The sky was completely bright, and the sunlight squeezed in through the gap in the window, shining on Uzumaki Hayashi's face.
He hummed twice, rolled over, and thrust a hand under his pillow-
He didn't touch the pillow; instead, he touched a piece of paper first.
What on earth was that?
Uzumaki Hayashi narrowed his eyes, picked that piece of paper up from beside the pillow, and took a close look. It was a neatly folded note.
The next second, he sprang right up from the bed with a start, his sleepiness vanishing completely.
A note?
How could there be a note beside his pillow?!
Before going to sleep last night, there had definitely been nothing in this spot.
He had slept like a dead log, without even lifting his eyelids once in the middle-which meant that in the dead of night, someone had sneaked into his house, walked up to his bedside, and placed this note right next to his pillow!
The hairs on the back of Uzumaki Hayashi's neck stood straight up in a flash.
He raised a hand and cast Mind's Eye of the Kagura outward, scanning this little Western-style house up and down.
There was absolutely no one there, nor was there any trace of anyone having visited.
Inside and outside the house, it was dead quiet, without even a trace of lingering chakra.
Yet he didn't feel at ease at all.
Good grief, what kind of concept was this? If someone could sneak to his bedside and leave a note, they could sneak to his bedside to do anything else. If that person happened to be in the mood in the middle of the night and casually gave him a thorough check-
As for whether he was male or female right now, the whole village was holding the wrong file. If they checked like this, wouldn't his secret be completely exposed? Once exposed, how was he supposed to get by in Konoha from now on?!
Who? Who on earth was it?
Root? That old codger, the Pot King, had taken a hit from the Third in the past... No, that had been several months ago. But a person like the Pot King could hold a grudge for a lifetime.
Or was it the ANBU? Or the Third?
Clutching that note, Uzumaki Hayashi paced around the room suspiciously several times, getting angrier the more he looked at it. In the end, he couldn't help it; he first laid the note aside and decided to turn the house upside down to search for any other clues.
As a result, this search led him straight to that unrolled Ice Release scroll at the head of the bed.
At the end of the scroll, there was an interlayer.
The opening of the interlayer was unsealed, and looking at its size and position, then comparing it with the note in his hand-
It was an exact fit...
Uzumaki Hayashi: "..."
So, this note had originally been tucked inside the scroll. Last night, he had slept all crooked, with the scroll pressed right beside his hand, and the note had slid all the way to the bedside according to his sleeping posture.
Absolutely no one had entered his room.
So for the past half-day, he had simply been scaring himself.
Uzumaki Hayashi stood in place for a long time, silently pressing the hairs on the back of his neck back down one by one.
...Fine, then. False alarm.
Only then did he pick up the note again and unfold it.
There was only a line of text on the note, written in a vigorous hand:
"Have some free time tonight, come over to my place."
There was no signature, and it didn't mention what it was about; it only said this much.
Uzumaki Hayashi flipped the note back and forth twice; there was a line of text on the front, and the back was completely blank.
Just like that?
However, it was not hard at all to guess who had left this note. The scroll was something the Third had gone through a lot of trouble to collect, and the note happened to be tucked inside the scroll, plus it kept saying "this old man" - who else could it be if not the Third?
He just couldn't figure out why this old man, the Third, had to be so mysterious. Since he had already delivered a secret note, why didn't he finish what he had to say? What on earth was it about? What could be so important that couldn't be said during the day and had to wait until night?
Speechless.
Speechless was speechlessness, though; the old man had never brought him anything bad when looking for him. Be it the scroll or his living expenses, when had any of it not been good stuff?
He would go, anyway; he didn't have anything to do tonight anyway.
Uzumaki Hayashi tucked the note away and casually summoned the system interface.
The analysis had been halfway done when he fell asleep last night, and looking at it now-
[Analysis complete.]
[Ninjutsu: Ice Release: Swallow Snowstorm (Beginner).]
Done!
He just smiled, and the next second, the method of weaving hand seals and the path of the chakra poured into his body all at once, turning entirely into his own in the blink of an eye.
Uzumaki Hayashi closed his eyes, experienced it slightly, then stretched out one hand, opened his palm, and guided the chakra toward the center of his hand.
Cool, icy chakra rapidly condensed in his palm-
One, two... three or four shuriken formed out of thin air.
They were crystal clear, almost impossible to see unless one looked closely. Put together with real items, they looked completely identical, but in terms of utility, they were even stealthier than iron ones.
Uzumaki Hayashi's playful streak flared up instantly.
He pinched one between two fingers and flicked his wrist-
Swish!
The shuriken tore through the air and pinned itself straight into the opposite wall.
One had to know that the little Western-style house arranged by the Third was a standard concrete building. Yet this shuriken made of ice actually sank more than halfway into the wall, pinning itself firmly in place.
This kind of cutting power was not something ordinary shuriken could possess.
He walked over, pulled that shuriken out from the wall, and played with it in his hand. As he played with it, he discovered another trick-
This shuriken could actually grow larger or smaller according to his will.
It could grow larger by half a circle, or shrink down to the size of a nail.
Uzumaki Hayashi was amused on the spot.
The snow was self-made, the shuriken were casually rolled out, and he could roll more after throwing them, throwing them after rolling more-from now on, not only would he be completely lacking in ninja tools, but he wouldn't even lack the means to practice.
This life was getting more and more promising.
After washing up, Uzumaki Hayashi hummed a little tune all the way to the Ninja Academy.
He was in a great mood today, and everything he looked at was pleasing.
Unfortunately, this good mood stopped right at the school gates.
A person was standing at the school gates.
With a head of silver hair.
Uzumaki Hayashi paused in his steps.
Kakashi? No, Kakashi's silver hair stuck straight up, but this guy's didn't.
This guy's silver hair was tied into a small ponytail at the back of his head, his forehead protector was worn properly on his forehead, his Chunin flak jacket was neatly put on, his facial features were regular, and a smile hung on his face-a smile that could only be described as amiable.
Standing at the school gate, anyone who saw him would say: This teacher really seems like a good person.
The other party was clearly a Ninja Academy teacher-Mizuki.
Uzumaki Hayashi uttered an "oh" in his heart and recognized the person immediately.
This guy was no mere passerby. This guy was the number one mob boss of the beginner village in the original work-the one who coaxed Naruto into stealing the Scroll of Seals, only to get beaten black and blue by a Multiple Shadow Clone Technique in return.
With just this level of skill, he couldn't even be considered an elite monster in the entire anime.
"Oh my." Mizuki saw him too, his eyes lighting up as he laughed twice first, "Welcome, welcome. You're really early today."
Uzumaki Hayashi nodded and returned a polite smile to him.
Smile as he might, there was not the slightest ripple in his heart.
He simply couldn't be bothered to deal with this kind of mob boss from the beginner village-acknowledging him with a single sentence would already be elevating his status.
Entering the teaching building, before even reaching the classroom door, a commotion full of chaos reached his ears first.
"I'm going to be the first one to see Linshi today!"
It was Naruto's loud voice, ringing out thunderously.
"Akamaru! You're a dog, what are you fighting me for?!"
"Woof! Woof woof!"
"What did you say?! Akamaru is not that kind of dog you're talking about!"
Kiba Inuzuka's voice exploded right after, "He's my partner!"
Uzumaki Hayashi walked to the doorway and happened to see-
Naruto and Akamaru, man and dog, rolling around in a ball inside the classroom. Kiba lunged forward in a stride from the back row, grabbed the back of Naruto's collar with one hand, and the two of them along with a dog tumbled into a messy ball, rolling all the way out from the classroom and right to the doorway, landing right by his feet.
Uzumaki Hayashi lowered his head and looked at the pile by his feet.
Naruto raised his face, covered in dust, and seeing that it was him, his face turned instantly red. Flustered, he tried to prop himself up to greet him: "Lin, Linshi, good morning-"
As a result, before he even finished speaking, Akamaru darted out from the pile of people a step ahead, pounced onto the back of Uzumaki Hayashi's heels, rubbed its head against his trouser legs, and wagged its tail like a rattle-drum.
Looking at the disheveled appearance of these two people and one dog, Uzumaki Hayashi couldn't help laughing.
This laugh fell into the eyes of Naruto and Kiba.
The two of them looked at each other, and for some reason, their faces turned red as well, after which they couldn't help but chuckle foolishly along.
"Hmph."
A cold snort came from behind Uzumaki Hayashi.
Sasuke Uchiha had arrived at some point, standing behind him with his hands in his pockets, looking at the two people huddled together at the doorway without even bothering to raise his eyelids.
"A pair of idiots."
The laughter of Naruto and Kiba cut off on the spot.
Sasuke didn't even look at them again, turned his head, and tipped his chin up at Uzumaki Hayashi.
"Let's go in together."
"Yeah."
Uzumaki Hayashi nodded, squatted down, rubbed Akamaru's head twice, and then stood up, walking into the classroom alongside Sasuke.
Behind them, Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki finally reacted, their voices of mutual recrimination chasing all the way in-
"It's all your fault! If you hadn't fought with me, would I have made such a fool of myself in front of Linshi?"
"Blame me? Clearly you were the one who started on Akamaru first! Akamaru, let's go, we won't lower ourselves to the level of an idiot like this!"
"Who are you calling an idiot-!"
Listening to the commotion behind him, Uzumaki Hayashi couldn't help laughing again.
Fine, then.
Anyway, tonight he still had to go to the Third's place and listen to that old man discuss who-knows-what.
He could just treat it as watching this little play in advance to relax.
Before you continue