Morning mist veiled the Leaf as the Academy came to life.
Uchiha Jin stepped into class as usual, his gaze skimming the back row where that vivid red hair stood out.
Sensing him, Uzumaki Kushina lifted her head and broke into a bright smile.
Over the past days they had fallen into a rhythm, sharing lunches at noon and walking home together after school.
The Third's warning might as well have never happened, and Anbu never appeared again. The eerie calm even left Jin a little surprised.
"Jin, try this!" At lunch, Kushina could not wait to open her box. "I used a new recipe."
Jin took a rice ball and bit in.
Seaweed's salt and plum's sour bloomed on his tongue. He nodded slightly. "You have improved."
The simple praise made Kushina's eyes light up.
After school they strolled the path along the river.
Like a cheerful sparrow, Kushina chattered about the day.
Jin mostly listened in quiet, adding a word or two now and then.
At their fork in the road, she waved goodbye, and they went their separate ways.
...
On any other day Jin would have gone straight home, but today was different.
Deep in the Uchiha compound, Elder Hikaku had been waiting.
This was the clan's training ground, set in the heart of the compound, ringed by barriers to foil prying eyes.
"The chakra paper was clear." Hikaku accepted the sheet and nodded with satisfaction.
"Wind, Lightning, and Fire, the same as I had back then."
He lifted his right hand. Without a seal, fine lightning danced across his palm. The deft control drew a flicker of admiration in Jin's eyes.
"The Uchiha are famous for Fire Style, but I prefer Lightning Release." The elder let the sparks fade.
"Since you asked me here, I take it you finished that technique."
Jin did not answer with words.
His hands blurred through signs, and his left hand burst into blinding voltage.
The cry of a thousand birds rang across the grounds, blue-white arcs painting their faces.
"Chidori..." Hikaku opened his three-tomoe Sharingan, tracking every current. "A-rank territory, and still room to grow."
"The final form should reach S-rank." Jin dispelled the lightning, calm as ever.
Hikaku was silent for a long beat, then burst out laughing. "Good. Good. As expected of you."
"To develop a Lightning nature technique at your age, even I could not match that."
"You flatter me. Without your guidance, I might still be groping in the dark."
"Enough, do not play humble with me."
The elder chuckled and cursed in equal measure. He had watched Jin grow up and knew the proud streak in his bones.
"Since you have Chidori, I can start passing you other jutsu."
He moved aside and began to form seals. The pace was not fast, nowhere near Jin's earlier speed.
Jin opened his Sharingan. Three tomoe turned slowly, recording every motion.
"Great Fireball is about control, not raw power," Hikaku said. "It is best for blocking sight and movement."
Si - Wei - Shen - Hai - Wu - Yin.
At the last sign a blazing sphere roared out, scoring black trails across the ground.
"Your turn."
He stepped back. Failure, in his view, was a teacher you could not skip.
Jin centered himself. The same pattern flowed from his hands like water.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique."
The fireball that erupted was many times larger than the elder's. Heat blasted Hikaku back several steps.
The ground softened under the temperature and went ruddy like molten rock.
"First try and..." Hikaku could not hide his shock. "And with that force..."
"I may have misjudged the chakra output." Jin watched the flames, already suspecting the answer. The Holy Master's fire had boosted it.
Hikaku gave him a long look. "Your talent for ninjutsu may be fit to stand beside that man."
For the rest of the session he demonstrated Phoenix Flower, Dragon Flame, and other advanced Fire techniques.
Astonishingly, Jin picked up almost all of them on the first attempt, until the elder's trove was exhausted.
"Enough, enough, go on now." The old man scolded with a smile, eyes full of pride. "Any more and these old bones will be wrung dry."
Night deepened. Only after Jin's figure vanished did Hikaku signal into the shadows.
Several Uchiha emerged and used Earth Release to restore the grounds.
Silence settled over the training field at last.