The next morning, in Class 8, Year 2 at the Ninja Academy.
At the front of the classroom, Kashima Isamu was explaining various Anti-Tracking techniques in a steady stream. Hanfu listened halfheartedly, yawning boredly every now and then, looking every bit like a poor student.
Fortunately, aside from Hanfu, there were at least a dozen other Stubborn Bronzes in the class who were just like him, so he didn't stand out among them.
During the break, Inuzuka Sa took her puppy to the bathroom. When she came back, her eyes were sparkling.
"Anko, Hanfu, Iruka, Little Tie, Izumo!"
Inuzuka Sa gathered her friends excitedly and said mysteriously, "Do you know what day it is the day after tomorrow?"
Iruka: "What day?"
Hanfu: "The school anniversary?"
"I think it's the weekend, so we should have the day off." Kotetsu Hagane thought for a moment.
"None of those!" Inuzuka Sa shook her head, then lowered her voice and said excitedly, "I'll tell you—the day after tomorrow is Shisui's birthday!"
"Heh." Kotetsu Hagane looked speechless.
"I thought it was something important." Izumo Kamizuki shrugged.
"Why don't we all go eat ramen the day after tomorrow?" Iruka was already craving it.
"How can you be like that?"
Inuzuka Sa pouted. She'd gone to all the trouble of overhearing this top-secret news in the bathroom, and these people weren't even excited.
Hanfu, however, had an idea. He'd been focusing on Shennong and the Forbidden Body Activation Technique lately, and had accidentally "neglected" Shisui. Now that Shennong had left and he'd successfully gotten started on the Forbidden Body Activation Technique, all he had to do was keep training steadily, no matter how difficult or painful it was, and his body would naturally grow stronger.
That meant Hanfu could now make time to befriend Shisui, and even