At eight the next morning, Xue Ge timed his arrival precisely, entering the classroom just as the bell rang. His crutch tapped against the floor as he returned to his seat.
He casually laid a book on his desk to keep the teacher satisfied, then closed his eyes to rest while manipulating a small stone from his seat.
At noon, he swallowed another Soldier Pill and went his separate way from the other students as usual. Under the blazing midday sun, Xue Ge began running around the field.
"Hey, young man! You're here to let your youth shine too!" Xue Ge had barely taken a few strides when Guy sprang out of nowhere and fell into step beside him.
Xue Ge glanced at Guy without saying anything.
"All right! I stake the fire of my youth on this! If I can't finish ten laps ahead of Xue Ge, I'll do five hundred pull-ups!" Shouting his exuberant pledge, Guy suddenly accelerated and pulled away, kicking up dust that coated Xue Ge's face.
"..." Xue Ge took a deep breath to calm himself, then his gaze sharpened as he gave chase.
He wasn't trying to compete with Guy, but he really did want to see him do five hundred pull-ups. People in this ninja world really did have monstrous physiques. Even a random child could have such absurd stamina.
Back in the classroom for the afternoon lesson, Xue Ge began forming chakra threads in his hand, using them to guide a pen through all sorts of strange movements.
"What are you doing?" Muzi rested her head on her desk and watched Xue Ge. She had been watching him do things like this for over a day now. "The final exam will cover what we learn in class, you know."
At Muzi's friendly reminder, Xue Ge nodded. "Training my chakra control."
"Wow, you can already control a pen without touching it..." Muzi said enviously. "I only learned to extract chakra recently. I barely met the enrollment requirements..."
"That's normal," Xue Ge said without a change in expression.
"Come to think of it, my mom is a medical ninja." Muzi studied the nearly transparent chakra threads thoughtfully. "Medical ninjas need precise chakra control too. Maybe you have a real talent for it."
"Maybe." Xue Ge remained noncommittal. For now, he was clearly being trained as a proper combat ninja, but who knew whether Danzo might suddenly decide to make him a medical ninja someday?
Come to think of it, could a ninja be both a combat ninja and a medical ninja?
An odd thought suddenly surfaced in Xue Ge's mind.
"Ahem, ahem..." Just as Xue Ge's thoughts wandered, the bell rang. Ryosuke, their homeroom teacher, closed his book at the front of the classroom and cleared his throat. "All right, that's it for today's lessons."
"Huh?" "Wait, haven't we only had one lesson?" "School's over?" "Ugh... huh? What happened?"
The classroom immediately erupted into chatter. Xue Ge also snapped his head up to look toward the front.
"Quiet! Quiet!" Ryosuke tapped the desk. Once the students had settled down, he announced, "It's been almost two weeks since you enrolled. Starting next week, we'll have practical lessons in addition to theory."
"Before that, I need to get a clear picture of your abilities so I can adjust my teaching plan."
Practical lessons too? Xue Ge frowned. It seemed he would have to adjust his training schedule.
"Although you took some tests when school started, I consider those tests far too simple and limited." Ryosuke pulled a form out from beneath the lectern. "For the rest of this afternoon, we'll be conducting a class assessment."
"A strength test, a stamina test, a ninja tool throwing test, and sparring. I'll use your results in these four tests to adjust your subsequent lessons. And I hope you'll all give it your best, because... I'll be grading these tests, and the scores will count toward your final exam!"
No one reacted much to the first part, but when they heard that the results would count toward their final grades, the classroom erupted for a second time.
This time, however, Ryosuke ignored the commotion. He waved to the students and said, "Follow me. We're going to the rear field."
"Why didn't he tell us about the tests ahead of time...?" Obito complained as he stood on the field, nervously watching Ryosuke bring over one piece of equipment after another.
"Come on, it's only a few tests. Don't be so nervous." Rin smiled and reassured him.
Although school had only been in session for about two weeks, several distinct cliques had already formed in their class.
Among them, the two groups led by Lan Uchiha and Wenyi Hyuga openly disliked each other. The two came from the Uchiha Clan and the Hyuga Clan respectively, and most of the students gathered around them were from civilian families.
Another group consisted of children from more ordinary ninja families. The little circle of Rin, Obito, Asuma, Kurenai Yuhi, and Kakashi belonged to this group.
At that moment, Lan and Wenyi were confronting each other on the field, while most of the others watched the show.
Kakashi, however, paid the pair no attention at all. To ordinary students, these children from prestigious clans might seem exceptionally talented and impossible to catch up with. To Kakashi, though, they had little skill and plenty of attitude. They weren't worth his attention.
Put another way, before Xue Ge arrived, Kakashi had never considered anyone in his year worth noticing in terms of strength.
Now, he was mostly watching Xue Ge, who sat alone in a corner, flexing his fingers.
He had talked with his father for a long time the previous evening, and much of their conversation had been about Xue Ge. Hearing his father describe Xue Ge's training schedule had made Kakashi's scalp prickle.
"Sparring..." Kakashi murmured. It looked like he would get a chance to test Xue Ge himself.
"Hey, Kakashi, why do you keep staring at Xue Ge?" Obito suddenly came over and slung an arm around Kakashi's shoulders, grinning and waggling his eyebrows. "What, feeling the pressure?"
"You should worry more about whether you'll pass," Kakashi shot back without hesitation.
"Don't underestimate me! Take that!" Obito ruffled Kakashi's white hair. "If you don't take first place, I'm going to laugh at you too."
"Whatever." Kakashi waved him off in disgust, looking as though he were swatting a fly.
Strangely enough, Kakashi couldn't get along with the children of those prestigious clans, yet he had plenty in common with Obito. Perhaps Obito's goofy personality simply helped him relax.
"The assessment begins! First up, the strength test!" Ryosuke shouted.
The laughing, joking students immediately grew serious. Xue Ge also rose from his corner and walked toward the barbells laid out across the ground.
"First, Lan Uchiha." Ryosuke held the roster in his hand. "Come up when I call your name. We'll increase the weight one level at a time, and I'll record
the maximum weight you can lift. Oh, and you can use both hands."