Class Begins

Teacher Asuma Sarutobi soon arrived in the classroom. When Harukawa saw him enter, she reached over and tugged on Ruri's clothes.

"Ruri, stop sleeping. The teacher's here. Wake up!" Harukawa whispered in his ear.

Ruri opened his bleary eyes and raised his head to see Asuma Sarutobi already standing at the lectern. He thanked Harukawa. "Thanks, Harukawa."

Momokusa Harukawa smiled sweetly, then nodded. "You're welcome!"

Damn, there it is again. Harukawa looks so pretty when she smiles! Ruri thought.

Asuma Sarutobi tapped the blackboard, then addressed the students below. "I hope you'll all pay attention from now on! Your lives as ninja have already begun, and I'll be here with you through the days ahead!"

"Being a real ninja isn't like the Ninja Game you play. Although it's still too early to tell you all this, I need to give you a warning!"

"Once you become real ninja, you could bleed or even die at any moment. Until you've experienced what being a real ninja feels like, it's very hard for you to understand!"

"So I hope you'll take everything I teach you from now on seriously and remember it. It could be a great help in keeping you alive!"

Although Asuma Sarutobi spoke earnestly from the lectern, many of the students below were still distracted, laughing and fooling around. Only a handful nodded firmly.

Seeing so many distracted children from the lectern, Asuma Sarutobi sighed softly. These children, who had no real understanding of ninja, spent every day dreaming of becoming great heroes of Konoha. They had never experienced the dangers of being a ninja.

"To those of you who aren't paying attention, I hope you won't regret it later!"

"Now, let's begin the lesson. We'll be covering how to extract chakra. Chakra is the very foundation of a ninja. No matter who you are, you can't do without a supply of chakra. Without chakra, you'll be nothing!"

Even when Asuma Sarutobi began talking about chakra, the distracted children from ninja clans remained indifferent. They kept roughhousing and playing, showing no interest whatsoever in the lesson.

Aside from Ruri and the few others around him who listened attentively, a handful of students in the corner also began paying attention. Everyone else found ways to entertain themselves.

Almost all the students who were listening came from civilian families, with no powerful clans or factions behind them. They had never encountered chakra before, so they began listening carefully.

Seeing a few students begin to listen attentively, Asuma Sarutobi smiled with relief, then told the class, "Those of you who already have chakra can choose whether to listen or not. But either way, don't disturb the students beside you, or I'll send you outside to stand as punishment!"

After hearing Asuma Sarutobi's warning, the students entertaining themselves toned it down a little. They either spoke in hushed voices or put their heads down on their desks to sleep. It was a common enough sight among students.

Once the classroom had quieted down, Asuma Sarutobi began his lesson. He spent the entire morning explaining chakra.