Uchiha Toru (Kazama Toru)

Beside the ramen stall on the street corner, two silver heads, one big and one small, were watching the scene.

"Father, we should be going." Five-year-old Kakashi wore a mask, revealing only a pair of lazy eyes, as if uninterested in the farce that had just unfolded.

But Hatake Sakumo didn't move. Only when the small red figure disappeared around the street corner did he speak softly, "Kakashi."

"Hm?"

A faint smile played on Sakumo's lips. "That child has something you don't."

"What?"

"The courage to not care what others think." Sakumo turned and started walking forward. "That child ran into the crowd not to prove anything, but simply because he wanted to."

Kakashi followed his father, silent for a moment.

"That's just foolish."

"Perhaps." Sakumo didn't argue. "But extreme foolishness can sometimes go further than cleverness."

Kakashi didn't reply.

His gaze, however, involuntarily drifted towards that path.

The short figure in the red short-sleeved shirt, the brilliant smile revealed when he gave a thumbs-up, had inexplicably imprinted itself in his mind.

He shook his head, trying to shake the image away.

The gates of the Ninja Academy were right in front of them.

Miya almost dragged Shin-chan the last stretch, finally braking at the entrance.

"Hoo... hoo... We're here." She panted, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "We're not late, hurry inside!"

Shin-chan stood still, tilting his head to look at her.

"Mother."

"What is it now?"

"Where's my schoolbag?"

Miya froze.

"And my lunchbox," Shin-chan added, his tone as calm as if he were commenting on the nice weather.

Miya's smile froze on her face. She slowly lowered her head to look at her empty hands, then at Shin-chan's empty hands, and murmured in a daze, "Where are the schoolbag and lunchbox?"

"Genkan, next to the shoe cabinet," Shin-chan reminded.

"..."

A "cross" slowly appeared on Miya's forehead.

"Shin Nohara!!!"

"Here."

"Why didn't you remind me when we were at home?"

Shin-chan blinked, looking innocent. "Mother didn't give me a chance to speak and just pulled me along."

Miya's "cross" went from one to three.

"Then you just watched Mother pull you all the way without saying anything?"

Shin-chan thought for a moment and nodded seriously. "Yes, because I thought Mother had a special plan, like sending me here first and then flying back with ninjutsu to get something."

"I'm not a ninja!"

"But this is Konohagakure, aren't everyone here ninjas?"

Miya took a deep breath, and another deep breath.

Then she turned and ran.

"Wait for me at the entrance, you're not allowed to go anywhere!!!"

Her voice had already drifted dozens of meters away.

Shin-chan watched his mother's retreating back and shook his head. "Adults are so irritable."

He then turned around, hands behind his back, and began to survey the Ninja Academy he had never entered before.

There was a sandpit in the yard, a swing, and some training equipment he had never seen. A few trees were planted in the corner, with several benches under their shade.

"Wow, the slide here is so high."

Shin-chan's eyes lit up. Just as he was thinking about trying it out, he saw a little boy in a blue ninja uniform sitting on a bench in front of him.

The little boy was about his age, with neat black hair and exceptionally delicate features. His eyes were large and round, but at the moment, he was looking at the ground with a dejected expression.

Beside him stood a woman in a kimono, her expression gentle.

"Xiao Che, listen to Mother, you need to get along well with your new classmates today, okay?"

"Okay," he replied in a small voice.

"Don't always wear a straight face, smile more. You're a Uchiha Clan Child, you need to show your upbringing."

"Mm."

"If anything happens, come find your teacher, or wait for your mother to pick you up. Remember, you're a Uchiha Clan Child, you must..."

"Be excellent, can't disgrace the family." The Little Boy finished for his Mother, a hint of grievance in his tone. "I know all that."

The Woman nodded with satisfaction, patting his head. "Good boy, Mother is leaving now."

She stood up, tidied her clothes, and turned to leave.

The Little Boy on the bench continued to sit in the same posture, his shoulders slightly slumped.

Shin-chan stood about three meters away, watching for a while.

Then he walked over and plopped down next to the Little Boy.

"Hello there."

The Little Boy jumped, turning his head sharply, and met a smiling face.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Shin Nohara, I'm five years old, and today is my first day of school." Shin-chan propped his hands on his knees, swinging his short legs. "And you?"

The Little Boy instinctively straightened his back, trying hard to put on a serious expression. "My name is Uchiha Toru."

"Uchiha?" Shin-chan tilted his head. "That Pretty Aunt just now called you Xiao Che."

"That's my Mother..." Uchiha Toru pursed his lips, wanting to say something, but swallowed it back.

Shin-chan leaned closer, staring at his face.

Uchiha Toru felt creeped out by the stare and shrunk back. "What are you looking at?"

"Are you unhappy?" Shin-chan asked.

"No."

"Yes, you are." Shin-chan pointed at his eyebrows. "They're furrowed here. My Mother looks like this when she's angry."

Uchiha Toru subconsciously touched his brow.

"I..." He opened his mouth, unsure why, but this strange child made him want to confide. "I just don't want to go to the Ninja Academy."

"Why not?"

"Because." Uchiha Toru lowered his head. "The kids here all think I'm weird. They say I'm too clean, too well-behaved, and I don't like playing in the mud with them."

He paused, his voice growing softer: "I want to play too, but Mother says people from the Uchiha clan can't get their clothes dirty, can't fight with others, and must always pay attention to their image."

Shin-chan listened intently and nodded: "Then what do you like to play?"

"Me?" Uchiha Toru thought for a moment. "I like reading, I like collecting cards, but there's no one here to play these with me."

Shin-chan blinked, suddenly jumped off the bench, ran in front of him, and extended his right hand.

"Then let's be friends!"

Uchiha Toru looked up and met a pair of sparkling eyes.

"My name is Shin Nohara, I'm five years old, I have Mother and a puppy named Shiro at home, and Father often goes out on missions," Shin-chan said all at once.

Uchiha Toru stared blankly at the hand in front of him. No one had ever approached him so directly and offered to be friends.

"Don't you think I'm weird?"

"Weird?" Shin-chan tilted his head and thought. "A little, but it's okay. I'm weird too. My Mother says I'm weird all over."

Uchiha Toru couldn't help but smile, then he reached out and shook Shin-chan's hand.

"Then let's be friends."

"Yay!" Shin-chan shook his hand vigorously, then suddenly remembered something. "Oh right, do you like Bear Cookies?"

"It's... okay?"

"Then do you have Chocolate Sticks at home?"

"I... I do."

"Great! Next time I come to your house to play, you eat my Bear Cookies, and I'll eat your Chocolate Sticks." Shin-chan's eyes curved into crescents. "But if there are any Pretty Older Sisters, save them for me."

Uchiha Toru didn't understand the last sentence, but he suddenly felt that today wasn't so bad after all.