After lunch, Anko and Inuzuka Sa started gossiping. Hanfu, Iruka, and the others lay sprawled across their desks, forced to listen to all the "rumors."
Someone in the class next door was having an Early Romance.
An upperclassman had lost control during the morning entrance exam and drawn blood.
The top ten handsome boys among the new students had already been chosen.
Hanfu's scalp tingled.
"Hey, where did you hear all this?"
Hanfu interrupted them in disbelief. They'd all been together that whole morning, so how had the girls suddenly learned so much?
Anko rolled her eyes at him and said smugly, "I heard it when I went to the bathroom just now!"
Hanfu's mouth twitched. Was the girls' bathroom... that amazing?
Could you get this much information just by sitting in there for a while?
What did anyone need headlines for, then?
Inuzuka Sa cradled the little puppy Shiromaru and smiled. "Hanfu, even if we're not official ninjas yet, we still have to pay attention to the information all around us!"
Was she lecturing him?
Hanfu's head hurt.
"Sa, I heard that Uchiha from Class 1 really stood out in this test!" Anko launched into another bit of gossip.
"Mm-hmm." The moment Inuzuka Sa heard the name Uchiha, she got excited. She vigorously kneaded Shiromaru in her arms, squishing his doggy face into a bun.
"Whimper..." Little Shiromaru was miserable.
Inuzuka Sa said excitedly, "And he's super handsome!!"
"Yeah, he's strong, good-looking, and from the prestigious Uchiha Clan. Lots of girls like him." Anko deliberately waggled her eyebrows at Inuzuka Sa and teased, "I heard someone even started a fan club for him!"
"Ahh, I want to join too!!" Inuzuka Sa jumped up and down.
"Whimper..." Little Shiromaru whined and struggled. His head was about to be kneaded right off by his little owner!
Hanfu sat to one side with his chin in his hands. Hearing them, he couldn't help rolling his eyes. If Iruka hadn't been sitting right beside him, he would've thought he'd transmigrated into a top-tier match.
Hanfu yawned and nudged his deskmate Iruka. "Who are those two talking about?"
"Huh, you don't know?" Iruka asked in surprise. "He's the best student in our year!"
Hanfu asked lazily, "Better than Yui?"
"Of course. There's no comparison!"
Inuzuka Sa heard them talking and immediately jumped over, glaring furiously at Hanfu. "Yui absolutely can't beat him!!"
"So what's this Uchiha's name, anyway?"
Hanfu sighed. He just wanted to know a name. Did they really have to fawn over him this much?
"His name is... Uchiha Shisui!" Iruka said.
Hanfu's expression froze, then he made up his mind: I'm going to fawn over him too!!
Body Flicker Shisui.
He was a big shot in the Uchiha Clan, a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder. His Body Flicker Technique and Kunai Throwing Technique were both among the best in the Shinobi World!
Getting to copy even one of them would be enough for Hanfu to dominate the Ninja Academy!
No, he had to arrange a romantic chance encounter, with cherry blossoms raining from the sky and bright sunlight shining down. Then he'd win over Uchiha Shisui and ravage him thoroughly... Ahem, copy his techniques!
"With Uchiha Shisui's talent, he might apply to graduate from the academy as early as next year," Iruka said admiringly.
"Of course. He's the best!" Inuzuka Sa was delighted to hear Iruka's admiration for Uchiha Shisui.
But Hanfu, sitting beside them, fell into thought.
Uchiha Shisui had apparently made a name for himself fighting Kirigakure ninjas during the Third Shinobi World War, making the name Body Flicker Shisui resound throughout the Shinobi World. He had also awakened his Mangekyō after witnessing his comrades' sacrifice in that war.
Konoha was already fighting Sunagakure along the Land of Fire's border. The Third Shinobi World War had begun!
Although Hanfu didn't know exactly when Kirigakure would invade, Uchiha Shisui probably wouldn't stay at the Ninja Academy for long.
Maybe Uchiha Shisui really would choose to graduate in his second year!
That meant there wasn't much time left to fawn over him!
Hanfu had thought this year's students were all bronze rank, but who would've guessed there was a big fish hidden among them?
This guy was definitely king rank!
Hanfu took a deep breath. He knew he didn't have much time, so he had to start preparing right away.
Hanfu couldn't focus at all during the afternoon lessons. His mind was full of the scenes that followed when the male leads in the romance dramas from his previous life met.
I'd planned to treat you all like ordinary people, but all I got in return was distance.
I'm done hiding it. I'm a billionaire. There, I've said it~
Is it my fault that I'm rich and handsome?
Huh?
Something seemed to have slipped in there.
"Students, that's all for today. Class dismissed!"
The voice of their Homeroom Teacher, Kashima Isamu, rang out. "Be careful on your way home, all right?"
"Yes!"
The students answered excitedly.
Class was over already?
Coming back to himself, Hanfu looked up at Kashima Isamu, who was about to leave the classroom, and blurted out, "Teacher, you haven't assigned homework."
Whoosh!
In the next instant, all the students in Class 8 turned to look at Hanfu. Their eyes were as sharp as blades, so piercing that he could barely keep them open.
Kashima Isamu paused, then turned around with a smile. "That's right, I almost forgot. Today's homework is a reflection on Ninja Tool Throwing, at least five hundred words each. Class dismissed!"
"Ahhh!"
"Gekko Hayate, I'm going to kill you!!!"
"Beat him to death!"
Hanfu's face twitched. Had he just made everyone turn against him?
It was Kashima Isamu who assigned the homework. What does that have to do with me? If you've got the nerve, go after him!
But the furious students had stopped listening and were already swarming around him.
Hanfu hurriedly appealed to the other five members of the Six-Person Small Group for help. But to his dismay, everyone except Iruka had joined the assault. Anko, Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, and Inuzuka Sa charged toward him with murderous expressions.
"Don't move!!"
Hanfu was furious. "Everyone here is an elite student at the Ninja Academy. You're all civilized people. Whatever the problem is, can't we... can't we... can't we talk about it after I get down on my knees?"
"Beat him to death!"
At the Ninja Academy gates.
Gekko Hayate had been waiting for a while, but his older brother still hadn't shown up.
Had his brother been kept behind by a teacher?
Just as the thought crossed Gekko Hayate's mind, he spotted a person in tattered clothes, with a bruised and swollen face, walking toward him. A closer look confirmed that it was his brother.
"Brother, what happened to you?"
Gekko Hayate ran over anxiously. "Did you get into a fight?"
Hanfu was speechless. He couldn't tell the truth; he had his pride to think about.
"It's nothing. I saw a student fall on the stairs just now, so I rushed over and saved him. But I fell down the stairs too. Luckily, I wasn't seriously hurt. Don't make such a fuss."
"Really?"
Gekko Hayate's eyes lit up. "Brother, you're amazing!!"
"Keep it low-key. If Mom asks about it when we get home, just tell her the truth." Hanfu waved a hand. "Come on, let's go home, kid."
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