina's persistence, even Guy's (Might Duy's) grit — all of it had fed Jinzō's foundation. He could now casually crush Minato, who, for all his genius, was still only chunin-tier at best.
If anything, Orochimaru was the one progressing furthest. He'd already begun probing the final level of Jinzō's system — a level Jinzō himself had designed with immortality in mind.
"By the way," Minato added suddenly, "Inoue-sensei says you have to actually come to class tomorrow. Something big's happening."
Jinzō sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I'll show up."
Not that anyone realized it yet… but if he unleashed his forbidden technique, he could already threaten a jōnin.(Only once, but still.)
Elsewhere, deep in a hidden lab, Orochimaru stared coldly at a shinobi thrashing inside a glass tube as Hashirama cells devoured his body, turning it into twisted wood.
A bandaged man stepped from the shadows — Danzo Shimura.
"Any progress?"
"As you can see… failure," Orochimaru replied flatly.
Danzo scowled. "This experiment has cost countless lives. Even the frontlines are losing manpower. If results don't come soon, the Hokage will shut it down."
Orochimaru's golden eyes narrowed. "I am not your subordinate, Danzo."
Danzo sneered but retreated back into the shadows.
When he was gone, Orochimaru's gaze shifted, not to the corpse in the tank… but to a small potted plant.
A sapling. One he'd grown from a dead seed by using chakra alone.
"It's incredible… that Uchiha really is a genius," he murmured.
Jinzō's "basic internal arts" had given him a glimpse of something far greater than Hashirama cells. If chakra could sustain life endlessly, maybe true immortality wasn't a dream.
And for the first time, Orochimaru's eyes shone with genuine inspiration.
The next day at the Academy.
Jinzō sat at his desk, glancing around the classroom. "Feels weird. Haven't been here in forever."
"You've been gone three months!" Inoue Satoru roared internally, but on the outside the teacher forced a brittle smile.
"Ehh~ Inoue-sensei, your smile looks creepy," one kid muttered.
The smile twisted even uglier. Do I not even get basic human dignity…?
Finally, with a deep breath, Inoue called the class to order. His tone grew heavy as he stood at the podium.
"Students… congratulations. Starting tomorrow, you'll be allowed to take the graduation exam."
"EHHH?!" Jinzō slammed the desk and jumped to his feet.