Joining the Uproar

Shencao Izakaya, a small room of less than twenty square meters in the innermost corner of the second floor, was the residence of Shennong.

After returning, Shennong tossed his backpack into a corner, then knelt before a small table and closed his eyes to focus, as if sensing something. After a long while, he pulled a dark blue scroll from his bosom; it was about the length of a palm and as thick as an infant's fist.

To hide this scroll, Shennong had to wear thick clothing; otherwise, short sleeves or the like wouldn't be able to conceal it at all!

Fortunately, he could regulate his own body temperature, or he would have surely died of heat!

Shennong spread the scroll open. It was filled with a large number of characters, densely packed, and it wasn't until five meters away that the characters on the scroll thinned out, revealing a large blank space at the end.

Shennong then picked up a pen and began to write a series of numbers in the blank space.

These numbers were some of the most basic physical data he had obtained from Might Duy.

Shennong silently compared these figures with his own physical data and discovered a fact that he found hard to believe.

My body, actually inferior to Might Duy? How is that possible?!

Ever since Shennong developed the forbidden technique Body Activation, he had been using it to train his body. Yet Might Duy relied only on crude methods like running, squats, sit-ups, and jump rope; how could the results be better than his Body Activation forbidden technique?

Shennong pondered for a long time but couldn't figure it out, eventually attributing it to individual physical talent.

However, this also made Shennong vaguely realize that he had underestimated the difficulty of improving the three flaws of the Eight Inner Gates Formation.

Regardless, he would not give up!

Shennong then rolled up the scroll, tucked it close to his body, and went downstairs to eat and drink.

One-thirty in the afternoon.

In a corner of the Ninja Academy playground, sixty bronze-tier students from Second Grade Class 1 and Class 8 were gathered, chatting incessantly in groups of three or five.

Of course, among them were a few genius kings who remained untainted by the mud, pure despite the ripples, and stood aloof from the world!

Gekko Hayate, a genius king, stood beside his group of six, his gaze passing over the bronze-tier students of his own class and landing on the bronze-tier students of Class 1 not far away. However, after looking for a long time, he simply couldn't find which one was Uchiha Shisui.

"Sa, Sa."

Gekko Hayate had no choice but to seek help from the lovesick girl on the spot, "Which one is Uchiha Shisui?"

Inuzuka Sa held her puppy, stood on tiptoes to look over there, her eyes scanning back and forth like a radar, and finally pointed excitedly at a little boy: "It's him, it's him, that's him."

Our hero~ Little Nezha?

This lyric inexplicably flashed through Gekko Hayate's mind.

"Hayate, that's Shisui, isn't he handsome?"

Inuzuka Sa excitedly grabbed Hanfu's hand and shook it incessantly. "Cool, right? Cool, right? Cool, right?"

Hanfu gave a wry smile. "Yeah, cool, cool. Sa, don't get so excited, my arm hurts."

"Sorry."

Inuzuka Sa let go of Hanfu's hand, her face filled with a sense of bliss. "This is great! I get to be in the same class as Shisui!"

Hanfu ignored his love-struck friend and turned his gaze toward the little boy, Uchiha Shisui.

Uchiha Shisui was slightly shorter than him, roughly 1.3 meters tall, with a neat, short haircut and bright, spirited eyes. The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, radiating sunshine and confidence. He chatted with the classmates standing next to him from time to time, his smile never fading—a textbook example of a warm, charming boy.

Hanfu couldn't help but let his mind wander to living with Uchiha Shisui, going shopping together, having little monkeys together... Pfft, what was he thinking!

Was being a fangirl contagious?

Hanfu shot a look of disdain at Inuzuka Sa.

Just then, Kashima Isamu and the Class 1 homeroom teacher, Hiramatsu Daishi, walked over, leading a group of Fifth Grade students.

"Students, today's training session is Ninja Tool Throwing. To help everyone familiarize yourselves with ninja tools and master throwing techniques more quickly, Teacher Daishi and I have specially invited some upperclassmen to guide you all. Let's give them a warm welcome!"

As he spoke, the two teachers took the lead in applauding.

The novices from Class 1 and Class 8 clapped in response.

However, regarding the arrival of the upperclassmen to provide guidance, most of the novices in the two classes remained skeptical. A few were even quite dismissive, thinking that the upperclassmen were nothing special; when training started later, who would be guiding whom was anyone's guess!

Within Hanfu's small group, Anko was one of those few. She looked at the upperclassmen across from them, her eyes brimming with restless energy, clearly itching to test her strength against them.

Iruka, Kotetsu Hagane, and Izumo Kamizuki remained in a wait-and-see mode.

As for Inuzuka Sa, that girl was still lost in the mesmerizing beauty of Uchiha Shisui, unable to pull herself away.

"Teacher!"

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the Class 1 side.

"What is it?" Hiramatsu Daishi asked.

"Teacher, could you let Shisui have a competition with the upperclassmen?" the voice asked.

Hiramatsu Daishi frowned immediately. Just as he was about to scold this troublemaker, he heard the rest of the students start clamoring.

"Yeah, Teacher Daishi, let them compete with Shisui!"

"We want to see how good the upperclassmen's Ninja Tool Throwing really is."

After all, they were just a bunch of rowdy kids; as long as someone took the lead, they would dare to do anything.

While Hiramatsu Daishi was dealing with his own headache, someone from Class 8 started calling out as well.

"Teacher, our class should pick a representative to compete against the seniors too!"

"Hanfu, let Hanfu go! His ninja tool throwing was amazing last time!"

Although Hanfu was happy to hear others praising him, he had no desire to be in the spotlight.

Showing off within his own class was one thing, but if he did it outside, he would easily stand out and become a target. What if someone ambushed him at the school gate on his way home?

Just as Hanfu was pondering how to refuse, Kashima Isamu spoke up with dissatisfaction: "Enough! This is a training session, not an individual test. If anyone wants to insist on a competition, come up here yourself, and stop stirring up trouble!"

Do you think I don't know what you guys are thinking?

Kashima Isamu glared at the students who were inciting the commotion.

"Hanfu, Hanfu, the teacher is telling you to go up!"

Anko pushed Iruka aside and leaned in close to Hanfu, egging him on to go up and rock the house, fearing nothing but a quiet life.

Hanfu chuckled. "Anko, I just recovered from being sick, so I'll pass."

"Hanfu, you aren't scared, are you?" Anko tried to goad him.

Hanfu nodded. "Mhm, this newbie is already trembling in his boots."

"You guy..."

Anko was left speechless and couldn't help but swat his arm.

"Hey, do you guys think Uchiha Shisui will go up?" Inuzuka Sa didn't care about Hanfu at all; right now, she only had eyes for Uchiha Shisui.

"He will!" Anko shouted.

"He definitely won't," Hanfu said.

Geniuses in this world were generally precocious. How could someone like Uchiha Shisui possibly participate in such a petty, competitive display?

Sure enough, after a while of noise, Class 1 quieted down, and Uchiha Shisui did not take the field.

"See?"

Hanfu put on an act. "How could you mortals possibly grasp the thoughts of us geniuses?"

"Then what are you geniuses thinking about all day long?"

Anko gritted her teeth, making a move as if to pounce and crack open Hanfu's skull.

"Since no one wants to compete, we will now begin training in groups!"

Kashima Isamu and Hiramatsu Daishi exchanged a glance and finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This batch of students was truly difficult to manage. Their talent was mediocre, their tempers were huge, and they had no filter when they spoke. If you weren't careful, they would cause trouble for you—it was impossible to guard against!

Don't stir up trouble, everyone throw two recommendation votes first (ω`)