Here to Pick Me Up?

[Ding-]

[Ice Release: Nadare Rōga: analyzing...]

[Water Release: Water Formation Wall: analyzing...]

[Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale: analyzing...]

For once, the system was obliging. It got to work on all three at once.

Uzumaki Hayashi stared at the progress bars on the panel, but before long, his eyelids began to droop.

Those progress bars moved at exactly the same speed as his cloud storage downloads in his previous life.

He watched one crawl slowly from one percent to two, then crawl just as slowly from two percent toward three.

Slower than a turtle.

All it was doing was analyzing a Ninjutsu, yet it insisted on squeezing out progress a drop at a time.

In his previous life, he had even paid for a premium subscription to fix that speed.

And the result? Slow was still slow.

At this rate, it would be dawn by the time the analysis finished.

Well, perfect. I'll check at dawn.

Uzumaki Hayashi made his decision on the spot. Out of sight, out of mind. He flopped onto his bed, pulled the covers over his head, and went straight to sleep.

He slept right through until broad daylight.

The first thing he did after opening his eyes was pull up the system panel.

The entries for Ice Release: Nadare Rōga and Water Release: Water Formation Wall both displayed [Analysis complete].

Only Ice Release: One-Horned White Whale remained up there all alone, its progress bar crawling so slowly that it looked as though it had only just started.

An A-rank really was an A-rank.

Uzumaki Hayashi couldn't be bothered with it.

I'll receive the two that are ready first!

[Transferring memories-]

Two enormous streams of information poured into his mind through his consciousness.

The first time around, something like this would have left him flat on his back for a while.

Perhaps he had endured too many transfers from this lousy system, because this time, he actually held out. His head only felt slightly swollen, with the dull heaviness of an overlong afternoon nap.

He got out of bed, brushed his teeth, and washed his face. By the time he finished getting ready, even that slight pressure had vanished completely.

He opened the door and stepped outside. A faint chill rode Konoha's morning breeze, brushing against his face and waking him up completely.

With two new Ninjutsu under his belt, Uzumaki Hayashi was in a wonderful mood.

He counted things off on his fingers. Water Release: Water Formation Wall had arrived at just the right time.

He already had Vacuum Sphere and Ice Release for offense, but the defensive section of his Ninjutsu list had always been completely bare.

Now that gap was filled.

Later, he would find somewhere deserted and try them out one by one.

Especially Nadare Rōga. The name alone promised a spectacle.

Send the snow surging up, unleash the wolves-just thinking about it got him excited.

He strolled toward the academy.

And wouldn't you know it-

Mizuki was on duty at the gate again.

Seriously, what is this guy up to? Why is he always on gate duty whenever something important happens?

"Morning, Hayashi."

As soon as Mizuki saw him, he put on his usual smile and greeted him.

"Morning, Mr. Mizuki."

Uzumaki Hayashi smiled too, even more perfectly than Mizuki.

"You really make me envious." Mizuki looked him up and down, smiling as he remarked, "Just what you'd expect from the Uzumaki Clan. Someone from a major clan learns so quickly."

"Unlike us commoners. We might go our whole lives without getting our hands on even a few decent Ninjutsu."

Oh?

That sounded a little off.

Sour. Really sour.

Without letting anything show on his face, Uzumaki Hayashi quietly activated Mind's Eye of the Kagura.

Sure enough.

The malice inside Mizuki was stirring, swelling further and further.

Well, damn.

He can still muster malice while looking at this face.

That's a talent in itself.

"Haha, you're kidding, Mr. Mizuki." Uzumaki Hayashi laughed it off. "It's all thanks to Grandpa Third's teaching."

Pretending he hadn't understood a thing, he waved and ambled through the gate.

Mizuki stood where he was, watching the redhead walk away, then turned to scan his surroundings.

There was no one around.

"Some genius."

He muttered viciously under his breath.

"It's all just Konoha's protection. A monster from another village, putting on airs in front of me!"

Uzumaki Hayashi hadn't gone far. His Mind's Eye of the Kagura picked up every bit of it.

Smiling to his face and stabbing him in the back. Cowardly and rotten.

Uzumaki Hayashi smiled, not bothering to turn around.

This guy was already on borrowed time. He wouldn't be kicking around much longer.

He entered the classroom and was just about to take off his Ninja Tool Pouch.

"Morning."

Shino Aburame greeted him from a corner.

His presence was the weakest in the entire class. Anyone else could walk past him three times without even noticing someone was standing there.

But with Uzumaki Hayashi-

"Morning, Shino."

He spotted him immediately and returned a brilliant smile.

Shino Aburame froze for a moment.

Then several insects actually flew out from his body with a buzz.

Oh, they move, too.

Uzumaki Hayashi found it rather novel and asked casually, "Is this your family's secret technique?"

Shino Aburame nodded.

His expression was hidden behind his sunglasses.

"Aren't you scared?"

"Of what?" Uzumaki Hayashi shook his head. "This is your power to protect others, too. What's there to be scared of?"

Besides-

They're just a few bugs.

In his previous life, when he rented a place down south, he had come face-to-face with cockroaches the size of his palm.

This was nothing.

After speaking, he raised a hand and patted Shino Aburame on the shoulder, then went to his seat and sat down.

Shino Aburame remained rooted to the spot.

Nearby, Kiba Inuzuka had been playing with Akamaru at his desk. Looking up and spotting the human fence post standing there, he came over and nudged him with an elbow.

"Hey, Shino, what are you standing here in a daze for?"

For once, Shino Aburame didn't answer.

Ino Yamanaka leaned forward from the back row and whispered, "He just managed to strike up a conversation with Hayashi. And Hayashi even complimented him!"

Kiba Inuzuka froze for half a second, then let out a wail.

"Shino! You lucky bastard!"

"If I'd known, I'd have stood there too!"

Akamaru barked twice in his arms.

After his wailing, Kiba turned toward Uzumaki Hayashi and flashed him a huge grin.

It was an utterly straightforward smile, brimming with undisguised friendliness-he wanted to get closer to this redhead, too.

His temperament was just like Akamaru's: when he liked someone, he wagged his tail at them.

Now Uzumaki Hayashi understood, and he couldn't help laughing.

Then he earnestly returned the smile.

The day passed uneventfully.

Naruto Uzumaki slept facedown on his desk all day, drooling enough to wrinkle the pages of his textbook.

Sasuke Uchiha stared out the window as usual.

Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka huddled together, chattering away. Who knew where they found so much to talk about?

Uzumaki Hayashi didn't remember a single word the teacher said at the front of the classroom.

He wasn't idle, though. He spent the entire lesson working through those two new Ninjutsu in his mind.

The more he thought about them, the more eager he was to try them.

Soon, the dismissal bell rang, and students streamed out of the classroom.

"Hayashi—"

Uzumaki Hayashi had just fastened his Ninja Tool Pouch around his waist when Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka came over, blocking either side of his desk.

"Want to go shopping in a bit?" Ino Yamanaka's eyes sparkled. "It's been ages since you came out with us."

"I really have something to do today." Uzumaki Hayashi smiled and shook his head. "Another day, definitely another day."

"What is it? You're being so mysterious."

"Then it's settled. We'll ask you again tomorrow!" Sakura Haruno added.

"Sure, sure. Tomorrow."

He agreed, rounded his desk, and strode away faster than usual.

The two girls stood there, exchanging glances.

"Why is he in such a hurry today?" Ino Yamanaka muttered as she watched him leave.

Of course he was in a hurry.

That sickly-looking Jonin had personally told him yesterday that he would pick him up after school.

A free Jonin Swordsmanship Class, and its very first lesson at that. How could he make the teacher wait?

Uzumaki Hayashi jogged toward the academy gate.

Before he reached it, he stopped in his tracks.

Amid the bustle at the gate, a sickly-looking figure stood quietly, enduring all the stares directed his way.

Gekko Hayate really had come to pick him up.