Currently, Uchiha Hayashi, a fifth-year student at the Ninja Academy, was set to move up to the graduating class after this summer break.
By then, he would officially become one of the senior students — what some jokingly called an "old veteran."
Of course, due to a rather unfortunate incident, Hayashi was spending this summer in Konoha Hospital.
But honestly, it wasn't all bad.
He got free, nutritious meals from the hospital, received homemade bentos from Mikoto, and whenever boredom struck, Kushina would drop by to tell jokes or stir up some noise. For a nine-year-old, this was practically the dream life — food, care, and attention from pretty girls.
"Ah, this must be what an emperor feels like," Hayashi thought with a smirk.
If only peace lasted.
The calm ended soon after his friend Minato found out about his injury. Minato, being upright and responsible to a fault, wasn't one for gossip — but his friends certainly were. The news of Hayashi's hospitalization spread quickly among their classmates.
At first, the story was simple: Uchiha Hayashi got injured fighting a Genin.
Then the rumor evolved — he'd fought a Chūnin.
Then a Jōnin.
And before anyone knew it, the story had become a full-blown epic:
Hayashi fought both the Kazekage and Raikage for three hundred rounds before finally collapsing in glorious defeat.
By the time the tale reached the Academy's rumor mill, it had turned into an absolute fever dream — complete with whispers that he'd kicked the Sage of Six Paths to death in one blow.
Someone even claimed a nurse overheard Tsunade confirming it.
Hayashi sighed when he first heard all this nonsense. "Great… the next few days are going to be painful."
And he was right.
Within three days of waking up, his hospital room door never stopped knocking. As someone ranked first on both the "Most Wanted to Date" and "Most Wanted to Defeat" lists at the Academy, Hayashi suddenly found himself the village's favorite attraction.
Between squealing fangirls bringing flowers and mischievous classmates pretending to visit just to tease him, he was losing his sanity fast.
So, he used his ultimate defense — pretending to be dead.
Whenever anyone came in, he'd pull the blanket over his head and groan weakly until they left.
The method was so convincing it scared off an entire group of pranksters led by Uchiha Ryo, who had come "to check on him." Soon after, a new rumor started spreading — that Hayashi was dying.
And just like that, the flood of visitors vanished.
No more fangirls. No more pranksters.
Even the get-well flower baskets were replaced by white wreaths.
Peace, at last.
Kushina and Mikoto had been spending most of their time with him lately. Seeing how tired they looked, Hayashi only let them visit around noon or in the afternoon, leaving his mornings quiet.
He'd spend those hours lying on his bed, occasionally flipping through one of the magazines that Nawaki had smuggled in.
His expression twisted a little as he skimmed through a few pages. "Man… Nawaki's taste is questionable."
While Hayashi preferred strong, confident girls, Nawaki's picks leaned… oddly masculine.
He sighed and hid the book under his pillow when he heard a knock at the door.
"Excuse me, I'm coming in," came a familiar voice.
Minato Namikaze stepped in, holding a small bag of apples.
Hayashi stared at him with tired eyes, earning an awkward smile in return.
After all, the rumors had started because of Minato's group — even if unintentionally.
After completing a mission, Minato had returned to the Academy, only to find Hayashi and Nawaki missing. He asked his teacher, Jiraiya, but Jiraiya had been too busy "conducting field research" near the women's baths to give a proper answer. Still, he told Minato that Hayashi and the others had been assigned a mission.
A week later, Minato saw Nawaki return — but Hayashi was nowhere to be found.
That's when he learned Hayashi had been badly injured and rushed back to Konoha by Tsunade herself.
"Hey," Minato said gently, placing the apples on the bedside cabinet before pulling up a chair. "How are you feeling now?"
"I should be fine before classes start again," Hayashi replied with a faint smile.
Their conversations were always easy. They talked about how summer was going, exchanged a few jokes, and discussed training. Minato, as usual, shared his latest ideas for improving sealing scrolls.
If not for one of those seals, Hayashi might have died during the mission. He hadn't even had the chakra reserves to use Chidori properly.
That was his biggest limitation — his total chakra capacity.
For his age, it was decent, but nowhere near enough for sustained combat.
Minato's voice broke his thoughts. "By the way, Hayashi, there's something I've been noticing."
"Hm?" Hayashi looked up. The seriousness on Minato's face wiped away his relaxed smile.
"The atmosphere in Konoha feels… strange lately. I've noticed a lot of teachers from the Academy are gone."
"When did that start?" Hayashi asked.
"If I had to guess… a few days after Tsunade-sama brought you back," Minato said thoughtfully.
Hayashi frowned, his gaze drifting to the window. "So, it's starting…"
"What is?"
"It seems the Second Great Ninja War is about to begin," Hayashi said quietly.
Minato's eyes widened. "What? But Jiraiya-sensei said the Land of Rain already agreed to peace talks!"
"When did he say that?"
"During our mission."
Hayashi let out a long breath and shook his head. "Then it must've changed. Peace talks don't mean much when nations are desperate."
He went on to tell Minato everything about his mission — the ambush, the poison, the narrow escape.
The mission wasn't classified yet, so it was safe to discuss. But from the look on Minato's face as he listened, both of them knew it wouldn't stay that way for long.
When he finished, silence filled the room.
Hayashi's eyes drifted to the massive Hokage Rock visible through the window — the faces of the three Hokage carved in stone, watching over the village.
"It looks like that mission," he said softly, "was the spark that ignited the Second Great Ninja War."
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