Ninjas Don't Follow the Beaten Path

In the summer of Year 15 of Konoha, two or three years had passed since the end of the First Ninja World War, and the Five Great Ninja Villages were all recuperating and building up their strength.

The brutal Ninja World War seemed to have subsided. Only occasionally did news come of some ninja dying while out on a mission.

Unlike in previous years, when the village had always been shrouded in an atmosphere of tension and sorrow.

Yet Konoha Ninja Academy was still brimming with vitality, seemingly entirely unaffected by the war.

Watching the energetic little brats in the academy, the still-young Third Hokage withdrew his gaze with satisfaction and looked toward the mountain of documents.

All signs indicated that the war was about to end completely. The Five Great Villages no longer had the strength to bear the losses of another major war and needed to catch their breath. There should be no new conflict within the next decade.

What he had to deal with now, and what gave him headaches, were the internal problems that had existed since the Warring States Period, after the village's founding.

First were the old guard of the Senju, second were the Uchiha, and third were the major Ninja Clans.

As Hokage, he still had much to do.

Fortunately, Konoha's new generation of tender sprouts was growing. It was time to choose disciples to pass on the Will of Fire.

Puffing at his pipe, the Third Hokage's gaze became deep and distant.

What sort of tender sprouts would the Ninja Academy have?

"Crunch..."

The teacher had been speaking endlessly from the podium when his ear twitched, catching a faint, unusual sound in the classroom.

Almost immediately, the teacher's gaze fell on a chubby little girl in the class.

That child was from the Akimichi Clan, so snacks were naturally her trademark.

Yet, perhaps noticing the teacher's fierce glare, the chubby little girl put on a blank, bewildered expression.

She had no idea why the teacher was looking at her.

Just then, another piercing crunch rang out.

That was it. Someone was definitely sneaking food, but it could not have been the confused-looking chubby girl in front of him.

The teacher turned his suspicious gaze toward the many little brats in the class. Every one of them wore a perfectly normal expression.

They did not look like the sort of bold, lawless brats who would dare sneak food on their first day of school right under the nose of an experienced Elite Chunin.

Who was it?!

There was no reason these little brats could hide it from his eyes and ears.

But since this was their first meeting, he truly did not know these little brats' backgrounds.

Still, failing to find the culprit would be far too damaging to his authority as a teacher.

As he spoke about some of the Ninja Academy's ideals and goals, his eagle-like eyes remained fixed on the little brats.

Nothing seemed out of place, yet the intermittent crunching kept tormenting this Elite Chunin's eardrums. Before he realized it, bulging veins had spread across his forehead, and even his tone had turned fierce.

That brat!

That brat!!

She was treating me like I didn't exist!

How outrageous!

"Crunch..."

Just then, a soft, sweet little girl's voice quietly sounded.

"What are you eating?"

She was asking the other girl seated beside her, assuming her voice had been low enough that the teacher would not hear.

But as an experienced Chunin, how could such a small movement escape his notice? With a sharp turn, the teacher fixed his gaze on the two girls involved.

One of the girls had striking Byakugan eyes. Her skin was snow-white, and her obedient appearance made her resemble an exquisite porcelain doll.

As for the other girl, honestly, it was difficult to tell whether she was a boy or a girl just from her appearance.

If she had not spoken, that was.

"What am I eating? Don't you have Byakugan? Look for yourself."

Her voice was beautiful, as sweet as a lark's and open and poised. It was not quiet in the slightest. Rather, she seemed completely unaware that she had done anything wrong—or perhaps she simply did not feel guilty at all.

How outrageous!

Kids these days!

She was completely ignoring him!

The teacher stared hard at the girl who had spoken.

At that moment, the whole class turned to look at her.

She wore an outfit of immaculate white. Her upper body was covered by a pure white hooded robe, and several strands of jet-black hair spilled out from beneath the raised hood. She was wrapped up tightly from head to toe, even wearing a white fox-like mask over her face. On the mask was a simple clan crest resembling some sort of Insect.

That outfit looked rather familiar.

It seemed like the attire of a certain clan in the village.

No wonder he had not noticed earlier. With the mask blocking his view, aside from the Byakugan, who knew what she had been eating.

Rather, with no unusual movement from her hands, it was far too difficult to tell what she was eating—or whether she was eating anything at all.

But now I've got you!

The teacher drew a deep breath.

At that moment, the obedient little Byakugan girl formed hand seals as instructed, gave a light shout, activated her Byakugan, and looked toward the masked girl.

"Crunch."

Without any visible movement, the girl beneath the mask bit down again, crushing that unknown little snack.

A faint, deep Fragrance drifted through the air, tempting the little Byakugan girl until she could not help looking over.

Her entire body suddenly stiffened, and the very next second, the little Byakugan girl's miserable scream rang through the classroom.

Moments later, the little Byakugan girl abruptly fell backward, her mind short-circuiting as she passed out cold.

The incident was so sudden that everyone in the class looked at the culprit with strange expressions.

The masked little girl merely spread her hands helplessly, indicating that she was innocent.

"I didn't do anything."

"She fainted on her own."

The teacher narrowed his eyes and looked at the masked little girl. "Brat, your name."

"Aburame Mimi."

So she really was from the Aburame clan. She had actually frightened a member of the Byakugan clan into fainting. Had she already begun practicing her clan's secret technique at this age?

Thinking of what the little Byakugan girl might have seen, the teacher could not help feeling his scalp tingle.

Though he had never seen it himself, he could imagine the horrifying sight inside an Aburame clan member's body.

"You brat, what were you secretly eating just now?"

"Want some, Teacher?" Mimi was quite generous. As she spoke, she held out her hand. Her chubby little palm was already crawling with densely packed black beetles.

At the sight, not only the teacher but the entire class felt their teeth itch.

Not from craving, but from disgust.

Some of the little girls could not help covering their mouths and dry-heaving.

No, they had never heard any rumors about the Aburame clan eating the insects they raised themselves.

What a strange child.

"No need."

The teacher said through gritted teeth.

He did not want to eat that at all.

"Oh~" After recalling the insects, the girl still sounded regretful.

"They're really tasty, nice and crunchy."

"I don't just have the original flavor. I also have milk flavor, Five Spice flavor, cocoa flavor, and candied fruit flavor."

At this point, the girl who had briefly lost consciousness and fainted climbed back up. Like she was avoiding a plague god, she moved as far away from her desk mate as possible, looking pitiful as though she might burst into tears at any moment while trying hard to hold them back.

"You brat! Do you know you're not allowed to sneak food during class?"

Glancing at the frightened little Byakugan girl, the teacher suppressed his anger as he spoke. Since it was their first day of class, it was understandable that she did not know the rules.

"Mm! I know."

The masked little girl answered decisively.

At that, the veins on the teacher's forehead began throbbing.

"Get out of here!!!"

"Stand in the hallway!!!"

"Mm."

Showing not the slightest remorse or fear, she walked out of the classroom with a faint spring in her step. The Red-cord Geta beneath her little feet wrapped in pure white Tabi clacked against the floor, while the crunching in her mouth continued without pause.

Standing at the podium, the teacher kept taking deep breaths through his headache.

At this very moment, he seemed able to foresee a teaching career filled with endless trouble.

"Now, everyone, let's give a simple self-introduction."

This is my first time writing a book. Please take care of me in the future.