Akihiro was in the dining room of his house with his mother and Miyuki. Miyuki was devouring her pte eagerly, ignoring the formalities, while Akihiro spoke with his mother in a more solemn tone.—Mom, I don’t think this is the best time to have this conversation, —Akihiro said, leaning slightly toward her with a hint of discomfort.

  His mother pced her teacup down with a soft "clink" on the saucer and met his gaze. Her eyes reflected a mix of worry and fatigue.—You can’t train day and night, Akihiro. You need to go out, walk around, spend some time with your friends. I understand that you want to get stronger, to master more jutsus, but focusing only on that... it will have consequences in the future, —she paused, as if the next words weighed too heavily on her. —I don’t want you to end up like your father.

  The air seemed to grow thicker. Akihiro frowned at the mention of his father. It had been years since he died, so much so that his memories of him had blurred over time. Even his mother had stopped talking about him, and the nightly sobs that once betrayed her had long since ceased.—It’s not the same, mom, —Akihiro replied firmly. —I know my limits, and I don’t pn to be a ninja forever. My goal isn’t to repeat Dad’s story. When I accumute enough wealth and strength, I’ll retire.

  Miyuki, who had been in her own world until then, suddenly stopped and looked up at her student.—Retire? —Miyuki asked, tilting her head. —You? "Dedicated Akihiro," leaving the ninja life behind? That sounds as believable as if I swore off eating ramen.

  Akihiro looked away, uncomfortable under his teacher’s inquisitive gaze.—I’m not taking this lightly, Miyuki, —he replied, narrowing his eyes. —The ninja life isn’t eternal. Every mission comes with risks, and I don’t want to spend my youth just on that. There are things I want to do outside of this.

  Miyuki pced her bowl on the table with an exaggerated thud and leaned toward him, resting her elbow on the table while smiling teasingly.—Oh, I see. So, what? Are you going to open a flower shop? A restaurant? —Her tone was casual, but her eyes gleamed with something more.

  Akihiro’s mother cleared her throat softly, trying to regain control of the conversation.

  —Miyuki, there’s no need to mock him, —his words were soft but firm. —Akihiro has the right to decide what his future will be. Not all ninjas are meant to live fighting until the end.

  The atmosphere in the room calmed down a little, but Miyuki didn’t seem willing to let it go.—I’m not mocking him, ma’am, —Miyuki replied with a wide smile that hid a slight tone of provocation. —I just want to understand. It’s true that every ninja has their own path, but Akihiro… if you pn to retire, what’s the point of training so hard? —she asked, genuinely curious.

  She had never met anyone like Akihiro. His obsessive dedication to becoming stronger was puzzling, almost unsettling. It was as if he was running from something, as if time was his enemy and he couldn’t afford even a moment’s rest.

  In less than a year of knowing Akihiro, Miyuki had already witnessed an impressive change in him. Since he started his training, his progress had been so remarkable that no other genin she had seen before could compare. But what truly intrigued her was that it didn’t seem to be due to innate talent. That was obvious at a gnce.

  His Yin energy (spiritual energy) was almost ridiculously abundant, far more than any other ninja of his rank. With such an amount, any improvement in his memory or skills should have been inevitable. However, what made it even more puzzling was his mastery of Genjutsu. In less than a year, he had managed to use it effectively in battle, something completely unheard of. Even Kazuo, his friend and a prodigy of Genjutsu, had needed several years of hard work to be able to use it efficiently in combat. Akihiro, on the other hand, had done it in record time, defying all logic.

  Even his teammates were impacted in some way, adopting a near-religious dedication to their own training to keep up. Though she knew Aiko and Hiroshi hid a secret identity that she wasn’t sure she wanted to explore, both were nonetheless influenced by him. They worked tirelessly on their strengths, surpassing several chunin and even some special jounin.

  All of this was the result of the person she had before her, and now she was hearing that he pnned to leave the ninja life in the near future. It was completely absurd, considering everything she had witnessed so far from this young man.

  Akihiro clenched his fists on the table, his gaze fixed on Miyuki.—Because I want to be prepared to protect what matters to me while I can. I’m not saying I want to live a comfortable, risk-free life. I just want my path to be one that I can control, —he replied.

  Miyuki watched him in silence for a moment, her smile fading slightly. Then she crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair.—Hmmm... Not bad. But if you want to control your path, you first need to make sure you can walk it to the end. Retiring sounds good in theory, but the ninja world doesn’t always let you choose when or how you leave it, —Miyuki said, leaning slightly toward Akihiro, a rare seriousness on her face. —Entering this world is easy; leaving it is another story. Both the higher-ups and the lower ranks always expect something from you, even when you no longer want it. Ignoring those expectations and just disappearing could be more troublesome than you think.

  Akihiro exhaled deeply, trying to calm the emotions swirling inside him. While he recognized that Miyuki was partly right, he couldn’t accept living his life consumed by a single purpose. For him, being a ninja wasn’t the final destination; it was a means to achieve his true goal. He saw it as a tool to grow stronger, to learn the necessary techniques, and to be ready for any challenge the future might bring. Whether it was a ninja war, a confrontation with renegades, or conflicts with shinobi from other vilges, Akihiro was determined to prepare. Not out of obsession, but because he knew that, when the time came, his strength would be the key to protecting what mattered most to him.

  That’s why he chose to become a ninja; that, in essence, was his ninja path. Nothing more, nothing less.

  His mother gave him a faint smile, more understanding than before.—Anyway, Akihiro, I just want you to live a life you can be at peace with. That was the promise I made to your father, after all.

  Silence filled the room for a moment before Miyuki went back to attacking her pte with enthusiasm, saying between bites:—Well, well. Let’s keep training, and we’ll see if you can pull off that retirement thing. But don’t expect me to take a break from your training just because you’ve got "a pn."

  Akihiro let out a soft ugh, more relieved than genuine, as the tension began to fade.

  Miyuki, taking advantage of the end of the conversation, stood up.—Well, I think it’s time for me to go. The food was great, thanks.

  —You’re leaving? It was a pleasure having you here, —his mother replied as she stood up to see her off.

  —No need, I know the way out, —Miyuki said, walking toward the exit. —Oh, right, —she said as if remembering something, turning around and tossing a scroll to Akihiro. —Take this.

  Akihiro caught it, looked at Miyuki, and read the name on the scroll.—Introduction to Fuinjutsu? What’s this for? —he asked.

  —It’s something I had forgotten to teach you. It’s the basics of Fuinjutsu, you need to at least know the basics. It’s useful for many things, like using Sealing Scrolls, Explosive Seals, and many other things. Even our weapon pouches have Expansion Seals and weight-reducing seals. Otherwise, it would be really difficult to carry a lot of weapons along with scrolls.

  Akihiro was surprised by this. He had forgotten long ago that he had wanted to ask about it, but over time he had taken it as something normal in this world or something reted to chakra. He didn’t expect it to be connected to Fuinjutsu.

  —Is it that impressive? —he asked, visibly confused. His memories of Fuinjutsu were blurry, at best. He could only remember the Death God seal and the seal that contained Kurama inside Naruto. Beyond that, he didn’t have much memory of the Fuinjutsu art.

  —Very useful. Many learn the basics of Fuinjutsu in case they need it. As a ninja, the more knowledge you have in different areas, the better you’ll be, —she replied as she was leaving. —For now, try practicing with it, and if you have any questions, you can ask me.

  Akihiro nodded.—Thanks, Sensei. Have a good trip.

  Miyuki waved her hand and left Akihiro’s house. His mother, seeing the scroll in her son’s hands, couldn’t help but sigh, knowing there was still a long way to go before holding a grandchild in her arms.

  Well, there’s still that girl, she thought, remembering her son’s childhood friend. At that moment, she came up with a pn she had been putting off, trusting that her son would take the initiative himself.

  I’m not going to wait ten years for my son to find a partner. If he doesn’t do it on his own, I’ll have to intervene, she thought as she watched her son get up with the scroll in his hands and head toward his room.