"Kurenai, what is going on?!"
He was panicking. Utterly panicking. Asuma Sarutobi asked frantically.
Kurenai just blinked, not understanding why he was reacting so dramatically. They hadn't known each other for very long, and being so young, she was oblivious to his crush, treating him only as a friend. She had no idea how devastating her previous statement had been—enough to make Asuma have a villainous breakdown on the spot and turn into a clown.
"Well, it's like this..."
Kurenai simply explained the sequence of events.
After hearing the explanation, Asuma was so angry he started trembling in broad daylight. The main culprit was his own old geezer of a father? As a rebellious youth who didn't want to live in Hiruzen Sarutobi's shadow, he was already at odds with him.
"Asuma?" Kurenai noticed something obvious. "Why is your face so red?"
"Ah, it's nothing," Asuma said, composing himself and forcing a smile.
"We're going to be late. Let's go," Kurenai said without giving it much thought and started walking ahead.
Asuma followed behind her, the corner of his eye drifting towards Hagawa.
Hagawa's mouth twitched. Asuma had been staring at him the entire way, reminding him of a specific meme. I will lurk on your profile forever... and ever... .jpg.
"Asuma, I'm taking Hagawa to the teacher's office. You should head to the classroom first," Kurenai said once they reached the Ninja Academy.
"I can take him!" Asuma volunteered eagerly.
"No," Kurenai refused. "This is a mission my dad gave me."
"But..." Asuma wanted to argue, but Kurenai had already turned and left with Hagawa.
No!
He watched their retreating figures, his hand subconsciously reaching out. Damn you, Hagawa, you little brat! Asuma's face was a mask of grief and indignation.
In the teacher's office.
Hagawa handed his admission letter to a young ninja. According to Kurenai, his name was Eiichiro Yamamoto, an ordinary Chunin.
"Hagawa, welcome to Class 1-A," Eiichiro said with a wide smile, closing the letter. He had to treat a student personally approved by Hiruzen Sarutobi with care.
"Thank you, Sensei," Hagawa greeted him politely.
Eiichiro nodded slightly. It seemed he wasn't a troublemaker.
"Kurenai, you can go ahead," Eiichiro explained. "I'll take Hagawa to the classroom."
"Okay." Kurenai gave Hagawa a meaningful look before leaving without another word.
"These are the first-year textbooks," Eiichiro said, picking up a stack of books from his desk.
Hagawa counted them. There were seven books in total. The one on top was titled An Explanation of Chakra Concepts and Kneading Techniques.
"There are still a few minutes before class starts. You can take a look," Eiichiro reminded him with a smile.
"Mm."
Since there wasn't much time, Hagawa quickly scanned the table of contents. Shurikenjutsu, The Will of Fire, The Ninja Code, The History of Konoha, and so on—it was a comprehensive collection. Hagawa remembered how, in his past life, some dedicated fans had analyzed the Chunin Exam's written test and found questions on subjects like English, chemistry, and physics. Although graduating to Genin theoretically only required the three basic Academy jutsu, the Ninja Academy actually taught quite a lot.
Ding-a-ling-ling.
The school bell rang.
"Let's go." Eiichiro picked up a book and walked out. Hagawa quickly followed.
They soon arrived at Class 1-A. Eiichiro walked to the front podium. Hagawa waited at the door, but he had already been spotted by many students, their curious gazes sweeping over him. Among them, some of the girls had a green glint in their eyes, as if they were ready to devour him at any moment.
Hagawa spotted Kakashi Hatake at a glance. With his white hair and strange mask, it was hard not to notice him. In the original series, he graduated at five, became a Chunin at six, and a Jonin at thirteen—a true genius. In the future, he would be a student of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, as well as the team leader for Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
The seat to Kakashi's left was empty. To his right sat a little girl who, as expected, had to be Rin Nohara. Her features were also distinct: short brown hair, a gentle face, and two purple markings on her cheeks.
The empty seat must belong to Obito Uchiha. The future great villain, the rising sun of the east, was currently just a clumsy dead-last.
"Aaaahhh!"
Just then, a scream worthy of Yajuu Senpai echoed through the hall.
Hagawa instinctively turned his head to see a boy about his age. He was wearing a sports jacket and goggles, his face red with exertion as he sprinted at full speed.
"Get out of the way!" the boy yelled when he saw him.
Hagawa took a step back.
The boy shot into the classroom like a bullet. He tried to stop, but he was going so fast that he skidded back and forth a few times before falling flat on his face in the "Wild Geese Landing on the Sandy Plain" style.
"You're late again, Obito," Eiichiro said, shaking his head.
"Sorry, Sensei," Obito scrambled up and explained, "I was delayed helping an old lady cross the street."
"Try a new excuse next time," Eiichiro said with a helpless sigh.
"But it's true!" Obito quickly protested.
"Go back to your seat." Eiichiro obviously didn't believe him. Who helps an old lady cross the street every single day?
"Rin!" Obito called out as he sat down, beaming at Rin Nohara.
"Good morning, Obito," Rin replied softly.
"Hehe," Obito broke into a goofy grin.
"Before class begins, I have an announcement," Eiichiro said, tapping the podium. The class immediately quieted down. The smarter students had already guessed it was about Hagawa.
"Starting today, Hagawa will be joining our class. Let's all give him a warm welcome!" Eiichiro finished and began to clap.
The classroom filled with applause, though some didn't clap—like Asuma Sarutobi. He watched Kurenai clap enthusiastically not far away and felt his eyes sting with jealousy. I'm eating a lemon.
"This new classmate is pretty good-looking," a short-haired girl sitting behind Rin couldn't help but whisper.
"Rin, what do you think?" Obito asked, suddenly on high alert.
Rin noticed his expression and hesitated. She did think Hagawa was handsome, but saying so would definitely make Obito unhappy.
"Looks don't mean anything. Strength is what matters," Kakashi said coolly.
"You arrogant jerk!" The word "strength" stung Obito. "Just you wait! Once I awaken my eyes, I'll beat you to your knees!" He had always believed that Rin paid more attention to Kakashi because he was strong.
"I think Kakashi is right!" A spirited young guy in a green jumpsuit in the front row suddenly turned around, flashed a brilliant white smile, and gave a thumbs-up.
"Alright, let's have our new student, Hagawa, introduce himself now," Eiichiro said, raising his hand to cut off their chatter.
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