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  "What wish did you make?"

  Tsunade asked casually while slicing the cake, her blade moving with practiced precision.

  Hanekawa hesitated. "Can I tell you my birthday wish? Won't it not come true if I say it out loud?"

  "Is there anything you can't say?" Tsunade handed him the first piece, watching his face carefully. "I don't believe in that nonsense."

  "Then you can't be angry," Hanekawa said, his expression suddenly serious.

  Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "Why would I be angry?"

  "My wish is for you to become Hokage."

  The knife stilled in her hand. Tsunade set it down slowly, studying him with those sharp golden eyes. "Hokage? Why? Don't you want to be Hokage yourself?"

  "I'm too young," Hanekawa said with a slight smile. "You'll be the Fourth Hokage, and I'll be the Fifth. We'll make Konoha bigger and stronger together. Create a new Konoha."

  "Do you want to die, brat?" Tsunade's hand moved faster than thought, flicking his forehead hard enough to make him yelp. "What makes you think you can just decide to be Hokage? That's not how the world works."

  "Not yet," Hanekawa admitted, rubbing his forehead. "But if you want it, Teacher, it'll be easy."

  Tsunade rolled her eyes. "You don't know anything. I'm not the only candidate. There are several difficult competitors."

  Hanekawa had already run the calculations in his head. Hatake Sakumo would be gone within a year—suicide, if the timeline held. Orochimaru was losing Hiruzen's trust by the day. Jiraiya only cared about finding some prophesied child. Minato was talented but still too young.

  And Danzo? Well, let's hope he tries.

  "Your advantages are the greatest," Hanekawa said simply. "Granddaughter of the First Hokage. Student of the Third. The strongest medical ninja alive. One of the Legendary Sannin. No one else has that combination."

  "You little devil." Tsunade smiled despite herself, clearly thinking he was just flattering her. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I'm not interested in being Hokage. I support you becoming Hokage instead. But you're nowhere near ready yet. Keep working hard."

  If only I could tell her the truth, Hanekawa thought. That Sarutobi's playing checkers while Danzo's playing chess. That she's the only one who can actually hold this village together.

  But he was six years old. Some things had to wait.

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  "Understood," he said instead.

  "Ready to hit the casino?" he asked hopefully after finishing his cake.

  "No. I'm teaching you Superhuman Strength this afternoon."

  Hanekawa's eyes widened. He'd been waiting for this. Tsunade led him to an open training ground, the afternoon sun beating down on the packed earth.

  "Superhuman Strength is a physical technique," she explained, her voice taking on that teaching tone he'd come to recognize. "You gather chakra in a specific part of your body and release it all at once. Simple in theory. Difficult in practice."

  She demonstrated, slowly clenching her fist, then driving it downward. The ground didn't just crack—it screamed. Fissures spider-webbed outward before the entire section collapsed inward, leaving a crater deep enough to swallow a person.

  Hanekawa swallowed hard. Right. Don't forget she can literally level mountains.

  "Your turn," Tsunade said, clearly amused by his expression.

  He took a breath, gathered his chakra the way she'd shown him, and punched.

  The ground shook. A shallow fist mark appeared.

  "..." Hanekawa stared at his work.

  "It's fine," Tsunade said, her smile widening. "Small ones are cute too."

  "Again!" His face darkened with determination.

  Two hours later, Hanekawa understood why Superhuman Strength was so difficult. It required perfect chakra control and a body strong enough to handle the backlash. One mistake and you'd hurt yourself worse than your enemy.

  But the potential was worth it.

  [A-Rank Ninjutsu: Superhuman Strength]

  [Trigger Condition: Successfully perform this technique]

  [Current Progress: 0%]

  At least there's a progress bar, he thought. First A-Rank ability. Not bad.

  "Go take a bath," Tsunade said, watching him drip sweat onto her training ground. "You're disgusting."

  He headed for the bathroom, then paused at the door. "Why are you following me? Planning to shower together?"

  "What are you talking about?" She flicked his head again, harder this time. "I'm adding medicinal herbs. It'll help with recovery."

  She filled the tub with hot water and began adding various herbs from a pouch at her hip. The bathroom filled with steam and the scent of something earthy and healing.

  "Wait two minutes before getting in," she ordered, then left.

  Shame, Hanekawa thought, then immediately coughed at his own audacity.

  Two minutes later, he sank into the tub. The fatigue melted away instantly, replaced by a warm, tingly sensation that spread through his muscles. Whatever Tsunade had added, it worked.

  After drying off, he returned to his room and was blow-drying his hair when he remembered the lightning chakra scroll.

  He stretched out his hand and began condensing Lightning Style chakra according to the instructions.

  The next second, electricity erupted across his body.

  His hair stood straight up. His limbs went numb. He fell backward onto his bed, gasping.

  Okay. Maybe don't practice that right before bed.

  He stared at the ceiling, already planning his next moves. The Ninja Academy's second year had nothing useful except substitution techniques. His real focus needed to be Superhuman Strength and Lightning Style activation.

  Beyond that, there was the B-Rank ability "Unmatched Healing"—but that required learning medical ninjutsu and teleportation jutsu. A long road ahead.

  One step at a time, he thought, finally feeling sleep pull at him.

  Tomorrow, he'd be stronger. And the day after that, stronger still.

  The village didn't know it yet, but change was coming.