Early the next morning, Yu ate breakfast and arrived at the Ninja Academy on time.
Sitting in the back row, Naruto stared absently at a seat by the window in the front. There, a quiet girl had her head lowered over a book.
Yu walked over and waved his little hand in front of Naruto's eyes. "Hey, what are you looking at?"
"N-nothing..."
Naruto hastily looked away. Last night, he had dreamed... dreamed about Hinata the whole night!
He had no idea why he had dreamed about her. Normally, he barely paid any attention to Hinata.
But after what had happened in his dream, he couldn't help noticing her once he woke up... There was no way he could say that out loud!
Hehe, looks like the dream worked.
Yu saw right through him but said nothing. After sitting down, he took the candies he had wrapped last night out of his pocket.
Naruto ate one and exclaimed in surprise, "Th-this candy tastes like Ichiraku ramen! Awesome! Where did you buy it, believe it!"
Yu gave a mysterious smile. "Hehe, that's a secret~"
Naruto said, "Huh?? Tell me!"
If I told you, you might be scarred for life...
The kids in class started whispering again.
"Hey, I heard from my family that he's an illegitimate child of the Hyuga Clan!"
"An illegitimate child?"
"A bad kid born because grown-ups did something bad!"
"No wonder he hangs around with Naruto."
"So this is what they mean by birds of a feather flocking together."
"And did you hear? He's an illegitimate child from the Hyuga Branch Family. The Hyuga Branch Family! They're branded from birth with a curse called the 'Caged Bird Seal,' so they can be put to death anytime, anywhere!"
"Hah, figures. Someone who never had a future to begin with has nothing to act so smug about, even if he has a few skills!"
"A few skills? He can throw a punch at best. Didn't you see him throwing shuriken yesterday? Oh man, he was a total disaster!"
They had lowered their voices, but they could still be heard.
Yu leaned back with his hands behind his head, looking perfectly relaxed. He couldn't care less what those small fry thought.
Naruto asked in confusion, "Hey, Yu, they're bad-mouthing you, right? Why don't you go settle the score?"
Yu said, "If a dog bit you, would you bite it back?"
Naruto asked, "Then why... did you stand up for me?"
Yu said, "A dog can bite me, but if it bites my friend, I'll slam it to death!"
Warmth surged through Naruto's heart. "Hey..."
He was just about to say something when Sakura entered the classroom, and the whole class fell silent!
Yesterday, during shuriken class, Sakura had shaved her head bald in front of everyone, then walked away without a care!
Had she really been that unfazed?
Not at all. Once she got home, she regretted it bitterly!
Looking at her bald head in the mirror, she suddenly realized something... Hadn't Mizuki's shuriken given her a horseshoe haircut?
In other words, she'd had hair on both sides and nothing in the middle. If she had shaved off just one side and left the other, not only would she not have looked ugly, she would have had a cool, mature-woman look!
Wouldn't that have been better than going bald?!!!
Realizing she had been far too quick with her hands, she writhed on her bed like a maggot!
But it was too late for regrets... She hated herself, and she hated Yu even more!
Why did she hate Yu instead of Mizuki?
Because if Yu hadn't gone to ask Mizuki for advice, why would Mizuki have thrown shuriken all over the place?!!!
Besides... nothing good had happened around her since Yu arrived.
That kid with the butt chin had been beaten onto her desk, splattering blood all over her.
Even her favorite outfit had been stained.
She wore a hat to class, shot a vicious look at Yu's seat, and went to her own. She swore this wasn't over between them!
Naruto got the wrong idea. "Huh? What's going on? Sakura just looked at me..."
Yu kindly reminded him, "Don't get carried away. She's not the girl for you..."
The three little jerks who had been sent to the infirmary yesterday hadn't come to school today. When their parents learned their children had been beaten up, they had wanted to settle the score, but upon hearing that the other party belonged to the Hyuga Clan... they swallowed it. Still, they were bound to gossip behind his back!
The first lesson was another theory class taught by Iruka.
Yu listened with keen interest.
Naruto put his head down and slept soundly.
As the end of class approached,
Iruka set down his textbook. "Mr. Mizuki has taken leave because he's feeling unwell, so today's shuriken class will be replaced with free time..."
"Huh?? Does Mr. Mizuki still have the runs??"
"Maybe he embarrassed himself in front of everyone yesterday and couldn't face coming to class today."
"Sir, get us a different teacher. Mr. Mizuki's skills are just awful..."
"Just look at Sakura's hair!"
"Hahahaha..." Predictably, laughter erupted.
But under Sakura's fiery glare, they hurriedly shut their mouths.
Finally, Sakura shot another furious glare at Yu!
Her eyes were full of resentment!
Yu thought, Hey, hey... why are you looking at me? That really was an accident! I wasn't trying to target you! Your huge forehead just stood out too much!
I hate making people resent me more than anything, unless...
A sudden idea struck Yu. Unless resentment could be turned into power.
Buzz!
Just then, the Book of the Gods actually reacted!
Bang! Bang!
Yu slapped his desk. "No way! There really is something like that!!!"
"Ahem!"
Iruka hurriedly coughed to remind him. "Yu, please behave yourself. Class isn't over yet!"
"Hehe." Yu gave a sheepish grin, then went over the content the Book of the Gods had delivered to his mind.
-Secret technique: Earth Grudge Fear!
Resentment could be condensed into a magical beast, "Earth Grudge Fear." The stronger the resentment collected, the more powerful Earth Grudge Fear became!
Yu nearly lost it!
With a technique this fun~, why didn't you give it to me sooner? Over these four years, how many chances to stir up resentment have I wasted?!!
My precious youth~!!
Every effect had its cause.
The Book of the Gods had been written and left behind by Yu's biological father, an Ōtsutsuki, out of paternal love.
It delivered useful content little by little, like squeezing toothpaste from a tube, seemingly as a protective mechanism.
After all, an Ōtsutsuki's power only truly began to awaken once early childhood was over.
Some immensely powerful techniques were simply too difficult for a young child's body to handle!
Even now, although Yu could see the Book of the Gods in his mental world and even hold one-sided conversations with it, he still couldn't consult it of his own accord.
But on second thought, that was pretty nice too.
Hehe, I like being spoon-fed...
Besides, every technique delivered by the Book of the Gods required him to learn and master it himself, including how to use it afterward.
This, too, reflected the high hopes his Ōtsutsuki father had placed in him: no getting something for nothing. He was to use the resources his father left him and make his own way with his own two hands!
Many people thought the Book of the Gods resembled the "systems" in some novels. There might have been similarities, but the greatest difference was that the Book of the Gods came not from cold, unfeeling laws of the world, but from a father of flesh and blood!
The bell interrupted his thoughts, and Iruka said, "Yu, come with me to the office..."
Before you continue