Chapter 21 - 3 Years Later

(3 Years Later)

A child no older than 12 with a long black hair that reaches to his back and black eyes with a tint of red in his pupil, he wears a long aristocratic coat that seems to come out of the medieval age with an exquisitely sewn trousers which are decorated with silver trinkets of varying sizes, and he wears a seemingly normal leather gloves but you can sense that they are of extreme high quality. He stood in front of the two teachers, Iruka and Mizuki, inside a room with a single desk for the teachers to sit on as he went on to perform a single hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu," after he said that, seven poof of white smoke blasted in the entire room. As the smoke faded, it revealed seven perfect replica of Hikaru.

"As expected of a prodigy, aren't I right, Mizuki? " Iruka said while clapping his hands.

"Yes, indeed. Hikaru, you have performed well, " Mizuki said with a smile.

"You flatter me, Senseis, " Hikaru humbly said.

Iruka took out a black forehead protector under the desk and he stood up before he handing it to Hikaru.

"Hikaru, this Black Forehead Protector symbolizes you as a prodigy that graduated from this very academy, and I am glad to have been be your teacher for three years, " Iruka said with a sincere voice.

Hikaru took his forehead protector and he said to Iruka, "Me too, sensei," before leaving through the entrance door.

(Outside Of The Room)

'It's been three years since I came to this world, ' Hikaru thought as he looks at the crowd in ront of him. 'Three years since I became one of the strongest individual in the entire village.'

Everybody cheered for him as he went out of the graduation test room with his forehead protector but the happiest of them all is a girl with a blonde twin tails wearing an orange sleeveless jacket and under it is an orange T-shirt. She wears an orange Anbu pants with several pockets on it. This is Naruto, or what everyone calls her now, Azumi Uzumaki.

She tackles Hikaru to the ground and she stared at his beautiful eyes as Hikaru laid under her, before she said with the brightest smile of all, "Congratulations, Hikaru! You passed!"

Hikaru stared at her before lifting her off him and said, "Of course I'd passed, the test was easy, after all." He dusted off his clothes and stared at Azumi's beautiful sky blue eyes before he held Azumi's right hand.

"Azumi, don't you fail now. You're going to be the Hokage, after all, " he said seriously.

"What are you saying, Hikaru? Of course I'll pass this test, and after that, I'll become the first female Hokage!" she pumps her fist after saying that.

Hikaru couldn't help but blush because of her cuteness. Over the years, Azumi has grown into a beautiful girl and Hikaru was sure that she will grow even more beautiful. Though, she has grown very fond of him and sometimes she would intrude in his 'private' time. That's why, he too, has fallen for her.

As they converse to each other, a bored voice intrudes them.

"Alright, alright, you two love birds. I'm going to take the test now and Nar- I mean, Azumi, after me, you're going in next, troublesome, " Shikamaru said while yawning as he went in the test room.

'That pineapple head, he dares disturb I and Hikaru-kun's lovely conversation!' Azumi thought angrily inside her head but outside she is still smiling innocently.

After learning about her gender 2 years ago, after Hikaru told her about it, she has grown an unhealthy obsession towards Hikaru. At first, when she though that she was still boy, she felt a conflict whether she should confess her feelings to Hikaru or not but now that she knows that she is a female after all, she still couldn't tell about her feelings to Hikaru. Because, well, she's shy.

"Hey, Azumi, you there?" Hikaru asked as he waves his hand at her face.

Azumi woke up in her stupor. She saw Hikaru waving his right hand at her face, in which he stopped immediately after seeing her wake up from her stupor.

"Y-yeah. Hey, Hikaru, you know, you have grown very handsome since then, " Azumi said without thinking but when she realize what she just said, she covered her mouth in embarrassment.

Hikaru was surprised at the sudden words of Azumi but he just smiled at her charmingly and he replied, "You too, Azumi, you have grown very beautiful."

Her eyes widened at his reply and she couldn't help but blush. She wished that someone would save her from this embarrassing situation, which was answered almost immediately when Shikamaru went out of the testing room wtih his forehead protector dangling in his hand.

"Oh, would you look at that, it's my turn now, see you later, Hikaru!" she ran inside the test room almost instantly as soon as Shikamaru went out.

"That girl..." Hikaru shook his head when he saw her all embarrass like that.

Hikaru looks up to the sky and couldn't help but think about all the things he did to get this strong. He died hundreds of times that he lost count of it, he lost too many souls, too many disappointments, and of course, what that disembodied voice told him after his first death.