The Academy's Four Salted Fish

The next day.

Hyuga Seigo began his student life.

"The sun is shining bright, I'm off to school, the little birds say early, early, early, why are you carrying a pack of dynamite..."

"I'm going to blow up the school... never late for a day... pull the wire and I run... with a boom... the school is gone..."

Hyuga Seigo sang his little song, trotting to school on his short little legs.

Blow up the school?!

Passersby heard this and their faces darkened with sweat.

What a brat~

Oh, it's the prestigious Hyuga clan, never mind, nothing to be done about that.

"Hyuga Seigo, why are you late again!!!"

"That's the third time this week."

Iruka roared.

"Teacher, your vocal cords are about to pop out. Is it only three times this week? Isn't that an improvement..."

Seigo dug at his ringing, numb ears and argued back.

"You jerk~ It's only Wednesday today. Get out there and stand in the hallway..." Iruka grew even angrier at the sight of Seigo's attitude.

"Hai, hai~" Seigo obediently walked out.

Perfect time for a nap.

His reputation as a God of War was not for nothing.

"Ahahaha~ Shikamaru, Choji... look at him quickly... what a big idiot...

A super big idiot... he couldn't even think of something as simple as climbing in through the window... hahaha..."

Naruto was seen using both hands and feet, struggling to climb up from outside the window. Upon seeing the scene before him, he couldn't help but clutch his stomach and laugh out loud.

"I~"

Standing to the side, Shikamaru's face was instantly covered in black lines, and he cursed inwardly: This damn idiot, we're finished now!

"Shikamaru~"

Choji looked at Shikamaru with an innocent face, his eyes filled with helplessness and confusion, as if asking: "What do we do now?"

"Hmm??? And you lot too..."

Just then, they realized with horror that because Naruto's laughter was so loud, he had successfully drawn the attention of Iruka-sensei. Iruka's sharp gaze shot toward them like two bolts of lightning.

Shikamaru spread his hands helplessly, indicating he had no way out. Things had reached this point; they had no choice but to accept their fate.

"Uzumaki Naruto~ Nara Shikamaru~ Akimichi Choji~"

Sure enough, the next second, they heard Iruka's angry roar: "And you few, get out of here immediately and stand in the hallway!!!"

Iruka was nearly driven mad. This group of troublemakers caused trouble one after another, not a single one of them was easy to manage; he felt his hairline receding by a few millimeters.

Damn it, he didn't even have a girlfriend yet.

"Ah~ don't, Iruka-sensei... we know we were wrong..." Naruto was instantly dumbfounded, filled with regret; if he had known, he wouldn't have been so carried away.

However, Iruka remained unmoved and continued to shout: "Get out here now! Immediately~"

"Sigh~" Shikamaru sighed deeply, feeling mentally exhausted. How could he have encountered such pig-teammates today? It was truly rotten luck.

"Going, going~ why are you so angry~" Naruto muttered.

And so, the dejected trio of Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji had no choice but to slink out of the classroom.

As soon as they stepped outside, they heard a familiar voice: "Yo~ you guys came too..." It was Seigo, watching them with a grin.

At this moment, Seigo was in an exceptionally good mood, because finally, there were people to keep him company in punishment.

"Man~ what a drag~" said Shikamaru.

Choji: "Mmm-hmm~ crunch~ crunch~", his hands never stopped, potato chips were delicious.

Naruto: "Haha~ finally not alone."

Seigo: "Right? This is fate."

And just like that, the Ninja Academy F4 assembled for the first time.

Just like that, Hyuga Seigo began his relaxed, comfortable, and carefree student era.

The morning sun spilled onto the campus, and the breeze brushed against the leaves, making a rustling sound. Seigo walked into the classroom with a light step, a faint smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.

"It really feels a bit like my college days in my past life!!! Hehehe~ children, your daddy is here..."

At school, he and his good friends formed a unique group—the Truant Quartet.

For three years, they often skipped class together to find their own moments of joy. Sometimes, they would sneak onto the playground to play and chase each other; occasionally, they would pull small pranks that left the teachers laughing and crying at the same time.

These brats.

They could fall asleep even while standing.

Each one sleeping more soundly than the last, even snoring away.

Fighting was just a daily routine for them.

Naruto and Choji would tank the damage.

Shikamaru provided support.

Qingwu roamed as the mobile force.

They relied entirely on team tactics.

Even the older kids were beaten until they were howling in pain.

Their main strategy was simply ganging up on people.

They never fought alone.

They were absolute little hell-raisers.

Because of their special statuses—either children of great clans or Jinchuriki—they could only be left to their own devices, with standing in the corner being the harshest punishment.

The most common sound was Iruka-sensei's angry roar: "You four again! Go stand in the corner! You're responsible for cleaning today, do you hear me..."

Qingwu would just say, "It's a piece of cake."

Shikamaru: "I can't fall asleep unless I stand in this spot."

Choji: "It's fine, as long as Shikamaru is here. Crunch, crunch... barbecue-flavored chips are so good..."

Naruto: "Hehe~ as long as they're here."

No one blamed Iruka, because most of the time, Iruka was the one quietly cleaning up their messes, apologizing to the parents of the beaten students, and secretly helping them with their cleaning duties.

Hehe~ we were wrong.

But we aren't going to change.

Whoever called Naruto a wild child or a fox demon, or spoke ill of Iruka-sensei, deserved a beating for their loose lips.

If they say it again next time, we'll beat them again.

This was the consensus of the four-man group, and even Shikamaru, who was usually a lazy slacker, was firm on this.

More often than not, the four of them liked to head to the riverbank together, bringing fishing rods for some wild fishing.

"Slurp~ Shikamaru, it's your move."

"Oh~ now it's your turn~"

This was Qingwu and Shikamaru's favorite time: two lounge chairs, a pot of good tea, occasionally tugging on their lines, chatting, and playing a few moves of shogi. It was incredibly leisurely.

Two lazy slackers.

"Fishy, fishy, Lord Naruto is here~" Naruto and Choji were in the water catching fish and shrimp.

"Hehe~ leave this to me. When I didn't have food to eat before, I often came here to catch fish~" Naruto was purely showing off his fishing skills.

"Mm-hmm, Naruto, you're so amazing."

But as soon as the words left their mouths, the expressions of the other friends froze. They exchanged glances and decided to be better to Naruto from now on.

"Ahaha~ it's nothing, really." Naruto felt embarrassed instead and worked even harder at catching fish.

Only his lowered head hid eyes that were turning red.

"Uncle Teuchi, Third Hokage-gramps, there are people in the village who acknowledge me now, hehehe~"

On the other side.

Choji was muttering to himself: "Garlic-grilled fish, braised fish, boiled fish, crucian carp soup, stir-fried river shrimp... slurp~ mm-hmm... let Qingwu cook it all... slurp..."

Hinata and Ino would occasionally come for a meal, but because they were well-behaved girls who didn't skip class, they only came on weekends.

They missed out on quite a lot of delicious food.

However, because the group spent so much time outside chasing chickens, hunting dogs, and catching fish and shrimp, their physical fitness and agility were quite good. Without realizing it, they had learned to climb trees and walk on water, putting them ahead of their peers.

In terms of practical combat, they all had decent grades. This was one of the reasons Iruka let them off easy.

Shikamaru: Qingwu, you're the one guiding us from the shadows, aren't you? You really are unexpectedly reliable, you guy.

Choji: Dad told me to just stick close to Shikamaru.

Naruto: I knew it, I'm a genius.

Qingwu: This is all thanks to Dad, you know? My dear children...

Aside from these fun activities, Qingwu also often teased Ino and Hinata from his class. Watching them turn bright red from embarrassment filled Qingwu with a sense of accomplishment. "Little girls, you're so cute."

"Mm, right, I'm still young and don't know anything."

"It's just teasing. It's so good to be a kid; I love being a kid... hehe~"

"Raising them is so rewarding..."