Just a Tiny Bit

After Mito left, Kirito and the other three followed the rest of the new students to assemble on the field, after which several homeroom teachers led them away separately.

Unfortunately, Kirito and his two little brothers had been assigned to different classes.

"Boss Kirito, what do we do?"

Heizo Yamazaki asked uneasily.

Taiga Noda beside him felt the same way.

Unlike Kirito, the two of them had grown up in the Orphanage. Because of their inferiority complex, they had never interacted with children outside the Orphanage.

Before, with Kirito around, they had someone to rely on and were not nearly as nervous. Now that Kirito would no longer be by their side, they immediately became restless.

"It'll be fine. Believe in yourselves. I trained you two personally, and the gains you earned through your hard work are real. So there's absolutely no problem. Besides, I'll always be behind you, supporting you."

Kirito comforted them.

He knew exactly why they were so uneasy. It was nothing more than a lack of confidence. Without parents to rely on, they always felt inferior to other children their age.

They had already lost at the starting line.

But they were no longer the same as before.

Over the past month, his two little brothers, like Yakushi Nonō, had been constantly working hard to grow stronger in their own ways.

Naturally, Yakushi Nonō had improved the most. She had completely mastered the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques. His two little brothers were a step behind, but they had successfully cultivated Chakra and mastered the easiest of the Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques—the Substitution Technique.

Among all the new students, excluding those born into Ninja Clans, his two little brothers were definitely among the very best.

After all, at this age, very few civilian students had successfully cultivated Chakra.

Children with parents and children without parents ultimately worked hard to different degrees.

With Kirito's reassurance, Heizo Yamazaki and Taiga Noda's anxiety eased somewhat. Thinking back on the power they had gained through their efforts over the past month, something called confidence took root in their hearts. Then, in unison, they said to Kirito, "Yes, Boss Kirito."

Kirito and Nawaki had been assigned to Class A. Their homeroom teacher was Wasabi Mitarai, a beautiful female teacher with short hair, a great figure, and rather cool clothing. Her expression was somewhat cold, though; one look was enough to tell that she was a frosty older woman who was not easy to get along with.

Three students shared each desk. Kirito's seat was by the window in the last row, while Nawaki sat right beside him, on his right. Without a doubt, this had to be Mito's doing.

But what he never expected was that the person seated to his left was Chizuru Uchiha.

An Uchiha on his left, a Senju on his right.

Kirito suddenly felt tremendous pressure.

"Yo, good morning."

Once the frosty little girl Chizuru sat down, Kirito greeted her amicably.

Good relations with one's neighbors had to be maintained, or all kinds of problems would surely arise later.

"Hmph. Don't talk to me."

Chizuru turned away in annoyance, showing no intention whatsoever of getting along with Kirito.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean, you damn Uchiha?"

Nawaki naturally remembered Chizuru clearly. From the moment she sat to Kirito's left, he had been staring at her. Now that he saw his good brother being bullied, he immediately stood up for Kirito, leaping to his feet and pointing at Chizuru as he shouted angrily.

"Worthless Senju, you're not worthy of speaking to me."

If Chizuru's attitude toward Kirito was disgust, then her attitude toward Nawaki was outright disregard. She did not even look at him.

"Damn it, I'll teach you a lesson."

Nawaki was the impulsive type. He never thought before acting, and Chizuru's attitude instantly enraged him. Rolling up his sleeves, he moved to hit her.

But before he could succeed, a furious shout rang out.

"Nawaki, Kirito Tonsaka, Chizuru Uchiha—get outside and stand as punishment!"

At the podium, Wasabi Mitarai stared coldly at the three of them, radiating a terrifying aura that warned strangers to stay away.

Nawaki saw his grandmother's shadow in Wasabi Mitarai and instantly behaved himself.

Kirito, on the other hand, was rather dumbfounded.

Why did he have to go out and stand as punishment too?

On the very first day, was he already going to be branded a troublemaker?

Chizuru chose to ignore her.

A mere Chunin.

What right did she have to order her around?

She was an Uchiha.

Very quickly, however, she received a brutal beating from Konoha's Chunin and behaved herself for the time being.

"Why did I get beaten up too?"

Kirito, standing in the hallway with a huge bump on his head and a bruised, swollen face, thought gloomily.

When the other children in the class saw Kirito, Nawaki, and Chizuru get thoroughly beaten by Wasabi Mitarai, they all fell silent as cicadas in winter and became exceptionally well-behaved.

The Ino-Shika-Cho trio were in the same class as Kirito and sat together with him. They had originally been gloating over Kirito and Nawaki's misfortune, but now they all sensed that something was wrong and thought to themselves:

So scary. I absolutely must not make her angry.

What a pain. It looks like sleeping in class will be difficult from now on.

I'll treat her to some snacks later. She should let me eat snacks during class, right?

"Hello, everyone. I'm Wasabi Mitarai, a Chunin, and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the next six years. Now, introduce yourselves. Tell us your hobbies and dreams. We'll start from the first row."

Wasabi Mitarai was very satisfied with the students' current attitude. She used the Body Flicker Technique to return to the podium and spoke with a smile.

A beautiful woman's approachability was nothing to scoff at. Wasabi Mitarai was a cool beauty, but when she smiled, her warmth surged dramatically. The little kids immediately took a liking to her and began standing up in an orderly fashion to introduce themselves.

Soon, it was the Ino-Shika-Cho trio's turn.

Inoichi Yamanaka introduced himself first. His hobby was growing flowers, and his dream was to open a flower shop.

"Congratulations, Inoichi. Your dream will come true."

Hearing that, Kirito, who was standing in the aisle, nodded.

Next was Shikaku. His hobby was sleeping, and his dream was to become an ordinary ninja, marry an ordinary wife, and live out the rest of his life peacefully.

"Ahh, Shikaku, that dream of yours is going to be difficult. Your brain won't allow it."

Kirito shook his head.

Then it was Choza's turn. His hobby was eating, and his dream was to eat every delicious food in the world.

"I hope you can achieve it, Choza."

Kirito sighed, then felt his nose itch and picked it.

"Pfft."

A faint chuckle suddenly caught his attention.

He followed the sound and found Chizuru Uchiha sneaking glances at him. But she was very sharp—when he turned his head, she immediately withdrew her gaze and resumed her aloof expression.

Was she laughing just now? What was so funny?

Kirito looked at Chizuru Uchiha in confusion. But seeing how haughty she looked, he gave up trying to talk to her and continued listening attentively to his classmates' introductions.

But before long, he heard that faint laughter again.

This time, he heard it clearly. Chizuru was the one laughing.

He immediately turned his head. Chizuru had already returned to normal and was staring at him with an indifferent expression.

"Were you laughing just now?"

Kirito asked.

"..."

Chizuru remained silent, but her eyes instinctively shifted elsewhere.

"So it was you."

Kirito had found his proof, and then began wondering why Chizuru had laughed.

Were his classmates' introductions funny?

Or was it something else?

He began considering the matter from her perspective, and eventually settled on himself as the answer.

Suddenly, he pressed a finger against the bridge of his nose, making a pig snout, while letting out pig-like snorts.

"Pfft."

Chizuru, who had been secretly watching Kirito, immediately widened her eyes and couldn't help laughing out loud before hurriedly covering her mouth.

"So it was you."

Kirito wiped the spittle off his face and smiled.

"Shut up!"

Chizuru shouted, her face red.

"Pfft."

Kirito made the pig face again, and Chizuru couldn't help laughing out loud again.

Kirito grinned at Chizuru, whose face was flushed as she bared her teeth and glared at him murderously. Suddenly, he found her rather interesting.

So this is what an Uchiha is really like.

Your laugh threshold is just a tiny bit too low.

Nawaki, beside them, was a little dumbfounded. He had only let his attention wander for a moment—how had his good brother gotten involved with that broad-foreheaded Uchiha?

No way.

He had to join in too. He immediately pointed a finger at Chizuru and said, "Broad forehead, take it out on me if you've got something to say."

Chizuru was already furious with embarrassment. Since Nawaki had put it that way, she wouldn't hold back.

She might not be able to beat Kirito, but couldn't she beat a fool?

She swiftly formed Hand Seals with both hands.

Die, you foolish Senju.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu.

"Look over here."

Kirito, who had dodged to the side, suddenly spoke.

"Pfft~"

Chizuru instinctively looked at Kirito, then saw the bruised and swollen Kirito making a fool of himself. She instantly couldn't help laughing again.

The Great Fireball Jutsu collapsed before it could even be unleashed.

A puff of black smoke came out of Chizuru's mouth.

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