A little fame

About half an hour later, a boy in a green jumpsuit, with a bowl cut and a face that looked somewhat old for his age, ran up to Itō Yuying.

Might Duy flashed his trademark white teeth and gave Itō Yuying a thumbs-up. "As expected of my lifelong rival! You actually got up this early. My youthful cells are already trembling. Come on, Yuying, let's have a battle brimming with youthful hormones!"

Ah... ah... I can't take this anymore. Watching Might Duy make those suggestive cries, Itō Yuying decided to end the fight within five seconds.

Two seconds later, Itō Yuying asked, "Duy, can you still stand?"

A long while later, Might Duy's trembling voice came from behind Itō Yuying. "Y-Y-Yuying! I think I can still be saved." Itō Yuying turned around and looked at Might Duy's pitiful state. Feeling a little bad for him, he took a Senzu Bean from his pocket and put it into Might Duy's mouth, then said, "Don't tell anyone." Might Duy was still rather confused. Don't tell anyone what?

Before he could collect himself, the injuries on Might Duy's body vanished instantly. His depleted strength returned, and even the hidden injuries accumulated over his years of training healed. Might Duy looked bewildered. What's going on? Then he turned his gaze toward Itō Yuying, who looked back at him with a faint, ambiguous smile.

Might Duy stammered, "Was that the power of that bean? It's amazing!" He praised the Senzu Bean with his limited vocabulary. Itō Yuying nodded. "Yes. Remember, don't tell anyone!" Might Duy nodded blankly in response.

Then the two resumed training hard. When the sun rose, Itō Yuying checked the time and said, "Let's head back." They each went home to shower, change, and have breakfast, having arranged to meet outside the dango shop afterward and go to school together.

After getting ready, Itō Yuying arrived outside the dango shop. Might Duy was already there, and the two headed to school together.

As soon as they arrived at school, the gazes around them fell on Itō Yuying and Might Duy. Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under their stares, Itō Yuying asked, "Duy, why do they keep staring at us?" Might Duy said, "Oh! Here's what happened. Someone spread the news that Lord Hokage beat you into the hospital, and that the Anbu even requested leave for you. Word spread that very day, and it caused quite a stir at the time. You're famous now."

Getting famous for being beaten into the hospital... I really don't know whether to laugh or cry.

The two entered their classroom, and the noisy room briefly fell silent. Everyone looked at Itō Yuying, then began whispering to one another. Itō Yuying sat down in his seat, and people nearby glanced his way from time to time.

Just then, a voice asked, "How are you? Are you feeling any better?" Itō Yuying turned to look. It was Uchiha Hanyue. Itō Yuying found it somewhat odd, but still replied, "I'm better now. Thanks for asking." "I-it's nothing." Seeing Uchiha Hanyue about to raise his proud head again, Itō Yuying wanted to laugh. He clearly wants to make friends, but he cares so much about saving face. Haha, the Uchiha really are interesting. Seeing Itō Yuying laughing there, Uchiha Hanyue flushed a little and turned to leave. Then Itō Yuying said, "If you have time after school, let's train together."

Uchiha Hanyue stopped in surprise. Who was Itō Yuying? Other people might not know, but he did. Itō Yuying was the Second Hokage's last personal disciple, someone who could fight Hatake Sakumo to a draw. That alone showed how talented he was. Everyone said Itō Yuying had been beaten into the hospital by the Hokage, but major clans like theirs knew some of the details. According to a certain Konoha Anbu member, Itō Yuying had been sparring with Lord Hokage and had actually managed to make him fall to the ground. Apparently, Lord Hokage had even ended up with a mouthful of grass, suffering a tremendous loss of face. Unable to swallow the humiliation, Lord Hokage had beaten Itō Yuying into the hospital.

What terrifying potential. The day after Itō Yuying was hospitalized, the clans began holding meetings to discuss him. It was only a matter of time before Itō Yuying rose to prominence. As long as he did not die along the way, he would absolutely soar to great heights. They also told their clan members to rein themselves in and not provoke Itō Yuying, and instructed the younger generation to befriend him. This was also why Uchiha Hanyue had taken the initiative to speak to Itō Yuying.

Jiraiya and the others had also taken the initiative to befriend Itō Yuying, partly at Tobirama Senju's behest and partly at Sarutobi Hiruzen's. Even Hatake Sakumo had visited Itō Yuying in the hospital several times.

Seeing Uchiha Hanyue standing there in a daze, Itō Yuying asked, "What's wrong? Is it inconvenient?"

Coming to his senses, Uchiha Hanyue hurriedly said, "N-no, not at all. I'm free." With that, Uchiha Hanyue raised his proud head and ran back to his seat.

Hyuga Yeyang, seated behind them to the right, had witnessed the entire exchange and gritted his teeth in anger. Damn that Uchiha Hanyue! He too had been instructed by his clan elders to get on good terms with Itō Yuying. He had just been about to greet Itō Yuying when Uchiha Hanyue beat him to it, leaving him to sulk in his seat.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Hanyue was feeling thoroughly pleased with himself. Not only had he completed the task assigned by his clan, but he had also become friends with Itō Yuying.

In truth, the person those clans envied most was Might Duy, because he alone was closest to Itō Yuying. For a time, several rumors had even circulated about a romance between them.

Someone who could not even use Ninjutsu had actually become good friends with Itō Yuying. Of everyone there, Might Duy was the only one who did not know about Itō Yuying's glorious exploits. What they did not know, however, was that Might Duy understood Itō Yuying better than anyone else.

Ring... ring... ring...

The bell rang for class, and Xinchang Yishui arrived in the classroom on time. He surveyed the class, paused briefly upon seeing Itō Yuying, then nodded and began the lesson.

The morning slipped quietly away. Seeing the restless students below the lectern, Xinchang Yishui did not keep them past the bell. "All right, class dismissed! Remember, don't be late this afternoon."

"Yes... yes... okay... okay..." A jumble of voices rose from the students. Then they gathered with their friends in groups of three or five and headed out of the classroom. Some went to play, while others went to eat.

Might Duy looked at Itō Yuying and said, "Yuying, let's go eat too!" "Sure," Itō Yuying readily replied. Then the two left the classroom together and headed to their usual eating spot.

They had only just settled into their seats when three people arrived. That was right: the future Sannin. Acting as familiar as ever, Jiraiya quickly walked over to Itō Yuying and Might Duy. "Hey, Yuying! We heard you were discharged, so we came to see you. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good. Come on, join us," Itō Yuying said with a smile.

"Hahaha, don't mind if I do!" With that, Jiraiya sat down beside Itō Yuying. Itō Yuying said nothing about it, since they were already quite familiar with one another. The three had often visited him in the hospital.

Tsunade said, "Yuying, do you know how famous you are now? Every clan in Konoha knows about you. Now even spies from other villages know about you. A few days ago, my second grandfather said they caught several spies, and everything they got out of the interrogations was about you. He told me to tell you to be a little more careful lately."

Itō Yuying replied, "Okay, okay. Looks like I've been keeping too high a profile. Luckily, I've got some ability now. As long as I'm a little careful when I'm out, I should be fine."

"Mm-hmm, Yuying-kun is right. Since Yuying-kun can make even Lord Second Hokage suffer a surprise setback, other people won't be a match for him," Orochimaru declared confidently.

Might Duy watched the four of them chatting from the side, looking blank and rather confused. Why would spies from other villages want to hurt Yuying?