Ninja Academy Begins, and Yuhi Kurenai's Bento

Mikami Yu had considered another approach.

That was using [Gift Giving] to replace [Conversation] and [Practice].

But...

"Water Clone" could be gifted the Clone Technique because the two came from the same lineage. But for "Eight Gates"... should he give it Body Activation? Or perhaps he could ask Might Duy for a few of the Might Family's inherited green jumpsuits and see whether this "beautiful girl" liked them?

Come to think of it, that green outfit was made of pretty decent material. The Might father and son trained in them every day, yet they barely wore out. They absorbed water well, too. Even if he could not give them away, he could keep them at home as cleaning rags...

"About time for dinner..."

"Calling it a day!"

Seeing that the sun had already set, Mikami Yu stretched lazily and headed home at an unhurried pace for dinner.

Meanwhile.

Elsewhere in Konoha.

Might Guy, Yuhi Kurenai, Kaimon Hyuga, Sarutobi Asuma... most of the Ninja Academy students from this class were preparing for the upcoming graduation season. They rose early and slept late every day, training in all kinds of basic Nintaijutsu.

Unlike Mikami Yu, they generally had an elder from their family acting as a sparring partner, whether it was their father or an older brother.

Even a certain Haku-haired boy who had just returned from outside the village and was being ostracized by his teammates washed his face and silently began practicing his family's swordsmanship in the courtyard...

Two or three days passed in a flash.

Winter break ended before anyone realized it.

By late January, Konoha received a heavy snowfall.

Once the snow stopped, many children happily ran into the streets and alleys to build snowmen and have snowball fights, their laughter echoing everywhere. Adults also put on brand-new winter clothes, their faces filled with anticipation for the coming year.

Yet most of the ninjas in dark green flak jackets who leapt across the rooftops wore grave expressions. More and more of them were injured and wrapped in bandages, while words like "casualties," "supplies," and "war" began drifting through the air.

Some sharp-minded people had already vaguely sensed the changing winds.

But because Konoha had not officially entered a state of war preparedness, and because the last war had ended only recently, leaving memories that were far too horrific, most civilians did not dare say much in public. They merely became more cautious in private, preparing for the possible arrival of another war.

Explosive Tags and kunai in ninja tool shops began quietly rising in price, while orders for Soldier Pills steadily surged.

However,

for the time being, none of this had much to do with Ninja Academy students.

At the start of the new term, students who had been apart for an entire winter break returned to the classroom one after another. Those who knew each other gathered in twos and threes, exchanging news about the past few weeks.

Mikami Yu had just settled into his seat when he saw someone with Haku cataracts walk over and stop beside him.

"Mikami, long time no see."

Kaimon Hyuga kept a straight face as he said seriously, "During this winter break, I asked Brother Hizashi from the clan to help me undergo special training. I'm no longer the same person I was before. In this graduation exam, I'll win back both this time and last time!"

"...Oh."

Mikami Yu thought, If you worked hard, then good for you. Why tell me?

But Ninja Academy kids were all like that. Might Guy and Obito, for instance, talked every day about challenging Kakashi. When Kakashi was still around, they said it right to his face; when he was not, they said it behind his back.

So Mikami Yu politely nodded. "I'm looking forward to your performance."

All right, run along now.

Kaimon Hyuga turned and walked away.

A little while later,

Yuhi Kurenai entered the classroom. As she passed Mikami Yu's desk, she placed a homemade bento on it. "Um, Mikami, I don't know whether you ate breakfast this morning, but I specifically brought an extra serving when I left home. If you don't mind, please accept it as thanks for what happened before."

"...Huh?"

Not far away, Ebisu pricked up his ears, hoping to catch some gossip.

Wait, what did that mean? Hadn't Asuma been the only one who got to eat the breakfast Yuhi Kurenai gave him?

Could it be...

"Thanks. I was getting a little hungry."

Mikami Yu smiled and thanked her.

His appetite had indeed grown considerably lately.

After all, he had to [Practice] every day during this period, exhausting his chakra over and over. Chakra was not entirely equivalent to physical stamina, but it definitely made him hungry more easily. So Mikami Yu often kept bread and chocolate in his pockets. An occasional extra meal was not bad either.

Nohara Rin glanced over, then looked away only after Yuhi Kurenai had left. She said nothing.

The class bell rang.

Teacher Oki and Uchiha Obito entered the classroom one after the other.

Teacher Oki had originally wanted to scold him a little, but since it was the first day of the new term and Obito had not been late for too long, he merely waved a hand and let him in.

"Ahem, hello, students. You all had a nice winter break, I hope?"

"But from now on, it's time to get serious, because the graduation exams will begin soon..."

The Ninja Academy graduation exams were a major undertaking.

They covered many subjects.

The academic portion alone included language arts, mathematics, geography, intelligence translation, and other subjects. The difficulty was roughly equivalent to a modern middle school entrance exam.

Although Konoha at this time did not place such great importance on education and did not demand much academic proficiency from its students, they still had to know the basics. Otherwise, they would go out on missions unable to draft battle plans or write mission reports, which would make all their training go to Haku.

Therefore,

during the roughly week-long Haku period after school began,

Oki, Himura, and several other teachers led everyone in review sessions every day. They spent the mornings reading and memorizing material, then went outside to train in the afternoons, pairing off to grapple and fight. The schedule was packed tight.

During this process, quite a few students displayed a completely different bearing from before winter break, drawing soft exclamations from the children around them.

"Wow, Nara has improved so much!"

"Did Kaimon Hyuga get some kind of cheat? He's so strong!"

"Still... he doesn't seem as good as Asuma."

"Kurenai's taijutsu has improved a lot too. She feels like a completely different person from last term."

"Oh, yesterday I ran into Kakashi on the street! I heard he came back after finishing a mission. He was still as handsome as ever, and his presence had become even colder. He was so charming!"

"Really? Really?"

The moment Kakashi became the topic, everyone's attention was immediately drawn over.

Obito and Might Guy both jumped up and began asking the girl who spoke for details.

Only Mikami Yu sat cross-legged with his eyes closed nearby, recovering his chakra while quietly playing Galageki in his mind.