A few days later, while a slight chill from the end of winter still lingered in the air, the area inside and outside the brand new gates of the Konoha's Ninja Academy was already buzzing with an almost boiling excitement.
Sunlight filtered through the newly sprouted tender leaves, casting dappled, dancing shadows on the clean flagstone path. Children dressed in various children's clothes or simple small ninja outfits converged into a stream full of vitality, flowing towards the Ninja Academy amidst parental instructions, playful banter with companions, or their own nervousness and anticipation.
Menma, wearing clean but clearly well-worn red and black clothes and carrying a simple cloth bag, walked steadily through the crowd. His sapphire blue eyes calmly swept over the excited or nervous little faces around him, his heart utterly unperturbed.
Ninja Academy?
To him, it felt more like a stage for necessary disguise.
Just like those Naruto Fanfics from his previous life on certain websites, those who were reborn or transmigrated as children and didn't attend the Academy were few and far between.
Menma's gaze fell on that golden figure hopping around like a little sun, just outside the crowd ahead.
"Menma-nii! Look, look! So many people! Such a big training ground! Wow! That training post is so much taller than me!" Naruto, wearing a brand new bright orange tracksuit, darted around Menma like an over-energetic puppy, his face alight with pure, unreserved excitement and thrill, his blue eyes startlingly bright. (T/N: The Author had added brother when Naruto called Menma, so I'll add -nii.)
Unreserved excitement and excitement, his blue eyes were surprisingly bright.
He pointed at everything in the school, chattering nonstop about his discoveries: "Do you think we'll be in the same class? They assign classes on the first day, right?! I'm definitely going to make friends!"
Hearing Naruto's longing filled declaration, the corner of Menma's mouth lifted almost imperceptibly, carrying a trace of imperceptible warmth.
"Mm, we will." He replied simply.
Watching Naruto so happy about being able to go to school and make friends like an ordinary person, the sense of alienation from being a transmigrator in his heart seemed to be diluted slightly by this pure joy.
The two followed the flow of people into the assigned spacious classroom.
Wooden desks and chairs were arranged neatly, and the air carried the faint smell of fresh paint and books. Many children had already found seats and were curiously sizing up their new classmates.
Menma saw several familiar, or rather, faces he'd often seen on screens in his previous life: Shikamaru was lazily sprawled at a seat by the window, wearing an 'I'm gonna die' expression.
Choji sat next to Shikamaru, carefully opening a bag of potato chips, Kiba was also lively, though he hadn't yet adopted the Ninken, Akamaru. Ino and Sakura, two girls, sat together, talking in low voices, their glances occasionally drifting toward the doorway.
'If I remembered correctly, these two had been close friends since childhood, right? They just had some childish rivalry because they both liked Sasuke. '
The Konoha 12, except for Neji's team from the previous year, were all here.
'Huh?'
'Wait?'
'Was something missing?'
Menma frowned slightly, 'Was something being overlooked?'
Naruto pulled Menma to a seat near the back, still unable to contain his excitement, looking around everywhere, casting curious glances at every new classmate, especially when he saw Kiba.
Perhaps because their personalities were similar, he was eager to go over.
Menma, however, sat down quietly, his calm gaze sweeping over every face in the classroom, taking in their expressions and little mannerisms as if observing a dynamic painting.
Just then, a small commotion and deliberately hushed, excited discussion arose at the classroom door.
"Look! It's Sasuke-kun!"
"Sasuke-kun is so handsome!"
"He's looking over!"
Sasuke walked in, wearing a dark blue collared short-sleeved shirt and white shorts, his hands in his pockets, entering amidst the swarming and attentive gazes of a group of girls.
His delicate features carried the distinctive refined handsomeness of the Uchiha Clan, his black eyes scanning the classroom with a detachment and faint arrogance that didn't match his age.
His gaze almost instinctively first caught that glaring flash of gold.
'Uzumaki Naruto.'
Immediately after, he saw Menma sitting next to Naruto.
Almost simultaneously, Naruto also saw Sasuke walking in, surrounded like the moon by stars.
His previously sunny face instantly clouded over, his eyebrows knitting together, familiar, unconcealed flames of hostility igniting in his blue eyes.
"Hmph! Show-off!" Naruto immediately stood up from his seat like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pointing at Sasuke and shouting loudly: "What are you acting all cool for?! So what if a few people like you? What's so great about that!"
Sasuke's steps halted. His icy gaze turned to Naruto, the corner of his mouth curling into a disdainful arc, "Your voice is still so loud. Annoying. Really in the way."
His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly reached everyone's ears, dripping with thick contempt.
"Who are you calling annoying, bastard! Do you want to fight?!" Naruto instantly bristled, rolling up his sleeves and preparing to rush over.
"Bring it on. You think I'm scared of you? Idiot!" Sasuke didn't back down an inch, his eyes sharp as knives.
The entire classroom fell silent instantly, all eyes focused on these two boys who seemed to spark like fire and water the moment they met.
Ino and Sakura looked at Sasuke, nervous and worried, Shikamaru looked up and sighed, Choji stopped eating his chips.
Menma watched this familiar scene, his heart utterly calm, even feeling a bit...
'Well, the plot was proceeding step by step.'
He reached out and gently pressed on Naruto's shoulder, signaling him to calm down.
Just at this moment of heightened tension, as Naruto was about to break free from Menma's grip and lunge forward, and Sasuke had adopted a defensive posture, a booming shout filled with helpless laughter came from the classroom doorway:
"Hey! Already this lively on the first day of school? Everyone, sit back down in your seats! Save the fighting for practical combat class!"
Umino Iruka strode in, carrying a stack of attendance sheets. A horizontal scar marked his face, and he wore a bright, cheerful smile that also carried a teacher's authority.
Dressed in a Chunin's green flak jacket, his gaze swept over Naruto and Sasuke, frowning slightly when he saw Naruto, "Tch."
Seeing the teacher enter, Naruto, like a deflated balloon, clicked his tongue, and reluctantly allowed himself to be pulled back into his seat by Menma, still muttering under his breath.
Sasuke also snorted coldly, ignoring the concerned looks from the girls around him, and walked directly to an empty seat near the back to sit down, his back still radiating coldness and hardness.
Iruka walked to the front of the classroom, placed the attendance sheets down, and looked around at the several dozen pairs of eyes in the classroom… some curious, some nervous, some excited, some lazy like Shikamaru's, a warm smile appearing on his face.
"Alright, everyone, settle down. First of all, welcome everyone to the Konoha's Ninja Academy! I am your homeroom teacher, Umino Iruka!" His voice was loud and filled with passion.
"Starting today, for the next several years, we will learn and grow together, striving to become excellent Ninjas of Konoha!"
"I hope everyone can get along harmoniously, help each other, and progress together!"
After a brief opening speech, Iruka clapped his hands, "Now, to help the teacher and your classmates get to know each other quickly, let's do our first lesson, self-introductions! Everyone, in seat order, stand up, and tell everyone loudly your name, and… hmm, you can talk about your dream or something you like!"
The self-introduction session began.
The children stood up one after another, their voices sometimes loud, sometimes shy.
Choji said he liked all kinds of delicious food, his goal was to eat his way around the world, Shikamaru, yawning, said his dream was to become a normal Ninja, marry a wife who was neither pretty nor ugly, and live a stable life, drawing a round of laughter.
Ino and Sakura both said they liked pretty flowers, their dream was to... then both their gazes unconsciously drifted towards Sasuke at the back when talking about their dreams.
Kiba loudly declared he would become Hokage and make everyone acknowledge him, winning an approving look from Iruka.
When it was Sasuke's turn in the back row, he stood up expressionlessly, his voice cold and clear: "My name is Uchiha Sasuke."
After saying that, he sat down directly.
Extremely concise, couldn't even be bothered to mention dreams or likes.
However, this extreme coldness seemed to light a fuse.
The classroom instantly erupted into screams and cheers more fervent than any before, coming from the girls led by Ino and Sakura.
"Sasuke-kun is so cool!"
"So handsome!"
"Even the way he talks is so stylish!"
Naruto, watching Sasuke surrounded by screaming girls, was so angry his face puffed up like a steamed bun, his fists clenched tightly.
"Damn it! What's there to scream about! He's just a show-off!"
"Next! Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka held back a laugh and called Naruto's name.
Naruto shot to his feet, took a deep breath, pointed in Sasuke's direction, and shouted loudly: "My name is Uzumaki Naruto! My dream is to become a Hokage greater than all the previous Hokages! I'll make everyone in the village acknowledge me! And also, I will definitely defeat that show-off Sasuke!"
He shouted until his face was red, filled with determination, though the last part was clearly said in a fit of pique.
"Pfft..." A few giggles from girls who couldn't hold it back sounded in the classroom.
Sasuke glanced at Naruto and merely let out a disdainful snort.
Naruto, seeing everyone's reaction, especially Sasuke's dismissive attitude, instantly deflated like a punctured balloon. His earlier momentum vanished, his face turning even redder as he stood there somewhat at a loss.
He looked pleadingly at Menma next to him. Menma sighed helplessly inwardly, stood up calmly, and said in a voice that, while not loud, was clear throughout the classroom: "My name is Menma."
Equally concise, and then he sat down.
No declaration of dreams, no mention of likes, as flat uneventful as saying, "The weather's nice today."
He just wanted to end this process he deemed pointless.
He also contemplated whether he should just send a shadow clone to school in the future.
Naruto, seeing Menma be so bland, and then looking at the commotion Sasuke caused, felt even more disheartened by the contrast, and sat down dejectedly.
The self-introductions continued, soon reaching Hinata, who was sitting in a back seat.
The Hinata at this moment was wearing a large white hooded top, her dark blue hair falling softly over her shoulders. She kept her head down, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, her fair little face wearing its usual, easily-shy blush.
She stood up slowly, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz, carrying obvious timidity: "I… My name is Hyuga Hinata… I-I li-like…"
She seemed to want to say something, but her voice grew softer and softer, her head drooping lower and lower.
The classroom was quiet, everyone waiting for this Hyuga Clan's heiress to finish.
Ino and Sakura exchanged a 'she really is shy' look.
However, just as everyone thought Hinata would finish by shyly saying something like 'like flowers' as usual, a sudden change occurred!
Hinata's body jolted violently, as if struck by an invisible electric current.
Immediately after, she sharply raised her head!
The shy blush on her face receded like a tide, replaced by an entirely different, brimming with flamboyant and wild energy!
Those pure white eyes no longer evaded, but instead swept across the entire class like unsheathed blades, carrying a 'the boss is here' kind of disdainful attitude!
Especially towards those girls who had screamed for Sasuke earlier and were now looking at her with curiosity or pity.
Big Sis Hinata has appeared!
She put one hand on her hip, pointed the other at all the girls in the classroom, especially in the direction of Ino and Sakura, her voice suddenly rising, clear and loud, carrying an undeniable domineering tone:
"Hey! All of you, listen up! My name is Hyuga Hinata! My favorite food is Ichiraku Ramen! The person I like is my little sister, but!"
Her tone shifted abruptly, her gaze instantly becoming sharp as a knife, carrying a strong sense of warning, shooting straight in Menma's direction before sweeping across the whole class. She enunciated each word clearly, with force:
"Anyone who dares to set their sights on Menma... I'll kill them!!"
Silence.
Dead silence.
The classroom, which had been somewhat noisy because of Sasuke and Naruto moments before, was now so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at this Hyuga Clan's heiress standing by the teacher's desk with her hands on her hips, looking fierce, as if seeing her for the first time.
Iruka's mouth hung open, the chalk in his hand falling to the floor with a 'clatter' unnoticed.
Ino and Sakura were completely dumbfounded, their mouths opened wide enough to fit eggs.
Shikamaru's 'troublesome' expression froze on his face, Choji forgot to chew the potato chips in his mouth, Kiba's jaw nearly hit the floor, and someone's sunglasses slipped askew.
Even the perpetually cold-faced Sasuke slightly turned his head, looking at Hinata as if she were a monster.
'This Hyuga Clan's heiress...'
Naruto was utterly petrified, looking from the fierce Hinata to the instantly spotlighted Menma next to him, his brain completely short-circuiting.
And as for Menma, who was precisely targeted by this sudden, all-out 'declaration of protection'...
His originally calm and unruffled face showed a clearly visible crack for the first time.
He raised his hand and silently, somewhat stiffly, pressed it against his forehead, feeling his temples throbbing.
His sapphire blue eyes were filled with helplessness, embarrassment, and a trace of... indescribable mortification.
Outside the classroom window, the early spring sunlight was still bright, a few small birds chirping happily on the branches.
The first lesson for Class 1 of the Konoha's 57th Ninja Academy's freshman class had kicked off in a way no one had anticipated, filled with gunpowder, screams, awkward silences, and finally this earth-shattering 'declaration of protection'.
On the podium, Iruka, looking at this chaotic yet vibrant opening, picked up the chalk from the floor with a wry smile, deeply sensing that his homeroom teacher career for the next few years would probably be exceptionally... lively.
"Strange, did I miss something?" After the self-introductions finished, Iruka looked at the last name on the list, somewhat puzzled.
"Sensei-" A voice sounded from the corner of the classroom, "I haven't introduced myself yet."
Iruka looked up, momentarily stunned.
The other students also only then noticed there was another student in an inconspicuous corner.
"Ahahaha! Sorry, please go ahead with your introduction." Iruka said, sweating.
"My name is Aburame Shino." Shino said quietly, pushing his small round sunglasses up.