My Dream is to Develop Stealthily

"Yo, Hayate, haven't seen you all summer, you seem to have grown quite a bit!"

Izumo Kamizuki walked over and sat directly next to Hayate, comparing their heights. He gestured with his hand and smiled, "But I'm still taller than you, haha."

"That's because all my height is in my legs," Hayate said casually.

Although this was the first time he had spoken to Izumo Kamizuki, the sense of familiarity was undeniable.

"What do you mean?" Izumo Kamizuki didn't quite understand.

"Hayate means you have short legs." Kotetsu Hagane walked over, drawing his sword to assist, aiming directly for Izumo Kamizuki's heart.

"What?!" Izumo Kamizuki immediately jumped up, saying angrily, "Nonsense, everything below my chest is legs. Hayate, look, look! My legs are definitely longer than yours!"

Hayate glanced over, grunted a couple of times, and remained noncommittal.

Izumo Kamizuki gritted his teeth: So annoying!

"Woof woof, woof woof woof!"

Suddenly, Shiromaru, the ninja dog in Inuzuka Sa's arms, barked abruptly at Hayate.

"No, Shiromaru, don't you recognize Hayate?" Inuzuka Sa was a little girl with two braids, her cheeks painted with red, fang-like markings, quite cute.

"Whimper~" Shiromaru whimpered twice, seemingly confused himself why he was barking at Hayate.

"Sasha, Shiromaru is growing so slowly. The dog next door grew to my knees in a year, but your Shiromaru doesn't seem to have changed much after a year," Iruka poked his head over and asked.

"Woof woof!" Shiromaru barked twice in protest.

"Because Shiromaru is a ninja dog, its growth cycle is much slower than ordinary puppies!"

Hayate looked up at the small white puppy in Inuzuka Sa's arms, a slight smile on his lips.

After he had replaced Moonlight Hayate, his demeanor and tone of speech would inevitably differ from the original body. These differences, even if noticed by others, including his parents, wouldn't seem too strange. After all, Hayate was still a child, and children are most easily influenced by the outside world. It's like a primary school student whose catchphrase changes from "Oh my god" in First Grade to "Damn" in Second Grade, then "Fuck" in Third Grade, and "Fuck your mother" in Fourth Grade. In Fifth Grade it's "Choose Luban and get a free gift," and in Sixth Grade it's "I'll go jungle, you guys do whatever." Would parents suspect their child had been transmigrated every time their catchphrase changed?

Impossible.

So, as long as Hayate didn't mess up, others would never suspect he had a different soul.

But for dogs, a change in a person's behavior and demeanor would cause them some discomfort and a sense of unfamiliarity. However, this slight discomfort would soon disappear.

"Everyone, can we put the reminiscing aside for now?"

Anko couldn't wait any longer. "Let's talk about the picnic after school first! Hayate and Iruka don't want to go. What are your opinions?"

Hayate shrugged and reiterated, "My younger brother is enrolling this year. I need to take him home after school, so right now, I really can't find the time."

"I have something at home too," Iruka added, raising his hand.

Mitarashi Anko and Izumo Kamizuki exchanged a look, then said in unison: "Anko, we have things to take care of after school too. Sorry!"

"Eh, why is that?" Inuzuka Sa pouted, holding Shiromaru. She was a girl too, and she loved sweets. Although she wasn't fond of dumplings, she really liked red bean soup!

Anko sighed weakly and said dejectedly: "Since you all have things to do today, today's picnic has to be canceled."

Hanfu, Iruka, Izumo Kamizuki, and Kotetsu Hagane exchanged a look and smiled in unison.

"However, since today doesn't work, how about tomorrow!" Anko's eyes darted around, and she called out, "Let's go for a picnic tomorrow after school!"

"Agreed!"

"Woof woof!"

Inuzuka Sa and Shiromaru barked happily.

"..."

Hanfu and the others looked at each other. Anko's routine was too deep.

Just as Hanfu and the others were about to protest, Class 8's homeroom teacher, Kashima Isamu, walked in.

Kashima Isamu was in his early twenties, of medium height, with an ordinary appearance. He wore a ninja headband and was a "loser" ninja from a commoner background. However, he inherited the Will of Fire, was not afraid of hardship or fatigue, and was one of the most outstanding Chunin in Konoha (as Kashima Isamu himself said)!

"Everyone, we meet again. Did you have a happy summer holiday?"

Kashima Isamu crossed his arms, a smile on his face. Without waiting for the students below to answer, he continued: "Whether you had a happy holiday or not, the new semester has arrived, so all of you need to get energized!"

"Yes!"

The students below responded in twos and threes, listlessly.

"Why are you so unenergetic?" Kashima Isamu asked loudly. "Have you forgotten your dreams when you entered the Ninja Academy? It seems I need to remind you!"

With that, Kashima Isamu began to call out names: "Ito Ni!"

"Yes."

Ito Ni was a little fatty. Hearing the teacher call his name, he immediately stood up in a panic.

"Say your dream loudly!" Kashima Isamu shouted with a chuunibyou-like intensity.

"..."

Ito Ni was a bit awkward and said in a low voice, "Um, Teacher, my dream is to become a chef."

Kashima -My Heart is Racing- Isamu blinked heavily twice: "Understood, you may sit. Next, Mitarashi Anko!"

"Teacher, my dream is to eat dumplings, red bean soup, and red bean buns every day..." Anko stood up, not polite at all, and began counting on her fingers.

"Alright, alright, alright, Anko, sit down first."

Kashima Isamu's forehead veins twitched slightly as he looked around. "Gekko Hayate, what about you?"

Hayate stood up and said hesitantly, "Grind and develop, don't overextend?"

"...Pfft!"

"Haha."

"Hayate has become witty."

The students covered their mouths and giggled, leaning on their desks.

Kashima Isamu's mouth began to twitch, and he said angrily, "Hayate, wasn't your dream before to inherit Konoha-Style Kenjutsu and become an excellent Jonin?"

Did I?

Hayate recalled. It seemed that when he first enrolled, he had indeed said that during his self-introduction.

Thinking back to that moment still made him feel a little shy.

Hayate said aggrievedly, "Teacher, last year I was just a 6-year-old kid who didn't understand anything. How can you take a child's words seriously?"

"I..."

Kashima Isamu opened his mouth, but found that what Hayate said made so much sense that he couldn't refute it.

"Sit down." Kashima Isamu, feeling tired, looked at Iruka sitting next to Hayate and said, "Iruka, what is your dream?"

Iruka stood up, his back straight, and said loudly, "Teacher, my dream is to become an excellent ninja!"

"Well said!"

Kashima Isamu, feeling thrilled, had tears streaming down his face. As expected, Iruka wouldn't disappoint him. He immediately clapped forcefully and praised in a high-pitched tone, "Classmates, you all need to learn from Iruka. Never forget your original intention for enrolling in the Ninja Academy. Since you've chosen to be a ninja, you must persevere through wind and rain! No matter how great the difficulties, you must remain steadfast and forge ahead to pursue your dreams!"

His impassioned speech finally ignited the little bit of fighting spirit in the Bronze students. Their eyes shone as they clapped and applauded.

Kashima Isamu smiled and gestured for them to quiet down. The applause immediately subsided.

"Classmates, to test whether you've been slacking off during the past summer holiday, everyone gather at the training ground behind the school in ten minutes for a test!" Kashima Isamu said loudly.

"Ahhh, no!"

"I hate this!"

"What does it matter, we're all dead last anyway."

"I just hope I'm not the last one. Hayate, it's up to you."

The students complained one after another. One of them even turned his head and looked at Hayate expectantly.

Hayate's expression froze, and then he became furious: Listen to that, listen to that! Is that something a person would say?

Just because they don't want to be last, they expect him to be?

After being classmates for a year, is their friendship boat going to capsize just like that?