Ninja Academy

In the blink of an eye, the ten-day break flew by, and today was the official start of the Ninja Academy.

Lihuo rose early. Unlike the black Uchiha training gear he wore for his daily drills, he chose a blue short-sleeved shirt and white shorts—much like the outfit Sasuke wore during his debut.

After finishing breakfast and packing an extra rice ball, Lihuo began his journey into school life.

Walking through the Uchiha Clan Grounds, he was greeted by many kind-hearted elders who showed him affectionate concern.

"Little Lihuo, have you eaten yet? Come, have a pancake your uncle made."

"No thank you, Uncle Teuchi, I've already eaten. But when you see Obito later, tell him to hurry up—he's going to be late!"

In this friendly atmosphere, Lihuo stepped out of the clan grounds.

Outside the gates, the Uchiha clansmen were usually members of the Konoha Military Police Force. They all wore stern expressions, and some even carried an air of arrogance from time to time.

So this is the Uchiha clan, Lihuo thought. A complex entity woven from pride, arrogance, kindness, and paranoia.

As he walked down the streets of Konoha, passersby would occasionally whisper to one another.

"Wow, this kid is so cute, and kind of handsome too."

"I know, right? If he were a few years older, I'd definitely chase after him."

"Calm down, Jingbo, you're already fifty (;￣O￣)..."

Lihuo felt a bit speechless as he watched the middle-aged woman buying breakfast nearby, unable to stop himself from grumbling internally.

So this is what Sasuke must have felt like back then.

Suddenly, he felt a faint gust of wind behind him, accompanied by rhythmic shouting.

"Ten more laps around the village! If I don't finish, that's 500 leg lifts! Burn, my youth!"

It was Guy training. Although Guy had won the entrance exam this year, he had been rejected due to a lack of talent for chakra.

Dai encouraged Guy, telling him that as long as he worked hard and burned his youth, he would surely achieve something and protect those he held dear.

Because of this, Guy trained even harder. This made life miserable for Lihuo, who trained alongside him; to avoid falling behind, Lihuo's own training volume had been steadily increasing.

"My good friend, are you heading to school!" Guy shouted. Because his thick eyebrows and green spandex suit were such an eyesore, his loud roar drew even more attention from the passersby.

Lihuo wasn't shy, but he couldn't shake his old habit of feeling secondhand embarrassment. Even as his toes curled in his shoes, he bit the bullet and replied.

"That's right! Let's train together after school!"

"By the way, why don't I see Uncle Dai? Isn't he training with you?"

"Old man? He's out on a mission. A C-rank mission, I think..."

Seeing Guy's face drenched in sweat from his training, Lihuo wiped it for him, taking the opportunity to pat Guy on the head while pretending to fix his hair.

Ding! Touched the head of C-rank ninja: Might Guy. Please select one of the following rewards:

A set of green spandex

A tube of eyebrow-thickening serum

Konoha Strong Fist

Lihuo chose "Konoha Strong Fist" without a moment's hesitation.

Immediately, accompanied by a slight headache, the techniques of the Konoha Strong Fist style were deeply imprinted into Lihuo's mind.

Not only that, but Lihuo could feel his muscles being reinforced.

He was now better adapted to the force-generation methods of the Strong Fist, and his muscle groups seemed to have been forcibly injected with muscle memory, allowing him to react in the shortest possible time. This was undoubtedly a massive boost to his taijutsu.

Everything was going his way, and Lihuo felt even more cheerful after receiving the reward. However, seeing that class time was approaching, the two exchanged brief pleasantries. Guy continued his intense training, while Lihuo set off for school. As he walked, he couldn't suppress his growing frustration, and he grumbled in his heart.

Which idiot decided to put the Uchiha Clan Grounds on the edge of the village!

It takes so much effort just to get to school. No wonder that fool Obito is late every single day.

If only the Uchiha grounds were located like the Hyuga or Sarutobi clans, or even the Ino-Shika-Cho families, that would be great.

And why is someone as strong as Uncle Dai taking C-rank missions? Oh right, because he's still a genin. It just goes to show that Konoha really has no eye for talent...

Cutting through streets and alleys, Lihuo finally arrived at the classroom on time. As soon as he stepped inside, he was enveloped by the noisy atmosphere.

They were just children, after all, and couldn't sit still; everyone was chatting away, the room buzzing with energy.

Among them, Lihuo spotted many familiar faces.

Asuma, Kakashi, Nohara Rin, Shiranui Genma...

The only one missing was Uchiha Obito. It seemed he was late again.

Beyond them, there was one unexpected person—the bane of those who keep their heads down: Uchiha Aotian.

However, Aotian no longer possessed the haughty air he had ten days ago. Instead, his face was bruised and swollen, and he was sitting upright in the back row by the window, previewing his lessons.

Lihuo scanned the room and decisively chose the seat next to Aotian. If one asked why—the back row by the window was the home of kings. If one wanted to dominate the school, this was surely the land where legends were born.

Lihuo tossed his bag onto the desk by the window and tapped Aotian on the shoulder.

"Classmate Uchiha Aotian, do you mind if I sit on the inside?"

Aotian's nose, covered in a bandage, twitched as he looked up at Lihuo.

"Uchiha Lihuo, I know I'm a loser in your hands, but there's no need to humiliate me like this."

"Aotian, you aren't Xiao Tian; no one is going out of their way to humiliate you. I just wanted to look at the scenery outside the window since I didn't feel like listening to the lecture."

Aotian stopped speaking and silently stepped aside to clear the path.

Lihuo took his seat, tidied his things, pulled a bottle of bruise liniment from his schoolbag, and tossed it to Aotian.

"What's wrong? Did you get jumped? How did you end up like this?"

"It's because of my training. Lihuo, one day I will surpass you!"

Lihuo found it amusing; he hadn't expected the boy he'd defeated to burst with such fighting spirit.

"Fine, then keep at it. Take the liniment; I have plenty of that stuff."

Aotian touched his lower leg and his face twisted in pain. Ultimately, reason triumphed over pride, and he took the liniment, whispering, "Thank you."

Suddenly, the noisy chatter in the classroom was muted, as if someone had pressed a mute button, and it fell instantly silent.

Based on my ten-plus years of experience as a student, this means the teacher is here, Lihuo surmised to himself.

Sure enough, the person who entered was a middle-aged teacher with a sturdy build, a square jaw, and a kind expression.

"Hello everyone, my name is Ryunosuke Oshima, and I am your homeroom teacher. Please take care of me from now on..."

A dull and monotonous school life began.

The curriculum arranged by the Ninja Academy for Lihuo and the others consisted of theoretical studies in the morning and practical combat drills in the afternoon.

Although Lihuo focused on his personal cultivation, he was equally interested in theoretical knowledge.

Just as Lihuo was absorbing knowledge like a sponge, a sound erupted in the hallway, comparable to an army pressing down on the border, chaotic and frantic.

"I'm going to be late!!!"

The source of the voice stopped at the classroom door; it had to be Obito Uchiha.

"S-sorry, Teacher, I'm l-late because there was an old... old lady on the road..." Obito said, panting for breath.

Teacher Oshima smiled kindly. "It's alright. You're Obito Uchiha, right? Come in, and try not to let it happen again next time."

Little did he know that Obito would be late every single day from then on.

At this moment, Obito felt as if he had been granted a reprieve; he hurried into the classroom and sat down next to Lihuo.

The back row now looked like this:

Aotian, Obito, Lihuo.

Obito moved away from Aotian in disgust, his body nearly pressing against Lihuo's.

Seeing the rice ball in Lihuo's desk drawer, Obito didn't hesitate for a second and popped it into his mouth.

"Obito, it's one thing to be late, but you're also stealing my rice ball."

"Haha, we're bros, aren't we? I'll bring you one later."

"The thing is, that rice ball is from several days ago."

"Really? No wonder it tasted a bit weird."

"Exactly, it's already expired."

"Ah??? Then why did you bring it?"

"I only realized it after I brought it."

Obito: (ﾟoﾟ;;