Naruto: Choosing from Birth — Part 3

Cheng replied carelessly, as if he wanted Shimi Aburame to hear him.

Is this a threat? Shimi Aburame, seated two rows behind, clenched his fists beneath the desk.

"No wonder. He looked so moved he was about to cry. I never thought Shimi Aburame was such a sentimental person."

I think he was so aggrieved he was about to cry...

"This is too much! Oh no, my tears of anger are about to overflow. Good thing I brought sunglasses." Shimi Aburame pulled a brand-new pair of sunglasses from his backpack and fiercely covered his eyes, brimming with both rage and grievance.

The dark tint filled his entire world, seeming to wrap his heart in armor as well. His emotions gradually calmed, and his confidence slowly returned.

I'm from the Aburame Clan. I'm not weak! There are just more of them!

I really like these sunglasses. I don't want to take them off anymore!

The class bell rang!

Nomura-sensei entered the classroom carrying several thick books, followed by a girl with striking red hair.

"Quiet down, everyone." Nomura-sensei walked onto the platform, turned around, and tapped the blackboard.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Today, we'll be welcoming a new classmate. Everyone, welcome her!" Nomura was the first to clap.

Amid the scattered applause, the red-haired girl timidly walked up to the platform.

"Red hair? How strange."

"No one has hair as weird as hers."

"It's the color of red peppers."

"Why is she only starting school now? She must be from another village."

"I... I'm Kushina Uzumaki." Feeling the disdainful gazes around her, Kushina unconsciously clenched her little hands into fists. "My dream is... is to become Konoha's first female Hokage!"

She squeezed her eyes shut and shouted the final sentence with all her strength.

That was her dream.

Her shout instantly cut off the chatter filling the classroom.

After a brief silence...

"What? A female Hokage? Does she even take us seriously?"

"What an ignorant outsider. Does she know how many geniuses there are in our class?"

"That's hilarious. Why would she qualify? Because of that head of red hair?"

"I'm not giving up the position of Hokage."

"Get lost. You're talking as if you're already Hokage. Have you asked my fists?"

The classroom erupted in waves of laughter.

Mockery followed one after another. What a joke. There were so many genius students in this class. None of them dared to proclaim such a dream aloud, yet some outsider wanted to ride roughshod over them.

Kushina gritted her teeth as a mist gradually filled her bright eyes.

As a survivor who had just witnessed her country's destruction, she understood deeply how important strength was.

She only wanted to become the strongest Hokage in this village and protect the peace of a region.

War? Death? She truly wanted neither anymore!

"Ding, please choose."

"1. Help Kushina and furiously berate the entire class. Reward: Single Hand Seal!"

"2. Join in mocking Kushina. Reward: Physical abilities raised to Special Jonin level."

"3. Ignore them and take a nap. Reward: Total Chakra increased by fifty percent."

Since he had mostly chosen Chakra rewards before, his Chakra had already reached the amount of a Special Jonin. For now, that was enough.

His physical abilities were currently at Elite Chunin level, which was also sufficient during his time at the Ninja Academy.

Single Hand Seal, however, was not something one could necessarily learn through hard work. Many Chunin, Jonin, and even Kage-level figures could not master this technique.

So while the other options looked tempting, they were far inferior to the first one.

"Choose 1."

Bang!!!

A loud slam against a desk rang out.

"Enough!"

Uchiha Cheng suddenly stood up.

"Do you have any right to mock someone else's dream?"

His sharp gaze swept across the room before locking onto several boys who had been making the biggest fuss.

"As an outsider, she still had the courage to declare that her dream was to become Hokage!"

"And you? You don't even have the courage to say your own dreams out loud. What right do you have to ridicule someone else's dream?"

"From now on, I've got your back in this class. Come, sit beside me."

"Ding! Congratulations, you have obtained the Single Hand Seal technique."*

The Ninja Academy classrooms were similar to the tiered lecture halls Cheng had known in college on Earth. Each row had long benches paired with long desks.

Apparently, they had once used small chairs and desks, but whenever the ninja students fought, they would grab the desks and smash them around. Before long, all of them had been destroyed.

Mikoto Uchiha sat to Cheng's left, so he could only clear the seat on his right.

"You, move to the back. You were shouting the loudest just now." Uchiha Cheng said to the watermelon-headed boy seated on his right.

"I... I didn't say a single word, okay?" The watermelon-headed boy felt utterly wronged, but when he thought of Uchiha Cheng's fists, he decided to let it go. The back was fine. It might even help train his eyesight.

"Wow, Cheng is so handsome and domineering!"

"As expected of the man I chose!"

"Why, why didn't I say that dream first? If I had, would I have been able to sit there too?"

After the brief silence, the lovestruck girls infatuated with Uchiha Cheng began chattering excitedly.

"Alright, Uchiha Cheng has a point. Don't mock other people's dreams so easily. Kushina, go sit over there." Nomura said to Kushina, shaking his head with a helpless smile.

Kushina gently sat beside Uchiha Cheng and whispered, "Thank you."

Her cheeks flushed, and even her ears began to redden. It was hard to tell whether she was embarrassed or excited at having been acknowledged.

"Now then, class officially begins! Please turn to page 189 of An Introduction to the Konoha Will of Fire's Distinctive Nindo." Nomura opened one of the thick books and spoke in a booming voice.

"This course is the easiest compulsory subject to score points in, so I hope none of you give up on it. An outstanding ninja must first possess an unyielding will and noble moral character. Only then will they not become puppets of power..."

Uchiha Cheng immediately laid his head down and fell asleep. The course had such a grand name too—something about Konoha's Will of Fire and distinctive Nindo...

Wasn't it basically just Earth's morality class?

So annoying. I already hated this subject the most. I never thought I'd have to study it again after coming to this world.

Is there something wrong with my moral character? No, right? I was an exemplary student every year!

If the classmates Uchiha Cheng had bullied knew what he was thinking, they would surely stand up and yell, "Shameless bastard!"

"Um... the teacher is teaching. Is it really okay for you to sleep?" Kushina softly reminded Uchiha Cheng.

Unfortunately, she received no response. When she listened closely, she could even hear faint snores.

Oh my God, he fell asleep way too fast!

"You can wake him up in other classes. But in this one, as long as there's no malicious intent, you could beat gongs and drums right in front of him, and he still wouldn't wake up." A gentle yet helpless voice came from the left.

"Oh, right. My name is Mikoto Uchiha. Nice to meet you."

Kushina hurriedly looked to the left. A beautiful girl with long, smooth black hair was smiling at her. The gentleness in her brows made her seem as approachable as a girl next door.

"Hello, I'm Kushina. Nice to meet you too, big sister," Kushina hurriedly replied.

"Big sister? We're in the same class, so we might be the same age. But since you called me big sister, I'll take good care of you from now on. Hehe." Mikoto Uchiha blinked playfully.

"Alright, this is your first class, so listen carefully. I'll take notes for Cheng-nii."

"Okay, Mikoto-nee."

The drowsy morning passed quickly, and soon it was time for lunch.

Like wild horses released from their reins, the students snorted and dashed home to eat.