Days at the Ninja Academy were always both interesting and boring for Shinsei. His adult soul told him that these days of children playing house were too childish, but his young body still shook with laughter whenever he saw Naruto making trouble.
Oh, right, that damned Naruto doesn't even call me boss anymore. Has he awakened his masculine dignity? Acknowledging a classmate as his boss in front of the girl he likes would make him lose face, huh?
The days passed like that, one after another.
"Hey." Shikamaru stood up, dusted off his backside, and called out to Shinsei as he was about to leave.
"Huh? Shikamaru, do you want to experience the thrill of battle too?" Shinsei looked at the laid-back Shikamaru, who almost never joined in.
"No, too much trouble." Shikamaru walked over to Shinsei, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "Don't wander around tonight."
Shinsei's expression grew serious. Shikamaru wasn't someone who joked around about things like this.
"What's wrong? Is something happening?"
"No idea. Finding out would be too much trouble." Shikamaru spread his hands, looking as though he didn't care whether Shinsei believed him.
"Thanks. Got it." Shinsei expressed his gratitude. It seemed he had earned Shikamaru's approval. His frequent visits to his grandfather weren't a secret.
Crunch, crunch. Beside them, Choji showed no sign at all of having overheard a secret.
Looking at the good-natured Choji, Shinsei thought, I'll help you lose a little weight. Then he reached into the bag of chips Choji was holding and grabbed a small handful.
"Bye! See you tomorrow! I'll treat you to ramen next time, Choji!"
Choji's aggrieved expression instantly turned happy, though he had no idea how long "next time" would be.
Classes continued as usual the next day.
Shinsei gazed thoughtfully at Sasuke's empty seat. Sasuke hadn't come to class. As far as he remembered, this was the first time.
So it really happened?
The Uchiha Clan Massacre!
Thinking about it, this should have been around the time it happened. His transmigration hadn't affected the occurrence of such a major event in the slightest. Although he was in Konoha, some news was tightly suppressed and never reached the ears of a mere Ninja Academy student.
Uchiha Itachi, Shisui Uchiha.
He remembered Shisui Uchiha's gentle expression. He still owed him a favor.
Although he had known long ago that the Uchiha would be massacred, he hadn't dared get involved in the slightest, not even to offer a warning. What a failure of a transmigrator he was, only daring to live with the utmost caution.
Did the Uchiha really have to be massacred? They were one of the two great ninja clans that founded Konoha. How many years had Konoha even existed?
The Senju had been left half-crippled and withdrawn, while the Uchiha had been massacred.
Although Obito Uchiha had also been meddling behind the scenes, Obito alone couldn't shoulder the blame for the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
Shinsei felt a chill. He was a genuine Senju descendant, even if he no longer bore the surname. Who knew whether Konoha High Command had a list of the Senju after their withdrawal? Previously, he had considered drawing closer to the Hokage after becoming the top student, receiving training from the Hokage's faction before Tsunade returned to Konoha. Even if he didn't obtain any particularly powerful ninjutsu, he could at least learn the full range of chakra theory.
As a transmigrator, Shinsei still had plenty of ideas for developing ninjutsu.
For example, there was the electromagnetic railgun from his previous life. With his current chakra control, developing it wouldn't be particularly difficult; all he lacked was the amount of chakra. There was also a water-style water cutter, very similar to Water Severing Wave, whose difficulty he also wanted to simplify.
But now, he could only bury those ideas deep inside. He didn't want to suspect the Third of scheming either, but he only had one life, and he didn't dare gamble with it.
After school, sure enough, he saw that there were far fewer people on the streets. The Uchiha Clan Massacre could only be kept secret from Ninja Academy children like them. The ninja all had their own information channels.
After that, Shinsei stopped even visiting his grandfather, obediently attending school and playing the good child. The classmates' gatherings in the grove continued as usual. If they stopped immediately after a ninja clan had been wiped out, wouldn't that be telling everyone they had a guilty conscience?
Sasuke disappeared for half a month straight. When he returned, he immediately lay down on his desk. It was as though he was wrapped in winter frost, making people afraid to approach him.
"Sasuke, would you like some lunch?" Sakura Haruno asked him cautiously.
"Get lost." Sasuke didn't even raise his head, his voice icy.
Although Sasuke was usually curt with Sakura, his attitude was clearly different now. Sakura felt it too. She stood there helplessly holding her lunchbox, tears falling one after another.
"Hey, why are you bullying Sakura?!" Naruto gritted his teeth and stood up for her.
Shinsei grabbed Naruto and pressed him into his seat. Naruto flailed around, refusing to let it go.
Ino pulled Sakura aside and gently comforted her. The two were on the best of terms now; after all, there was no competition between them.
"What a drag." Shikamaru sighed, propping up his head.
For several days in a row, Sasuke spoke to no one. He lay down on his desk as soon as he arrived at school and left as soon as school ended, never joining the gatherings in the grove.
Shinsei didn't concern himself with how Sasuke was doing, nor did he plan to help adjust his state of mind. As the Uchiha's orphaned survivor, Sasuke would definitely be watched in secret by Konoha High Command. Getting too close to him would do more harm than good.
Another month passed, and Sasuke began attending the gatherings in the grove too. He ignored everyone else and only sought out Shinsei to spar, as though Shinsei were the culprit who had murdered the Uchiha Clan. Still, he improved quite quickly. Although he hadn't learned any new ninjutsu, his taijutsu had clearly improved considerably.
"Hahaha, I'm back!" Naruto laughed loudly with his hands on his hips.
"Have you finished cleaning Hokage Rock?" Shinsei had no idea what went through Naruto's head. He clearly wasn't particularly short of friends now, yet he still loved pulling pranks. Today, Shikamaru had called him childish, and he had suddenly decided to do something big. Hokage Rock had ended up covered in paint. Only Naruto could get away with that; the Third had plenty of patience for him.
"Iruka-sensei treated me to Ichiraku Ramen!" Naruto couldn't help showing off.
"Ramen!" Hearing the word, Choji suddenly stared at Shinsei.
Choji's stare made Shinsei uneasy. Of course he understood what Choji meant. He hadn't expected Choji to still remember his promise to treat him to ramen last time.
Fine, I'll keep my word and treat them to ramen. He counted those who were still there. The nine rookie standouts plus himself made exactly ten. By this point, they were basically the only regulars left at the grove gatherings. Birds of a feather flocked together; pretty much everyone who couldn't keep up had left.
"Let's go to Ichiraku Ramen. My treat, all of you."
"Yeah!"
Shinsei's generosity earned cheers from everyone.
"Huh? But I just ate," Naruto said with a miserable face.
"So are you coming or not? If you don't, I'll save some money." Shinsei threw an arm around Sasuke, who was about to turn and head home, and half-pulled, half-dragged him along.
"I'm coming! I'll eat your wallet empty!" Naruto gritted his teeth. He certainly wouldn't turn down Ichiraku Ramen.
The group crowded around Ichiraku Ramen's storefront, and Ayame put out extra stools outside.
They finished their ramen amid the noisy, jostling crowd. Only when it was time to pay did they discover that Hinata had already quietly settled the bill.
Hinata was a good kid too. She hadn't forgotten that he had treated her to ramen last time.
Two bowls in exchange for ten. A profit!
School days really are happy. There aren't many years of days like these left.