A Youth Without Delusion Is Not Truly Young

Out of a young boy's awkward pride, Asuma did not want anyone to know that he had been paying attention to that red-eyed girl.

So, before Mizuki could finish speaking, he shot him a subtle glare.

Naturally, Mizuki did not dare argue with the village's most "powerful" second-generation heir. He hurriedly lowered his head, his eyes filled with resentment.

At this point, Yagami Kei came to his senses as well. "Asuma, you want to run for class leader too?"

"That's right." Asuma proudly raised his chin. "What? Am I not qualified?"

"Of course not. As long as you're a member of this class, anyone is qualified to run for class leader." Yagami Kei felt his head aching. He could naturally tell that Asuma was running mostly on a whim.

However, he was not worried that Soseki would lose. He could see quite clearly that Asuma was far behind Soseki when it came to popularity.

What he was truly worried about was that Asuma would go looking for trouble with Soseki after losing the election.

Although he believed that Lord Hokage would not care about such a trivial matter, as the Hokage's son, Asuma could easily find upperclassmen willing to teach Soseki a lesson for him if he wanted to.

As someone who had come through the Ninja Academy himself, he knew very well that bullying was a serious problem. Worse still, under such unspoken rules, a teacher's intervention would only make things worse.

I can only broaden the field so he won't lose quite so badly. Thinking this, Yagami Kei looked encouragingly at the others and frantically hinted, "Does anyone else want to run for class leader? It's fine—even if you lose, there's no need to take it to heart!"

Unfortunately, among these freshmen, there was no one like Soseki who could grasp the deeper meaning from the slightest hint. On the contrary, quite a few of them looked around indignantly.

"Whoever dares compete with Soseki is picking a fight with me, Takitani Ryosuke!"

"That's right! Other than Soseki, I don't recognize anyone else!"

"Let that arrogant guy see that us Civilian Ninjas aren't easy to bully!"

Seeing this, Yagami Kei could only say dryly, "Then... all right. Write down the name of the person you support on a piece of paper and hand it in when you're done. No names required."

Listening to the rustling of writing below the podium, Yagami Kei sighed inwardly. Sigh, I can only hope that Asuma being the Hokage's son will keep him from losing too badly.

Before long, everyone finished writing their slips and brought them up to the podium.

As Yagami Kei counted the votes, his expression became rather colorful. After rubbing his cheeks hard with both hands, he said, "Ahem, I now announce..."

"Wait!" Asuma shouted. "Teacher, you haven't announced the exact vote count yet!"

Yagami Kei gave an awkward laugh. "There's no need to announce the exact count, is there?"

"How could that be? Votes need to be fair and transparent!"

"But..."

"If you don't want to announce them, Teacher, then I'll do it myself."

Yagami Kei said helplessly, "Since you insist... then, all right."

Asuma jumped up from his seat. As he passed Soseki, he even gave him a provocative look.

Taking the ballots, his face immediately lit up after just one glance. "Asuma Sarutobi, one vote!"

Asuma announced loudly, then smugly glanced at Soseki from the corner of his eye.

Unfortunately, Soseki wore a faint smile, seemingly completely unconcerned. It made Asuma feel as though he had punched cotton.

"Hmph, hmph." Asuma grunted in dissatisfaction, then continued looking through the stack. "Shimizu Soseki, one vote. Shimizu Soseki, two votes. Shimizu Soseki..."

With every ballot he drew, Asuma's expression worsened.

After counting the final ballot, Asuma said in a hoarse, feeble voice, "Asuma Sarutobi, one vote. Shimizu Soseki, sixty-nine votes. Shimizu Soseki... wins!" (The original work has far too few Ninja Academy students. Even including Clan Ninjas, it is impossible to imagine how they could gather enough people for the Ninja Allied Forces, so the number has been increased a little here.)

Those final words seemed to drain all the strength from his body. He lowered his head, feeling as though every gaze was filled with mockery and malice.

In truth, no one was laughing at him. People only cared about winners; as for losers, even mocking them felt like a waste of energy.

"Wonderful! I knew Soseki would definitely win!"

"What a shame. I wonder which traitor gave that guy a vote."

Only then did Asuma belatedly realize, Wait, that vote seemed to be... my own!

At that moment, Asuma was so embarrassed that he wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground. He had been so excited at the time that he had not even recognized his own handwriting.

"That's great, Soseki-kun. I knew you could do it!" Red turned toward him, her little face flushed as she congratulated him.

"Mm-hm, thank you all for your trust." Soseki politely responded to everyone's congratulations.

The honor and applause are all his. I have nothing. Seeing this, Asuma felt even more bitter inside. Unable to stop himself, he shouted with reddened eyes, "Shimizu Soseki, I lost this time. But now, I challenge you again! Let's settle this the ninja way!"

Yagami Kei frowned. "Asuma, you should have already learned how to refine Chakra, right? You're already half a ninja, yet you want to bully an ordinary person like Soseki. Don't you think that's going too far?"

Asuma asked blankly, "Huh? He doesn't have Chakra yet?"

From the ages of five to fifteen, the human body developed the fastest, and it was also the best period for cultivating ninjutsu. That was precisely why the Ninja Academy opened classes for five-year-olds, teaching children of the appropriate age to refine Chakra.

However, just as no two leaves in the world were exactly alike, the differences between people were very real.

Those with stronger physiques could begin refining Chakra earlier. Moreover, the Ninja Academy could not possibly make every student enroll at exactly five years old.

Therefore, beginning Chakra training early was generally a privilege reserved for Clan Ninjas. The advantages gained through this unspoken rule were something everyone tacitly understood.

Yagami Kei nodded. "Soseki is different from you. He doesn't have someone specially assigned to teach him."

It seems... he's the one who has nothing. Asuma opened his mouth unconsciously. After a long while, he finally apologized in a voice so quiet it was nearly inaudible, "S-Sorry. I didn't know you hadn't learned ninjutsu yet."

Everyone looked at the scene in surprise. This smug fellow suddenly did not seem quite so detestable after all.

Yagami Kei secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, the Hokage's son couldn't possibly be the kind of person who was completely unreasonable.

"Heh, heh. But don't think this settles things. Once you learn ninjutsu, I'll come challenge you again." Asuma looked at Soseki with resolute eyes. "I'll prove that only the weak huddle together for warmth like you do!"

From the very beginning, Soseki had never shared Yagami Kei's concern. Whether based on the original course of history or his own observations, he was certain that Asuma was not the arrogant, overbearing son of privilege type. At most, he was just a rebellious little brat trying to attract his father's attention—and that of certain others.

When dealing with a kid suffering from an excessive case of eighth-grader syndrome, sometimes you had to be even more eighth-grader than they were!

"Asuma, true strength needs no proof!"

Asuma's body trembled slightly. He calmed down and reconsidered Soseki's earlier words. He seemed to have caught the scent of a kindred spirit.

"Then tell me, what kind of person counts as truly strong?"

"Of course... someone who can live by their own Nindo and remain unwavering in it!"

Asuma instinctively wanted to nod, but remembering his current position, he forcibly restrained the urge to lower his head.

"Then I'll accept your challenge!"

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Didn't I already say it? Only someone acknowledged by everyone can become Hokage!" Soseki said solemnly, enunciating every word. "And that is my Nindo!"

Many people were still confused, but Asuma understood instantly. "I see! You accepted the challenge because you want my acknowledgment? Strong one, you are a true strong one!"

Everyone wore blank expressions. Why did the moving words from Soseki sound so strangely embarrassing when they came from Asuma?

It had to be because of the person saying them!

Asuma paid no attention whatsoever to the strange looks around him. He was already fully getting into it. "Fighting a strong one like you has always been my pursuit. Name a time."

If Asuma was openly afflicted with eighth-grader syndrome, then Soseki was secretly afflicted with it. After all, he still had to maintain his image. He only needed to say something ambiguous enough for Asuma to interpret it as the words of a "kindred friend" from the world of eighth-graders.

"Then half a month from now. Win or lose, I'll give it everything I have!"

"Only half a month? Then I won't take advantage of you. I'll tell you my Chakra refinement method and help you master Chakra as soon as possible!"

"Hey, wait." Yagami Kei hurriedly stopped him. "If you leak the Sarutobi Clan's Chakra refinement method, Soseki will be held responsible."

"Who told you it's the Sarutobi Clan's Chakra refinement method?" Asuma said coolly, glancing sideways at him. "Don't forget, that person is known as the Professor of Ninjutsu!"

Oh, so it was developed by the Hokage... Yagami Kei suddenly understood, then the corner of his eye twitched wildly. What kind of bizarre nickname was "that person"?

He had the distinct feeling that the Hokage's son was not quite normal!