Formal Enrollment

Next morning, Ninja Academy.

Hyuga Sho and Hyuga Mami stood before the notice board.

All the names listed on it belonged to accepted students.

Hyuga Mami's name was first, with Hatake Kakashi second.

Uchiha Obito and Nohara Rin were also listed in the middle column.

Near the bottom...

Hyuga Sho found his own name.

However, he did not see the name of that kappa-haired child called Might Guy.

"Looks like he was eliminated."

Hyuga Sho promptly put the matter out of his mind.

The Ninja Academy had announced the results, and the entrance ceremony would be held seven days later.

So, after returning to the Hyuga Clan compound...

During the days that followed, Hyuga Sho devoted all his time to training.

After coming to this world and finding a temporary place to stay, he had begun frantically absorbing every bit of nourishment that could benefit him, growing stronger in turn.

Relying on unparalleled willpower and self-discipline, Hyuga Sho seemed completely unaware of such things as fatigue and pain.

Like a tireless machine, he squeezed every last drop of potential from himself each day.

Not a trace of weariness or impatience could be seen on his face.

When the morning of the entrance ceremony finally arrived...

After finishing his morning training, Hyuga Sho glanced at the number that had appeared.

[Doka Degree: 7%]

"The Doka Degree's growth has slowed... It only increased this much in seven days. Have I reached a training bottleneck?"

Hyuga Sho pondered the matter.

The technique called "Eight Trigrams Palms" was fully known as "Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms."

To maintain their rule over the Branch Family, the Main Family possessed the complete version, capable of striking sixty-four palms.

Hyuga Sho, however, had only been taught "Eight Trigrams Eight Palms."

At present, he had no way of obtaining the complete version.

If he wanted to keep breaking through, he would have to find another path.

"A-Natsu said the Ninja Academy teaches the students the Three Body Techniques. Perhaps training in them will let my Doka Degree continue growing quickly..."

Filled with anticipation for entering the Ninja Academy, Hyuga Sho washed up, slung his backpack over his shoulders, and left the area where the Branch Family members lived...

Half an hour later.

Carrying both his own and Hyuga Mami's backpacks, Hyuga Sho arrived at the Ninja Academy.

A banner reading "Celebrating the Entrance Ceremony" hung high above the school building.

Kakashi and the other accepted examinees each received their own admission certificate.

To Hyuga Sho's surprise...

Might Guy had received one as well.

What happened during these seven days?

"I passed the makeup test!!"

Might Guy did not keep them guessing. Instead, he excitedly told everyone what had happened.

It turned out that over the past seven days, he had worked relentlessly and had ultimately managed to squeeze one foot over the passing line.

That afternoon.

Hyuga Sho pinned his admission notice to the wall.

This counted as the first stepping stone of his life in this world.

Seeing the admission notice on the wall, Hyuga Natsu's eyes were filled with envy.

"I'm so jealous of you, Sho-kun. You get to enter the Ninja Academy ahead of time..."

The Ninja Academy.

The enrollment age was not actually fixed.

Students generally did not enroll after the age of ten, and even enrolling at eight was considered late.

Hyuga Sho was five when he enrolled, so he was certainly not early.

That morning, he had even seen a two-year-old child at the entrance ceremony.

If he remembered correctly, his name was... Gekko Hayate... Such a cool name sounded like that of a protagonist.

"Hehe, A-Natsu, I'm just a stupid bird taking flight early. That's the only way I can catch up to all of you..."

Hyuga Sho spoke with utter sincerity, working hard to maintain his dead last persona.

Of course.

Hyuga Sho knew.

What Hyuga Natsu truly envied was that Hyuga Mami could attend school with him.

"Here, A-Natsu."

Hyuga Sho took out a lollipop and handed it to Hyuga Natsu.

"Huh? This is..."

Hyuga Natsu had no idea where Hyuga Sho had gotten the lollipop.

"You've always taken care of me, A-Natsu. I feel really bad about it..." Hyuga Sho said sincerely.

The lollipop Hyuga Mami did not want had been tossed to Hyuga Natsu by Hyuga Sho.

It was a form of recycling, he supposed.

In the end.

Watching Hyuga Natsu leave with a delighted expression, Hyuga Sho nodded faintly. "Her favorability has risen again..."

The next day.

The Ninja Academy's official enrollment had finally arrived.

This was Hyuga Sho's fourteenth day in this world.

After finishing his usual morning training, Hyuga Sho checked his Doka Degree.

[Doka Degree: 7.1%]

After packing his backpack and taking the Heart Bento Hyuga Natsu had specially prepared for him, Hyuga Sho headed to school with Hyuga Mami. By now, he was already thoroughly familiar with the route.

After the classes were assigned, Hyuga Sho took a seat in the classroom.

Hyuga Mami's seat was by the window in the second-to-last row, while Hyuga Sho sat in the last row, directly behind her.

Hatake Kakashi, Nohara Rin, Uchiha Obito, Might Guy, and the others had also been assigned to the same class.

"I'm Funano Daihoku. From now on, I'll be your homeroom teacher. Please take care of me."

A short, stout, kind-looking man of about twenty-seven or twenty-eight stood at the podium.

"Next, please introduce yourselves and tell us about your dreams."

Chunin.

To serve as a Ninja Academy teacher, one had to be at least a Chunin and pass a political review.

As the military organization of the Land of Fire, Konoha Village naturally had its own political leanings.

Whether through the village's atmosphere or its propaganda, there would be conscious or unconscious guidance.

There would always be a direction.

"I'm Hatake Kakashi. My dream... is to become Naruto."

Hatake Kakashi stood and spoke calmly.

A Konoha Ninja who did not want to become Naruto was no good ninja.

Most of the children gave the same answer as Kakashi.

After one round, it was Hyuga Mami's turn.

"I'm Hyuga Mami..."

Hyuga Mami had actually drawn the attention of many children the moment she entered the classroom.

There was no shortage of eyes capable of recognizing beauty in this world.

Not everyone was like those three brats from that day, unable to recognize Hyuga Mami's appearance.

In barely a few dozen minutes of class, Hyuga Mami had become the center of attention.

"My dream... I don't want to say."

After saying that, Hyuga Mami returned to her seat.

Funano Daihoku's gaze drifted away for a moment before he called Hyuga Sho's name.

As the homeroom teacher, he would appropriately avoid certain sensitive political topics.

No matter what Hyuga Mami's dream was, she would ultimately only become the head of the Hyuga Clan.

Just as this Branch Family child named Hyuga Sho could only protect the Main Family.