Early the next morning.
Senju Yukika, who had trained until well past midnight, yawned as he arrived at the academy, flanked by Kushina and Nawaki.
To be honest, the ninja academy had nothing of real value to teach Yukika.
In fact, it was questionable whether the chunin instructors could even defeat him in a fight.
And as for the basic ninjutsu taught here? They were nothing compared to the contents of the Senju clan's private archive.
After all, his grandfather was **Senju Tobirama**, a genius in the study and development of ninjutsu.
In terms of raw combat power, Tobirama may have been a level below his brother Hashirama, the First Hokage. But when it came to inventing and mastering jutsu, no one came close to him.
Take, for example, two of his most influential inventions: the **Shadow Clone Technique** and **Edo Tensei (Reanimation Jutsu)**.
Both of these jutsu changed the course of Konoha—and the ninja world.
And all of that knowledge?
For Yukika, it was just within arm's reach.
He hadn't studied them yet only because the time wasn't right.
Besides, this entire **ninja academy** was founded by his grandfather in the first place.
This place carried the future of the village.
But from another perspective, it was also a place where the seeds of war were planted.
Wherever there are people, there will be conflict.
And ninja? They were the very embodiment of that conflict.
When Yukika stepped into the classroom, heads turned.
He hadn't shown up in so long that his appearance shocked many of his classmates.
Then again, skipping class was just part of Yukika's daily routine.
Even the homeroom teacher—**Yamazaki Ryuji**, who led this year's class—wasn't surprised at all.
What could he say?
He had never seen a student who, despite constantly skipping school, still managed to score perfect marks in every subject.
How do you punish a student like that?
Even the Hokage had no objections—so there was nothing left but to let Yukika do as he pleased.
But today, he'd decided to show up.
After returning to his seat, Yukika stretched out his arms—left and right—casually pulling **Uchiha Mikoto** and **Uzumaki Kushina** close into his embrace, lounging on his special seat like a feudal lord.
Yep.
That chair was his own custom seat.
He had someone bring it in—not to show off, but because it was just more comfortable to sit in.
"Yukika-kun."
A voice called from the front row.
A blond-haired boy slowly turned around, giving Yukika a curious look, like he wanted to say something.
His name was **Namikaze Minato**, Yukika's classmate.
Aside from him, there were also two boys from the Hyuga clan in their class—white-eyed brothers.
As for **Uchiha Fugaku**, the future head of the Uchiha clan? He had already graduated and joined the Uchiha Police Force to start earning his merits.
To outsiders, it might've looked odd—a Senju heir casually pulling an Uchiha girl into his arms.
But Yukika didn't care at all.
He liked Mikoto. She might still be young, but there was a warm, gentle aura about her that he found incredibly appealing.
Fugaku?
Wasn't that the guy who'd get killed by his own son in the future?
"Surprised to see me?"
Yukika asked calmly, meeting Minato's astonished gaze.
After training all night, he really hadn't planned on coming today.
But this wasn't just any day.
As the young heir of the Senju clan—regardless of the fact that many of his clansmen were now merging into the village or dying on the battlefield—Yukika still had access to certain information.
For example: the situation at the front lines was getting worse.
And a new batch of students was about to undergo early graduation assessments.
At age ten, they clearly hadn't reached the usual age for graduation.
But—