In class, Iruka-sensei was doing his best to teach.
Naruto was already sprawled across his desk, dozing off. Choji Akimichi kept munching on snacks, Kiba Inuzuka was playing with his dog under his desk, and Shikamaru Nara's mind had already wandered off.
Iruka lectured with all his might, spraying spittle as he spoke, only to see several students below him goofing off.
He let out a furious roar.
"Naruto! Choji Akimichi! Shikamaru Nara! Kiba Inuzuka!"
"What's the matter with you? You're fooling around in class again!"
Choji jumped in fright and crushed the bag of chips he'd just taken out in his nervous grip.
"Bang!"
Naruto, who'd been dreaming about kissing Sakura Haruno, was startled awake and leaped to his feet!
Iruka's temple throbbed. He roared and pointed toward the classroom door.
"You! All of you, go stand outside the classroom as punishment!"
The four slunk out of the classroom. Hinata watched Naruto, her heart secretly full of worry.
Iruka wiped his sweat, picked up his teacup, took a sip of water, and continued his lesson.
Outside the classroom, the Naruto trio exchanged glances.
Then they secretly crouched down and tiptoed away. Kiba saw them and quietly followed.
Iruka had only just finished explaining one topic. He paused for a drink of water, saw what they were doing, and was so furious he spat out his water!
"Ah! You four little brats!"
When Naruto and the others realized Iruka had noticed them, they ran even faster, leaping straight out through a window. At the back, Kiba was in such a hurry as he carried Akamaru that he nearly fell.
Iruka was left leaning out the window, cursing furiously.
"Ah! You four little brats! You're skipping class right out in the open!"
Kiyotaki was in luck today. His boulder-pushing training had woken a wild boar, which roared and even came charging right at him.
Dragging the wild boar, whose eyes were spinning in circles, Kiyotaki was thrilled.
"What a haul! What a haul!"
"Dinner's taken care of!"
The four truanting kids came toward him.
"Hey, Kiyotaki! I knew you'd be here!"
Naruto jumped up and waved. When he ran over and saw the huge wild boar Kiyotaki was dragging, the corners of his mouth were already starting to drool.
"As expected of you, Kiyotaki! You've hunted another huge one!"
"Haha! Skipping class again today, Naruto? Good timing—I just caught a big wild boar. I'll treat you to some meat!"
"Ooh! We get to eat meat!"
Naruto jumped three feet into the air with delight.
"Ah! So it was you!"
Kiba had followed them over. He recognized the troublemaker at once—the guy who used to show up at the Inuzuka Family all the time and cause a racket.
Akamaru barked and pounced on Kiyotaki, biting down on his pant leg and refusing to let go.
Kiyotaki lifted his foot and gently plucked Akamaru off, handing him to Kiba, who was baring his teeth in anger.
"I'm so jealous of Kiyotaki! You don't have to go to school every day, and you can go wherever you want and even hunt."
Naruto was incredibly envious!
"Don't say that, Naruto. Going to the Ninja Academy is a dream for so many kids!"
Kiyotaki shook his head.
Naruto narrowed his eyes and muttered, "That's not true! It'd be great not to go to school. You'd have so much freedom. But school's good too, since at least you aren't lonely!"
"Here, Kiyotaki, these are the friends I wanted to introduce you to."
Shikamaru Nara held out his hand.
"Nice to meet you, Kiyotaki. Let's introduce ourselves."
Naruto jumped forward. "Me, me first!"
Shikamaru pushed him aside.
"Naruto, don't make a fuss."
Choji Akimichi introduced himself first, munching on chips. "I'm Choji Akimichi. I like chips and barbecue."
Kiba Inuzuka gave a haughty snort. "I'm Kiba Inuzuka. You know that. One day, I'm going to beat you!"
Shikamaru Nara went next. "I'm Shikamaru Nara. I like... Ah! Introducing myself and all that is such a drag!"
"I'm Tenzawa Kiyotaki. I like good food! My special talent is eating a lot, hehe."
Kiyotaki scratched his head and grinned.
Choji was thrilled by what he'd said. "Kiyotaki gets it! I like good food too. It's not because I just love eating!"
As he spoke, he held out his chips. "Here, have some."
"Thanks!"
Kiyotaki took a chip. The Akimichi Clan's chips tasted just right!
"You guys came at the perfect time. I'm treating everyone to barbecue today!"
A fire was already burning beside the river. Kiyotaki set the prepared pork on the fire, then suddenly slapped his forehead.
"Oh! I forgot that everyone in the Akimichi Clan is a food expert. Choji, I'll leave the barbecue to you!"
Choji rolled up his sleeves. "Don't worry, everyone. I'll handle the barbecue!"
Before long, the aroma of meat filled the riverside...
In the Hokage office building, the Third Hokage held the recommendation letter Might Guy had submitted.
It was a detailed profile of Tenzawa Kiyotaki. The card featured photos of Kiyotaki from several angles, a hexagonal stat chart below them, and Might Guy's detailed introduction at the bottom.
The Third Hokage was astonished as he looked over Kiyotaki's profile.
"A child without Chakra who has such incredible stamina?"
Danzo sat to one side, his expressionless face unchanged. "Hiruzen, hand the boy over to me. He's just a child without Chakra!"
The Third Hokage shook his head. "No. Might Guy is keeping an eye on him!"
Danzo said nothing. In his eyes, the boy was merely a child without Chakra. He'd wanted to take him for a few experiments, but if he couldn't get him, so be it.
And so, Kiyotaki, who spent his days roaming freely, was about to receive his Ninja Academy enrollment notice.