Shimizu Soseki

Leaf Year 41, early spring.

The chilly morning breeze swirled past, fresh and gentle, making those who rose early shiver while still unable to resist taking a deep breath of spring's fragrance.

There were not many pedestrians on the road yet, but every face shone with hope. At the beginning of this new year, everyone eagerly awaited the arrival of a brand-new life.

It had been nearly a year since the end of the Second Shinobi World War. Though the scars left by war had yet to be fully erased, they had been deeply buried. Life had to move forward, after all. (As for the timeline, don't rush to flame me. I'll dedicate a separate chapter to explaining it later.)

"Whew, I almost overslept." Yagami Kei jogged along in short strides, feeling rather embarrassed as he recalled what had happened that morning.

Unlike the other chunin who were "retiring" at the Ninja Academy, becoming a teacher had always been his dream. And that had directly led to him getting so excited last night that he couldn't sleep!

When his alarm went off that morning, he should have sprung out of bed like a carp. Instead, he had slept so deeply that he flopped around in bed like a salted fish for a few moments, then somehow fell asleep again.

Fortunately, it was not too late... Glancing at his watch, which pointed to 7:20, Yagami Kei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Today was only registration day. No new students would come this early!

When he arrived at the school gates, there was no one near the registration desk.

Seeing this, Yagami Kei finally relaxed his taut nerves.

See? How could there possibly be— Just as Yagami Kei straightened his collar and prepared to enter the school in his most energetic state, a small figure entering the corner of his vision made the smile on his face freeze.

It was a little boy holding a broom. Though he was not even as tall as the broom, his sweeping motions were not stiff in the slightest. Clearly, he was not just tidying up on a whim to make a good impression.

At that moment, Yagami Kei suddenly realized that, after an entire vacation, the campus was so clean that not even a single fallen leaf could be seen.

"Ahem, student..."

Hearing Yagami Kei's voice, the little boy turned around, then ran over in great excitement. "Teacher!"

"Um... don't tell me you came here yesterday?" Yagami Kei asked with an awkward smile as he looked at the spotless school.

"No, I only got here two hours ago." The little boy shook his head hard.

Oh, then that's fine... Fine my ass! Aaaaah, this is so embarrassing... The thought that he had been outdone by a child sent Yagami Kei screaming internally, though he merely nodded calmly on the outside. "You did very well."

This seemed to be a teacher with a very active inner world... the little boy thought to himself as he observed Yagami Kei's movements and expressions.

At the same time, Yagami Kei recovered somewhat from his embarrassment and noticed something else. Cleaning the entire campus spotless in just two hours not only showed exceptional efficiency, but also proved that the boy possessed remarkable determination.

Yagami Kei instinctively compared himself to the boy. If it had been him at that age, he would not have lasted more than ten minutes doing something as boring as sweeping.

Only those who could resist temptation and remain unmoved by external things were true ninjas... Yagami Kei nodded approvingly. Though he did not know how talented the little fellow was, with such self-discipline, he believed the boy would certainly become an outstanding ninja.

At the very least, he'll be better than me... Yagami Kei smiled as he walked over to the registration desk. "Come here. Finish the registration early, and you can take your enrollment papers home to rest sooner."

"Name."

"Soseki. Shimizu Soseki."

"Age."

"Five."

"Parents."

Soseki fell silent for a moment before answering with a sorrowful expression, "...They died in the war."

Yagami Kei's right hand froze as he wrote. "Sorry, I didn't know you..."

He regretted it inwardly. As expected, he was still too young, and his preparation work had clearly been insufficient.

He could have simply skipped such a sensitive question.

Soseki lightly bit his lower lip and shook his head. "It's all right, Teacher. It's already been two years. I... I won't cry anymore."

He lost his parents when he was only three? Yagami Kei felt a tightness in his chest. The village did provide subsidies to the families of ninjas who had died in the war, but for a three-year-old child, living independently was still far too difficult.

No wonder he's so determined... Yagami Kei sighed inwardly, and his gaze toward Shimizu Soseki grew even gentler.

After recording the information, Yagami Kei handed Soseki his enrollment papers. "All right. You should head home early too."

"It's too lonely there." Soseki's expression darkened.

Yagami Kei inwardly cried out in alarm. It seemed he had stepped on another landmine!

Fortunately, Soseki quickly recovered. Clenching his small hands, he looked at Yagami Kei with eager, hopeful eyes. "Teacher, please let me stay and help!"

Yagami Kei instinctively wanted to refuse. He was only a newly hired teacher, and making a student help out on his first day would leave him open to ridicule from the senior staff.

But when he saw Soseki's earnest gaze, the words of refusal caught in his throat and would not come out.

He must be so eager for the school's liveliness because he can't bear being alone... Believing he had seen through the boy's little thoughts, Yagami Kei found himself even less able to refuse. "Then... all right."

"Ah! That's great!" Soseki cheered excitedly.

Seeing Soseki, who had always displayed a maturity beyond his years, finally show a side appropriate for his age, Yagami Kei smiled in relief as well.

Maturity was a good thing, but it came at a price!

"Teacher, is there anything I can help with?" After calming down, Soseki looked at Yagami Kei with bright eyes and asked.

Yagami Kei rubbed his chin in thought. It was only registration—what could little Soseki possibly help with?

He could not exactly dump the registration work on the boy!

"I've got it!" Yagami Kei's eyes lit up. He snapped his fingers and said, "How about this? I'll show you around the school first. Once the other students finish registering, you can lead them around and help them get familiar with places like the classrooms, training grounds, and cafeteria."

Though he was a newly hired teacher, he had graduated from this Ninja Academy ten years ago. Coupled with the fact that he had come back to scout the place out a few days earlier, he could still figure out the basic layout.

"Mm-hm!" Soseki nodded repeatedly.

The Ninja Academy was not actually very large, especially compared to the memories Soseki had of his other world.

In just over ten minutes, Soseki followed behind Yagami Kei and toured the entire Ninja Academy.

By the time they returned to the registration desk, they were still the only two people in the school.

It couldn't be helped—they had arrived far too early!

Perhaps feeling that it was a little awkward for the two of them to just stand there foolishly, Yagami Kei spent the waiting time telling Soseki many interesting facts and bits of knowledge about ninja.

Finally, when the time reached 8:20, another new student arrived.

A little girl with eyes like blood-red agate appeared in their line of sight.

"La la la la~" The red-eyed little girl hummed as she skipped over with light footsteps.

When she spotted Yagami Kei, her eyes lit up. She hurried to the registration desk, tilted her chin up, and asked, "Are you a teacher?"

"Yes, my name is Yagami Kei. You can also call me Teacher Yagami." Yagami Kei forced out a smile that was supposedly "kind without losing dignity." "Little girl, what is your name?"

However, to Soseki and Kurenai, that smile seemed rather comical instead.

This teacher doesn't seem very smart... Though she quietly criticized him in her heart, she still answered seriously, "Yūhi Kurenai. Yūhi as in 'the setting sun,' and Kurenai as in red, green, yellow, and blue."

So she's Yūhi Kurenai? Soseki kept his expression calm while quietly gathering information about her.

Before long, Yagami Kei finished registering Yūhi Kurenai's information.

"Soseki, take Kurenai and let her familiarize herself with the school."

"Yes."

The two walked out side by side. Along the way, Kurenai tilted her little head and studied Soseki beside her. "Senior Soseki, did Teacher Yagami specifically ask you to come help out?"

She had actually been curious about Soseki, who had been standing beside Teacher Yagami, for quite some time. However, her good upbringing had kept her from asking so abruptly.

Soseki stopped walking and turned to her somewhat awkwardly. "Yūhi Kurenai, actually, I'm the same as you. I'm also a new student enrolling today."

"Ah? I'm sorry." Rather than becoming embarrassed or angry, Yūhi Kurenai apologized sincerely.

After all, Soseki had never said that he was a senior. She had been the one who assumed it.

"It's fine. I didn't introduce myself either." Soseki flashed a bright smile. "Then let's get acquainted again. I'm Shimizu Soseki. Please take care of me in the days ahead."

Kurenai nodded excitedly. "My name is Yūhi Kurenai. Let's work hard together from now on!"

Then, she asked in confusion, "You're also a new student, so why did Teacher Yagami ask you to show me around the school?"

If it hadn't been for Teacher Yagami's arrangement, she would not have mistaken his identity.

Soseki smiled a little sheepishly. "I took the initiative and asked Teacher Yagami. We'll all be classmates from now on, so I wanted to do whatever I could for everyone."

Kurenai did not think much of it. She merely clapped her little hands in praise. "You're such a good person!"

Then she added somewhat shyly, "If it were me, I wouldn't have the patience to help everyone. Compared to you, I'm really terrible."

Soseki smiled. "Kurenai, there's no need to compare yourself to me. Everyone is unique. Doubting yourself and denying yourself will only make you unhappy, so make sure to be yourself happily! Only then can we find the forest that belongs to us."

"Mm-hm!" Kurenai's eyes shone. Soseki's words sounded super nice!

Besides Kurenai, Soseki also guided many other "famous people," such as Ibiki, who always wore a stern expression; Shizune, who held a little ninja pig; Mizuki, who looked gloomy; and the delinquent Asuma, who had nearly missed registration.

Even toward those other classmates who did not even count as nameless passersby in the original timeline, Soseki showed immense enthusiasm.

As a result, on the very first day, every student remembered one name—Shimizu Soseki!

I wasn't clear enough about the female leads in my previous book, so when I confirmed it in the final chapter, I got heavily criticized. Therefore, even though this is an early spoiler, I should make it clear: this book has two female leads, Yūhi Kurenai and Shizune. Mm, they just happen to correspond to the protagonist's two early paths of living off women. I originally wanted to directly add a PS3 note in the synopsis, but for some reason, every time I tried to edit it, it said the change did not meet the modification guidelines. ()