Another three days passed.
On this afternoon, the school dismissal bell had long since rung, yet an unusually large number of students lingered on campus.
The crowd spoke in low voices, their gazes unanimously cast toward the classroom designated as a special examination venue.
Today was the day of Hatake Kakashi's early graduation exam.
Living up to the name of a genius, the mere five-year-old Hatake Kakashi passed all assessment subjects with an impeccable performance, formally graduating from the Ninja Academy and breaking the record for the youngest graduate in Konoha's history in one fell swoop.
After the exam ended, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had come in person to observe, personally tied the Konoha forehead protector, representing the status of a Genin, around Kakashi's forehead.
Many people gathered at the entrance of the examination venue, and Shinichi went as well.
The door opened.
Kakashi, wearing the brand-new forehead protector on his brow, walked out. He showed not the slightest trace of joy at passing the assessment and breaking the record, nor the excitement of wearing the forehead protector and becoming a ninja.
On that face, more than half-covered by a mask, his eyes were hollow and entirely devoid of life, like a wooden puppet.
He paid no attention to any of the students who crowded around wanting to strike up a conversation or offer congratulations, acting as if they didn't exist.
He simply lowered his head slightly, walked through the crowd that automatically parted for him, and stepped outward in silence, step by step. His figure appeared exceptionally lonely and heavy in the elongated light and shadow of the setting sun.
Shinichi watched that small figure gradually walk away against the light. His face held no expression, and it was unknown what he was thinking in his heart.
After Kakashi left, the gathered students also gradually dispersed. Shinichi turned, merged into the stream of students leaving school, and set foot on the path home.
Konoha's sky was still blue, and village life seemed as peaceful as ever, but Shinichi knew this peace wouldn't last long.
Four years.
At most, only four years.
Although the original timeline in his memory was vague and chaotic, he could still roughly estimate it through certain fixed "nodes."
For example, most of his generation—Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai, Shizune, and even a dead-last like Uchiha Obito—graduated at the age of nine.
And he himself, having started school a year late, would be ten by then.
This meant that, at most four years later, Konoha's graduation policy must have undergone a change.
At that time, some major upheaval must have occurred. Even if the Third Great Ninja War had not fully erupted, the situation must have suddenly become tense, giving the Konoha higher-ups a strong sense of crisis, thereby approving a batch of students for early graduation to supplement manpower.
In other words, the relatively stable campus growth time he could have left was only four years at most.
Four years later, regardless of whether he stepped directly onto the most tragic battlefield, he would inevitably begin a true ninja career intertwined with blood and fire.
A sense of urgency, like a silent ticking second hand, began to knock clearly at the bottom of his heart.
Walking in the afterglow of the setting sun, Shinichi's mind raced, constantly planning his future path.
Forging his persona and generating and upgrading traits remained the most core and fundamental path to improving his strength; this point had never wavered.
The efficiency of generating and upgrading traits fundamentally depended on the breadth, depth, and authority of external recognition. In truth, there was little difference in efficiency between studying at the Ninja Academy and just graduating to become a Genin—one could even say it was worse.
The true watershed lay in becoming a ninja with a title.
When he could possess a unique title that resounded throughout the Ninja World, like the Konoha White Fang, the Sannin, or the Yellow Flash, it would mean his existence was known, discussed, feared, or revered by countless ninjas and factions across the entire Ninja World.
That would be a qualitative change in the scope of recognition. At that time, the speed of generating and upgrading traits might finally experience a true surge.
So, within these four years, Shinichi needed to grind out as many traits as possible and raise their levels as high as possible.
This was not only to ensure that when he became a ninja, his strength would start from a very high point, guaranteeing he wouldn't die prematurely in the early stages, but also to shorten the time it took for him to become a titled ninja.
At the same time, besides traits, how to effectively utilize existing resources to access and acquire higher-level inheritance and guidance was also put on the agenda.
His gaze fell upon two special desk-mates: Ishizuka Ryu and Shizune.
Over the past few months, relying on a gentle temperament toward others, consistently top-tier grades, and the invisible assistance of the [Affinity] trait, he had gotten along quite well with these two desk-mates.
His interactions with Ishizuka Ryu were the most direct and straightforward. This dark, sturdy, and cheerful boy had a simple mind and advocated hard work and perseverance. Shinichi's solid performance and diligent attitude in taijutsu perfectly suited his tastes.
The two often sparred and exchanged insights on taijutsu. Their relationship had long surpassed that of ordinary classmates, carrying a sense of mutual appreciation between comrades.
Through Ryu, getting in touch with Teacher Chen, the taijutsu master praised as the "Konoha Dragon God," seemed to be a viable path.
As for his relationship with Shizune, it was a slow, steady familiarity and tacit understanding. Shizune was somewhat lazy and introverted by nature, but she had keen observation skills and a kind heart.
As her desk-mate, Shinichi's usual diligence, steadiness, and occasionally revealed reliability gradually won her trust and a faint fondness.
Now, he could occasionally hear her mention that "unreliable Tsunade-sama."
Relationships were bridges, but how to cross the bridge, gain trust, and subsequently receive guidance or inheritance required more exquisite design and grasping of timing.
Four years was neither short nor long. He had to formulate a more precise and efficient plan, incorporating the accumulation of traits, the leap in strength, and the building of key connections into it, advancing them all in parallel.
Shinichi slowed his pace, withdrawing his gaze from the gloomy sky.
Leaden clouds hung low, and the air was filled with the earthy smell and stuffiness unique to the time right before it rained.
"It's going to rain," he thought, quickening his pace home.
However, just as he turned a street corner, his heart inexplicably gave a slight throb.
It was like a vague pull, an indescribable sensation that made him involuntarily stop in his tracks and cast his gaze toward the west side of the village—the direction of that silent cemetery.
He pondered for a moment, turned his steps, changed direction, and walked toward the cemetery enveloped by the increasingly gloomy sky.
Meanwhile, at the Konoha Public Cemetery.
Leaden clouds pressed down almost to the treetops, and the wind began to howl, sweeping up fallen leaves and dust from the ground.
In front of a relatively new tombstone, a small figure had been standing for an unknown amount of time.
Kakashi.
He stood silently and motionlessly. The wind before the rain ruffled the hair on his forehead and his brand-new ninja forehead protector, but he seemed unaware.
The eyes above the mask stared hollowly ahead, devoid of any strong emotion. There was only an almost deathly stillness and blankness, as if all emotions had been buried along with the person beneath the tombstone.
He was completely immersed in his own world, or rather, immersed in a silent void.
Rumble!
A pale bolt of lightning tore through the sky, and the thunderclap that followed seemed to make the earth tremble slightly.
The long-accumulated downpour finally poured down in an instant!
Bean-sized raindrops smashed down with a crackling sound, instantly enveloping the world in a vast expanse of white rain and deafening noise.
Fierce winds rolled up the sheets of rain, lashing against the tombstones, trees, and everything on the ground.
Kakashi remained standing in place, seemingly intending to let the freezing downpour soak him completely, as if physical numbness could verify or dispel something within his heart.
But the expected sensation of rain smashing against his body did not arrive.
A relatively quiet shadow enveloped him, and a dark-colored umbrella had unfurled above his head at some unknown time, blocking the howling wind and rain from the outside world.