Konoha Year 58, April—the day the Ninja Academy opened for the new school year.
The weather was clear and pleasant. Warm sunlight spilled across the Ninja Academy's training ground, making the brand-new school buildings look especially bright.
The campus was bustling with noise. New students arrived with their parents from every direction, and the air was filled with excitement, anticipation, and a trace of nervousness.
Ning Xue wore the new clothes his mother had prepared for him and stood at the school entrance, calmly observing the commotion. His parents, Hyuga Ning and Hyuga Yuki, stood beside him with encouraging smiles.
"Ning Xue, do your best! Make sure you listen to your teacher."
Hyuga Yuki gently straightened his collar.
"Mm, got it."
Ning Xue nodded, but his eyes habitually swept over the surroundings, assessing the school, the concealed spots, and the children who might become his classmates—or his problems—in the future.
Just then, his gaze was drawn to a swing in the corner of the training ground.
A lone figure sat there—Uzumaki Naruto.
He was wearing his orange-and-blue clothes today, sitting alone on the swinging seat beneath a tree. He stood out sharply from the groups of children surrounded by their parents.
His head was lowered, and his toes unconsciously traced lines in the sand. His usually vibrant blue eyes looked dim and dejected, as if the lively atmosphere around him had shut him out.
Ning Xue's gaze lingered on him for a moment.
Still, he wasn't surprised.
He did not approach or reveal any emotion. He simply shifted his gaze away, as if he had merely taken a glance around.
Before long, the entrance ceremony began.
All the new students gathered in the center of the training ground.
The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, arrived as promised. He wore his Hokage robes and hat, a pipe between his lips, and his kindly face carried a hint of authority.
He walked to the front of the stage and began his annual address.
"Wherever the leaves dance in the wind, fire burns eternal..." His voice was loud and resonant as he spoke of the Will of Fire, the importance of protecting the village and safeguarding one's comrades, and encouraged the children to study hard, grow into excellent shinobi, and become the pillars supporting Konoha.
The Third Hokage's speech left most of the new students and their parents below fired up with enthusiasm.
But Ning Xue stood among the crowd, expressionless as he muttered inwardly.
"'The Will of Fire'...? Protect... the village? Heh. It sounds so noble. How is this any different from the pyramid schemes of my previous life? Whenever trouble strikes, people like us are always the first to be pushed out to die... It feels so hypocritical."
"Besides." Ning Xue rubbed his forehead.
"I don't even have freedom. Why should I throw my life away for them?"
The only things he believed in were the strength he held in his own hands and how to use that strength to protect the people he truly cared about.
As for the village's greater good? That was too distant—and too fragile.
After the address came the basic testing session. The teachers began calling names, and the new students stepped forward one after another for the most basic chakra-sensing test and physical assessment.
Ning Xue controlled his performance without the slightest suspense, keeping it at a moderate level—showing some talent, but never enough to stand out. He perfectly concealed his true strength.
Finally, it was time for the part when many families took pictures to commemorate the day.
"Ning Xue, come over here. Let's take a picture!" Hyuga Yuki happily pulled her husband and son toward a spot with the school emblem in the background.
Hyuga Ning still wore a serious expression, but he stood ramrod straight.
Hyuga Yuki's face was alight with happiness and pride.
Caught between them and facing the camera, Ning Xue managed to force out a faint smile that was at least passable.
Click—
The camera flashed, freezing the moment in time.
The Hyuga family, dressed in their new clothes, stood before the brand-new Ninja Academy.
A stern father, a delighted mother, and Ning Xue's stiff smile, as if he were some kind of artificial human.
And with that, the entrance ceremony ended. After the noise and bustle of the crowd, the parents left with all kinds of feelings.
They had officially handed their children over to the school.
Once the teachers had finished arranging the classes, the new students were led by their respective homeroom teachers toward different classrooms.
Ning Xue was assigned to Iruka's class.
The seats in the classroom had not yet been fixed. Most of the children sat with those they had hit it off with while chatting earlier, or with people who simply looked agreeable.
Ning Xue was happy to enjoy some peace and quiet, so he walked straight to the window seat in the last row.
The position offered a broad view of the classroom, allowing him to observe everyone while making him less likely to attract attention.
He silently observed his classmates, considering whether any of them might cause him trouble.
Uzumaki Naruto sat carelessly in the exact center of the first row, seemingly trying to draw everyone's attention. Yet most of the children instinctively avoided him, leaving a small invisible vacuum around his seat.
Naruto seemed not to care at all. He continued looking around, filled with curiosity about everything.
Uchiha Sasuke sat alone by a window on the other side of the room, arms crossed and chin slightly raised. His aloof, icy expression warned others to stay away, yet it attracted the secret gazes of quite a few little girls.
Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino sat not far apart. They seemed to have already started bickering over some shared topic.
Nara Shikamaru let out a huge yawn, found the least conspicuous corner, and sprawled across it.
Akimichi Choji sat beside him and had already begun crunching on snacks.
Aburame Shino sat quietly in his place.
Hyuga Hinata...
The young lady Hinata was poking her fingers together with a shy expression, secretly glancing at Uzumaki Naruto from time to time.
"Naruto-kun."
Inuzuka Kiba, meanwhile, was playing with his Akamaru.
At that moment, the homeroom teacher, Umino Iruka, walked up to the podium.
He wore a gentle smile and tried to calm the restless children in the classroom.
"Hello, everyone. I'm your future homeroom teacher, Umino Iruka. From today onward, we'll spend the next few years studying together."
Iruka began his opening remarks, introducing the school's rules and regulations, the course schedule, and so on.
Most of the children listened with curiosity. Only a few, such as Ning Xue, Sasuke, and Shikamaru, seemed rather uninterested.
Before you continue