Wait, why was he getting hauled in for a chat on his first day of school again?

Uzumaki Hayashi stared fixedly at the thick earthen wall in front of him.

As he stared, his expression gradually grew strange.

For no other reason than the three dog heads lined up neatly in the very center of that wall.

The three dog heads were carved in lifelike detail, tongues hanging out and ears pricked up. Even the collars around their necks were clearly etched, and each wore a goofy, toothy grin.

Uzumaki Hayashi: "..."

Seriously.

What was wrong with this guy?

Using Earth Release was fine, but did he really have to carve a row of dog heads on the wall? Was he worried people wouldn't know he kept dogs?

The corners of his mouth twitched twice. It took an enormous effort to choke back the laughter rising in his throat.

"You know..."

That lazy voice sounded again.

Uzumaki Hayashi looked toward it—at some point, a man had appeared behind the earthen wall.

He wore a green jonin vest, with his forehead protector slanted down over one eye. His exposed eye was half-lidded and listless. One hand rested in his trouser pocket, while the other casually tucked a palm-sized book back inside his vest.

Kakashi Hatake.

Konoha's famous jonin, the Copy Ninja.

Uzumaki Hayashi's heart gave a jolt.

When had this guy arrived?

There had been so many people packed around the place, yet he hadn't noticed the slightest sign of him the entire time.

And judging by how practiced he was at taking out that book and putting it away, he'd probably been watching from the sidelines for ages. Had he already read nearly half of it?

So he'd just watched the students fight without intervening, only bothering to act when someone nearly got killed?

Before he could finish that inward tirade, Kakashi Hatake's dead-fish eye had swept across most of the training ground and landed squarely on him.

"You mustn't use that sort of Ninjutsu on your classmates."

Kakashi Hatake kept his one visible eye stern, his tone perfectly serious.

Unfortunately, with that grinning Dog-Head Earth Wall behind him, nothing he said sounded remotely serious.

"Ninja mister!"

A loud voice burst out first.

Naruto Uzumaki had recovered at some point. He sprang up from the edge of the field, rushed forward in a few strides, and pointed at Sikong, who lay sprawled on the grass.

"But he was the one who attacked us with Ninjutsu first!"

Mister...

Kakashi Hatake's dead-fish eye twitched almost imperceptibly.

He was still perfectly young.

"Yes, I know."

He nodded at Naruto Uzumaki, seemingly agreeing completely.

Then he turned and continued addressing Uzumaki Hayashi in that same utterly serious tone.

"But you're still students."

"So you'll have to come with me to see the Third."

Uzumaki Hayashi: ?

Huh?

Come on, wasn't he clearly in the right here?

The other guy had used Ninjutsu first. This was self-defense. Besides, Kakashi Hatake himself had blocked that Vacuum Sphere. It hadn't even touched a single hair on Sikong's head.

So why was he the one getting hauled in for a chat?

Just then, a figure came rushing over from the school building.

"Make way!"

Umino Iruka pushed through the crowd and plunged onto the field.

That blast had been audible across half the school. He'd dropped what he was doing and run straight over.

Then he got a clear look at the scene-

The Dog-Head Earth Wall with three deep craters in it, Sikong sprawled on the grass and trembling nonstop, Kakashi Hatake standing to one side with his hands tucked away, and Uzumaki Hayashi in the very center of the field.

Without a second thought, Umino Iruka darted forward and placed himself squarely in front of Uzumaki Hayashi, shielding him.

"I'm sorry!" He bowed his head to Kakashi Hatake. "This child only transferred here today. I'm sorry for the trouble-"

Protecting his student was one thing, but inside, he was deeply uneasy.

Why had the Copy Ninja appeared at the Ninja Academy's training ground? What had this child done to attract the attention of someone like him?

Seeing how alarmed he was, Kakashi Hatake offered no explanation. He simply gave him two slow blinks with that dead-fish eye.

Umino Iruka froze.

To anyone else, those two blinks would have been baffling. To Umino Iruka, they were like a bolt of lightning cracking his skull wide open.

Who was Kakashi Hatake? One of the jonin the Third Hokage trusted most.

He had appeared here and was giving him a meaningful look-a look that said, "It's fine"-

What did that mean?

It meant Lord Hokage had been watching all along! Everything that had happened on the training ground today had probably unfolded right before Lord Hokage's eyes, from beginning to end!

-So that was it. That was what was going on!

Umino Iruka's mind raced.

He'd been wondering how a child who hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy could casually unleash a B-rank Ninjutsu. And why had Lord Hokage personally inquired about her enrollment, then meaningfully instructed him to "treat this child just as you treat Naruto"?

Now it all fit.

Lord Hokage knew all about the bullying at school. But as Hokage, he could hardly step in personally to deal with a bunch of children squabbling.

So he'd placed Uzumaki Hayashi here.

He meant to use this child to put that toxic atmosphere firmly in its place!

Lord Hokage might even have taught her that B-rank Ninjutsu himself.

No wonder. No wonder she'd dared declare before so many people, "No one has any right to insult others however they please." No wonder she'd refused to strike hard even after being hit. That final kick, that Ninjutsu—every move had been carefully measured—

He hadn't come here to fight at all.

He'd come to set a moral example!

The more Umino Iruka thought about it, the more it made sense. His last doubts vanished, leaving nothing but approval.

As he turned around, he secretly gave Uzumaki Hayashi a thumbs-up behind his back, out of everyone else's sight.

Well done.

Uzumaki Hayashi: ???

Seriously.

This teacher had rushed over, apologized on his behalf, then stood there getting all emotional by himself-and now he was secretly giving him a thumbs-up?

Did everyone in Konoha have something wrong with their heads?

"All right."

Umino Iruka coughed, resumed his authoritative manner as their homeroom teacher, and turned to clean up the aftermath.

He first picked out several older students and had them lift Sikong, who had collapsed into a boneless heap, off the grass. Sikong's legs were limp as noodles, and he was practically dragged away, trembling and muttering incomprehensible nonsense the whole time.

The students watching finally came to their senses, waves of buzzing chatter rising over one another.

"That thing she just used was Ninjutsu, right? Actual Ninjutsu?"

"Oh my god, isn't that something only Chunin can use...?"

Gaze after gaze locked onto Uzumaki Hayashi, awe mingling with lingering fear.

In the crowd, Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka huddled together, their eyes sparkling.

Sasuke Uchiha remained where he was.

His gaze lingered on the earthen wall before shifting to Kakashi Hatake.

The wall had risen quickly and solidly, taking three air bullets head-on and suffering only three craters. And this one-eyed jonin's title-the Copy Ninja, Kakashi Hatake-was a name he'd heard mentioned within his clan before.

Even someone like that had come in person, and was going to escort him to see the Third himself.

Sasuke Uchiha's hand slowly clenched at his side.

Uzumaki Hayashi's background really wasn't as simple as it appeared.

"Let's go."

Kakashi Hatake turned, slipped both hands into his pockets, and started walking at a leisurely pace.

"I want to go too!" Naruto Uzumaki jumped up. "He only did it because of me-"

"Lord Hokage wants to see him. What are you tagging along for?" Umino Iruka planted a hand on his head. "Go back to class."

Naruto Uzumaki was held in place, looking thoroughly aggrieved.

Uzumaki Hayashi sighed, brushed the bits of grass off his trousers, and resigned himself to following.

Before leaving, he remembered to give his system a mental poke.

Hey, does this whole Sikong business count as resolved? Where's my reward? Say something, will you?

The system remained perfectly silent.

Fine. Playing dead again.

You really are the best in the whole shinobi world at playing dead.

Kakashi Hatake walked ahead at an unhurried pace. His strides looked lazy, yet Uzumaki Hayashi somehow had to hurry a couple of steps now and then just to keep up.

The two figures, one tall and one short, left the training ground together.

As he walked, Uzumaki Hayashi began mulling things over.

Great. First day of school, and he hadn't even finished one class before getting into a fight. Now he had to report to the Hokage's office.

What kind of nonsense was this?

Still...

He rubbed his chin.

The last time he'd visited the Hokage's office, the Third had handed over two B-rank Ninjutsu scrolls with a wave of his hand.

Now that he was going again-

Surely he couldn't come back empty-handed, right?

Heh heh.