School begins

It was four thirty in the afternoon when Tianyun Hyuga parted ways with Kakashi at the gates of Konoha Ninja Village. Rather than heading straight home, he went to Naruto Uzumaki's place to see how he was doing.

In the ten months since he had come to Konoha, Tianyun Hyuga had taken only Naruto Uzumaki under his wing as a little brother. He sometimes ran into the other members of the Konoha 12, but they barely paid him any attention.

Tianyun Hyuga's original plan had been to gather all of the Konoha 12 as his little brothers and sisters, satisfying his mischievous urges.

As it turned out, the only ones he could boss around were Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga, plus a rather disobedient Tenten. As for Sasuke Uchiha, the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Neji Hyuga, Sakura Haruno, Shino Aburame, Rock Lee, and Kiba Inuzuka, he had only seen them once or twice in those ten months. Every time, they had adults with them, leaving him no chance to talk to them at all.

After strolling over to Naruto Uzumaki's home, Tianyun Hyuga stood at the entrance and called up to the second floor, "Naruto Uzumaki, your big brother's here! Hurry up and come welcome me, or you're done for..."

At Tianyun Hyuga's shout, a clatter immediately erupted from Naruto Uzumaki's second-floor room, followed by pounding footsteps on the stairs. Finally, the front door creaked open.

Naruto Uzumaki seemed very excited. The moment he saw Tianyun Hyuga, he asked, "Big brother, are you free the day after tomorrow? I'm about to start classes at the Ninja Academy. You've got to take me there!"

Tianyun Hyuga reached out and patted Naruto Uzumaki's shoulder with a smile. "Don't worry. You're my only little brother in Konoha. How could I not take you? I've already asked my teacher Kakashi for five days off, so I'll take you to school..."

Naruto Uzumaki grew even more excited. He had thought Tianyun Hyuga would be busy with missions and wouldn't have time to take him. Now that Tianyun Hyuga had actually taken leave to see him off to school, he was so touched that tears began streaming down his face. He couldn't help trying to rub against Tianyun Hyuga.

"Don't come any closer! Don't get your tears all over my clothes," Tianyun Hyuga immediately warned when he saw Naruto Uzumaki's movement.

Naruto Uzumaki felt thoroughly deflated, half of his gratitude vanishing in an instant. He grumbled, "Boss, it's just a piece of clothing. What's wrong with wiping my tears on it? I'll buy you another one if I have to..."

"Heh..." Tianyun Hyuga chuckled. "Can a penniless guy like you afford these clothes? This is the Hyuga Clan's specially made combat wear. Each piece costs a million."

"Uh..." Naruto Uzumaki stared wide-eyed at Tianyun Hyuga's clothes, at a loss for words. In his entire life, he had never seen what a million looked like.

Naruto Uzumaki soon recovered, but he still said dismissively, "It's only a million! Once I become a ninja, I'll be able to earn a hundred million. Don't underestimate what I can do, big brother..."

"Fine, fine, fine. You can earn it, all right?" Tianyun Hyuga shook his head. "Let's go! Today, we'll celebrate you officially starting school. Let's have a proper feast at the barbecue restaurant!"

"The barbecue restaurant..." Naruto Uzumaki cried out, then said rather sheepishly, "How about Ichiraku Ramen instead? I think that place is pretty good too. Let's just go to Ichiraku Ramen..."

Tianyun Hyuga looked Naruto Uzumaki up and down before asking, "Don't tell me you're broke! How can we celebrate something like this with ramen..."

Naruto Uzumaki looked a little embarrassed, because he really didn't have any money in his pockets...

Seeing Naruto Uzumaki's expression, Tianyun Hyuga knew he had guessed right. He shook his head helplessly. "Forget it. I'll pay this time. Just remember to pay me back once you become a ninja..."

Naruto Uzumaki immediately brightened. He shut the door and led the way toward the barbecue restaurant. "Let's go, big brother! We're having barbecue..."

Tianyun Hyuga frowned. "You're not planning to skip paying me back, are you?"

Naruto Uzumaki said excitedly, "Of course not! I'll definitely pay you back..."

Tianyun Hyuga pursed his lips. Looking at Naruto Uzumaki's utterly unconcerned attitude, he had only one thing to say inwardly: Like hell I believe you!

In the end, Tianyun Hyuga said nothing more. His savings had increased by over a million from all the D-rank missions he had done lately anyway, so he might as well spend some of it treating Naruto Uzumaki to a meal.

After all, as the male protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki would definitely have opportunities to make big money in the future. He could ask him for a little extra then to make up for the money he lost.

By the time Naruto Uzumaki and Tianyun Hyuga arrived at the Konoha Barbecue Restaurant, it was dinner time. Quite a few customers were already seated inside, including Tianyun's classmates Daishi Akimichi, Heigui Inuzuka, Jiro Kamata, and Shizuka KImori, along with a few people he didn't recognize.

Tianyun Hyuga was curious about what they were all doing together, so he sent Naruto Uzumaki to order the food. He walked over to Daishi Akimichi's table and asked him, "Why are you eating here? Didn't school just let out?"

At the Ninja Academy, Tianyun Hyuga rarely interacted with his classmates, but he seldom provoked anyone either. His classmates knew how strong he was and didn't provoke him, so his relationships with them were fairly ordinary.

When Daishi Akimichi saw Tianyun Hyuga approach, he thought he had come to mooch a meal. Seeing that Tianyun Hyuga didn't sit down and only asked a question, he answered directly, hoping to send him on his way.

Daishi Akimichi smiled. "Oh, it's you, Tianyun! We graduated a week ago. Now there are only seven students left attending the Elite Class, and it's all thanks to your help!..."

"Uh... What did I help with..." Tianyun Hyuga asked, puzzled.

Daishi Akimichi explained, "Did you forget, Tianyun? You taught us the New Gentle Fist Technique. After we'd trained for a while, our teacher decided we were all ready to become genin and let us graduate."

"The remaining seven students could actually graduate too, but since they're all under ten, Lord Hokage told them to keep attending school until they turn ten."

Tianyun Hyuga hadn't expected his actions to lead to such an unforeseen outcome. He truly hadn't considered it. Shaking his head, he said, "That's all because of your own hard work in training. I hardly did anything. I'll be going now..."

Tianyun Hyuga was just about to leave when something suddenly seemed to occur to him. He turned back and asked, "By the way, what are Neji Hyuga and Tenten doing now? Have those two graduated, or will they keep attending school?"

Daishi Akimichi said, "Those two? They're not ten yet, so they were made to stay another year. They don't have to attend classes anymore, though. Lord Hokage assigned them to teach the new students at the academy..."

"Uh... I see!" Tianyun Hyuga shook his head helplessly. "Enjoy your meal! I've got something to do, so I won't bother you any longer..."