Who Says Kids Are Naughty, Isn't This Quite Good

"What is Shisui doing?"

"He's... helping the civilians carry water and firewood."

"Ah?"

A flicker of bewilderment passed through the Third Hokage's gaze.

The moment he heard the news, he even thought he'd misheard the name, mistaking Obito for Shisui, but after a moment, he decided he wasn't that old yet, nor were his men so addled as to mistake one person for another.

He was stunned for a long while.

Then, he set down his pipe.

"Shisui is helping carry water and firewood?"

"Yes."

The Anbu was equally perplexed.

Carrying water and firewood was usually the work of genin.

But.

In this time of war, where were the genin to do such tasks? So many missions had piled up. Usually, when Obito did them, everyone just pretended not to notice.

Yet.

Shisui was a prodigy valued by the Uchiha clan.

Instead of training, he went to civilians' homes to work for free, just like Obito—what was he after?

"Hmm... I understand."

The Third waved his hand, signaling him to withdraw.

Then.

He immediately pulled out his crystal ball and cast the Clairvoyance Jutsu.

Before long.

The crystal ball showed Obito and Shisui together, helping carry water.

The Third's expression was blank.

He simply couldn't understand why Shisui had joined in on this nonsense.

Was it Obito?

Or perhaps, Fugaku Uchiha.

The Third frowned.

If Obito had led Shisui into it, that was still manageable. But if it was Fugaku Uchiha, that would be a real problem.

He unconsciously lit his pipe.

Thinking it over carefully, the Third thought of another person.

Kanda Kyoichi.

He'd heard before that ever since Kyoichi became a teacher, Shisui had gradually grown closer to him, and the two had even shared a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku.

Could it be him?

It wasn't impossible.

With that thought, the Third pulled out the Anbu scroll from two days ago.

On it was written what they had observed.

"Strong body, exceptional recovery ability, uses Shadow Clones to accelerate training, practices swordsmanship in the yard, suspected to possess the Second Lord's Konoha Style Swordsmanship notes."

According to the Anbu's observations.

Though Kyoichi's body wasn't as terrifying as the First Hokage's, it wasn't far off from Tobirama Senju's constitution.

A Senju bloodline, without a doubt!

As for the swordsmanship notes.

That man of the Kanda clan was once a close relative of the teacher...

The Third sighed inwardly.

He never imagined that the Senju clan had vanished, only for such a powerful constitution to awaken one day in a descendant of the Senju—it was almost unbelievable.

Of course.

If it were only that, the Third would still have doubts.

The disappearance of the Senju clan might not have been something everyone welcomed, and he still harbored some concerns.

But.

If Shisui's change was truly because of Kanda Kyoichi, then it was a delightful surprise, because it would prove that this Senju descendant, awakened after a generation gap, still carried the Will of Fire in his heart.

After much deliberation, the Third took out the Jonin promotion test list and added a name to it.

Kanda Kyoichi!

For the next two days, Kyoichi had no classes.

When he came to school on the third day and sat down in the office, he overheard another teacher next to him complaining to a colleague.

"Sigh, I don't know what's going on, but Uchiha Shisui has started showing up late recently too."

"Must be copying Obito."

"True, every time Shisui's late, that kid's involved."

Shisui's started being late too?

Kyoichi was startled, then his expression turned odd.

Even copying the lateness?

Unbelievable!

He'd told him to observe, not to actually mimic Obito's behavior.

"Kyoichi, you've got the first class today. If those two brats are late again, don't go easy on them. If you let them off the first time, they won't know fear the second or third."

"Yes, thank you, Ishimura-senpai."

Kyoichi nodded.

As time drew near, he was about to grab his things and head to the classroom when he glanced outside and saw two figures zip past the door with a "whoosh," "whoosh."

Fast as they were, the teachers were at least Chunin, so they all saw clearly.

Shisui, Obito.

The office fell into a heavy silence.

Class hadn't even started yet.

Those two brats hadn't acted like this the past couple of days—sometimes Shisui even led the charge in skipping class. But when it came to Kanda Kyoichi's class, not only were they not late, they actually showed up early.

He'd thought Shisui was turning bad.

Turns out, he just looked down on everyone else's classes.

Damn, that crushed morale.

Ishimura Takaharu stared at Kyoichi, watching him leave the office, then couldn't help but bang his head on the desk, his face full of shame and frustration.

"Ishimura-sensei, it's not that serious, just a couple of brats..."

"No, even a temp teacher is more popular than me. It hurts!"

Ishimura Takaharu was on the verge of tears.

He figured he'd taught for over a decade, graduated countless ninja, and yet here he was, less liked by students than a temporary transfer.

The other teachers fell silent instantly.

Right in the feels, old pal!

Kanda Kyoichi had left the office, but he still heard it.

Couldn't be helped.

With his perception up, his hearing had sharpened too.

As for that, all he could say was...

He taught practical stuff; they just couldn't compare.

He reached the classroom.

Everyone sat up straight.

"Today I saw Obito and Shisui using the Body Flicker Technique to rush to class. Not bad. So, let's start with a test on the Three Body Techniques. If there are no issues, I'll teach you about the Body Flicker Technique."

Kyoichi thought for a moment and said.

He hadn't taught anything new the past few days, and even the system had gone quiet without a peep.

Today, he'd teach something new.

Body Flicker Technique!

This technique was only a D-rank Ninjutsu, but its effect varied greatly depending on the user. It was still a basic technique worth deep practice.

"Awesome!"

The classroom erupted in cheers.

Of course.

Only some of them.

Because a large portion hadn't actually grasped the essentials of the Three Body Techniques.

Kyoichi looked around and said with a smile, "Don't get too excited just yet. We're in a special period now, so upper and lower grades are mixed together for teaching. I'm looking at the overall picture, understand?"

"Yes!"

Rin, Kurenai Yuhi, and a few other upper-grade students immediately understood the implication.

They being fast was useless.

Within the entire class, if many people weren't yet proficient in the Three Body Techniques, they'd have to wait for those slower to grasp it.

If they wanted to learn the Body Flicker Technique sooner, they'd have to help the lagging children improve their results.

Obito knew he was part of that equation.

However.

He had confidence!

In the past couple of days with Shisui, he hadn't just been doing good deeds; occasionally he'd also sought advice from this genius younger brother.

He tested it out.

Sure enough.

Although more than half had already mastered it, there was still half who couldn't climb trees or walk on water, and their Three Body Techniques were still rusty.

At this point, many of the geniuses below began writing notes and explanations, figuring out how to drive the rest of the class forward.

During free practice time...

Most quickly sought out the lagging students.

Kyoichi admired his own genius.

He'd originally had to round up the poor-performing kids, but now wasn't that problem solved?

Who said they were brats? They weren't so bad!

But.

One student caught his attention.

Gekko Hayate.

This kid had great talent and learned fast, but...

"Cough, cough. Combining the Clone Technique and Transformation Jutsu requires attention to chakra distribution, and hand seals need to be fast. You can start by mastering tree climbing. Cough, I'll teach you."

That cough...

A bit rough there, buddy!