Everyone on the field was stunned, even Uchiha Kei, one of the main characters.
He was going to be Team 7's teacher?
Shouldn't it have been Hatake Kakashi?
What had gone wrong?
The question only went around in his mind once before he put it out of his head.
So he was going to be a teacher. It wasn't that big a deal.
Besides, it actually sounded kind of fun.
Uchiha Kei gave the three on the field a mischievous look.
All three of them felt a chill run down their backs.
It seemed like something bad was about to happen...
"This afternoon, you can report to your respective teachers. Tomorrow, your lives as ninjas will officially begin!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted into cheers.
The crowd gradually dispersed.
Naruto hurried over to Uchiha Kei.
"Give it to me, give it to me! The lifetime Ichiraku Ramen free card!"
Uchiha Kei smiled and handed him the card.
"Wow! I can eat as much Ichiraku Ramen as I want from now on!"
Naruto looked the card over, fascinated.
Uchiha Kei smiled without interrupting his excitement.
As his first friend in this world, Uchiha Kei genuinely wanted Naruto to be happy.
Uchiha Sasuke followed behind Naruto with his usual haughty air, watching Uchiha Kei with a trace of unease.
They were both eleven.
In fact, he was a few months older than Uchiha Kei.
So why was there such a huge difference between them?
Sasuke couldn't understand it.
"Pillar, what are you looking at?"
Uchiha Kei gave Sasuke a teasing look.
"My name isn't Pillar! What kind of name is that? It's awful!"
Sasuke immediately flew into a rage, his face bright red.
If he weren't stronger than me, I'd— I'd tear his mouth off!
"Were you thinking about tearing my mouth off? Heh."
Uchiha Kei gave him a meaningful smile.
Sasuke's rage instantly vanished, and his body gave a violent shudder.
He...
How did he know what I was thinking?
Mind-reading?
Was mind-reading some kind of Sharingan technique?
"Don't worry, the Sharingan can't read minds..."
Sasuke let out a sigh of relief.
"But I can."
Sasuke jerked his head up and instinctively took a step back.
Uchiha Kei burst out laughing and dragged Naruto away.
"Seven tomorrow morning, in the woods. Don't forget to tell that Pink Girl."
His voice carried from far away, reaching Sasuke's ears.
Sasuke snorted and turned away with his arms crossed, putting on a haughty front.
But inside, he was still excited.
Uchiha Kei...
A genius of the Uchiha Clan, just like his older brother!
If he trained with him, he could improve as quickly as Naruto had...
At Ichiraku Ramen.
Ichiraku Ramen was no longer the little roadside stall it used to be.
Located in the heart of Konoha, it covered a huge area, and its interior was painstakingly designed.
Clean, tidy, efficient!
Combined with Uncle Teuchi's secret recipe, Ichiraku Ramen was bound to be a hit.
It wasn't lunchtime yet, but the shop was still busy.
"Well, well! What brings the great God of Wealth to my little shop today?"
Behind the counter, Uncle Teuchi's daughter, Ayame, smiled at Uchiha Kei.
"Today's the day Naruto became a ninja, so I came to celebrate."
Uchiha Kei found it hard to meet Ayame's eyes.
Ever since he started working with Uncle Teuchi, this girl had been acting a little strange.
She was always finding excuses to come over and chat with him.
And she kept giving him the occasional flirtatious look.
But the problem was...
He was only eleven this year. Even if his mind was already over thirty, his body was still that of a minor.
Lady, I'm underage!
Only eleven!
Three years in jail, you know...
"Really? Congratulations, Naruto!"
Ayame let Uchiha Kei off the hook for the moment and turned to Naruto.
"Of course it's true."
Naruto proudly raised his head.
He got along well with Ayame, too.
After all, he was always tagging along with Uchiha Kei to get free food.
They'd gotten to know each other over time.
"Then I'll make you a deluxe bowl of ramen myself today!"
With that, Ayame bustled off to the kitchen.
The two found a place to sit.
"Kei, I never expected you to be my teacher."
Naruto spoke happily.
"Same here. I didn't expect it either."
Uchiha Kei answered with a smile.
He didn't mind being a teacher.
He already taught Naruto all the time. It just meant two more students.
But there was more to this than met the eye...
Uchiha Kei looked out the window toward the Hokage Building.
The conflict...
It was about to begin.
"What are you going to have us do tomorrow, Kei?"
Uchiha Kei rubbed his chin.
What should he have them do?
Make them grab bells, like Kakashi?
That felt a little stale.
Before Uchiha Kei could answer, someone sat down beside them.
"Congratulations, Naruto."
Itachi took a finely crafted shuriken from his pocket.
"I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I bought you a ninja tool. You're a Genin now, after all."
Naruto happily accepted the shuriken.
"Thanks, Big Brother Itachi!"
Itachi patted his head, then looked at Uchiha Kei.
"I heard... you became Team 7's teacher?"
Uchiha Kei shrugged.
"Yeah. I only found out today myself."
Itachi smiled meaningfully. "Becoming a teacher means you have to leave the Anbu."
"Then I'll leave."
Uchiha Kei didn't care about the Anbu.
As long as Shisui was still in the Anbu, they would still have control of it.
Whether he was in the Anbu or not wouldn't make much difference.
"Looks like the Third Hokage has started making his move."
"He started a long time ago."
Uchiha Kei smiled nonchalantly.
Over the past three years, the Third Hokage had tested him more than once.
He'd even sent him on a bunch of fake missions.
The goal had been to gauge his abilities.
Unfortunately...
He knew the Third Hokage's character all too well.
The Third Hokage hadn't managed to gauge his abilities.
"What's the next step?"
Itachi thought it over. They couldn't just sit back and do nothing.
The Third Hokage was no ordinary opponent!
He'd been Hokage longer than anyone else.
That alone was enough to make Itachi wary.
"Next, let Shisui make his move. We can start the plan."
Itachi's eyes lit up, and fighting spirit surged through him.
That plan...
They could finally get started!
"Okay, got it. I'll let Shisui know."
After chatting a little longer, Itachi was the first to leave.
If he hadn't heard that Kei had become Team 7's teacher, he'd probably still be at home waiting for Sasuke to return.
After all, today was the day his beloved little brother became a ninja!
"Kei, is there something you, Big Brother Itachi, and Shisui are keeping from me?"
Naruto had wanted to ask that for a while.
For the past few months, the three of them had been acting mysterious, and they'd stopped telling him about a lot of things.
Uchiha Kei looked at Naruto.
"It's not that we want to keep things from you."
"It's just that you're not ready to get involved in this yet."
Naruto lowered his head, crestfallen.
That was true.
Both Big Brother Itachi and Shisui were powerful, and they could help Kei.
But he...
He still had a long way to go.
Naruto lowered his head and looked at his stomach.
If...
If he could master this power,
would he be able to help Kei?
Before you continue