Everyone held their own ideals, and so everyone was steadily walking their own path in life.
That was true for Uchiha Hikaru and his companions as well, moving forward step by step.
Their footsteps left tracks across Konoha's training grounds—marks of their journey to become stronger shinobi.
Time flew by like an arrow, and the years passed like a song. Unnoticed, the days slipped away like grains of sand through one's fingers.
Before anyone realized it, the New Year was nearly here, and the joint Chūnin Exams were scheduled to take place right after it.
With both events lining up, Konoha was buzzing with excitement.
The end of the war and the coming festivities stirred the villagers into preparing early for the celebration.
On every street and in every alley, people chatted in delight, their faces glowing with joy and anticipation.
In a corner of the Ninja Academy, Uchiha Hikaru and his truancy squad were waiting for the results of their final exams.
Toki Chi stood in the classroom, his face dark as thunderclouds. His eyes, sharp as blades, were fixed on the ringleader of the truants—Uchiha Hikaru.
His fists trembled slightly, revealing the anger he was trying hard to suppress.
However, when his gaze shifted to Hikaru's exam scores, his expression softened just a little.
He furrowed his brows and sighed, his voice carrying a trace of reluctant approval.
"Uchiha Hikaru, you skip class constantly, and yet you scored full marks on the exam. I suppose you do have some talent after all."
Uchiha Hikaru responded with a faint, confident smile tugging at the corner of his lips.
He said calmly to Toki Chi:
"That's all thanks to your excellent teaching, sensei."
Toki Chi's recently eased expression instantly darkened again. Clearly, he wasn't buying it.
In his mind, a student like Uchiha Hikaru—one who often skipped class, yet got a perfect score—praising his teaching right to his face felt like mockery.
But to his surprise, Hikaru wasn't finished.
"Even if the lessons were basic," Hikaru added, "they were foundational knowledge that every ninja needs. I'm grateful for your efforts, sensei."
His eyes were clear and sincere, as if he had seen straight through Toki Chi's doubts and unease.
Toki Chi blinked in surprise. He finally understood what Hikaru meant.
Perhaps he really was just an ordinary shinobi who couldn't do much for genius students like Hikaru—but his teaching still mattered. It helped most of his students.
He remembered his original intent: to give these children a little more power to protect themselves in the future.
That goal had already been achieved. What more was there to agonize over?
At that moment, a sense of relief filled Toki Chi's heart.
He nodded with a smile, accepting Hikaru's thanks and praise.
"...Next year, when you skip class again, I hope you'll show some mercy, sensei..."
But just as he was feeling satisfied, Hikaru's voice floated over again—causing another wave of exasperation to wash over him.
Still, watching Uchiha Hikaru dash off in a blur, he couldn't help but smile with helpless fondness.
"This brat..."
He shook his head, warmth and forgiveness in his grin.
"Ah... to be young."
After regrouping with his squad, Uchiha Hikaru walked with them down the road home.
Nowadays, the truancy squad had mostly moved into the Senju compound, with the exception of Jiraiya and Uchiha Chiri.
At that moment, Orochimaru edged over with a slightly awkward look on his face.
His pale cheeks had a hint of color, and his eyes flickered with unease and hope.
He bit his lip, hesitated, and finally mumbled his request:
"Hikaru-kun, could you help unseal my parents the day before the New Year? I'd like to spend it with them."
Orochimaru's voice was quiet, and it felt like the air around them froze for a moment as he spoke.
He knew it was a selfish request. After all, he hadn't really done anything meaningful to help Uchiha Hikaru.
Guilt swelled in his heart. He felt like a burden, someone who only ever asked for favors.
But Hikaru didn't show a trace of displeasure.
He gave Orochimaru a calm glance, a subtle smile flickering in his eyes.
To him, it was no big deal—just a wave of his hand and a few seconds of effort.
And besides, he knew Orochimaru wasn't useless. He just didn't realize his own worth yet.
Those E-rank elemental techniques Orochimaru had created—comparable in difficulty to the Clone Transformation techniques, but requiring even less chakra—had already boosted the strength of Konoha's Genin quite a bit.
As someone who saw Konoha as his, Uchiha Hikaru was more than satisfied with that contribution.
So he waved a hand and said casually:
"Sure, no problem. Just come find me that day, and I'll take care of it."
Relief and gratitude lit up Orochimaru's face.
He bowed his head, hiding his trembling excitement.
"Thank you, Hikaru-kun."
Just then, Jiraiya came bouncing over, grinning ear to ear.
He rubbed his hands together and grinned mischievously.
"Hikaru, do you think I could maybe..."
Before he could finish, Uchiha Hikaru cut him off with a glance.
"Nope."
The grin on Jiraiya's face froze instantly. He clasped his hands together like he was praying, voice filled with dramatic pleading:
"Come on, Hikaru! I'm your best friend, remember?"
Uchiha Hikaru rolled his eyes, already guessing what Jiraiya was up to.
He just wanted to tag along and crash at Hikaru's house for the New Year.
But Hikaru wasn't anyone's babysitter.
Sure, he wanted these "kids" to become reliable allies in the future—but that didn't mean he had to cater to their every whim.
Helping Orochimaru was no big deal. Jiraiya's request, on the other hand, was a different matter.
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Nope. Absolutely not. It's a matter of principle."
Leaving Jiraiya behind, he turned toward Uchiha Chiri.
Spending the New Year with a few cute girls sounded way better than dragging Jiraiya along as a third wheel.
"Chiri, do you have any plans for New Year's?"
Although Uchiha Chiri was slowly getting used to Hikaru's presence, she still blushed a little when asked so directly.
She lowered her head, her cheeks tinged with pink.
"Nothing special..."
Hikaru smiled.
"How about joining us at the festival that night?"
"Of course, I already asked Nonō, Tsunade, and I'll be there too—so four of us total. Wanna come?"