Practical Combat Drill

As the self-introductions concluded, Iruka brought over stacks of books and began distributing them.

To become a ninja, one must study a vast amount of material, ranging from theoretical knowledge of ninjutsu to practical application.

With its immense national strength, Konoha had even compiled diagrams of common ninjutsu into the textbooks to help students familiarize themselves with the arts.

Beyond that, there was an endless array of cultural subjects to master.

Ino watched Lu Yu and Shikamaru with great interest, noting that the two brothers' movements were uncannily synchronized.

Both of them were currently frowning at the thick books in front of them. After flipping through a few pages at random, they couldn't help but yawn, then muttered with expressions of deep melancholy:

"What a drag, haaaa..."

Lu Yu didn't know what his younger brother was thinking, but his own mind was currently locked in a fierce internal struggle.

Should he spend the afternoon learning all of this, or should he take the long view and deal with it later?

This was truly a complex problem.

While Lu Yu wrestled with his dilemma, the afternoon arrived in the blink of an eye.

The afternoon was reserved for the annual tradition of passing on the Will of Fire at the Ninja Academy.

During Sarutobi Hiruzen's endless speech on the "Will of Fire," Uzumaki Naruto and the others listened with rapt attention, their faces glowing with excitement as they nodded in agreement from time to time.

Meanwhile, Lu Yu and Shikamaru, hearing the droning voice, began to doze off in perfect unison.

Watching the two little ones soundly asleep, Sarutobi Hiruzen on the podium cast a helpless glance toward Nara Shikaku, who was secretly watching the playground from afar.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was, of course, well-acquainted with Shikaku's two precious sons.

It was no secret that these two little ones were pathologically lazy. Sarutobi also knew that before they started school, they usually didn't wake up until eleven or twelve o'clock, and even then, it wasn't because they were rested—they were simply woken up by hunger.

Ignoring the two troublemakers, Sarutobi finished his speech on the "Will of Fire," chatted briefly with the new students, and after offering some words of comfort to Iruka, left the Ninja Academy directly.

The first day of school was merely a formality to let the students know what to expect moving forward.

After the Third Hokage departed, Iruka led the class back to the room, outlined the curriculum for the semester, and went over the school's rules and regulations. With that, the first day of classes came to an end.

The moment they heard school was dismissed, Lu Yu and Shikamaru, who had been fast asleep just a moment before, instantly sprang back to life. The exhaustion on their faces vanished, and their eyes erupted with a startling brilliance.

They really hated attending class that much!

Ino watched them speechlessly as she packed her things, preparing to head home with the two of them and Choji.

After packing his belongings, Lu Yu looked at Hinata and said, "See you tomorrow, Hinata."

Hinata's face turned bright red. She nodded gently, her mouth opening slightly as if she didn't know what to say.

Watching Hinata's reaction, Lu Yu shook his head helplessly, and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio set off together.

Watching them walk away, Hinata looked enviously at Ino's retreating back and whispered to herself, "Lu Yu-kun..."

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, two months had passed.

During these two months, Lu Yu's life had undergone a world-shaking transformation.

It all started when his parents were both away on missions, and Lu Yu and Shikamaru overslept.

When they woke up hungry at noon and finished eating, they arrived at school in the afternoon only to find, to their surprise, that Iruka didn't react at all to their tardiness.

Lu Yu and Shikamaru were far too clever; the two of them realized immediately that something was amiss.

A few days later, they confirmed that Iruka must have received instructions from the Hokage to place no restrictions on whether they attended class or not.

Once they realized this, the reason became clear: the Third Hokage likely found them too lazy to bother with, figuring that even if they skipped class to wander around, it was better than them sleeping in the classroom. Thus, he had specifically instructed Iruka to grant them special treatment.

Of course, this only applied to the two of them; if anyone else skipped class, the consequences would be quite dire.

Understanding this, Lu Yu and Shikamaru couldn't help but giggle.

Shikamaru found a spot in the mountains with a pleasant environment and began to rest to his heart's content.

As for Lu Yu, he snuck home to steal a saw and a blade, then slipped into the forest at a leisurely pace.

Before long, Lu Yu had fashioned a lounge chair and a fishing rod, beginning the life of a "salted fish" he had dreamed of.

Fishing by the lake, sleeping in the classroom, and having meals prepared at home—Lu Yu felt his life had reached its peak. It was incredibly comfortable.

Over these two months, the Ninja Academy had taught some theoretical knowledge and a certain level of ninja training.

During this period, almost all the children had found their own little cliques, which was nothing new.

This included Uzumaki Naruto; under Lu Yu's intervention, the Ino-Shika-Cho group had accepted Naruto's presence.

This had made Naruto much more cheerful.

Of course, there was no such thing as a free lunch. Lu Yu's main purpose in accepting Naruto was that this guy was a natural-born scapegoat.

No matter what trouble was caused, as long as Naruto was there, all other accomplices were considered innocent.

Additionally, during these two months, Ino discovered that when Lu Yu smiled or acted serious, he was truly incredibly handsome.

However, this guy was nowhere to be found all day long, and even when he was occasionally spotted in the classroom, he was fast asleep. What was most infuriating was that Iruka chose to turn a blind eye to it.

Besides that, a theoretical test had been conducted over the past two months, and the first and second places were surprisingly taken by Lu Yu and Shikamaru, who were never seen around.

In response, the group of students who spent their days snitching finally conceded and temporarily gave up on targeting them.

That afternoon, at the Ninja Academy training ground.

"Students, two months have passed since the start of the school year."

Iruka held a list containing everyone's names in his hand and spoke with a serious expression:

"Over these two months, aside from the theoretical exams, we have never conducted a practical assessment. Therefore, we will be holding a practical combat examination this afternoon."

"Please take this seriously. Today's assessment will determine who is the most outstanding student in the class..."

As soon as Iruka's voice fell, the eyes of the entire class ignited with fervor—Number One!

These two words held immense appeal for the children and represented the glory they all yearned to claim.