"I surre—"
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
Whoosh... SMACK!
Shiro's body traced a graceful arc in the air before crashing to the ground with a resounding thud. He lay there motionless, struggling to get up.
Shiro, defeated!
The three little ones watching from the sidelines—Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata—wore expressions of deep disappointment.
"You three, take that brat Shiro back home. Tomorrow, bring him here to train with me," Tobirama ordered.
Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened in shock, but soon, excitement took over.
"Yes, sensei!" they replied in unison before rushing to pick up Shiro.
"Hey, hey! Slow down! That hurts!"
"Ow! Damn it, go easy on me!"
Meanwhile, Hinata bowed politely to Tobirama, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Then... I'll be heading back too, sensei."
She was just about to leave when Tobirama called out to her.
"Wait a moment, Hinata. I have a letter for you to deliver to Hiashi."
With a flicker of his teleportation jutsu, Tobirama disappeared, reappearing a moment later with a sealed letter in his hand. He handed it to Hinata with a serious expression.
"Make sure you give this to your father personally."
"...Understood, sensei."
Hinata took the letter and left.
Now, the only ones left in the clearing were Tobirama, Might Guy, and Rock Lee.
At the side, Guy and Lee were still caught up in their emotional celebration.
"Well done, Lee! I have witnessed your determination to burn with the flames of youth! I am deeply moved!"
"Guy-sensei!"
"Lee!!"
"This is youth!!!"
Ugh...
Tobirama averted his gaze.
He couldn't take any more of this nonsense.
With a flash of his Flying Thunder God, he was gone.
Back at the Hyūga compound, Hinata obediently presented Tobirama's letter to her father, Hiashi.
Hearing that it was personally written by the Second Hokage, Hiashi accepted it with reverence, carefully opening the seal to read:
Hiashi,
I have heard that your daughter, Hinata Hyūga, has become the betrothed of my student, Shiro.
I do not oppose this arrangement, but they are still too young. Becoming too entangled in romance at this stage may hinder their growth.
I hope that you will remind Hinata from time to time not to neglect her training due to their relationship.
Of course, as long as they continue progressing at a reasonable pace, I will not interfere.
—Tobirama Senju
Hiashi: ...???
My daughter is someone's fiancée?!
Why am I only learning about this now?!
Still in shock, Hiashi turned to Hinata.
"Hinata, do you know a boy named Shiro?"
At the mention of that name, Hinata nervously fiddled with the hem of her sleeve.
"...Yes."
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, but Hiashi still caught it.
A vein bulged on his forehead.
"Do you like him?"
Hinata's face turned red as she hesitated for a moment before giving a shy nod.
"Mm..."
Hiashi frowned.
"So, are you saying you plan to become his fiancée?"
"Uu..."
Her entire face went beet red. Her eyes swirled in dizziness before she promptly fainted on the spot.
Well, that confirms it.
The Second Hokage wasn't lying.
My delicate little daughter has been stolen away!
CRACK!
The teacup in Hiashi's hand shattered into dust.
"Shiro, that brat... I swear to the Sage of Six Paths—!!!"
That night, a massive Rotation technique was unleashed over the Hyūga clan compound…
Meanwhile, Shiro had no idea that Tobirama had just backstabbed him in the worst possible way.
That backstab would lead to multiple beatings in the future—ones he wouldn't even dare to fight back against.
The next evening, Shiro arrived at the training grounds with the three little ones.
Tobirama was already waiting. Standing beside him was none other than Might Guy.
The moment Tobirama saw Shiro, he patted Guy on the shoulder.
"I leave him in your hands, Guy."
"Rest assured, Lord Tobirama!"
Ding!
Guy's signature grin flashed brilliantly, his teeth sparkling like the sun.
Without warning, he grabbed Shiro by the back of his collar and started dragging him away.
"Hey, hey! What are you doing?! Let me go!"
"Don't worry, Shiro! The Second Hokage has entrusted your training to me! Let us burn with the flames of youth together!"
"First, we'll do 100 laps around the village while running on our hands! Wahahaha!"
"WHAT?! NOOOO!!!"
Tobirama watched as Shiro was forcibly taken away. His expression remained indifferent.
Sure, Guy was a complete weirdo. But after seeing Shiro's match against Lee, Tobirama had to admit—
Guy was undoubtedly the best person to train him.
If Shiro wanted to improve his physical abilities in a short amount of time, there was no better teacher.
Tobirama only hoped that when training was over, Shiro wouldn't come back wearing a green jumpsuit with a bowl-cut and thick eyebrows…
Shaking that thought away, Tobirama turned to the three remaining students before him.
He studied them for a moment before speaking.
"Before I start teaching you, I need to assess your current abilities."
"You will each fight me in a sparring match."
"Who's first?"
"I'll go first!"
Sasuke stepped forward with unwavering determination.
"Lord Tobirama, please let me fight first!"
Tobirama nodded.
"Very well."
Sasuke quickly backed away to put some distance between them. His eyes narrowed.
Sharingan—Activate!
"Lord Tobirama, here I come!"
With that, he dashed forward.
But just as he was about to attack—
"Wait," Tobirama interrupted, his voice sharp.
Sasuke halted mid-step, confused.
"You only have a single tomoe in your Sharingan?"
For some reason, Sasuke felt like those words carried zero damage but maximum disrespect.
But since it was his teacher asking, he answered honestly.
"Yes, sensei."
Hah. The whole Uchiha clan was wiped out, and you only awakened a single tomoe?
Are you even a real Uchiha?!
Inwardly, Tobirama gave Sasuke a thumbs-up.
"Alright, continue."
"Yes, sensei!"
Sasuke lunged forward, pulling out a flurry of shuriken. He launched them all at once, their trajectory twisting unpredictably in mid-air.
Tobirama didn't even flinch.
He raised a single hand and effortlessly caught every last shuriken.
"Good aim. No power. Fail."
Sasuke leaped into the air, fingers flashing through hand seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Tobirama sighed.
"Too slow. And that fireball? I use bigger flames just to cook my meals. Fail."
Enraged, Sasuke abandoned ninjutsu and charged in with a kunai, aiming for close combat.
Tobirama arched an eyebrow.
"Your kunai work is impressive. I assume you've been practicing... by peeling fruit? Fail."
Sasuke: (╬ಠ益ಠ)!!!
"Fail."
"Fail."
"Fail."
Finally, Tobirama sent Sasuke flying with a single kick.
Turning to the trembling Naruto and Hinata, he smiled.
"Next. Who's up?"
Naruto: (╥﹏╥)
Hinata: (°﹏°)