Yamei had barely stepped through the door when a fragrant aroma rushed over him.
"Congratulations on enrolling in the Ninja Academy. I heard you got perfect scores in all three subjects!" Yūhi Kurenai said with a beaming smile.
"Hehe, I told you I was amazing!"
He was not surprised to see Yūhi Kurenai in his home.
Over this period, Yūhi Kurenai had bought a new house and moved in next door to Yamei's courtyard. He even had a key to her place.
"Yes, yes. Perfect timing! I have a surprise for you after dinner." Yūhi Kurenai spoke mysteriously.
"A surprise? What kind of surprise?" Yamei's interest was piqued.
"I said you'll find out after dinner." Yūhi Kurenai rolled her eyes at him and pushed him into a seat at the dining table.
"You must have gotten to know your classmates, right? Are they easy to get along with?" Yūhi Kurenai asked with concern.
"Mm, I know most of them by now. They're all pretty nice, and there are a few cute little girls too."
"Oh!? Cute little girls? Just how cute are they?" Yūhi Kurenai's gaze suddenly turned somewhat dangerous as she stared at him with a half-smile.
"Of course they're not as cute as Kurenai! My Kurenai is not only cute... she's gentle too." Yamei picked up a piece of meat and ate it contentedly.
"Hmph!"
Yūhi Kurenai gave a soft snort, her eyes brimming with amusement.
"You should get along well with your classmates at school. But if anyone causes trouble, you don't need to put up with them!"
A hint of determination flashed through Yūhi Kurenai's eyes as she said, "Our family may not compare to the great clans, but we're not people just anyone can look down on."
"Mm-hm, got it." Yamei nodded with a smile. He stared at her for a long moment before suddenly saying, "Kurenai, you're beautiful and cool now!"
"Eat properly!" Yūhi Kurenai rolled her eyes at him. She had already grown used to this smooth-talking guy.
After dinner, Yūhi Kurenai cleaned up and sat beside Yamei. Then she took out a scroll and handed it to him.
"What's this?"
"A ninjutsu scroll I prepared for you. Open it and see?"
Yamei opened it. At the very beginning was the character for ninja, followed by the contents of the scroll.
"A ninjutsu scroll, Wind Style: Thousand Faces Wind!" Yamei was somewhat surprised.
He had heard of this Wind Style before. It could condense hundreds or thousands of tiny wind blades to inflict devastating damage on an enemy! A solid B-rank ninjutsu!
"Well? Do you like it?" Yūhi Kurenai asked with a smile.
Yamei immediately wrapped his arms around Yūhi Kurenai and buried his head deeply in her chest. "I like it. Thank you, Kurenai."
Yūhi Kurenai slowly embraced Yamei as well. "I'm glad you like it."
Feeling her warm embrace, Yamei took the opportunity to nuzzle against her chest.
"..."
Yūhi Kurenai's pretty face flushed slightly.
This guy had to be doing it on purpose!
He was absolutely terrible!
Though she complained inwardly, she did not push him away. Instead, she reached out and gently stroked Yamei's head.
Delighted, Yamei reached out and took Yūhi Kurenai's other hand.
Magic Hand.
Material acquired: Chakra. Mind Blank triggered...
"!?"
Yamei's mind suddenly went blank! Something was wrong!
Sure enough, he felt the girl in his arms tremble slightly, her entire body growing somewhat stiff.
He did not dare move. He could faintly hear the breathing above his head becoming slightly heavier...
"Kurenai?"
Yamei called out cautiously.
There was no response...
Looking up, Yamei saw those ruby eyes veiled by a thin mist staring down at him...
That gaze was like a swamp. Once someone sank into it, there was no escaping.
"Cough, cough. I'm going to train." With sheer force of will, Yamei grabbed the scroll, rose to his feet, and ran to the backyard.
There was nothing he could do!
His heart was willing, but his strength fell short!
If only he had the ability! Today, he would have mounted his horse and charged into battle!
As soon as Yamei left, Yūhi Kurenai finally caught her breath. Covering her face with both hands, she did not dare stay any longer and turned to run back to the house next door.
She needed to go back and wash up.
In the backyard, Yamei picked up the scroll and attempted to see whether he could directly analyze the ninjutsu scroll.
As he controlled his Chakra to touch the scroll, a stream of information suddenly flooded into the Sea of Derivations.
Ninjutsu scroll material detected. Preparing to analyze and learn. Estimated time: 6 hours.
"Heh! Perfect!"
Yamei happily put away the scroll. He only needed to wait six hours before he could learn this Wind Style.
"Maybe... I could take a look at the Scroll of Sealing?"
Yamei's gaze turned toward the Hokage Building. In the end, he shook his head. "Forget it. It's still too dangerous to go now!"
"I'll wait another two years! By then, even Hiruzen Sarutobi and the others will be easily fooled by my genjutsu!"
Although Yamei was very confident in his Mist Veil Moon, Hiruzen Sarutobi had not become Hokage for nothing. He had real ability.
Briefly deceiving him would not be a problem, but maintaining a genjutsu for a prolonged deception was far too risky. He could not take chances so casually.
Two days passed quickly, and the Ninja Academy finally officially began.
The moment Yamei stepped into the classroom, the somewhat noisy room fell silent. Then even more fervent cries erupted.
"Wow!! It's Hyakawa Yamei! He really is so handsome!"
"Ah! He looked at me! Don't ask why I'm sitting down—I'm scared my legs will go weak!"
Unable to handle the enthusiastic cries of the female students, Yamei looked up and happened to see Ino waving at him.
"Yamei, over here!"
Yamei walked over and sat beside Ino, greeting her with a smile. "Good morning, Ino."
"Good morning!" Ino replied with a smile.
"Cough, cough..." Yamei turned his head to look around him.
They were seated near the back, yet all nine of the rookie nine had gathered around them!
Seeing Hinata beside him, Yamei waved at her. "Good morning, Hinata."
"G-good morning, Lord Yamei."
"You bastard... Is it because we're not girls?" Inuzuka Kiba stared at Yamei.
"Woof, woof, woof!" Akamaru, lying on top of his head, barked twice in dissatisfaction as well.
"Cough, cough, no way...!" Yamei absolutely refused to admit it!
Just then, another wave of cries erupted in the classroom.
Looking toward the door, they saw Sasuke enter with a cold expression.
When he saw Yamei, he paused slightly before walking straight to an empty seat nearby and sitting down.
Naruto arrived last, practically entering right on time. After finding a seat, Umino Iruka walked in.
"Hello, everyone. I'm Umino Iruka, and starting today, I'll be your homeroom teacher for Class A! Please take care of me..."
After Iruka's introduction came the students' self-introductions...
The following lessons were all very boring.
There was all kinds of indoctrination about the Will of Fire, the glorious achievements of the Third Hokage throughout ninja history, and only afterward did they begin teaching some ninja knowledge...
In short, Yamei spent almost the entire day sleeping with his head on the desk.
In the afternoon, Ino reminded Yamei to wake up. After saying goodbye to everyone, he returned home, picked up his short blade, and headed toward the training grounds.
"Although I know I'm not weak now, I don't have a clear sense of exactly how strong I am. It would be great if I could spar with someone."
As he was thinking, Yamei suddenly spotted a young man standing in the training grounds.
"Uchiha... Shisui! Why is he here?"
Before you continue