Enrollment

"Yo, you look like you're in pretty good shape."

Early that morning, Shuji and Hinagiku had barely stepped outside when they saw Hiashi and Hizashi, both dressed in white.

Hiashi looked far more spirited today than he had on the arena that day.

Hearing that, Hiashi stopped, but he had no intention of responding to Shuji. Instead, he silently looked at Hyuga Hinagiku.

"Hyuga Hinagiku pays her respects to Lord Hiashi."

Looking at Hyuga Hiashi before her, Hinagiku clenched her teeth almost imperceptibly, stepped forward two paces, and bowed to him.

Seeing this, Shuji nodded lightly and looked at Hizashi Hyuga behind Hiashi with a faint, teasing smile.

"Hizashi Hyuga pays his respects to Lord Shuji."

Before Shuji could even look at him, Hizashi stepped in front of Shuji the instant Hinagiku finished speaking and bowed respectfully.

"Let's go. To the Ninja Academy."

Seeing this, Hiashi clasped his hands behind his back, held his head high, and walked toward the Ninja Academy as though he were someone important.

"Shuji!"

Just as Shuji was walking down the road in utter boredom, Nawaki's voice suddenly rang out.

"Ah... Nawaki."

Shuji looked over at Senju Nawaki, who was jogging toward him.

"Hinagiku and Hiashi are here too? And this is?"

After arriving before Shuji, Nawaki first looked at Hinagiku and Hiashi, then turned his gaze to Hizashi.

"This is my younger brother, Hizashi Hyuga."

A friendly smile appeared on Hiashi's face as he spoke to Senju Nawaki.

Hizashi nodded lightly to Nawaki, who returned the gesture with a smile.

After a brief round of introductions, the five of them headed toward the Ninja Academy together.

Along the way, this little group made up entirely of children from prominent clans drew countless sidelong glances from passersby.

Had the Senju and Hyuga joined forces?

The ninjas who recognized Hiashi Hyuga and Nawaki Senju almost instinctively thought the same thing when they saw them.

The young heirs of Konoha's first- and third-ranked great clans walking together on Konoha's streets made for a truly explosive sight.

From afar, Uchiha Mikoto watched the little group without a trace of expression on her face.

He was merely someone who did not keep his promises. There was no need to let him stir her emotions.

Even so, Mikoto truly wanted to go up and ask Shuji why he had not gone back there even once in two whole months.

After a long silence, Mikoto resumed walking toward the Ninja Academy.

The Ninja Academy's entrance test was actually very simple. It did not even involve Chakra; it merely tested physical stamina.

The method was simple as well: they only had to keep running laps around the field. As for when they could stop?

The test would end when the number of remaining students was just enough to fill every seat in each class.

For Shuji Hyuga's little group, this assessment was not merely easy—it barely registered at all.

As for class assignments...

The Ninja Academy's class assignments really did have some shady dealings involved. The most obvious example was that all children from ninja clans had been gathered into a single class.

Of course, the children from ninja clans alone could not possibly fill an entire class.

The academy would also randomly assign some civilian-born ninja students to that class.

But honestly, although the village assigned the best teachers to these children from ninja clans...

Entering such a class was not necessarily a good thing for children from civilian families.

After all...

Children from ninja clans all had a foundation already.

Children from Konoha's top three great clans—the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyuga—not only possessed their respective clans' Kekkei Genkai, but had also generally learned one or two ninjutsu by now.

Even Senju Nawaki, who seemed the most unreliable, had learned the Shadow Clone Technique and Superhuman Strength.

As for smaller ninja clans such as the Shimura, Sarutobi, and Ino-Shika-Cho, they might not possess Kekkei Genkai, but they did have inherited secret techniques.

Though their children did not have Kekkei Genkai and could not yet learn their clans' secret techniques due to their difficulty, they had still mastered some basic ninjutsu quite solidly.

Compared with those children, the only advantage civilian-born children might have left was their ability to endure hardship.

But what use was enduring hardship?

In a class like this, the Chakra Refinement Technique would inevitably receive only a cursory explanation.

At such a teaching pace, no amount of hardship alone would be of any use to civilian children.

More than anything, they still needed talent...

Upon entering the classroom, Shuji took Hinagiku's hand and hurried over to the first row in the middle.

Shuji did not actually care where he sat, but he felt that with Hiashi's trash personality, he would definitely want to sit in front of him.

So, thinking that even making Hiashi uncomfortable would be worthwhile, Shuji pulled Hinagiku along, squeezed Hiashi aside, and claimed the middle seat in the first row.

There were only three columns in the classroom. Hiashi had undoubtedly wanted to sit in the middle seat of the first row, but Shuji was already sitting there.

Hiashi could not exactly go over and tell Shuji to stand up and give him the seat.

It was not that he did not want to. Mainly, Hiashi felt that Shuji probably would not give up his seat.

As for using force...

Heh...

How crude.

Hiashi silently walked to the first row of the far-right column and sat down.

Hizashi took the seat beside Hiashi.

Senju Nawaki watched the scene unfold and scratched his head in confusion. What had happened?

A moment later, though Senju Nawaki still had not figured out what was going on, he sat down beside Shuji anyway.

There were three seats in each row, so Shuji's side was now full.

Hiashi silently glanced at Senju Nawaki. Although Nawaki had chosen to sit beside Shuji rather than him, Hiashi could understand it.

After all, Shuji was now Tsunade's disciple. It was perfectly natural for Nawaki to be closer to Shuji.

Still, understanding it did not mean he was not annoyed...

Soon, a large number of students who had passed the test entered the classroom.

Yet the remaining seat beside Hiashi remained empty the entire time.

It was not that no one wanted it. Who would not want to sit in the first row and make themselves familiar to the teacher?

Especially children from civilian families.

But after the civilian children looked at Hiashi Hyuga's obviously displeased expression, they thought it over and chose seats farther back.

As for the children from ninja clans...

They all had their fixed groups.

The Ino-Shika-Cho had cooperated for generations, so naturally they sat together.

The Shimura and Sarutobi might love and hate each other, but they would certainly sit together as well.

The Mitokado and Utatane families were also very close.

By the time Uchiha Mikoto entered the classroom, nearly everyone had already taken their seats.

At first glance, Mikoto saw Shuji sitting in the middle seat of the first row, chatting and laughing with the young heir of the Senju clan, Senju Nawaki.

And at that very moment, Shuji also spotted Uchiha Mikoto standing at the classroom door.

The instant he saw Mikoto, Shuji froze.

Hey! Who's that? She's pretty cute... Hmm... Why does she look familiar?

Without a doubt, the unmistakable confusion in Shuji's eyes was successfully caught by Uchiha Mikoto.

At last, the icy expression on Uchiha Mikoto's face completely shattered at that moment...