Uchiha Itachi is My Classmate

"Wherever the leaves dance, the fire burns. The shadow of the fire illuminates the village, and then the new leaves will sprout once again..."

At this moment, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was delivering the closing remarks for the freshman orientation ceremony.

That's right, today was the opening day of the Ninja Academy. There were no incidents of anyone spray-painting the Hokage Rock, nor was there any sign of someone driving a car into it.

Instead, a group of children listened quietly to Sarutobi Hiruzen's speech with expressions of admiration. Of course, there was one guy who curled his lip in disdain, looking left and right as if searching for something in the crowd.

"Brother Dongyi, what are you looking for?"

She had been listening intently to the Hokage's speech, but Hyuga Gen's head kept bobbing left and right, blocking her view.

"Uh, I'm just checking to see if anyone is cuter or prettier than our Xia. Turns out, I didn't find anyone after looking around."

In truth, he wanted to see if Uchiha Itachi was there—that ruthless man who would eventually slaughter his entire clan, sparing only his younger brother.

"Brother Dongyi is a liar. Isn't there one right there?" Hyuga Natsu said, gesturing toward a certain spot.

"Oh? Is it her?"

Following Hyuga Natsu's gaze, Hyuga Gen saw a girl with a mole at the corner of her eye. She was indeed very cute.

Looking at this girl, Hyuga Gen had already guessed who she was—Uchiha Izumi, a gentle and lovely girl. It was a pity she had fallen for Itachi and ultimately died at the hands of Obito.

"Hmph."

Seeing Hyuga Gen staring at that girl, Hyuga Natsu hummed with some dissatisfaction.

"No way, how could she be as cute and pretty as our Xia? At most, she's just as cute as you."

Hyuga Gen's survival instincts were in full effect.

"Lord Hokage..."

At this moment, enthusiastic applause and cheers erupted around them; the Third Hokage's speech had concluded.

The orientation ceremony ended shortly after. Hyuga Gen spotted Uchiha Itachi in the crowd and couldn't help but marvel at the Uchiha clan's genetics—the women were beautiful, and the men were handsome.

"Such sharp perception."

He had only been watching for a moment before Uchiha Itachi noticed him. Itachi looked toward Hyuga Gen, who nodded at him with a smile as a greeting.

Uchiha Itachi looked puzzled, as he didn't know Hyuga Gen. Besides, the Hyuga clan and the Uchiha clan had always been bitter rivals; naturally, he was surprised to see someone from the Hyuga clan nodding at him.

Seeing Hyuga Gen being pulled away by a girl, Uchiha Itachi didn't pay it any more mind.

"Xia, why are you pulling me?"

Upon seeing Uchiha Itachi, Hyuga Gen had wanted to go over and strike up a conversation to get to know him, but he was held back by Hyuga Natsu.

"Brother Dongyi, there's a bulletin board over there with the class assignments. Let's go check if we're in the same class."

When they reached the bulletin board, it was quite crowded, but fortunately, teachers were on hand to guide the crowd, allowing everyone to check their assignments in an orderly fashion.

"It's a bit crowded, students. Please queue up consciously. Once you've noted your class and other information, please leave promptly and do not linger here."

After checking the list, Hyuga Natsu discovered that she and Hyuga Gen were not in the same class. She became unhappy, and her entire demeanor turned listless.

"Alright, Xia, how about we go ask the teacher if we can apply for a transfer?" Hyuga Gen said, looking at the unhappy Hyuga Natsu.

"Can we? Let's go ask—no, never mind." Not knowing what she had thought of, Hyuga Natsu suddenly deflated.

"It's fine if we don't switch. We're in the same school anyway, so we can still walk to and from school together."

Applying for a class change was actually quite troublesome. The Ninja Academy was equivalent to a military academy of that era; everything had to follow orders. Generally, unless there was a major reason, one couldn't seek special treatment and had to obey the school's arrangements.

"Really? Then Brother Dongyi has to wait for me every day to walk to and from school. You can't lie to me. Let's pinky swear?"

After making the promise, Hyuga Natsu became happy again.

"Let's go, let's go see the classroom."

Hyuga Gen said, then took Hyuga Natsu to her classroom.

The classroom looked decent, much like what he had seen in the media before—quite spacious and bright. The podium was set at a lower level, which felt much better than the classrooms of that era.

"Brother Dongyi, let's go see your classroom."

It was as if heaven was intentionally working against Hyuga Natsu; Hyuga Gen's classroom was not on the same floor as hers, though it wasn't too far away.

Walking into the classroom, Hyuga Gen spotted Uchiha Itachi not far away at a glance, and at that moment, Uchiha Itachi also looked toward Hyuga Gen.

"Hello, my name is Hyuga Gen. We're classmates from now on." Hyuga Gen walked up to Uchiha Itachi and extended his hand.

"Do we know each other?"

Uchiha Itachi felt a bit strange. He was surprised by Hyuga Gen's nod earlier and his initiative to come over and greet him now.

Uchiha Itachi had never been able to fit in with his peers. Firstly, the Uchiha clan's reputation in Konoha wasn't very good, and most people were quite afraid of them.

Secondly, it was his own doing; he wasn't willing to take the initiative to communicate with his peers, and indeed, there was no need to, as they weren't on the same wavelength.

I certainly know you, Lord Itachi, but only the you from the anime, Hyuga Gen thought to himself, though he would never say that out loud.

"No, I just thought you didn't look like a bad person, and you're quite handsome, so I came over to get to know you," Hyuga Gen said sincerely with a smile.

"This~"

Uchiha Itachi was stunned. He seemed to react a moment later, scratching his head with his hand, appearing somewhat embarrassed. No one had ever complimented him like that to his face, let alone a stranger of the same age whose name he had only just learned.

It was rare to see the expression of embarrassment on the face of the god-like Itachi, and Hyuga Gen found it quite amusing.

"Could you tell me your name?" Hyuga Gen asked.

"Uchiha Itachi," Uchiha Itachi replied concisely.

"Brother Dongyi, do you know him?"

After chatting briefly with Uchiha Itachi and introducing Xia, Hyuga Gen took his leave. No sooner had they stepped outside than Hyuga Natsu asked with curiosity.

"Why do you ask?" Hyuga Gen was a bit intrigued.

"I just have a feeling. You seem to care quite a bit about him; otherwise, you wouldn't have taken the initiative to get to know him."

"He is a genius, incredibly formidable, so I wanted to make his acquaintance," Hyuga Gen said after a moment of thought.

"Is he more formidable than you, Brother Dongyi?"

"Yes, far more formidable than I am."

Thinking of Uchiha Itachi and then reflecting on his own current situation, Hyuga Gen spoke the truth.

Hyuga Natsu found it hard to believe, as in her eyes, Hyuga Gen was already exceptionally powerful. However, she also knew that Hyuga Gen never lied.

"However, I should be more formidable than him in the future."