Heh-heh-ha-hey?

After Shennong left, Hanfu had no reason to stay at Might Duy's house any longer.

"Senior Duy, I'll take my leave, too."

Hanfu said his goodbyes.

"Be careful on your way, little Hanfu. You can come visit Uncle whenever you have time," Might Duy said with a smile as he walked Hanfu to the door.

Looking at Might Duy, Hanfu hesitated. He wanted to expose Shennong, but doing so would be no different from flipping the table. Shennong would certainly be hunted down, but Hanfu, who had ruined Shennong's plans, would likely face a manhunt by Shennong and all the Sky Ninja Remnants.

And that wasn't all. Shennong's identity was so secret that no one in all of Konoha knew who he was. How had Moonlight Hanfu found out?

Everything was afraid of scrutiny, and Hanfu was no exception. He really couldn't stand up to an investigation!

So he could only choose Stealthy Development!

As he stepped out of Might Duy's house and into the warm sunshine, Hanfu suddenly remembered something.

Oh... right. I haven't used today's three Collection Techniques yet.

Hanfu turned around and saw Might Duy slowly turning to go back inside.

Collection Technique!

Hanfu sent a Collection Technique his way. The Green Light Orb in his mind instantly churned, then spat out a pale blue Light Spot.

Hanfu raised an eyebrow. Seeing Might Duy about to disappear through the doorway, he hurriedly used his remaining two Collection Techniques on him. The next instant, two more pale blue Light Spots shot out of the Green Light Orb.

Hanfu was overjoyed. This Might Duy guy... he really is a good person!

At that moment, Hanfu felt exactly the same as Shennong!

But wasn't it a little unfair to Might Duy to think that way?

Hanfu shook his head, then happily wrapped his consciousness around the three pale blue Light Spots.

The first was the Body Flicker Technique!

Unfortunately, this Body Flicker Technique wasn't a Doton-jutsu but a kind of Taijutsu—a high-speed movement technique that relied on the strength of one's muscles and bones. Without a powerful body, it was impossible to use!

The second was Taijutsu—Nunchaku!

Uh... the smile on Hanfu's lips froze.

The third was something special: a finishing move—Nunchaku—Twin Attack Fangs!

Hanfu's smile grew more and more strained.

Was he supposed to go "heh-heh-ha-hey" now?

But he wasn't some milk-tea princess. Who was he supposed to show off his Nunchaku to?

Ugh, why couldn't I have gotten a couple of proper Taijutsu techniques?

Like Konoha Whirlwind or Konoha Great Whirlwind.

Hanfu was a little exasperated, but since he'd already collected the techniques, he might as well absorb and digest them. Maybe they'd come in handy someday.

Hmm... actually, this is pretty good!

Half an hour later, Hanfu crossed several streets and arrived at the Gekko Izakaya, a few hundred meters from his home. Then he stopped.

Was it really a good idea to go home right now?

Keiko worked the night shift at the hospital and rested at home during the day. It was nearly noon, so she should already be home.

If Hanfu went back, getting caught skipping class wouldn't matter, but disturbing his mother's rest would be a serious offense!

No, no!

Hanfu thought it over and decided to go to school instead. He couldn't let himself disturb his mother's rest!

Wait, school?

Hanfu frowned. Had he forgotten something important?

Ninja Academy.

The noon bell had already rung, and it was lunchtime. The shady corners of the playground, every classroom in the School Building, and the cafeteria were filled with the aroma of food.

Hanfu had left his Bento Box at home when he went out that morning, and now he was feeling hungry. He'd have to ask Anko, Inuzuka Sa, and the others to share.

So he hurried to Class 2-8.

But the moment Hanfu went in, a fat boy blocked the doorway.

"Moonlight Hanfu? You... Hmph, I never thought you'd be that kind of person. I, Ito Ni—pfft..."

When the chubby boy spoke, it seemed like air was leaking from his mouth. His round face suddenly flushed bright red, as if he'd suffered some terrible injustice. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared furiously at Hanfu.

"Huh? What's wrong? What were you going to say?"

Hanfu was confused. What was this supposed to mean—getting furious halfway through a sentence?

Faced with Hanfu's complete lack of understanding, Ito Ni grew furious and embarrassed. Since he couldn't say what he wanted to, he could only give an angry snort, shove past Hanfu, and leave the classroom.

"Hanfu, are you feeling better?"

Hanfu was still bewildered when Anko's teasing voice came from the back of the classroom.

Hanfu looked up. Anko, Iruka, Inuzuka Sa, and Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane were all watching him with mischievous smiles.

Hanfu instantly grew wary. Were these little brats planning a rebellion?

"It's nice to be young. You get sick at just the right time, and recover even faster."

"Yeah, I wish that could happen to me, too."

"Too bad the teachers aren't pushovers, haha."

"Woof, woof, woof!"

The few of them spoke in mocking tones, winking and nudging each other from time to time. Hanfu got annoyed and rushed over to snatch food from their Bento Boxes.

"Hey, hey, did you come here without eating lunch?" Anko grumbled. He'd snatched nearly half of her food before she could react.

Inuzuka Sa was generous and didn't stop Hanfu, but the little puppy, Shiromaru, felt as if its position had been dealt a devastating blow and couldn't help barking.

After filling his stomach a little, Hanfu asked, "So, you all can't stand me taking a sick day, huh?"

Iruka looked Hanfu up and down and complained, "Hanfu, you don't look sick at all."

"That's because I took my medicine in time."

Hanfu couldn't just admit that he'd faked being sick. Didn't he have any pride?

"Is that so?" Anko teased. "Or did you skip class because you were worried you'd do badly on the exam?"

"Do badly?"

A bolt of lightning flashed through Hanfu's mind, and he suddenly realized, "The Theory Exam?"

No wonder he'd felt like he'd forgotten something!

So that was it!

Kotetsu Hagane said with a mischievous grin, "Hanfu, including you, five people were absent this morning. The teacher's furious and said they'd give you five a separate Theory Exam! If you do badly, there'll be consequences."

Hanfu could hardly believe it. "How many people were absent?"

"Five, counting you!" Izumo Kamizuki replied with a knowing smile.

Hanfu covered his forehead, feeling utterly exhausted. These bronze-ranked fools—why had so many people skipped class over a Theory Exam?

Their class only had thirty students in total. One-sixth of them had actually been absent...

Hanfu looked at Iruka in frustration. "Well?"

Iruka spread his hands and shrugged to show he couldn't help. Even if he was one of the five who had to retake it, he wouldn't dare complain. It would be too obvious!

"When's the make-up exam?"

Hanfu asked weakly.

"Who knows? I guess they'll wait until all five of you show up," Kotetsu Hagane said, patting Hanfu on the shoulder with an expression as solemn as if he were wishing him luck before sending him off to war.

"Enough about that. Let's talk about something else."

What was done was done; there was no point dwelling on it. Hanfu could just rely on his true abilities and get a zero. No big deal.

Anko's eyes shifted, and she suddenly said in a mysterious voice, "I heard that for this afternoon's combat training, the teacher invited some senior students to teach us Ninja Tool Throwing!"

"Upperclassmen?"

Inuzuka Sa wasn't interested.

"It's with Class 1!" Anko said with a mischievous giggle.

"Really?"

Inuzuka Sa got excited at once. She scooped up the little puppy and squeezed its head as hard as she could. "Th-then I can learn with Shisui! That's amazing! Shisui is the best! Shisui is the greatest!"

"Maybe... we should change the subject?"

The others could hardly bear to see Inuzuka Sa like this.