Ring, ring, ring!~~
The urgent, crisp dismissal bell jolted everyone out of their stunned daze.
"Hand in your papers!!" Furuya Daisuke roared, and the quiet classroom immediately boiled over like a pot of water.
Then he suddenly turned and glared at Tōka.
"You, wait for me in the office!"
"Oh..." Tōka frowned slightly and glanced at Gai, whose face had gone ashen. He had originally planned to build a rapport with Gai-sama.
Only now did Tōka seem to realize the crisis—the crisis coming from Teacher Furuya Daisuke.
How should he put it? Teacher Daisuke had a deep prejudice against him.
Tōka strolled down the corridor, seemingly not at all concerned about how Furuya Daisuke would deal with him.
More accurately, he simply did not care.
As a Ninja Academy teacher, as long as Furuya Daisuke did not betray the village, he could not do anything too excessive to Tōka.
Sitting in Furuya Daisuke's office, Tōka was bored out of his mind. With both hands tucked into his pockets, he leaned back and stared blankly at the ceiling.
At this time, Furuya Daisuke had probably finished collecting the exam papers and was on his way over.
Sure enough, the thought had barely crossed Tōka's mind.
The office's wooden door clicked open, and Furuya Daisuke walked in with a dark expression.
Smack!!
Furuya Daisuke slammed the papers in his hand onto the desk, successfully drawing Tōka's attention.
Seeing those calm eyes, Furuya Daisuke felt a surge of anger, along with a sense of helplessness.
Was this brat really only six years old?
Why did it feel like he was facing some ancient monster who had lived for a thousand years?
There was none of a child's mischief, innocence, curiosity, or thirst for knowledge.
No matter what happened, he always looked utterly unruffled.
"Tōka, since the Third Hokage did not mention your surname, I do not intend to ask about it either." Furuya Daisuke spoke with a cold face, deliberately glancing at Tōka as he said this.
Tōka was listening, but he still looked completely at ease.
Furuya Daisuke frowned slightly and muttered to himself that six-year-old brats were truly troublesome.
If the brats in the Elite Class dared to be so disrespectful to their elders, he would have dragged them out and given them a thorough beating long ago.
As for Tōka, firstly, he was young and looked skinny besides. He did not even have chakra yet.
Furuya Daisuke did not know whether Tōka would still live to see tomorrow's sun if he threw a punch.
Beating him was out of the question, at least for now.
That meant he could only patiently lecture him and win him over with virtue.
"No matter what method you used to enter the sixth-year Elite Class, you must have a sense of class honor." Furuya Daisuke spoke earnestly.
"Don't worry, Teacher Daisuke. I absolutely won't do anything that damages the class's honor!" Tōka straightened his little face and answered solemnly.
"That would be best. Remember to attend class on time from now on, and respect your teachers..."
...One hour later...
"You must not have conflicts with your classmates..."
...The sun dipped toward the western horizon...
"You must be polite to your elders and know how to yield to younger children..."
...Ring, ring, ring~...
The dismissal bell rang, and the drowsy Tōka immediately perked up.
"Oh? It's already this late?"
Furuya Daisuke looked out the window in surprise and belatedly remarked.
Time truly flowed like water. It was gone in the blink of an eye.
"School's over. You should head home early too."
The moment those words rang out, Tōka felt as though he had heard heavenly music.
He secretly gave a thumbs-up in his heart. Furuya Daisuke truly was from Konoha—his Talk-no-Jutsu was unbelievably powerful!
He had nearly fallen asleep. He was a man who could withstand the repeated hypnosis of math, physics, and chemistry teachers!
Looks like I'll have to keep a lower profile from now on. Tōka thought secretly. I absolutely must never enter Furuya Daisuke's office again!
"Go on. Get some rest early tonight, and don't be late tomorrow!" Furuya Daisuke waved a hand, then lowered his head to look over today's test papers.
He had gotten carried away talking, so he would have to work overtime again tonight...
Tōka did not dare make a sound, afraid that Furuya Daisuke would unleash another round of Talk-no-Jutsu.
He stood up without drawing attention, bowed slightly, and slowly backed out.
Just as Tōka reached the office door, Furuya Daisuke's voice suddenly rang out.
"Wait!!"
Tōka's heart skipped a beat, and at last, his unruffled eyes changed.
He mechanically turned his neck and looked at Furuya Daisuke with a bead of cold sweat hanging from his temple.
Then he heard...
"Your poem was quite good." Furuya Daisuke grinned, his eyes full of appreciation.
For a six-year-old brat to possess such literary talent, he was unquestionably a genius.
Tōka's taut nerves finally relaxed, and he secretly let out a breath.
"Thank you for the praise, Teacher Daisuke."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tōka turned into a gust of wind and rushed out of the office...
On the Ninja Academy's field, the tide of students leaving school had already passed. Only scattered groups were still heading out.
Tōka patted his chest and looked at the western sun with lingering fear.
"Being able to see today's sun again is truly one of life's greatest joys!~"
It felt as though a lifetime had passed, as though he had survived a catastrophe.
Sharingan, Rinnegan, Impure World Reincarnation, Eight Inner Gates—all that messy stuff was weak as hell.
In Tōka's eyes, only Talk-no-Jutsu was the strongest thing in this world!!
"Hmph, children should act like children. Why are you putting on such an old-fashioned air?"
"What's so interesting about the sun? You see it every day, and it always looks the same."
Hearing the voices, Tōka turned around and saw Kurenai, Asuma, Rin, Obito, and the rest of the Elite Class students walking out of the school building.
It seemed the sixth-year Elite Class's final lesson had ended rather late.
When he found that green figure among the crowd, Tōka's eyes lit up.
He had thought Gai had already left after school. Who would have thought even the heavens were helping him?
Tōka directly ignored everyone and walked through the crowd toward Gai, who was bringing up the rear.
"Hey, brat, I'm talking to you!" Being ignored, Asuma's expression darkened as he stepped sideways to block Tōka's path.
He secretly glanced at Kurenai beside him. How could he lose face in front of the goddess?
Today, he had to teach this transfer brat a good lesson and let him know who the real boss was!
"Oh, I heard you." Tōka tilted his head up slightly, glanced at Asuma, and prepared to walk around him.
Night was approaching, and he did not want to waste the day.
He had to meet Might Duy today!
Yet in Asuma's eyes, Tōka's actions were a clear show of contempt.
How dare a six-year-old brat do that!!
As the Third Hokage's son, Asuma was still just a little brat at this point, far from possessing the steadiness and gravitas he would have as an adult.
"Bastard!!" Asuma snapped and swung his fist at Tōka.
"Watch out!" Cries of alarm rose from the crowd.
Most people were watching the show, but there were also kindhearted little girls among them.
Feeling a gust of wind rushing past his ear, Tōka instinctively ducked.
Asuma's punch missed. Because he had put too much force into it, he lost his balance and pitched forward.
However, Asuma was not a weakling like Obito.
He might not have ranked first in the Elite Class, but he could at least make the top three.
As Asuma's body lost balance, he suddenly twisted his waist with force and flipped one hundred and eighty degrees in the air, righting himself.
Pfft, scrape, scrape, scrape...
Asuma bent forward, one hand behind his back and the other clawed toward the ground.
Maintaining that stance, his body slid backward until he barely stopped ten steps away.
Such powerful recoil was enough to show just how much force Asuma had put into that attack.
Tōka narrowed his eyes and looked up. If this body had not been so fit and agile, he would never have been able to react just now.
If Asuma's heavy punch had landed on him—
It would not have killed him, but he definitely would have been injured!
"Brat." Tōka glanced at Asuma, tempted to teach him a lesson.
But he realized that aside from All-Killing Ash Bones, he had no other ability capable of defeating Asuma.
And a technique like All-Killing Ash Bones could not possibly be used against Asuma.
"What? How is that possible?"
"Asuma's punch was dodged?"
"So Tōka defeating Obito last time wasn't just luck!"
The crowd erupted in surprise. Although Tōka had surrendered in his match against Obito yesterday—
Everyone still believed Tōka had won.
In the eyes of children, whoever got knocked down was the loser.
"Damn it, brat, I challenge you to a duel!" Asuma got to his feet with an angry expression. Hearing the crowd only made him angrier.
"Asuma, don't go too far. Tōka is only six years old. You want to duel him?" Kurenai glared at Asuma unhappily.
The girls in the crowd all shot Asuma angry looks. His sneak attack earlier had already made them unhappy.
And now Asuma actually wanted to duel Tōka?
Such a cute little brother—they could not bear to let Asuma bully him!
The boys' gazes, however, were completely different. They all firmly sided with Asuma.
At the same time, they cursed Tōka inwardly for being a pretty boy!
If only he were a little girl. What a waste of such a face! Quite a few of them felt sour inside.
"Kurenai..." Before the goddess, Asuma's arrogant aura was like a flame meeting floodwaters, instantly snuffed out.
Kurenai snorted coldly, then turned to comfort Tōka. "Little brother Tōka, don't be afraid. Big sister will take you out for dango."
When the goddess smiled, she was devastatingly beautiful—but she was not smiling at Asuma.
The damage from that blow was comparable to taking a Void Dog Cannon head-on. Asuma's entire face turned green.
Under everyone's envious gazes, Tōka expressionlessly shuffled two small steps backward.
Beauty stood before him, but he lacked the strength to accept it.
"Miss, we're still young... As for dating, let's wait until I grow up..." Tōka said with a blushing little face and an "embarrassed" expression.
Seeing Tōka's bashful appearance, everyone seemed to fall under a spell and turn to stone.
The western wind swept past, leaving shattered fragments scattered across the ground.
Kurenai, "..."
Thump!~~
Flustered and angry, Kurenai blushed and flicked Tōka's forehead.
"Idiot, what are you talking about?!"
But when she saw the small red mark that had appeared on his smooth little forehead—
A trace of guilt flashed across Kurenai's face.
"Sorry, did that hurt?"
"..." Tōka's mouth twitched slightly. Why did those words sound a little strange?
Suddenly, Tōka noticed something.
That green figure who had been walking behind the crowd had disappeared!
What was he supposed to do now?
He hurriedly looked around...
Then he spotted Gai near the school gate!
Gai was turning a corner, and soon only half his back could be seen.
"Miss, it was nice meeting you." Tōka gave Kurenai a sweet smile, then nimbly slipped out of the crowd and ran after Gai.
Everyone was first stunned by Tōka's words. Then they saw him chasing after Gai.
For a moment, it felt as if ten thousand wild horses had thundered through everyone's hearts.
The sound of countless hooves echoed in their ears.
"Is that brat stupid?"
"Passing up the goddess, he actually..."
"He actually went after a kappa?!!"
"Please gouge out my eyes. I can't bear to watch..."
In Konoha's back mountain, deep within the dense forest.
Gai did not choose to run home as he usually did. Not only was he walking home, but he had deliberately slowed his pace.
This behavior was extremely unusual, yet perfectly understandable.
Although Gai only knew taijutsu, Tōka's completely undisguised footsteps naturally made him easy to notice.
Gai had deliberately been waiting for Tōka, but Tōka had no idea.
Tōka only hoped Gai would hurry home so he could meet that genin with Kage-level strength—Might Duy.
After cresting a small hill, he could vaguely make out a narrow country path, only wide enough for one person.
At that moment, Gai stopped walking, his back to the forest behind him.
"You've followed me all the way. Come out."
I'd been discovered? Tōka froze for a moment, then accepted it.
Although Gai ranked at the bottom of the academy, he was actually stronger than Asuma.
If war had not been imminent, and the Third Hokage had not deliberately suppressed the new generation of Leaf students, causing graduates from two or three classes to remain behind—
Those people from the Elite Class would have graduated long ago.
Besides...
Next year, Rin and Obito would become Chunin, and Gai would become a Chunin the year after that.
"What do you want?" Gai looked slightly surprised when he saw Tōka emerge.
He had noticed someone following him, but he had not known who it was.
That was why he had waited until he was close to home before calling the person out.
Though Gai could be a little scatterbrained, he was not stupid.
Tōka hesitated. He could not exactly say, "I want your dad to teach me the Eight Inner Gates," could he?
Although Tōka did not actually intend to cultivate the Eight Inner Gates, since he had the chance, he still wanted to see it for himself.
"Uh... I thought your clothes looked really nice, so..." Tōka said against his conscience. That should be enough to fool him, right?
"Oh?!! Really?" Delight appeared on Gai's face. With his hands on his hips, he twisted his body like a noodle.
Tōka, "..."
Damn it, he should not have said that!
A drop of cold sweat slid down Tōka's forehead. If this guy wanted to give him a set of green jumpsuits...
Just thinking about it sent a chill down Tōka's spine!
Just then, a tall figure suddenly appeared, as though he had been standing there all along.
What incredible speed!!
Feeling the newcomer's presence, Tōka looked up.
Just as expected!
An even bigger green, watermelon-like kappa stood behind Gai.
"Gai, who is this?" Might Duy asked in a deep voice.
"Dad, he's my new classmate." Gai grinned, showing a white tooth as he spoke proudly.
Just as he was about to introduce Tōka by name, his expression stiffened.
"Uh... what was your name again?"
Tōka's eye twitched. So you did not even know me!
"Sir, my name is Tōka."
"So you're Gai's classmate!" Might Duy looked at Gai with excitement. "It's wonderful that you've found a friend!"
"Dad!!"
"Gai!!"
Under the setting sun, waves crashed against the beach as the two kappa, one large and one small, embraced tightly.
Tōka, "..."
Did you two remember my name or not?! (To be continued)
Before you continue