Ninja Academy's Little Tyrant

"Hmm?"

Why did this kid look so familiar?

In the tree-lined path to Hane's left, two boys around ten years old, who looked like they were about to graduate from the Ninja Academy, were pinning a seven or eight-year-old child against a wall.

Originally, Hane had no intention of meddling in such affairs.

However, upon seeing the child pinned to the wall—dark-skinned, with long, dark hair tied into a pineapple-head style—he felt a sense of deep familiarity.

He stopped in his tracks and spoke slowly, "Hey, I'm talking to you two!"

"Huh??"

Hearing that someone was actually meddling in their business, the two Ninja Academy students immediately turned around.

But when they saw that the person standing behind them was actually younger than the kid they were currently bullying, they burst into laughter.

"A brat even smaller than this guy wants to play hero?"

Whoosh!!

Before they could even finish their sentence, they felt a blur before their eyes, and Hane, who had been standing in front of them, had vanished from his spot in an instant.

"Thud! Thud!!"

Two dull sounds echoed out.

The Pineapple-Head Kid, who had been pinned to the wall, had only just reacted.

He watched in astonishment as the two boys who had been bullying him were knocked to the ground by Hane in the blink of an eye.

"So... so strong!"

Seeing Hane, who was two or three years younger than him, take down two soon-to-graduate Ninja Academy students in the blink of an eye, the Pineapple-Head Kid stood against the wall with his mouth agape, too shocked to speak for a long time.

"It hurts..."

"Damn it... how can a brat like this have so much strength?!"

The two Ninja Academy students hadn't even realized what had happened.

They had been sent spinning and knocked to the ground, staring up at the five-year-old Hane with expressions of utter shock.

"What are you staring at?"

"Aren't you going to leave?"

Having dealt with the two Ninja Academy students in a flash, Hane turned his head to look at the dazed Pineapple-Head Kid leaning against the wall and spoke indifferently.

In the time that had passed, besides developing the abilities of the String-String Fruit and practicing ninjutsu, Hane had focused most of his efforts on taijutsu training, especially now that his chakra had reached the level of a genin.

Dealing with these two Ninja Academy students, who had only just begun to refine chakra, was as easy as flipping his hand.

"Uh!!"

Hearing Hane's calm voice, the Pineapple-Head Kid seemed to wake from a dream.

He was just about to thank Hane when another voice arrived at an inopportune moment.

"In this situation..."

"Do you still have the mood to meddle in other people's business?"

Accompanying the voice, four mysterious figures had blocked the path where Hane and the Pineapple-Head Kid stood.

"Yakushi Hane, right?"

"After that incident last time, I specifically went to find out your name..."

After the four figures blocked their path, the person who spoke wore a sneer filled with hatred; it was Itachi, the Ninja Academy student who had been severely taught a lesson by Hane last time.

"Quick... run!"

"It's Itachi and Kotetsu Hagane and the others!"

Seemingly sensing the shift in atmosphere, the two Ninja Academy students on the ground scrambled up and fled in a panic.

Only the Pineapple-Head Kid, whom Hane had saved, hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and choosing to stand behind Hane.

"So it's you..."

"The guy who wet his pants last time."

Seeing Itachi, whom he had soundly thrashed before, leading three other senior Ninja Academy students to block his path, Hane spoke.

Yu slowly turned around. Not only was there no trace of panic on his face, but a mocking smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. "What? Did the last incident not teach you a lesson?"

"You wretched brat!!"

As expected, the moment Yu's indifferent words left his mouth, Itachi gritted his teeth in fury.

That painful experience from last time was like a nightmare that refused to fade from his mind.

If it hadn't been for the fact that he had acted without authorization and used ninja tools, his parents would have already gone to the Konoha Orphanage to cause trouble for Yu.

Instead, they had to swallow their pride. After being sent to the Ninja Hospital for treatment, both Itachi and Inazu were lectured by their parents.

"Hmph, have the newcomers at the Ninja Academy become this arrogant now?"

Before Itachi could shake off his rage, a boy standing beside him, whose black bangs covered the right side of his face, stepped forward and let out a cold snort.

"Itachi, is this the kind of brat who taught you a lesson? You really haven't made any progress."

At the same time, another boy standing on the other side of Yu, with black hair parted in the middle like a hedgehog, seemed unable to stand Yu's detached attitude any longer. He stepped forward, sneering with sarcasm.

"These two guys?"

Sandwiched between two boys who looked to be around ten years old from the Ninja Academy, Yu gazed at their familiar faces. A look of realization dawned on him. "So that's it... Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane, those two side characters..."

"Your way of welcoming newcomers is quite unique."

Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki.

Both were elite Chunin of Konoha in the original story.

The rapport and deep trust cultivated over many years made their teamwork nearly seamless.

At this age, they were both in their teens and senior students at the Ninja Academy.

What Yu hadn't expected was that these two side-character Chunin from the original series were actually bullies at the Ninja Academy during their youth.

"Alright, Senior Kotetsu, Senior Izumo."

"Stop the chatter, let's just teach this kid a lesson and head back."

A sickly, impatient voice urged them on.

The last boy among the four, Itachi and his group, finally spoke.

With a pale complexion, a black headscarf, and heavy dark circles under his eyes, he looked frail and sickly.

Hayate Gekko.

Yu recognized the boy's identity at a glance.

In the original story, he was a Special Jonin of Konoha and the proctor for the third round of the Chunin Exams during Naruto's generation.

He was also the childhood sweetheart of Yugao Uzuki, a short-lived man who died at the hands of the Sunagakure Jonin Baki during Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan.

Of course, the Hayate Gekko before Yu now was only eight years old.

He was a year younger than Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, yet his strength was a cut above theirs.

"Quite a few familiar faces..."

"It's a pity they're all insignificant side characters."

After identifying the three boys from the Ninja Academy, Yu reached out and beckoned to the four of them with his finger.

"Alright, don't waste my time..."

"All of you come at me together. I'm in a hurry to get home."