Konoha: Starting by giving Hinata the Tenseigan!

Time flowed like a silent spring.

Unnoticed, half a year had already passed.

During this period, the glorious missions with Naruto were few and far between.

That guy was under constant surveillance.

Frequent contact with him would only attract unwanted suspicion toward their congregation.

"Natsuki! What are you doing? Get up!

"Ninja Academy is starting a new round of enrollment and I've already signed you up in advance.

"Today's the entrance exam. If you don't get up now, you'll be late."

Kurenai yelled loudly from outside Natsuki's room.

"Alrighhtt!!!, give me five more minutes."

Boom!!!

The door was slammed open!

"You don't get even an extra minute. You can sleep in any other day, but not today."

Kurenai stormed into the room with her hands on her hips like a fury, then ripped off the blanket and lifted little Natsuki out with one hand.

"I wasn't sleeping in, I was just up late last night."

Natsuki huddled in his pajamas, dangling mid-air by his collar, held by his sister.

He felt vaguely comfortable in his half-asleep state, even swaying slightly like a swing.

"..."

"What could you possibly be busy with? Listen, behave yourself and don't mess around. I'm a powerful Chunin now, with a reputation to uphold. If you embarrass me, you'll be sorry when you get back."

Kurenai warned him fiercely while preparing a hot towel for him.

"Ugh, you're just a Chunin and your reputation already proceeds you. People who don't know the full story might think you're the Hokage."

"I can probably beat up at least ten of you!"

Natsuki quickly washed up, instinctively engaging in a verbal sparring match with Kurenai.

Suddenly, a pair of soft hands clamped onto both his ears.

"Oh? Think you can beat your sister, huh?" Her breath tickled his ear.

"Hehehe, Come oon! You know me, I was just kidding. This is how you lighten the mood.

"Hehehe.

"Ow, ow, ow! Kurenai, that hurts, let me go..."

...

The Ninja Academy.

It was the day of the entrance exam, and the place was already bustling with noise and excitement early in the morning.

A large group of six and seven-year-old children, accompanied by their parents, waited for the test to begin.

Moreover, a news had spread from somewhere...

that Choji Akimichi, who could transform into Ultraman, and Hinata Hyuga, the eldest daughter of the Hyuga Clan, were also part of this year's intake.

These two were now big celebrities in the village.

This made the event several times more lively than previous years.

However, now that it was peacetime, the passing rate of academy entrance wouldn't be too high.

Unlike during wartime, when children could take the entrance exam around five years old and graduate at six, where the standards were set quite low to replenish troops in large numbers, now the exams were several times harder.

Although the entrance tests itself had varying degrees of difficulties.

To the point the now renowned Might Guy had failed the entrance exam.

Although the entrance exam was slightly different each year, it generally consisted of physical tests and an assessment of one's Chakra affinity.

Without good physical fitness, one simply couldn't withstand the high physical demands of ninja combat. Similarly, without good affinity with chakra, one couldn't be a ninja who relied solely on physical strength, although there were notable exception to this, they were far and few between.

"So many potential followers!"

Arriving at the Ninja Academy and seeing the massive crowd, Natsuki couldn't help but exclaim with sparkling eyes.

He could vaguely make out a few familiar faces in the crowd:

Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and others.

Little Sasuke was brought here by his older brother, Itachi Uchiha.

Both brothers were known for their good looks.

Coupled with Itachi's fame as a genius who graduated early, they drew gasps of admiration from the surrounding crowd. Some little fangirls even surrounded them, asking for autographs.

"Move aside, move aside. Don't block the way."

Compared to Itachi's outwardly gentle smile, little Sasuke scowled and pushed the crowd back.

He was probably thinking something like, Hmph! Big brother is mine!

Truly a tsundere.

Natsuki scanned the crowd again but didn't find Choji or Hinata.

It seemed that those with even greater fame wouldn't participate in this test.

"Bastard! Whose brat is standing on my head?!"

A middle-aged man with a strange, towering pompadour yelled.

The pompadour, solidified with something unknown substance, was nearly half a meter high.

It was like a black iron pillar on his head.

"Oh, sorry, sorry! My mistake, my mistake."

Natsuki quickly apologized and squeezed into the crowd, disappearing in the next second.

"Hmph!"

The pompadour man grunted and adjusted his hairstyle.

Suddenly, he realized something. 

Wait, why didn't he feel the child's weight just now?

He quickly took out a small mirror and held it up to check the integrity of his hairstyle.

"Phew, thankfully it wasn't flattened."

"Hmm? Wait, something seems to have caved in on top."

"Damn it! Whose little brat was that?!"