Currently, Tatsumi, a fifth-year student at the Ninja Academy, is set to be promoted to the graduating class after this summer vacation.
At that point, he'll officially become an upperclassman.
Of course, due to some "minor issues," Tatsumi will be spending this summer vacation in Konoha Hospital.
But honestly, these days aren't bad at all.
He gets free hospital meals filled with nutritious goodness, Mikoto's homemade bento boxes full of love, and when he's bored, Kushina is there to crack jokes and keep him entertained.
At just nine years old, Tatsumi is already living the dream—a life of leisure, being waited on hand and foot.
This is how life should be. This is the ultimate lifestyle Tatsumi aspires to.
But good times never last.
The moment his friend Minato found out about his injury, everything took a sharp turn for the worse.
Minato, with his annoyingly upright sense of justice, isn't exactly a troublemaker. But he does have a habit of attracting them.
And unfortunately, he happens to be on good terms with the likes of the Nara and Akimichi kids.
Before long, word of Tatsumi's hospitalization began spreading among his friends.
At first, the story was simple—Tatsumi got injured in a fight with a Genin.
Then, somehow, the Genin turned into a Chunin.
Then a Jonin.
And before Tatsumi knew it, the story had transformed into an epic, soul-stirring legend.
Apparently, Tatsumi had fought the Kazekage and Raikage for three hundred rounds before finally being defeated and hospitalized.
Then, an overenthusiastic hospital staff member claimed to have overheard a conversation between Tsunade and Tatsumi.
According to her, Tsunade said that Tatsumi had used some kind of taijutsu to kick the Sage of Six Paths to death.
…What kind of friends are these?!
When Tatsumi first heard the rumors, he knew his days of peace were over.
And sure enough, within three days of waking up, his hospital room door was constantly being knocked on.
Being at the top of both the "most wanted to date" list and the "most wanted to beat up" list, Tatsumi had to deal with two types of visitors—obsessive fangirls and mischievous brats looking for trouble.
To handle the chaos, he resorted to his ultimate technique.
Whenever someone entered, he'd pull the blanket over his head and mumble incoherently.
This "playing dead" tactic worked surprisingly well, scaring off a group of mischievous kids led by Uchiha Ryo, who had come under the pretense of visiting but were clearly just there to mess around.
Then, the rumor changed again.
Now, word was that Tatsumi was on the verge of death.
The endless stream of visitors finally stopped.
The flower baskets meant for his recovery?
They were replaced with wreaths.
Kushina and Mikoto had been taking turns watching over him, but seeing how exhausted they were, Tatsumi only allowed them to visit during the afternoons.
So, mornings were peaceful.
Most of the time, he'd lie in bed doing nothing or secretly read the new H-manga he got from Nawaki.
Tatsumi had to admit—Nawaki had a unique taste. Tatsumi liked ponytails and long legs, but Nawaki leaned toward a more… rugged style.
Just as he was getting comfortable, a knock sounded at the door.
Tatsumi quickly hid the book under his pillow.
"Excuse me," Minato's voice called from outside.
Tatsumi shot him a deadpan look.
Minato chuckled awkwardly. After all, the ridiculous rumors had started because of him.
After his last mission, Minato had returned to the Academy, only to realize that Tatsumi and Nawaki were missing.
Curious, he asked Jiraiya, but his pervy teacher was more interested in spying on the women's bathhouse than answering questions.
Still, Jiraiya had at least mentioned that Tatsumi and the others were out on a mission.
A week later, Nawaki and the rest returned, but Tatsumi was nowhere to be seen.
Only then did Minato find out that Tatsumi had been seriously injured and brought back to Konoha Hospital by Tsunade ahead of the others.
He wanted to visit earlier, but at the time, Tatsumi's condition had been critical. By the time he was out of danger, Minato was finally allowed in.
Entering the room, Minato placed a bag of apples on the bedside cabinet before pulling up a chair.
Grabbing Tatsumi's hand, he asked, "How are you feeling now?"
"I should be fine before school starts," Tatsumi replied with a grin.
Conversations with Minato were usually normal—mostly just catching up on what happened during the summer vacation.
They exchanged stories, sharing details about their recent experiences.
One noteworthy thing was Minato's latest idea for modifying sealing scrolls.
If it weren't for his scroll, Tatsumi might not have made it out alive during the fight with Sakada.
After all, he had been completely out of chakra at the time, unable to use Chidori.
Right now, the biggest obstacle limiting Tatsumi's strength—besides his age—is his overall chakra reserves.
But unfortunately, his ninja points weren't enough to fix that problem just yet.
"By the way, Tatsumi, something's been bothering me," Minato said, his tone turning serious.
"What is it?" Tatsumi asked, straightening up.
"The atmosphere in Konoha has been feeling… off lately. I noticed that a lot of the teachers from the Academy have left the village."
"When did this start?"
Minato furrowed his brows. "If I had to pinpoint a time, it was right after Tsunade-sama brought you back."
Tatsumi fell into deep thought. Then, after a moment of silence, he muttered, "It seems like the Second Ninja World War is about to begin."
"What? But Teacher Jiraiya told me that the Land of Rain agreed to peace talks. The war shouldn't be happening."
"When did he say that?"
"During our last mission," Minato replied after thinking for a moment.
Tatsumi shook his head.
He then recounted his most recent mission to Minato.
For now, his mission details weren't classified, so there was no harm in telling him.
But judging by the current situation, it wouldn't be long before an official information lockdown was enforced.
Minato fell silent after hearing everything.
Tatsumi turned to look out the window.
The Hokage Rock stood tall, the faces of the three Hokage watching over the village.
"It looks like this mission was the trigger for the Second Ninja World War."
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