Izayoi's Invitation, Summer Vacation

Before they knew it, the first semester was nearly over.

This semester, first-years only had academic classes and Physical Education Class.

Every day, they either studied, exercised, or extracted Chakra.

Aside from Class 1, every other class had students who were advised to withdraw.

Ninjas were just that rare.

Not only was the entrance exam difficult, but the Graduation Exam was also extremely demanding.

Because graduating did not mean truly graduating. If they could not earn a jonin's approval, they would still have to return to the academy and repeat their studies. The elimination rate was absurdly high.

And this was merely the promotion from apprentice ninja to Genin.

Above Genin were chunin, Special Jonin, and the versatile jonin.

However, none of that had anything to do with Izayoi or the Konoha 11.

Other than during the first two weeks, Izayoi had not used his Main Body to attend school afterward.

He would not come in person unless there was Taijutsu Sparring.

After all, Izayoi had entered the Ninja Academy for Hinata and the trio of Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

More precisely, he had his eye on their Red Perks.

Before graduating from the Ninja Academy, Izayoi had to make their Red Perks drop—at the very least, one or two of them.

Otherwise, once they graduated from the academy, making their Red Perks drop would become far more difficult.

It was not because of any difference in strength, but because their chances to meet and fight would be greatly reduced.

In the original story, the next time the Konoha 11 met after graduation was during the Chunin Exams.

Graduation took place at the end of March, while the Chunin Exams began on July 1st. Both were important dates every year.

A whole season lay between them.

Ring ring ring...

As the dismissal bell rang, another day came to an end.

Even after an afternoon of Physical Education Class, the students were still full of energy.

"Izayoi-kun, do you want to play ninja games with us?"

"Izayoi, want to go home together?"

Some students left the academy for home, while others remained at school and invited their classmates to form Small Groups.

Izayoi received many invitations as well. He was an exceptionally popular figure in the class.

Although only a Shadow Clone attended school, and his targets were limited to Hinata, Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, Izayoi did not treat the others coldly. Instead, he always greeted them with a smile.

Even his refusals were very tactful.

Today was no different.

Faced with the invitations from his male and female classmates, Izayoi's Shadow Clone pressed his palms together and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I already made plans with someone else. Maybe next time—definitely next time!"

"Eh, someone asked him out again? Izayoi-kun is really popular."

"Then next time. Let's all play ninja games together."

The students looked disappointed, but they did not press him.

After leaving the academy, Izayoi's Shadow Clone slipped into a small alley and dispelled itself.

Its memories and fatigue all returned to the Main Body.

Having finished training, Izayoi had been resting at home and waiting for the fatigue to hit him. After digesting the day's memories, he murmured, "The vacation starts in a few days. It's time to make a move."

On July 20th.

After the morning classes ended, it was lunchtime.

Some students who lived close by chose to go home for lunch.

Others brought bento to school.

They either ate in the classroom or went outside with their lunches.

Since Izayoi usually sent a Shadow Clone to school, he always went home to eat.

But today, Izayoi had unusually come in person and brought a bento with him.

He and Hinata ate their lunches in the classroom.

Over the past three months, Izayoi and Hinata had become friends.

They were not yet the kind of friends who could talk about anything, but they already knew each other's hobbies and a few small secrets.

For example, Hinata's hobby was pressed flowers.

And Hinata also knew that the boy sitting beside her was actually just a Shadow Clone.

When she first learned about it, Hinata's little mouth had fallen open, her beautiful eyes wide with shock.

Then the way they looked at Izayoi-kun grew even more reverent.

Despite the school not even teaching the Three Body Technique yet, Izayoi-kun had already mastered the Shadow Clone Technique. It was simply unbelievable.

While eating lunch with Hinata, Izayoi suddenly asked, "Hinata, tomorrow marks the start of the break. How do you plan to spend it?"

"I'll probably stay home and train," Hinata answered softly.

"Do you want to train with me?"

"C-Can I?"

Hinata looked at Izayoi in delighted surprise.

But before Izayoi could answer, she shook her head dejectedly. "No, Father doesn't allow me to go out whenever I want."

Ever since the kidnapping incident, Hinata had needed a Guardian to accompany her whenever she wanted to go out alone.

And she could not go out too frequently either. Now that she had entered the Ninja Academy, there was also an Uchiha in her class.

For the honor of her clan, she had to train hard and could not let the Uchiha Clan suppress her.

"Heh... Don't worry about that."

Izayoi grinned. "I'm just asking—do you want to go out during the break, have fun, and train with me?"

"...Mm."

Hinata lowered her head and ate, her response as quiet as a mosquito's buzz.

"Good. I'll help you tomorrow. When the time comes..."

Izayoi leaned close to Hinata's ear and quietly explained his plan.

His warm breath brushed against her ear, and Hinata's cheeks and ears rapidly flushed red. Even the hand holding her chopsticks trembled slightly.

It was the first time she had been so close to Izayoi. The resistance she had built up over the past three months of training instantly dropped to zero.

Fortunately, Hinata's personality was not yet as extreme as in the original story, so she did not faint from embarrassment.

However, with her mind completely blank, she forgot what Izayoi had said.

"...Remember, you have to be a little more proactive tomorrow. Otherwise, my plan will definitely be exposed," Izayoi reminded her.

"O-Okay..."

Hinata nodded blankly, looking adorably foolish.

Then she looked up at Izayoi. "Izayoi-kun, what... what did you just say?"

Izayoi: "..."

Then, with a smack, he mercilessly flicked Hinata's forehead. Under the girl's pitiful expression, he repeated the plan.

Hinata covered her forehead, her beautiful eyes glimmering slightly.

The next day, the Ninja Academy began its forty-day summer break.

Izayoi left his house and entered a small alley.

With a bang like a bursting balloon, a sound rang out in the alley.

Then a blonde girl wearing a hat, though her hair color was still visible beneath it, jogged out and headed straight for the Hyuga Clan.

If any of the students from Class One had been there, they would have recognized the girl as Ino Yamanaka.

"Hello, my name is Ino Yamanaka. I'm here to ask Hinata to go out and play. We already made plans yesterday."

Arriving at the Hyuga Clan's entrance, Izayoi, transformed into Ino Yamanaka with the Transformation Technique, gave the Gate Guards a sweet smile.

The two Gate Guards exchanged glances.

"Please wait a moment."

After carefully examining Izayoi, one of the Gate Guards bowed politely and entered the clan grounds.

Before long, he came back out.

Behind him was a little girl in a White Coat—it was Hinata.

Hinata jogged over and exchanged a smile with Izayoi, who had transformed into Ino Yamanaka.

The plan was going very smoothly. The Young Lady was out.