The Culprit

Through Hyuga Matsuba's introductions, the two little ones became good friends.

Nawaki did not stand on ceremony and greeted Hyuga Matsuba. "So you know my sister too. Fine, if anything happens at this school from now on, come find me."

"Then it's settled. If anyone comes looking for trouble with me in the future, I'll leave them to you. Don't let me down when the time comes." Hyuga Matsuba was delighted.

"A promise once made cannot be taken back!" Nawaki threw an arm around Hyuga Matsuba.

Once the new batch of little brats had mostly arrived, the Third Elder appeared.

Calling him the Third Elder was still a little premature. The Third Hokage was still young, at the peak of his abilities, and his strength was not to be underestimated.

The ceremony officially began, and Hiruzen Sarutobi launched into a long-winded speech, starting from when the village had first been founded.

He spoke about how peaceful their village was, how other villages were fighting again, and in short, how Konoha was the best village.

Then he criticized all the other villages, comparing them to Konoha's strengths—its spiritual outlook, the Will of Fire, the great achievements of its former leaders, and so on.

"I bless you all with the realization of your dreams of becoming ninja. Contribute to our village! The next generation of leaders in this village may well include one of you!"

"All things cycle endlessly. After leaves have shone in glory, they become nourishment, allowing those who come after to grow and thrive. This is our village's Will of Fire, inherited and carried forward since the first leader. I hope you will study hard as well and never forget your original aspirations."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's concluding remarks were quite effective, leaving everyone fired up.

Nawaki was the prime example. He was brimming with fighting spirit, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

But Hyuga Matsuba had no interest in any of that. Before he had transmigrated, the boss at his company had pulled the same routine at every meeting. His ears had practically grown calluses from hearing it.

Besides, Hyuga Matsuba had no desire to inherit any spirit of selfless dedication.

To Hyuga Matsuba, that kind of spirit was a joke. Those words seemed never to have existed in his dictionary.

Ever since he was young, he had believed that he himself was what mattered most. If his heart was filled only with other people, then what was the meaning of his own existence?

Only people who were important to him deserved a helping hand. If that bunch from the Hyuga Clan needed anything, he definitely would not offer assistance. He might even kick them while they were down. That was simply the kind of person Hyuga Matsuba was.

Hyuga Matsuba looked as though he accepted everything without resistance, but that was not the case. Beneath his warm exterior lay an icy heart.

In that sense, Aizen seemed to have a similar personality, though the two still differed in some ways. Hyuga Matsuba, for instance, liked a quiet, stable life and had no desire to fight for anything.

After transmigrating, although Hyuga Matsuba seemed blessed by the gods and the system treated him like its own son, he only wanted to improve himself. He had no intention of conquering this world.

The life Hyuga Matsuba pursued was one surrounded by beautiful young ladies, eating, drinking, and having fun amid pools of wine and forests of meat every day. Now that was the life of an immortal.

"Hyuga Matsuba, you're spacing out on your very first day of school?"

Tsunade had noticed a while ago that Hyuga Matsuba had been sitting there in a daze, not even looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Weren't you listening carefully either?" Hyuga Matsuba did not defend himself.

"I've heard this stuff countless times already, okay?!" Tsunade put on the air of an older child.

"Don't change the subject!"

The corners of Hyuga Matsuba's lips curled up. "Those ideals the First had were formed during wartime. Once things settled down, that kind of spirit had long since disappeared. Maybe one day, it'll naturally appear again."

Tsunade grew serious and carefully considered Hyuga Matsuba's words. They actually made some sense, and she felt that he was right.

Tsunade knew quite a bit from her clan. Conflicts and disputes often arose among the clans, so from that perspective, what he said was indeed correct.

As for those ideals, Hyuga Matsuba was indifferent to them. They might sound important, but in reality, they were only a vision of the future. Looking across all of Konoha, perhaps only people like Uzumaki Naruto and Hashirama Senju possessed such a spirit.

Without them, people might truly only encounter those ideals in written words.

Or perhaps others simply were not worthy of possessing such virtues.

It was already midday, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's long-winded speech finally came to an end. It was truly impressive. Hyuga Matsuba felt his whole body relax again.

Hiruzen Sarutobi's speech had been incredibly long. Hyuga Matsuba truly admired him. Looking at the rows of freshmen below the stage, every face flushed red with excitement, Hyuga Matsuba began to wonder whether this was a school or a pyramid scheme.

After the opening ceremony ended, they had a hearty meal, and classes would be assigned in the afternoon.

Hyuga Matsuba began pulling out the lunch he had prepared from his backpack. Its abundance made Nawaki's eyes widen. "Are you planning to open a restaurant at school?"

Hyuga Matsuba rolled up his sleeves and started eating, caring nothing for his image and letting the facts speak for themselves.

Tsunade watched everything from nearby. Ever since reading that notebook, she had understood why Hyuga Matsuba ate so much.

Hyuga Matsuba's lunch was far too lavish, drawing the gazes of the surrounding crowd. Such an enormous appetite was truly astonishing!

Hyuga Matsuba did not care. He had already learned to ignore the outside world and simply focus on doing what he needed to do.

After lunchtime, the school began assigning this batch of freshmen to different classes. Hyuga Matsuba was placed in Class A.

There were quite a lot of students in this class. Some were people Hyuga Matsuba already knew, while others were children from prominent clans. Nawaki was in the same class as him.

Tsunade had already left the campus, and Hyuga Matsuba and Nawaki headed for their new classroom together.

However, when the two arrived, there were not many people in the classroom yet. Nawaki called out, "Come on, we can sit together!"

"No, I don't really want a deskmate." Hyuga Matsuba rejected Nawaki's request, leaving Nawaki looking hurt and aggrieved.

But Hyuga Matsuba ran straight over and sat beside Uchiha Mikoto.

Only then did Senju Nawaki realize it. This bastard had forgotten his friend the moment he saw a pretty girl!

Hyuga Matsuba felt a chill down his back. When he turned around, he saw Nawaki staring at him sinisterly. Could that ability to increase favorability work on more than just the opposite sex?

Hyuga Matsuba quickly turned back and held out his hand to his new deskmate. "My name is Hyuga Matsuba. Please take care of me from now on."

Uchiha Mikoto's face immediately flushed red, and she softly replied, "My name is Uchiha Mikoto. Let's improve together from now on!"

"We don't need to be so formal. Just call me Matsuba, and I'll call you Mikoto." Hyuga Matsuba tilted his head and smiled.

Uchiha Mikoto's face had turned completely red. Hearing Hyuga Matsuba call her by name was far too embarrassing.

Hyuga Matsuba's face was really useful. He had started talking to a pretty girl so quickly.

"Let's get along well from now on," Uchiha Mikoto replied softly.