Senju Gen

Uchiha Yuan smiled and greeted Hatake Harukaze, "Classmate Hatake, I hope you don't mind me sitting here."

Hearing this, Hatake Harukaze was clearly stunned; he hadn't expected Uchiha Yuan to speak to him.

He looked at Uchiha Yuan's smile and found not a trace of falseness in it.

Uchiha Yuan's gaze was clear, without the disgust and malice he had encountered in others' eyes before.

Hatake Harukaze softly replied, "Classmate Uchiha, please sit. I don't mind."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hatake Harukaze turned his gaze away.

His expression was indifferent, his eyes blank and dazed, as if he didn't want to interact with anyone.

Seeing this, Uchiha Yuan didn't mind, sitting quietly with his arms crossed.

The classroom was filled with the chatter of classmates, making the surroundings noisy.

Suddenly, Hatake Harukaze heard a voice by his ear, "Classmate Hatake, what do you think of the recent rumors about the Uchiha?"

Hatake Harukaze turned his head in surprise and uncertainty, his gaze finally settling on Uchiha Yuan.

Facing his gaze, Uchiha Yuan smiled slightly and nodded.

After a moment of silence, Hatake Harukaze said, "Classmate Uchiha, I don't understand what you mean?"

Uchiha Yuan revealed a mocking smile and transmitted his voice, "These sudden rumors remind me of the rumors that appeared overnight six years ago targeting Konoha's White Fang."

Hatake Harukaze's expression immediately changed in shock, and he stared at Uchiha Yuan for a long time without speaking.

A young ninja in his early twenties walked into the classroom; he was Sarutobi Retsu, the homeroom teacher for Class 9.

"In this class, we will learn about Amegakure."

"This symbol on the ninja headband is the symbol of the Rain Shinobi."

"Amegakure is located in the Land of Rain, and its leader is Hanzo of the Salamander, known as the 'demi-god' of the ninja world. Konoha has three lords: Orochimaru, Tsunade, and Jiraiya. These three are known as the Sannin in the ninja world, and they hail from Hanzo of the Salamander."

"...The Land of Rain is located northwest of the Land of Fire. Due to its climate of constant rain, large inland lakes have formed..."

In the following classes, two more ninja teachers took over, imparting knowledge of ninja skills to everyone.

For example, how to identify traps, how to create traps; how to conceal tracks, how to perform simple wound bandaging.

Most students from ninja clans already had some understanding of these skills and couldn't help but show bored expressions.

After the academic classes came the outdoor training session.

After all, the Ninja Academy was specifically for cultivating ninjas with combat capabilities, and outdoor training was the most important course.

Students at the Ninja Academy train their bodies and learn combat techniques through practice sessions.

For example, shuriken throwing practice, taijutsu training, chakra refinement, and basic E-rank ninjutsu like the Three Body Replacement techniques.

Led by a burly, short-haired ninja instructor, a group of students followed him as he began to run laps around the training ground.

Each lap of the training ground was about one kilometer. After several laps, about half of the students had fallen far behind, panting heavily, their legs stiff and almost unable to move.

These were all students from civilian families.

Those who could still keep up were divided into two groups: five students remained tightly behind the short-haired ninja instructor, while another nine were a bit further back. Though all of them were drenched in sweat, they were still keeping a steady pace.

Uchiha Yuan was among these nine. Sweat streamed down his face, but compared to the heavy breathing around him, his own breath was steady, his running gait not the least bit disordered, still firm and powerful.

Uchiha Yuan didn't want to stand out too much, so he had been hiding his true abilities.

Entering the Ninja Academy was equivalent to entering the village's sight.

For a civilian, standing out and displaying considerable ninja talent was a good thing, attracting the village's attention.

But he was an Uchiha, and moreover, from a branch family of the Uchiha.

He wouldn't show loyalty to the village like Uchiha Shisui or Uchiha Itachi, because even if you showed loyalty, Konoha High Command, led by Hiruzen Sarutobi, wouldn't trust you; they would only use you.

Otherwise, with Uchiha Shisui's fame as 'Body Flicker Shisui' from the Third Great Ninja War, if Konoha High Command had given Shisui a mid-to-high-level position in the village, it would have absolutely appeased the Uchiha Clan's resentment.

What would happen to an Uchiha genius who hadn't shown loyalty to the village?

If it were a main branch of the Uchiha Clan, Konoha High Command might have some reservations.

But if it were just a branch family of the Uchiha Clan, this genius might disappear under unclear circumstances.

In fact, over the years, several Uchiha clan members who displayed considerable talent had met with accidents and died suddenly.

There were many geniuses in the ninja world, but only geniuses who grew up were true geniuses.

The five students who were still tightly following the short-haired ninja instructor were Hatake Harukaze, Uehara Isami, Hyuga Kagami, Yūhi Murasaki, and Senju Gen.

Yūhi Murasaki was a delicate and cute-looking girl with smooth, purplish-red long hair.

Senju Gen was a boy with a perpetual smile on his face and long black hair.

The Senju Clan had been in decline for many years, with fewer than ten clan members enrolling in recent years.

And Senju Gen, because of his surname, was undoubtedly the center of Class Nine; both students from ninja clans and civilian students were close to him.

"Pay attention, one more lap. I'm going to speed up," the short-haired ninja instructor suddenly announced.

Immediately after, his speed drastically increased, instantly creating a large gap.

Hatake Harukaze and the other four hurried to catch up, but the short-haired ninja teacher's speed kept increasing.

Before long, Yūhi Murasaki was the first to falter, and in the blink of an eye, she was left far behind.

Next was Hyuga Kagami, and then Uehara Isami, with only a few seconds between them.

In contrast, Hatake Harukaze and Senju Gen were not only not left behind, but were gradually catching up to the short-haired ninja teacher.

"As expected of the Senju Clan, from which the First Hokage hailed. They live up to their name. Senju Gen can actually keep up with Teacher Tano Riki."

Among the nine people running at a slower pace, a boy with face paint said as he ran. He was from the Inuzuka Clan.

At the same time, he glanced at Uchiha Yuan behind him without any concealment.

"Harukaze-kun isn't bad either. He also kept up with Riki-sensei's speed," said a girl.

However, after hearing the girl's words, several cold snorts were heard.

"How can the Hatake kid compare to Senju Gen?"

"Exactly. The Senju produced the First and Second Hokage, and one of the Sannin, Princess Tsunade. The Hatake family, on the other hand, produced a coward like the White Fang, who brought shame to the village."

Hearing this, Uchiha Yuan's brows furrowed slightly, and his gaze swept over the boys who had spoken.

He hadn't expected the impact of the White Fang incident to still linger after so many years.

At this moment, a boy from a commoner background first glanced at Uchiha Yuan, then spoke, "The Senju are a prominent clan, on par with the Uchiha. Judging by Senju Gen-classmate's performance, he truly lives up to his prominent family background. He's amazing."

As the boy's words fell, several gazes turned towards Uchiha Yuan almost simultaneously.

Uchiha Yuan let out a heavy breath and said coldly, "Hmph, is a ninja's strength determined by who runs faster? How boring."

The last lap ended, and the students stood in place, panting heavily.

Especially the students from commoner backgrounds, who had fallen to the back, all collapsed on the ground, their chests heaving violently.

At this moment, Uehara Isami walked up to Uchiha Yuan and said to him with a smug look, "Uchiha Yuan, don't you dare run away after school."

Looking at the panting Uchiha Yuan, Uehara Isami's original hidden worries dissipated.

This kid from the Uchiha family was no threat at all. His real opponents had always been Hatake Harukaze and Senju Gen.