Perhaps There Won't Be a Next Semester

It was a beautiful, sunny day.

Warm sunlight spilled over Konoha.

The land was flat and open, and the houses stood in neat rows.

There was hardly a hint of disorder anywhere in the streets.

By contrast, there weren't many people out and about, which seemed a little strange.

Miki, the general store owner, gazed at Konoha's lovely scenery and began thinking back over everything that had happened lately.

Recently, Miki had heard a lot of complaints from the village children.

They used to collect scraps and trade them in at his shop for pocket money. But at some point, all of Konoha had become unusually clean.

As a result, the kids had almost no pocket money left.

Business had been good for Miki lately, though he'd changed his main line of work a little. He thought of the blond boy and smiled faintly.

The Demon Fox? Give me a break.

There were few people around, though some were coming and going.

Miki saw two Uchiha kids walk past and thought they looked familiar. But he quickly put the thought out of his mind.

The Uchiha?

How would he know anyone from that clan?

He must have been mistaken.

Sasuke and Hui, passing by Miki's shop, recognized it and glanced over without thinking. Miki shuddered in fright.

The Military Police!

He didn't want them showing up to inspect his books.

So Miki immediately disappeared from the doorway.

Hui and Sasuke found it rather strange.

When they reached the classroom,

the atmosphere was as usual.

It was as if nothing had ever changed.

A few familiar classmates seemed to be out sick today, leaving the class feeling a little empty.

But Naruto, who was usually so lively, had seemed a little down lately.

"You idiot, Naruto... Naruto? Naruto! Are you okay?"

Sasuke saw Naruto looking listless and showed his concern in his own way.

"Sasuke, Third Hokage Grandpa is so mean. The two jutsu he gave me are impossible for anyone to learn. The semester's almost over, and I've only managed to learn the Rasengan."

Naruto's complaint reached Sasuke's ears.

Sasuke's concern immediately gave way to irritation. He hadn't had any new jutsu to practice lately.

Fugaku hadn't taught him anything, and his older brother had told him not to visit Chuanhe-senpai for the time being.

The classroom's steady chatter gradually died away. With everyone looking at him, Naruto Uzumaki awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

Maybe he shouldn't have said that.

A hotheaded boy with camouflage paint on his cheeks couldn't hold back any longer. "Damn it, Naruto Uzumaki! I challenge you! Let's settle this!"

His name was Kiba Inuzuka, and Akamaru, perched on his head, barked twice in agreement.

There wasn't much point in a challenge like this. As first-years, they had barely any chakra.

Even with their elders urging them on, there were very few ninjutsu they could learn.

But as Hui watched this familiar scene unfold, he felt differently.

He didn't want to leave everything in front of him.

Because...

There might not be another semester.

What had happened yesterday had made Hui realize that this peace had nearly run its course.

Hui glanced behind him. There was an empty seat there, and his heart sank.

Ino wasn't here today.

Hinata seemed to be absent, too.

Quite a few students were out today.

At last, the silence was nearing its end. Today was the day it would all come to a close.

Konoha was a small place. It didn't take much to figure out what the higher-ups were thinking.

These clans thought they were clever, but everyone could see right through them. The Uchiha were the only ones who couldn't see what was happening.

As Hui was lost in thought, he saw Kiba Inuzuka walk into the classroom with a bruised face. Even Akamaru looked as if he'd taken a couple of punches.

Naruto was beside him, apologizing and trying to comfort him.

Naruto had been pretty troubled by these challenges lately. It wasn't that he didn't want to accept them; it was just that the other kids kept collapsing even when he barely used any chakra.

When he fought Sasuke, he could hold back a little and Sasuke could still take it. That only made Naruto more and more certain that Sasuke was amazing.

Naruto clasped his hands together and pleaded with Sasuke. "Sasuke, Sasuke! I need another bottle of that stuff. Sorry, sorry. I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen next time."

Sasuke looked as if he were shaking with anger, and a vein seemed to bulge on his forehead.

"Naruto Uzumaki! This is the last time. Next time, deal with it yourself!"

Sasuke tossed him a bottle of Secret Medicine and ignored him.

Meanwhile, Sasuke silently roared to himself, Who cares about Ichiraku Ramen? You idiot, Naruto!

Naruto didn't mind Sasuke's reaction. After spending so much time together, he'd already figured out how Sasuke worked.

The last time?

He'd heard that a few times already.

Naruto thought to himself, This time, I'll treat Sasuke to a really big meal. The jerk always eats more than I do.

Then Naruto happily took the medicine and went to find Kiba Inuzuka—and Akamaru, too.

Iruka-sensei was as familiar as ever, the lessons were the same, and one classmate after another left the classroom.

By the end, with the setting sun shining in, only Hui, Naruto, and Sasuke remained in the classroom.

Naruto was very sensitive to this sort of thing and noticed something was off about Hui today. He quietly stayed with his two friends.

Naruto had made another new friend today, bringing his total to more than ten. He was now making great strides toward a hundred.

But he treasured these first two friends dearly.

Hui kept staring toward a distant, unseen place.

From Hui's perspective, although Chuanhe hadn't gone out of his way to hide what he was doing about the Uchiha, Hui still didn't know much about it.

He only knew that Chuanhe had asked him that night how he would handle the situation if he were in charge.

He hadn't learned much new information yesterday, either.

They would leave Konoha. The main culprit would be punished, and casualties would be kept to a minimum.

That was everything Hui knew.

What would happen in the future? Hui had no idea. He could only feel lost.

Naruto was one of his few friends. If Hui and Sasuke weren't around, would Naruto's life get even worse?

Hui had gotten the answer from the Anbu watching Naruto: no, never.

As long as Naruto remained the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, the situation would never improve. Even if things were moving in the right direction, it was for reasons Naruto could never understand.

Even if Naruto hit him or yelled at him today, Hui would still take him away without hesitation.

Konoha didn't deserve to have Naruto.

Hui made his decision. "Naruto, come with us! I don't know what Konoha will be like after today, but I promise things will be better if you come with us."

The Anbu keeping watch outside the classroom tensed up, every one of them on edge.

Kakashi, who was leading them, seemed to have broken into a cold sweat.

What was that kid talking about?

Sasuke, who knew very little about what was going on, was completely confused. What did Hui mean by going with them? Didn't they go home together after school every day?

Naruto clearly didn't know, either.

"Huh? What do you mean, go with you?"

Hui continued to stare toward the unknown. "I mean leave Konoha and live somewhere completely new."

"Then you won't have to live under surveillance anymore."

Hearing that, Kakashi instinctively threw the kunai in his hand.

Nine Anbu appeared in the classroom in an instant, surrounding the three of them.

One of them moved to pull Naruto away, but neither the kunai nor the Anbu's hand touched anything.

And yet, the three of them still appeared to be standing in the classroom.

Naruto seemed to notice something and stared down at the floor, his expression frozen.

Sasuke did the same, but after what had happened last time, he reacted faster. He already had a kunai in hand and had taken a fighting stance.

Kakashi, wearing his mask, realized something was wrong. "Genjutsu! They're on the roof! Move!"

But when they reached the roof, it was empty. Only a faint trace of the three of them lingered in the air.

Kakashi quickly formed Hand Seals and slapped his palm against the ground.

[Summoning Technique]

A Ninja Dog appeared on the ceiling. It was Pakkun, Kakashi's summon, and an excellent tracker.

Kakashi should have been calmly assessing the situation, but he was extremely tense. His voice came from behind his mask, tinged with panic.

"Pakkun, please. Which way did they go?"

Pakkun sniffed around the roof, but his expression grew grave.

"Sorry, Kakashi. It seems they vanished into thin air. Only Space-Time Ninjutsu could have done that."

Kakashi rapidly assessed the situation. The Heavenly Transfer Technique to transport people? Impossible. That jutsu could only transport objects. Could it be... the Flying Thunder God?!

Had they stolen the Scroll of Seals from Konoha?

Damn spies!

If it was the Flying Thunder God...

Then they couldn't have gone far. The kids wouldn't have enough chakra to leave Konoha outright.

There was only one possible answer—the Uchiha Compound!

"The Uchiha Compound! Move! You report to the Third Hokage and tell them to begin acting immediately."

Kakashi knew some of what was going on. Though he was deeply saddened by it, he felt even more guilty toward Obito.

The Uchiha...

I'm sorry, Obito. I've let you down.

The eight of them raced across the rooftops.

Below, one of the two watermelon-haired boys doing frog jumps noticed the unusual sight.

A mature-looking man said in a low voice, "Lee, that's enough for today. Something serious seems to have happened. I need to go check it out."

The smaller watermelon-haired boy looked confused. "Guy-sensei, were those the ninja from before? Are they enemies?"

Guy gazed in the direction the others had gone. "No, they're comrades. Lee, don't slack off while I'm gone! Youth never stops!"

Guy flashed Lee a brilliant grin and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Oh!!! Yes, Guy-sensei!" Lee replied excitedly.

As Lee left, Guy stared gravely in the direction Kakashi had gone.

Kakashi was Guy's eternal rival. He could never mistake that silhouette. He had never seen Kakashi in such a hurry before.

Guy leaped onto a rooftop.

Then he hurried off in the same direction.