Emiya the hero?

Kazan wanted to get his hands on the Shadow Clone Technique and the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique, no matter what.

Back in the classroom, Kazan sat at his desk and listened to the lesson.

Life at the Ninja Academy was fairly relaxed. A bunch of little kids laughed and joked all day without a care in the world.

But children in the Naruto World matured early. Unless you saw it yourself, it was hard to imagine a bunch of kids under ten already competing for the opposite sex.

Kazan was actually quite popular with the girls in his class.

He lacked Kakashi's aura of genius, but he was handsome enough.

Asuma and the others thought Kazan ate like a vicious dog fighting over shit, but Kurenai Yuhi and some of the other girls simply thought he was bold and passionate.

Still, young kids really were innocent. Their methods of attracting girls consisted of either putting other boys down to make themselves look better or annoying girls with pranks to get their attention.

Even if they got yelled at, just getting to talk to the girl could leave them happy for hours.

That's right, this means you, Obito Uchiha!

"Hmph, doesn't Kakashi just have a good dad?"

"One day, I'll surpass him!"

Obito stood there boasting shamelessly.

He spoke loudly, but mainly so Rin Nohara would hear him.

"Obito!" Rin Nohara, who had been listening attentively, suddenly raised her voice. "Don't joke about Lord White Fang!"

"..."

She looked a little angry, and Obito seemed to realize he had gone too far.

After a meek acknowledgment, he said quietly, "Sorry!"

Then Rin Nohara forgave him, and the two went back to chatting happily.

Kazan watched it all.

It really was no wonder Obito had gone straight over to the dark side after witnessing Rin Nohara's death.

As the Dead Last, he always had such a lovely girl by his side, caring for him, looking after him, and listening to his complaints.

Who could resist that? Who wouldn't fall in love?

If White Fang hadn't killed himself and Kakashi's personality hadn't changed so drastically, even Kakashi might have fallen for her eventually.

Before long, school was over.

Many of the children's parents stood outside the Ninja Academy, waiting to pick them up.

Kazan rolled his neck and had only just stood up when the goofball Might Guy nearby was already looking at him, flashing his trademark pearly whites.

"Let's get started, Kazan! Let's go burn with the flames of youth!"

I told you, my youth isn't for burning.

Kazan changed into his training clothes and began sprinting around the Ninja Academy's track at full speed.

Lap after lap.

He wouldn't stop until his body reached its limit.

This happened almost every day.

"Look, it's those two kids again!"

"Oh, I hear neither of them can use ninjutsu, and their grades at the Ninja Academy are terrible."

"They can't use ninjutsu? Then why did the Ninja Academy admit them?"

"Who knows? Maybe the Third Hokage is just too kind."

The parents gossiped, occasionally telling their children to stay away from those two strange boys.

What was the difference between attending the Ninja Academy without learning ninjutsu and watching porn without taking your pants off?

Just then, two powerful voices rang out in unison.

Might Duy and his son, Might Guy, energetically gave the parents a thumbs-up, their other hands on their hips, and shouted together, "All in! Arigato!!!"

They're seriously nuts!

That was what the parents were thinking at that moment.

Might Duy and his son, however, were used to it.

They had heard far too many things like that.

Unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, with nothing but his fists, feet, and taijutsu, Might Duy was Konoha's notorious eternal Genin.

Cold looks, mockery, contempt...

Those things had followed the father and son for as long as Might Guy could remember.

Faced with doubt and disapproval, they turned it into motivation to push forward.

Their youth really was unlike anyone else's.

The parents hurried away as though fleeing a plague, afraid they might catch something.

Only after that did Might Duy bend down to instruct his son.

"Off you go, Guy! Kazan is already five laps ahead of you. That means your youth is a whole five laps behind his!"

"Osu! I'll catch up to Kazan! Once I make up that five-lap gap, I'll challenge Kakashi!"

With that, Might Guy immediately stepped onto the track and sprinted after Kazan.

Might Duy stood with his hands on his hips, his eyes shining.

"Give it your all, Guy. Kazan hasn't let any of that gossip bother him one bit."

Might Duy was very fond of Kazan.

He still remembered how his son had once angrily confronted some people for mocking him, only to get badly beaten up.

Might Duy had been touched. His son had gone to demand justice for his sake.

"But Guy, true victory isn't as simple as defeating someone strong."

The young Might Guy naturally had no idea what the "youth" Might Duy spoke of actually meant.

Right now, all he could see was Kazan, who was always running ahead of him.

I'm going to pass you, Kazan!

He frantically encouraged himself, doing everything he could to catch up.

Meanwhile.

Having finished cleaning the classroom, Kurenai Yuhi and Rin Nohara were preparing to head home.

The two chatted and laughed as they walked. When they reached the window with the best view of the track, Kurenai Yuhi stopped.

Out there, Kazan was running with every ounce of strength he had.

The scene looked just like Emiya the hero doing the high jump.

Rin Nohara stopped too and followed Kurenai's gaze.

"Kazan really is persistent."

"Yeah."

Kurenai Yuhi murmured her agreement, her red eyes fixed on him without blinking.

Kazan had little talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu, so he had thrown himself into taijutsu without hesitation.

That persistence, that refusal to give up in the face of setbacks, really appealed to her.

"So... is that why you like Kazan, Kurenai?"

"Yeah... huh?!"

Kurenai had agreed instinctively, but immediately caught herself and hurriedly waved both hands.

"No! Rin, what are you talking about? It's nothing like that!"

She vehemently denied it, but as Rin Nohara's smile grew brighter, she lowered her hands in surrender.

Fine. She really did like Kazan.

Seeing that, Rin Nohara looked as though she had won a battle and pressed on. "So, how did you meet Kazan, Kurenai? I remember you kept looking his way on the first day of school. You already knew him then, didn't you?"

When did we meet?

Kurenai Yuhi sank into her memories.

It had probably been a snowy day like the one when Naruto and Hinata first met.

She had only been four, not quite five, and hadn't enrolled in the Ninja Academy yet.

That day, she had played with the other children in the park until dark, as usual, then headed home.

But a vicious dog had appeared on her way back, and she had been terrified.

She still remembered the dog lunging at her. Despite being Shinku Yuhi's daughter, she had been frozen to the spot with fear, her legs doing nothing but shaking.

That was when Kazan had appeared at her side like the God of Shinobi from a novel.

Bam!

The sound still echoed in her memory. It was the loudest punch Kurenai Yuhi had ever heard.

When she opened her eyes, Kazan was still holding his fist out, while the dog had been sent flying into a snowdrift.

Kazan hadn't even glanced at her. He had simply walked over, picked up the unconscious dog, and carried it away. He seemed to have said something like, "Dinner's sorted."

No, I must have misheard. Kazan must have said he would help it find its owner.

"Wow~~ I never knew something like that happened between you and Kazan, Kurenai." Rin Nohara felt a little envious. It seemed so romantic, and she imagined Kakashi swooping down out of nowhere for her like that someday.

Still, she didn't think Kurenai had misheard. Given that Kazan was the sort who would shove even the most horrifying cooking into his mouth, that dog had almost certainly ended up in his stomach that very night...