Time passed in the blink of an eye. Two full years went by.
The timeline had now reached Year 41 of Konoha. Uzumaki Rin was seven years old—and so was Kakashi Hatake.
During these two years, Rin stayed in the Ninja Academy the entire time. He didn't graduate early. Instead, he lived like a normal student—going to school in the morning, returning home in the evening.
As for his "cheat"?
The Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu was active every single day.
But over these two years, Rin had changed drastically.
From being under one meter tall, he had now grown to around 1.5 meters—half a head taller than everyone else.
A year ago, after Tsunade developed a method to regulate cell division, Rin gained full control over his growth.
Since then, no matter how fast others grew—
He was always taller.
Height suppression.
Of course, he would never admit that this obsession came from the trauma of once being too short.
His strength had also advanced tremendously.
Aside from lacking real combat experience, his overall power was already comparable to an elite Jonin.
Not quite Kage-level yet—
But close enough that escaping from one wasn't a problem.
Because during these two years, he had finally mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Even though he was still at the first stage, if he wanted to run—
No one could stop him.
On top of that:
All the ninjutsu he obtained from Orochimaru → masteredStudied the Sealing Scroll after "borrowing" it from the Third HokageLearned nearly every usable jutsu suited to him
Now, his Shadow Clones were no longer used for learning—
But for developing new techniques.
As for sealing techniques?
He had already mastered everything Kushina Uzumaki knew.
Currently, he was secretly researching an S-rank forbidden sealing technique.
(Of course, he told no one. Saying that out loud would just invite trouble.)
"Alright, that concludes today's assessment. Tomorrow, you'll be assigned into teams."
The Chunin instructor dismissed the class.
Instantly, the classroom exploded with excitement.
"We're finally graduating!"
"We're Genin now—we can take missions!"
"I wonder which team I'll be in!"
"I want to be with Kakashi!"
"I want to be with Rin!"
Rin also began thinking.
Which team will I be in?
And who will be my instructor?
He narrowed his eyes.
Old man… you better be smart.
If you don't put me in the same team as Kurenai…
Don't blame me for beating the instructor half to death until you change it.
Even with just elite Jonin-level strength, he was confident—
He could still beat an elite Jonin into submission.
Sure, winning normally might require a prolonged battle of attrition.
But killing power?
He had it.
After all—
There was a forbidden technique called the Eight Gates.
Once opened, even Kage-level fighters would have to retreat.
"Let's go. To celebrate graduation, I'm treating everyone to barbecue," Rin announced.
"Boss is paying?! Let's go!" Ebisu cheered instantly.
"Barbecue! Then I'll run 100 laps tonight!" Might Guy declared passionately.
Obito Uchiha didn't say anything—but he swallowed hard.
Even if I can't beat you… I'll eat you bankrupt.
After two years, everyone had been completely beaten into submission by Rin.
Even if they didn't admit it out loud—
In their hearts, he was already the boss.
As the group walked toward the barbecue restaurant, Rin chatted casually with Kurenai Yuhi.
Suddenly—
Guy dragged Kakashi over.
"Rin! Do you think the three of us can be assigned to the same team? Kakashi says it's impossible!"
Rin looked at the hopeful Guy and the utterly defeated Kakashi.
Then shook his head.
"Unless the Third Hokage has lost his mind, the chance of that happening is basically zero."
Guy froze for a second—
Then reignited.
"Even if we're not on the same team, I'll keep chasing you! Youth must never give up!"
…
Rin and Kakashi both felt secondhand embarrassment.
Speaking of Kakashi—
He still hadn't graduated early.
A year ago, Rin had asked him why.
Kakashi's answer?
"You're strong too, and you didn't graduate early either."
…
So instead of becoming a legend who graduated at five—
Kakashi had spent two full years with them.
Rin could only sigh.
Looks like my butterfly effect is finally doing something.
After the barbecue, everyone went home.
Rin, meanwhile, kept thinking—
Who will be my instructor?
His strength might not be publicly known—
But to people like Minato Namikaze, Tsunade, and Jiraiya—
It was obvious.
Hiding it was pointless.
Soon, Rin returned home.
Not Tsunade's place.
Not Jiraiya's.
Not Minato and Kushina's.
His own.
Six months ago, he had moved out.
His reason?
"If I keep living with Tsunade, I'll never get a girlfriend."
He got punched for that—but still succeeded in becoming independent.
As he pushed open the villa door, a small girl ran over.
"Welcome back, young master."
"Mm. Shizune, have you eaten? You didn't wait for me, right?" Rin asked.
Shizune smiled sweetly.
"I've eaten. You don't need to send a Shadow Clone back just to remind me."
"Then who was it that forgot to eat last time and waited until night?"
"T-that was an accident!"
That's right.
His maid—
Was Shizune.
Since Dan Kato never got together with Tsunade in this timeline, Shizune didn't follow her.
Three months ago, Rin met her at the hospital—
And lured her with one irresistible offer:
Teaching medical ninjutsu.
In exchange?
She would handle cleaning, chores, and house management.
And live in the villa.
Now, Rin's sealing scroll business had grown massively.
Even the Anbu purchased from him.
As one of Konoha's rising wealth tycoons, his villa had more than enough space—
Let alone one Shizune.
Even dozens more could fit easily.