I didn't know what Lord Fugaku had discussed with the school, but after we arrived, a ninja led me to the door of a classroom. He called out the teacher who was in the middle of a lesson and introduced me with great care.
—Introduced me?
I was a little surprised. As I looked at the humble teacher before me, I suddenly understood.
My identity now was Uchiha Fugaku's eldest son. Fugaku was the captain of the Konoha Military Police Force, and the Uchiha were one of the founding clans of Konoha Village. They held a lofty position and wielded great influence. Even if their power had waned, they still had plenty of clout.
I was the son of an official!
It seemed perfectly reasonable for them to treat me with a little respect.
I bowed as well, to show my respect.
"Hello, teacher. I'm Uchiha Akatsuki."
My calm, clear child's voice carried into the increasingly noisy classroom, sending ripples through the crowd.
"Just call me Teacher Nagai." Nagai smiled warmly, much like Umino Iruka. "I'll get you a few forms to fill out. Once you're done, you can join the class." He smiled as he pushed open the door and went inside. The ninja behind me bowed slightly and walked away.
The moment I stepped through the classroom door, I learned what it felt like to have everyone's eyes on me.
It was clearly an upper-grade class. As soon as I walked in, all the boys and girls stopped chattering and stared at me in surprise. I met their gazes. Some of the boys already had angular faces, while the girls were pretty, and a few had begun to develop graceful curves. The room was filled with the energy of youth and excitement, spilling out in every direction.
Compared to them, I was like a little chick—small, young, and completely out of place.
"Sweetie, I think you've got the wrong classroom." The girl in the front row smiled at me. "The first-year classes are on the first floor."
I glanced at her, but before I could reply, Nagai led me up to the podium.
"Akatsuki, don't be nervous. Go ahead and introduce yourself." He gave my shoulder an encouraging pat.
I thought for a moment, then spoke. "My name is Uchiha... Akatsuki. Akatsuki as in 'red,' and 'moon.' I'm four years old. I specialize in Fire Release Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and weapons control."
At that, I furrowed my brow and fell silent.
I'd run out of things to say.
I suddenly realized that I'd been here for four years, and aside from training, all I ever did was train. I had absolutely nothing else to talk about!
What a miserable life!
Seeing the students staring silently, Nagai started sweating. He leaned over and quietly prompted me, "Akatsuki, you're too serious! Tell us about your hobbies and dreams!"
"Hobbies?" I frowned slightly. My mind filled with images of three-colored dango, red bean dumplings, tempura shrimp, and all sorts of delicious, colorful food.
After thinking it over, I swallowed the words "eating" and replaced them with something more fitting for my image.
"I like training."
My cool factor shot through the roof!
Saying you liked training at the Ninja Academy was like saying you liked studying at a regular school.
Talk about asking to get bullied!
Sure enough, some of them looked impressed, others looked annoyed, and one kid even laughed mockingly. He stood up and pointed at me. "His name is Akatsuki? It sounds like the name of some monster. Gross!"
Before Nagai could scold him, I blurred forward. In the next moment, I was standing on his desk.
The kid jolted in fright and fell backward. I grabbed him by the collar to keep him from hitting the floor and quietly asked, "Tell me, which monster do I look like?"
"I... You... Let go!" He tried to pry my hand off, but he was weaker than me and couldn't break free.
"Tell me, which monster do I look like?"
The boy in front of me had a pale, tender face and chubby cheeks. He looked quite cute. But his eyes were dark and deep as a well, and his watery lips were pressed tightly together. His expression was terrifyingly calm, sending a chill through anyone who looked at him!
"Go on." I lifted him with a tug. His face turned even paler, and he grabbed my arm with both hands, but he still couldn't get free.
"Akatsuki!" Nagai shouted as he ran over.
"Of course! Of course you look like the ugliest, the most disgusting, the most evil one!" Terrified, he screamed and struggled frantically. The desks and chairs clattered, and the books scattered across the floor.
I let go, hopped down from the desk, and looked bored.
Tch. I'd thought he might actually know where my name came from.
"Y-You see? He's a coward. He wouldn't dare do anything to me!" After catching his breath, the kid forced out a laugh. The quiet classroom gradually grew noisy again.
"Akatsuki... Are you all right?" Nagai scolded the troublemaker, whose name was Kusama Shigeo, then noticed something was off with me and bent down to comfort me.
I shook my head.
"Akatsuki, your father told me you're very talented, so I think you can choose your own deskmate." Nagai suddenly smiled as he said it.
Hm? My eyes widened slightly.
Choosing your own deskmate was a privilege reserved for top students, wasn't it?
I had no objections. I looked around with some anticipation, only to meet wary or guarded gazes. The rest were full of disdain, mockery, or fear.
None of them were friendly.
I'd been ostracized so suddenly—and so reasonably.
Nagai realized something was wrong too. He'd probably meant to curry favor with me by letting me choose my deskmate, but he hadn't expected it to turn out like this. Instead, he'd ruined his own good intentions.
Kusama Shigeo sat in the last row, so I couldn't choose a seat behind him, but I could still sit in front. I walked down the steps, scanning the seats from the corner of my eye as I went, trying to find somewhere to sit and escape the crosshairs.
But every empty seat had books piled on it, was blocked by someone, or had a cold stare aimed at me from beside it that made it impossible to approach.
I sighed heavily to myself and forced myself to keep walking. Just as I stepped down the last two stairs, someone gently tugged at my right hand.
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