Self-introductions

After pulling Minato Namikaze into the classroom, Qingyun found a seat by the window and sat down, silently gazing outside without showing the slightest interest in his classmates.

Before long, Iruka Umino entered the classroom carrying a stack of books taller than himself. After setting them down, he began writing on the blackboard.

Then he pointed at the blackboard and said, "Hello, everyone. Today is your first day of school. I'm your homeroom Teacher, and my name is Iruka Umino. I like eating ramen, dislike waiting for it, and dream of becoming a great Teacher who guides his students to success.

"First of all, it's an honor to be your homeroom Teacher. I'll do everything I can to teach you the basics of being a ninja. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to come and ask me!"

"All right, let's invite the top-ranked student in this year's class up to introduce himself."

At those words, Minato Namikaze excitedly rushed to the front of the classroom. Scratching the back of his head, he said with a goofy grin, "Hello, everyone. My name is Minato Namikaze. I'm very happy to be your classmate.

"My favorite thing is eating the food my big brother cooks. There's nothing I dislike. My dream is to become Hokage so the villagers won't have to suffer through war anymore."

"Wow, Minato is so manly!"

"Exactly! His smile is so warm! Should I tell him I like him?"

"Minato is mine! You can't steal him!"

Qingyun stared, dumbfounded, as the little brats fought over Minato Namikaze. Rubbing his chin, he thought, Is Minato's smile really that warm? It just looks goofy to me...

"That's a wonderful dream, Minato. I believe you can become Hokage. Go for it!"

Iruka Umino offered him those words of encouragement.

Minato Namikaze thanked him with a goofy chuckle, then returned to sit beside Qingyun.

Next, the runner-up, Uchiha Yungang, went up front. His self-introduction was full of Humblebragging and drew cries from many of the girls. Still, he wasn't as popular as Minato Namikaze, leaving him glaring at Minato through clenched teeth.

When he spotted Qingyun beside Minato, his gaze turned even sharper, as though he wanted to kill him.

Qingyun gave Uchiha Yungang a lazy glance, then ignored him completely.

To Qingyun, this Uchiha extra he'd never heard of was nothing but a clown. With his strength, he could toy with him to death without breaking a sweat.

The third-ranked student was a member of the Hyuga Branch Family. He introduced himself with an indifferent expression, then sat down.

No one was surprised by Hyuga Jun's attitude. Members of the Hyuga Clan all seemed to act that way, and everyone was used to it.

Qingyun gave Hyuga Jun a thoughtful look, then averted his gaze just before the boy noticed.

Apart from Minato Namikaze, the first dozen or so students were all clan children. After introducing themselves, they whispered among their friends.

Soon, it was Qingyun's turn. He didn't go up front, merely standing to say, "My name is Qingyun. There's nothing I like or dislike. My dream is for my friends and me to live well."

With that, Qingyun sat straight back down.

Iruka Umino gave Qingyun a searching look. Seeing his indifferent expression, he sighed inwardly. Another war orphan.

Brushing aside those thoughts, Iruka Umino said, "All right, now that you've all introduced yourselves, let's hand out the books. Poof!"

Iruka Umino created several Shadow Clones, which moved through the students, distributing books.

The clan children were unimpressed, but the civilian students' eyes lit up. Even an ordinary Clone Technique was something they longed for but couldn't achieve, let alone a Shadow Clone. They all gazed at Iruka Umino with burning admiration.

The books were soon handed out. Iruka Umino said, "All right, there isn't much time left this morning. We'll officially begin classes this afternoon. For now, you can familiarize yourselves with the textbooks. Make sure you memorize the opening section first. It's very important, and you'll be tested on it later!"

With that, Iruka Umino headed outside.

Curious, Qingyun opened the book in front of him. The first page greeted him with Hiruzen Sarutobi's signature brainwashing rhetoric. Rolling his eyes, he skipped it. What followed was the history of Konoha's F4 within the village. Qingyun skimmed through it and found that the beginning was true, while the later sections were pure fabrication.

The strongest Hokage in history? Even setting aside the First Hokage, the God of Shinobi, the Second Hokage had developed the Flying Thunder God Slash and all sorts of forbidden techniques, even paving the way for the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, to earn the title of Yellow Flash. Could Hiruzen Sarutobi compare to the Second Hokage?

He certainly knew how to sing his own praises. Although Qingyun hadn't met that old man Hiruzen Sarutobi yet, he already had some idea of how shameless he was.

Casually leafing through the textbook, Qingyun found that most of it consisted of biographies, with only a small portion covering the basic use of ninja weapons. Using his immense mental power, he memorized its contents, then slumped listlessly over his desk.

In reality, Qingyun was working through Tai Chi Fist in his mind.

Seeing Qingyun's listless appearance, Minato Namikaze gave him a helpless look, then left him alone and engrossed himself in the biographies, with no idea how much of their content had been embellished.

Time passed, and soon classes let out for lunch. A crowd of girls surrounded Minato Namikaze, chattering away.

Qingyun reluctantly opened his eyes and glanced at Minato Namikaze's goofy grin. Then he took out Minato's lunchbox and said, "Deal with this yourself. I'm going outside to eat."

"Don't, big brother! Big brother..."

Minato Namikaze called after Qingyun anxiously, but Qingyun ignored him. He squeezed through the crowd and headed off alone toward a shady spot.

"Qingyun, can I come with you?"

A little girl followed behind Qingyun and asked timidly.

Qingyun froze. He hadn't expected anyone to strike up a conversation with a bottom-ranked student like him.

Looking back, he saw that it was a little civilian girl named Huagang Yanzi.

Qingyun shook his head in refusal, his expression indifferent, and Huagang Yanzi walked away sadly.

Watching little Huagang Yanzi leave looking heartbroken, Qingyun shook his head helplessly and grumbled, "This is insane! They're six! In my previous life, kids that age were still playing in the mud, but in the Naruto world, they're already falling in love? Even if you get together, what can you actually do?"

Picking at the food in his lunchbox, Qingyun looked utterly defeated.

"Big brother, you're a terrible friend! You just abandoned me and left."

His short blond hair a complete mess, Minato Namikaze stared at Qingyun with wide eyes.

"You know I like peace and quiet. Those girls like you. Why should I get mixed up in it?"

Qingyun wiped the grease from his mouth, stretched lazily, and leaned against the wall as he spoke in an even tone.

Seeing Qingyun's lazy demeanor, Minato Namikaze could only sit down beside him and close his eyes to rest.

But unwelcome visitors always seemed to interrupt them. Sure enough, Uchiha Yungang and Uchiha Yunshan came looking for trouble again, their faces brimming with arrogance.

"Hmph, you useless fool. You got lucky and escaped last time. Today, there's nowhere for you to run."

Uchiha Yungang stared viciously at Qingyun, clenching his fists until his knuckles cracked.

Qingyun frowned. He only wanted to quietly pass the Ninja Academy's assessments and give himself a reasonable excuse for his growing strength. Why did these clowns keep disturbing his life?

"Tell me, what will it take for you to leave me alone?"

Qingyun spoke calmly.

"Hmph! Unless you get out of the Ninja Academy, go back to the clan, and stay there quietly instead of coming out to disgrace the Uchiha, we'll come after you every day."

Uchiha Yunshan spoke arrogantly.

Qingyun knitted his brows and said evenly, "So there's no talking this out?"

Slowly rising to his feet, Qingyun assumed a Tai Chi opening stance and crooked his fingers, beckoning the two of them to come at him.

Seeing Qingyun openly provoke them, Uchiha Yungang and Uchiha Yunshan flew into a rage. With a roar, they charged at him.

Minato Namikaze was about to step forward to help, but Qingyun stopped him. Jiraiya hadn't taken an interest in Minato yet, so he had no powerful backing. Facing the mighty Uchiha could easily get him killed, and Qingyun didn't want Minato to antagonize the Uchiha Clan on his behalf.

As the pair rushed toward him, Qingyun calmly extended his fists. Seeing his limp-looking punches, the two sneered and put more force into their attacks, aiming for his temples.

Qingyun narrowed his eyes. Just as their fists were about to hit him, his hands moved. They seemed slow, yet were as fast as lightning as he caught their fists, pushed backward, then abruptly drove their fists back into their own bodies.

Neither had ever seen such bizarre Taijutsu. Caught off guard, both took the blows squarely.

"Cough, cough... What trick did you use?"

The heavy punch struck Uchiha Yungang square in the chest, and he couldn't help coughing as he spoke.

Ignoring their words, Qingyun slid his feet, seized their arms, and stepped back with a tug. Unable to resist, both boys were shoved to the ground.

Ignoring their terrified expressions, Qingyun's gaze sharpened. He grabbed their feet and slammed them down hard.

Crack!

With a sharp snap, both of their right feet broke.

"Make another sound, and I'll kill you."

Qingyun spoke indifferently as he looked down at the two boys writhing on the ground and screaming in pain.

Looking into Qingyun's indifferent eyes, the Uchiha Yungang brothers shuddered and clamped their hands tightly over their mouths.

"Listen. I don't want anyone finding out what happened today, especially the Uchiha Clan. You should know how the Uchiha leadership would regard me once they learned of my talent. At that point, killing you would take no effort at all.

"Also, I've already left the Uchiha. Don't bring up the Uchiha Clan in front of me again. I'm not interested."

Qingyun calmly made his wishes clear. Only after the Uchiha Yungang brothers nodded in agreement did his lazy expression return, and he went back to Minato Namikaze's side.