The Transfer Student Who Shocked the Ninja Academy

Ninja Academy, Class Three classroom.

The bell had already rung twice. Homeroom teacher Uchiyama stood at the podium, clutching half a piece of chalk as sweat dripped from his forehead and down the tip of his nose.

More than thirty students, just over ten years old, sat ramrod straight below, barely daring to breathe. The classroom was so quiet that they could hear leaves falling from the trees outside.

Everyone was waiting.

"Creak—"

The classroom door was pushed open.

Nawaki had a backpack slung over one shoulder and wore an ordinary white T-shirt. His hair was a little messy from the wind, and a broad grin spread across his face as he walked in.

Kushina Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha followed behind him. One had red hair and an excited expression, while the other wore a cold face that warned strangers to stay away.

"Hello, everyone. My name is Nawaki Senju. We'll be classmates from now on, so please take care of me." Nawaki waved at the class.

The entire room fell deathly silent.

No one dared make a sound. This was the living Yama who had summoned a hundred-meter wooden Buddha in front of the whole village a few days ago and used Root's elite as fertilizer.

The sound of a fat boy in the front row swallowing was especially loud in the classroom.

Nawaki did not feel awkward at all. He swept his gaze around the room, then headed straight for an empty seat by the window. He set down his backpack, pulled out the chair, and sat down.

He took out a copy of Basic Principles of Ninjutsu from his bag, opened it to the first page, laid both hands flat on the desk, and looked up at the podium.

"Teacher, you can begin class now," Nawaki said.

Uchiyama's legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees. He forced himself to stand straight, took a deep breath, and turned to write several large words on the blackboard.

"Today... today, we'll discuss the basic meridian circulation for chakra extraction." Uchiyama's voice trembled.

Holding the textbook, he began drawing a diagram of the body's meridians on the blackboard. When he reached the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of the foot, his chalk stopped.

Uchiyama froze. His mind was filled with the image of that hundred-meter wooden Buddha crashing down that night. The words in the textbook now looked like complete gibberish to him.

"Here... the direction of chakra flow is..." Uchiyama stammered.

No one below dared remind him.

Nawaki raised his hand.

Uchiyama's hand shook, and the chalk fell to the floor, snapping into three pieces.

"Teacher." Nawaki stood up, his tone very polite. "There's a small problem with the meridian circulation diagram on the board. The chakra flow at the Yongquan acupoint on the sole should be counterclockwise. The textbook drew it backward."

The entire class sucked in a breath.

Uchiyama hurriedly lowered his head to check the textbook. After looking twice, his face turned bright red.

It really had been drawn backward. The person who compiled the textbook had gotten the illustration on this page wrong, yet he had taught for three years without noticing.

"This..." Uchiyama did not know what to do.

Nawaki left his seat and walked up to the podium. Uchiyama instinctively retreated two steps until his back pressed against the blackboard.

"Teacher, may I borrow a piece of chalk?" Nawaki held out his hand.

Uchiyama quickly handed him a new one.

Turning around, Nawaki swiftly drew an exceptionally precise diagram of the body's meridians on the blackboard. The lines were smooth, and the acupoints were clearly labeled.

"Don't think chakra extraction is too profound," Nawaki said as he drew. "Just think of it as plumbing. The meridians are pipes, and chakra is water. The Yongquan acupoint is a bend. When the water reaches it, it needs a buffer—it has to circle counterclockwise before continuing upward so the water pressure remains stable. If it goes clockwise, the flows collide directly, and the soles of your feet will go numb."

He turned to the class. "If you don't believe me, try extracting chakra now. Make it go clockwise and see whether your feet go numb."

The class fell quiet for two seconds.

The fat boy in the front row bravely closed his eyes and gave it a try.

"Ow!" he cried. "They really went numb!"

That shout instantly shattered the tense atmosphere in the classroom.

"So that's how it is!"

"My feet always went numb whenever I practiced this before! I thought it was because I'd been sitting too long!"

Nawaki tossed the chalk back into the chalk box and dusted off his hands. "Textbooks are written by people, and people make mistakes. If you run into something that doesn't flow smoothly when practicing in the future, don't just stubbornly force it. Think more about how pipes work."

A usually timid girl sitting in the corner shyly raised her hand. "Senju... Senju, what should I do if chakra gets blocked at the Shanzhong acupoint in my chest?"

"Just call me Nawaki." Nawaki walked down from the podium and came to her desk.

He tapped the desktop twice. "The Shanzhong acupoint is the main valve. If it gets blocked, it's because you're drawing the water too fast and the valve hasn't opened fully. Next time you extract chakra, take a deep breath first and open up your chest. The flow will naturally pass through."

The girl's eyes lit up. She tried it once and immediately nodded happily. "It really went through! Thank you, Nawaki!"

Uchiyama leaned against the blackboard and looked at the students below.

Was this really that bloodthirsty Asura? He was clearly a master teacher who was better at teaching than Uchiyama himself!

The dismissal bell rang.

Uchiyama rushed out of the classroom as if a burden had been lifted from him.

Nawaki had just begun packing his books when his desk was instantly surrounded.

"Nawaki, I always mix up the hand seal sequence for Fire Release..."

"Nawaki, my shuriken always veer left. Am I using force wrong?"

"Big Brother Nawaki, where are you going for lunch?"

Once this group of children just over ten discovered that the rumored great demon king was actually a kind older brother who answered every question, their fear was immediately replaced by curiosity and admiration.

Kushina sat beside him with her chin resting on one hand, watching Nawaki surrounded by the crowd. Her red hair swayed slightly, and the corners of her lips lifted high.

Mikoto turned another page in her book without raising her head, but a faint smile flashed in her eyes.

School ended that afternoon.

Nawaki carried his backpack and walked back to the Senju Clan Compound with Kushina and Mikoto.

The moment he pushed open the courtyard gate, Nawaki stopped.

Tsunade stood beneath a tree in the courtyard with her arms crossed.

A little boy stood in front of her.

He had short silver hair, a black mask over his face, and eyes as withdrawn as an abandoned wolf cub's.

Kakashi.

Tsunade turned to Nawaki. "I brought this brat back. He'll live here from now on."

Kakashi raised his head, his gaze passing over Tsunade to stare directly at Nawaki, who had just entered.

His hand tightly gripped the hilt of the White Fang short blade at his waist.

Nawaki hitched his backpack higher onto his shoulder and walked over.

He stopped in front of Kakashi.

One tall, one small—their gazes collided.