Shinra woke up to the familiar ceiling that he had once woken up to when he had first transmigrated into this world. 'Did I collapse on the training field?'
For the first time ever since he transmigrated, his mind was completely empty. It wasn't due to blacking out or discomfort, but rather the overwhelming stimulus he had just experienced.
However, before he could properly understand what that sensation was, it suddenly faded, leaving only a bewildered Shinra lying on the hospital bed.
'How long have I been out? And who brought me here?'
He slowly pushed himself upright, a dull ache pulsing behind his temples. It wasn't debilitating, but it was enough to remind him of what had happened. The last thing he remembered was a mind-numbing pain that suddenly assaulted him. 'I didn't expect sensory techniques to be dangerous enough to knock me unconscious. Couldn't the idiot who wrote that scroll have included a warning?'
His gaze shifted around the room. Unlike the first time after the attack, this time the other hospital beds in the room were mostly empty. The door slid open quietly, and a chubby nurse stepped inside, pausing when she noticed him awake.
"Oh, you're awake?" she said, relief evident in her voice. "You collapsed from severe mental exhaustion. You've been out for a few hours."
'A few hours.' Shinra relaxed slightly.
"You should take a break for the next couple of days so that your mind can rest. Injuries to the brain are the most complex and difficult to recover from, so it's best to avoid them instead," the nurse informed Shinra as she moved to his right side and helped him up.
"Thanks for everything you've done, I'm checking out now."
"Someone has already paid your hospital bill, so you can leave after one more check-up"
After a brief check-up and a few warnings about overexerting himself again, he was cleared to leave.
Shinra stepped out of the hospital, the late afternoon sun brushing against his skin. The air felt different after being confined indoors, lighter somehow.
He adjusted his posture and began walking toward his house, along the way his stomach growled as he had missed out on his only meal of the day.
Shinra stopped in his tracks and looked back at the hospital.
"I forgot to ask who brought me here."
"Oh! Isn't this the boy who sits at the back of the class?" a childish voice came from behind Shinra.
He turned around to see three kids from his class. He looked at them, confused about what they wanted from him.
'Could this be that one cliché? Getting ganged up on due to not fitting in? I have barely interacted with anyone in class other than during taijutsu practice.' Shinra frowned as he sized the three of them up.
'Hashimoto Kenta, Inuzuka Inumaki, and Sarutobi Aki… what a weird combo.'
The one who had spoken brashly was Aki, while Kenta wore an awkward smile and Inumaki stood silently.
"Perfect timing!" Aki shouted as he gestured for him to follow him.
"Do you need something from me?" Shinra asked, stopping where he was instead of following them.
"Shh! We can't talk about this here, like I said just follow me!" Aki said, walking into an empty alley, followed by Kenta and Inumaki.
Shinra stood on the main road, contemplating whether to follow them or not.
'Although I don't know much about Kenta, Inumaki is kind of a loner like me and overall ranks second in our class. For both of them to follow Aki…'
Shinra sighed lightly.
'I guess there's only one way to find out.'
The alley was narrower and darker than Shinra expected.
Aki walked ahead without hesitation, hands clasped behind his head, humming something off-key. Kenta followed closely behind him, glancing over his shoulder once before offering Shinra an awkward smile. Inumaki brought up the rear, silent as ever, though he seemed to be avoiding eye contact.
Shinra stepped into the alley last.
'This place feels… off.'
The alley twisted once before opening into a slightly wider dead end. Crates were stacked against one wall.
Aki stopped abruptly and spun around, eyes bright.
"Alright," he said, lowering his voice dramatically. "This is far enough."
Shinra looked around the place and said, "You dragged me out here just to be secretive, couldn't you have just told me what you need back there?"
"Of course not," Aki replied, grinning. "This is serious."
"You should know that the mid-term exams are getting closer right?"
Shinra raised an eyebrow and answered, "So?"
"I recently found out Reigen-sensei's house and decided that for us to score higher than Uchiha Ren, we need to know the answers beforehand." Aki looked a little fired up from the thought of him surpassing Ren.
Shinra sighed and shook his head, "Do you really think breaking into the house of a Chūnin is something academy students can do?"
Aki looked a bit hesitant, "But we must at least—"
Shinra cut him off and said, "Do you really want to risk getting expelled because you want to surpass Uchiha Ren?"
"Even if you succeeded this time, what about next time? Are you planning to steal every exam?"
Aki's confidence completely disappeared, it was as if he was being scolded by his parents for doing something wrong.
"If you want to surpass Ren then just train and study harder, in time you will find yourself at the top of the class."
Shinra turned around to leave the alley, following behind him was Inumaki. Kenta remained in the alley to check up on Aki. "You didn't know his plan as well?"
Inumaki shook his head, "He came to me and told me that he has a way for me to overtake Ren's first place position and asked me to follow him."
Shinra made his way out of the alley and split off from Inumaki, to him training and getting stronger was better than being the top of his class.
Being top of the class is both an opportunity and a challenge, 'Civilian kids being the top of their class is a sign of talent, I will either end up being favoured by Hiruzen or thrown into Root.'
This is also the reason why he kept interacting with villagers before entering the academy, not everyone is a Minato and would end up being the student of a major character after showcasing his talent.
He knew that comparing himself to geniuses like Minato would only make his life harder, so the only way to receive such attention was to create a positive image in Hiruzen's mind. As for how he would accomplish that, he had no idea.