Naruto: I am the Strange Tale of the Ninja World, Who Are You?Author: Come Some Fat Times (来点胖次)Story SummaryKonoha Year 56, May 26th—the day the Uchiha clan was exterminated. Two days later, when Sasuke returned from the hospital to the clan grounds, he made a shocking discovery: all the clan members were alive."What on earth is going on?!"That evening, a Uchiha youth carrying a light blue schoolbag walked out from the village and returned home. Only then did he excitedly open his own system.[Life and Death Reincarnation v1.0]
[Points: 1]
[Description: Each time you kill one person, you obtain 1 point. 1 point can randomly revive one person from this world. (Note: Each revival increases the host's soul strength by one point)]
[Life and death reincarnation never stops—we live, they die.]Seeing the system's introduction, Uchiha Bufan said calmly, "I haven't killed anyone, so why do I have points? This system is useless. Strengthening the soul—what good is that? In the ninja world, it's all about fists and strength..."Meanwhile, Konoha Village had erupted into chaos because of Uchiha Bufan's appearance, the dead ANBU member, and the mysterious 'death game' that had emerged. The ninja world fell into turmoil as people suddenly began returning from the dead.As [Strange Tale Games] appeared more frequently, Uchiha Bufan's soul grew stronger and his power continued to increase. Without realizing it, he completely changed the entire ninja world.Several years later: "Strange figures have appeared on the coastline of the ninja world!"
"What! Could it be that what we saw before wasn't fake?!"Chapter 1:1-6 PrologueKonoha Year 56, May 26th. Ninja Academy, Evening.On the podium, the chunin teacher named Inoue Kazuhito gathered his textbooks and addressed the students in the classroom. "Alright, today's class ends here. Please remember to review when you go home."This was Class 3-A. The Konoha 12 were not present."Teacher, I still have some questions I'd like to ask."The student raising his hand was Uchiha Bufan, sitting in the third row of the classroom. Everyone looked at this handsome, gentle-tempered Uchiha youth. The girls let out quiet squeals, discussing Bufan's good looks and studious nature, while the boys rolled their eyes and muttered about how he just liked to show off.On the podium, Inoue Kazuhito hesitated for a moment. Today he had received notice from the village that no students were allowed to stay after school. He shook his head slightly at Uchiha Bufan. "Bufan, whatever you want to ask, ask tomorrow. Class has already ended, and I won't keep you from your after-school time.""Teacher! I really have very important questions..." The reason Uchiha Bufan was unwilling to leave was that he had discovered something wrong within the clan.He was a transmigrator who knew most of the Naruto plot. When Shisui committed suicide two years ago, he knew there wasn't much time left. He had only been in this world for a little over a year to prepare, and he hadn't awakened any golden finger or system. He could only disguise himself as an inheritor of the Will of Fire, trying to gain the Hokage's support.Unfortunately, his talent was limited. Even though he was an honor student in third grade, ranking first, he wasn't a genius like Uchiha Itachi who could graduate early. Being born an orphan, the inheritance left by his family didn't contain many jutsu he could learn. Among them was one C-rank technique—Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique—which he hadn't even mastered proficiently yet.He had only become proficient in the Three Basic Techniques.So he had no choice. Under the circumstances, he could either expose himself or wait to die. But self-exposure would most likely result in mental invasion by ninjas from the Yamanaka clan, probably costing him his life for nothing while benefiting Konoha's higher-ups.If he told Fugaku... based on that man's way of handling things, which could be seen from the Uchiha coup plans, Chief Fugaku was not mature and might not necessarily believe him. Even if he did believe, he might tell the village about Bufan's situation in exchange for peace—which would lead back to the previous scenario.As an Uchiha child who hadn't even opened his Sharingan, he could do nothing. He just wanted to live, even if there was only a thread of hope.But Inoue Kazuhito on the podium still chose to refuse.Uchiha Bufan understood that today was the day of the clan's extermination. Yesterday when he had asked, Inoue Kazuhito hadn't refused, but had gently answered some questions about class content for him. But now, he refused."I understand, teacher." "See you tomorrow, teacher."Uchiha Bufan stood up and bowed slightly. The teachers at the ninja academy treated people well, except for a certain white-haired, gloomy, unsuccessful Mizuki who blamed others for his failures.He left the school with a grave expression.Half an hour later. Uchiha clan grounds. Inside a thirty-square-meter house.Uchiha Bufan sat on a wooden chair, writing his final diary entry.[May 26th. Weather: Blood moon. Today is the 1,271st day since I transmigrated to the Naruto world, and also the last day I'll be alive. If possible, I hope that in the next life when I reincarnate, I can be in a peaceful world...]Uchiha Bufan finished writing the last character. The ink from the pen tip dotted several times on the diary as he began to stare blankly, his eyes numbly fixed on the pages.Just then, abnormal sounds came from outside, along with the shouts of clan members—sounds he heard most often when going out."Aunt Yuko... Uncle Tesho... Aunt Uruchi... Sister Sai..."Uchiha Bufan wiped away his tears. He knew all he could do was burn the diary he had written, using it as a prayer for blessings, while trying to find a way to communicate with Obito to get a chance to survive.On the floor inside the house, Uchiha Bufan took out matches, lit a paper ball, then lit the diary, meaning that from now on, he would never write a diary again."I hope the divine lord can fulfill my wish."The burned diary formed black smoke in the house, with some ashes floating in the air, making Uchiha Bufan cough several times involuntarily.Bang!"Bufan! Run quickly!"The door was forcibly opened by external force. The person who rushed in was a member of the Uchiha Police Force, Uchiha Sai, who was also Uchiha Bufan's neighbor sister who often greeted him.At this time, she didn't have her usual heroic and graceful appearance—only a terrified face."Outside there's someone who killed all the clan members. If I hadn't happened to be resting today, plus other Police Force members blocking him, I'm afraid I couldn't have escaped either..."Uchiha Sai's tone was urgent. Unfortunately, that figure behind her had already silently appeared, providing the answer.She couldn't escape. Neither could he."Sister Sai, why didn't you run?" Uchiha Bufan didn't expose Obito's appearance. If he did, it would only end the conversation early.Even though Sister Sai was only twenty-one years old, she had opened the two-tomoe Sharingan and was a chunin with decent talent. But the masked man behind her had opened the Mangekyo Sharingan when he was only in his teens.Uchiha Sai gritted her teeth. "This must be people from the village. They launched an attack on the Uchiha first. I've already notified Kazuya, telling him to go to the Police Force to seek support, trying to rally the last strength of the Uchiha.Moreover, I made an appointment with him for a location—in the southwest direction of the clan, where there's a shrine belonging to us Uchiha. It's an important place for our clan, and there are quite a few Uchiha members guarding it. We can use this to escape!"After hearing Uchiha Sai's plan, Uchiha Bufan nodded, then shook his head. The plan was good, just too naive. If they wanted to escape, they should have decided from the beginning, not when they were shouting about a coup and were about to be exterminated..."What are you still waiting for..."Before she could finish speaking, Uchiha Sai felt pain in her back. She looked down at her chest, where blood red was flowing."Not a bad plan, kid. Seems the Uchiha aren't all idiots, but still too young." Uchiha Obito finished speaking and put chains around Uchiha Sai's neck. "Well then, see you later."Uchiha Sai raised her powerless hands and struggled hard, her eyes wide, her double-tomoe spinning rapidly as she looked at the expressionless Uchiha Bufan in front of her.She knew that in the end, she still hadn't saved this neighbor brother."Um..."Uchiha Bufan was very nervous. Even though the other party had killed his neighbor sister, he had to endure the humiliation—there might be opportunities in the future. But only by witnessing this scene with his own eyes did he truly understand that the ninja world was always cruel.Frightened into facial paralysis, he really wanted to continue speaking, but after opening his mouth for a long time, he couldn't say a single word.Before the masked man gave him a chance to speak, his heart suddenly ached. Bufan's eyes widened, filled with disbelief."Seeing a kind big sister save you, but you can't even open a single tomoe—you're really worthless."With practiced movements, Obito killed Uchiha Sai, then skillfully removed her Sharingan. After confirming that Bufan hadn't developed even a single-tomoe Sharingan, he slowly left.After Obito left, Bufan finally came to his senses. The intense pain and rapidly dissipating life force made him laugh out loud involuntarily."Cough. Hahaha—"Coughing up blood, he recalled the year and more since he had transmigrated—almost all of it had been useless effort. What special things after transmigration, what uniqueness, were all just fantasies between readers and authors. True reality was always cruel.He was weak, so he died.When he finally looked at the ceiling clearly, Uchiha Bufan felt his vision had improved a little. He immediately understood that he had now opened the single-tomoe Sharingan, and let out a final roar: "Why why why why why! What did I do wrong!"Was being an honest person wrong? Was having no ambition wrong? Then what was the point of making him transmigrate here![Ding!]
[Wish Fulfillment System has bound to host]
[Detecting host's life force is disappearing...]
[?]The system was puzzled. How come she had just received the mission and just arrived, but the host was about to die! And this situation... seemed to have no value anymore.----[Beep beep, hello, please help me transfer to Level 7 Divine Lord Louis.]
[Hello, Lord Louis, this person is dead!]
[That won't work—this doesn't conform to world rules. I won't get anything.]
[Oh, alright alright.]The system seemed to pause for a while, looked at the nearly dead corpse on the ground, and couldn't help but ask:[Do you still have any wishes that need to be fulfilled?]In the empty room, there was no sound. The system called out to his soul, but his soul seemed to have shut itself off.[Forget it, seeing how pitiful you are, I was originally planning to use you for raising poison, but now it seems your mind has completely collapsed... Then let me look at the diary you wrote.]In an instant, the originally burned residue and ashes in the house began to reverse, quickly turning back into a diary. The system only took one second to read it all, then turned the diary back to how it was.[Your wish, I have heard it.]
[I'll just give you some things I can't use...]In the air, a beam of light shone on Uchiha Bufan's soul that hadn't yet left his body. In the ears of Uchiha Bufan's soul after death came a series of mechanical system sounds.But he had a blank expression, repeatedly muttering something...[Congratulations to the host for becoming a Strange Tale]
[When soul strength becomes stronger, the reality space that can be modified becomes larger...]—"No... No!!!"In a single room at Konoha Hospital, the tender voice of a young boy awakening from nightmares could be heard from time to time. The ANBU at the door had already become accustomed to this.Clean hospital environment, soft white hospital bed. Sasuke, wearing hospital clothes, lifted the blanket, his eyes vacant."I... I..." "Why exactly!"Sasuke couldn't understand why Itachi would exterminate the clan and even kill their parents. But obviously, the facts had already happened. He could never go back.Getting up and opening the door, he found the ANBU at the door turning slightly to look at this boy with vacant eyes. "Uchiha Sasuke, is there somewhere you feel uncomfortable?""I want to be discharged."For this pitiful child, the hospital staff didn't stop him, only caringly asked if he wanted to stay in the hospital for observation for two more days. But the boy refused.On the street, Sasuke walked forward in confusion, wearing a new set of clothes the village had bought for him, complete with the Uchiha fan symbol. But this symbol had lost its value..."Eh? Sasuke, what are you doing here? Don't we still have classes today?"Before he had walked two blocks, Sasuke heard this familiar voice. Turning to look, he found it was a black-haired youth with slightly messy bangs.The other person was somewhat as handsome as himself, holding a popsicle and eating while looking at him."You are... wait! Aren't you that someone?!" In Sasuke's memory, there were two other Uchiha in higher grades at school, and one of them seemed to be this person in front of him."Damn! My name is Bufan!"Sure enough, young masters are young masters.Uchiha Bufan internally complained that Sasuke didn't remember people. At the same time, he continued licking his popsicle, stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong with you? Why are you skipping school like me today?""Skipping school?" Sasuke's eyes widened. He hadn't understood Bufan's words yet, but from Bufan's face he remembered the other's identity.This person should be called Uchiha Bufan, a Uchiha member one grade higher than him. He had heard that Bufan was very serious in class, had excellent grades, and like himself was an honor student. But now, he heard the word "skipping school" from the other's mouth...Wait wait! Damn, weren't the Uchiha exterminated?!Smack!Bufan: ?"You... uh..." Bufan looked at Sasuke, who had slapped himself hard and was still grinning foolishly, and couldn't help but step back slightly.Holy crap! Is Sasuke starting to go crazy at this stage?!It hurts! It really hurts!Sasuke endured the pain, the corners of his mouth involuntarily rising. He thought that everything was just his illusion, and the family hadn't been exterminated at all!With tears in the corners of his eyes, he stepped forward and grabbed the somewhat panicked Bufan, asking, "The clan—how is the clan?""What do you mean how is it?" "Did you not sleep well?!"Although Uchiha Bufan was afraid of Sasuke going crazy, he still couldn't help but point to his head, then sighed and said meaningfully to Sasuke, "We're both considered decent geniuses in the clan. Normal training is fine. Don't be so competitive. Look at you—you've trained your brain to malfunction."Sasuke saw that when Bufan heard about 'clan extermination' he had a completely natural expression, and looking around at the pedestrians who seemed to pay no attention to this place, couldn't help but say, "Then, shall we go home together and take a look?""Go home?" Bufan said in shock. "I don't want to. I only skipped school to relax myself a bit. I still have to go back to school later to show my face. If you want to go home, go home first."He felt Sasuke's grip was a bit painful and pried off his hand."Then I'm going~ If you really miss me, you can come to my house tonight to play."Sasuke watched Bufan's departing figure after he finished speaking, still somewhat shaken. He felt that Bufan must be real, because he had touched him, and when he slapped himself just now it really hurt, and his face was still a bit red now.Immediately, he ran toward the clan grounds. He wanted to confirm this fact.Ninja Academy. In the Class 2-A classroom.Everyone was quietly discussing the Uchiha matter."Is Sasuke-kun alright..." "How could the Uchiha just disappear like that?"Facing the discussion in the class, Uzumaki Naruto, who originally viewed Sasuke as a goal and rival, also couldn't get energetic. He didn't know why Sasuke's family would suddenly be exterminated. He felt a strange sadness about it.But soon, he perked up again. Sasuke was so excellent—he would definitely overcome this shadow by himself! Then, the sounds in the classroom became quiet, the surrounding discussions came to an abrupt halt. Naruto was still immersed in thinking about how to comfort Sasuke when he returned.At this time, a clear young voice rang by Naruto's ear."Is anyone sitting here?"
"No, no."Hearing this, Naruto, who was still thinking, waved his hand. He thought it was some classmate who wanted to sit next to him temporarily, so he didn't pay attention.When Naruto came to his senses, he realized that usually no one sat next to him! You know, one row of desks seated three people, and Naruto was in the window seat, with an empty seat always next to him.He couldn't help but turn his head to see who it was. He thought it was Shikamaru or Choji, but it was neither."Hello, classmate." Uchiha Bufan calmly held a popsicle that he had been eating for over ten minutes but hadn't melted yet, put down his schoolbag, took out his textbook, and prepared for the last class of the morning.Naruto also didn't recognize the pattern on his clothes. He just put his hands on his hips and stood up from his seat, asking, "No... who are you?""My name is Uchiha Bufan! I'm a student in this class. Did you forget?" Uchiha Bufan tilted his head. If he remembered correctly, he should be in the same class as the protagonist group.But seeing that Naruto seemed not to know him, Bufan couldn't help but frown.[Warning!]Just as the Strange Tale ability was preparing to try to fix all this...Naruto scratched his head, with some shame on his face. "Sorry... I usually have relatively few friends in class... so I didn't recognize you for a moment.""Oh! So that's how it is." After Bufan finished speaking, the power in his body that he couldn't perceive suddenly calmed down.He didn't care about this. It should be that he had been too cautious and low-key usually, causing Naruto not to remember him. But now it was different. He was someone who had awakened a system. Awakening system = destined protagonist.So how could a destined protagonist who would have a thread of hope to survive no matter how much he acted recklessly be afraid of being targeted?"It's fine, just remember my name properly next time." Uchiha Bufan looked at his textbook, planning to review the content."Oh oh." Naruto scratched his head. The gloomy mood caused by the tragedy that happened to Sasuke's family had dissipated quite a bit.Naruto discovered Uchiha Bufan's seriousness and thought this person must also be a top student in the class. But from the corner of Naruto's eye, he noticed that everyone in the classroom had dumbfounded expressions."Eh? What's wrong with you all?"Seeing that Naruto hadn't come to his senses, Shikamaru, sitting not far away, was almost smoking from rubbing his chin. He couldn't understand no matter how he thought about it, why there was still an Uchiha alive.Logically, his father shouldn't be wrong about this kind of thing... But now another one had appeared. But who the hell is this?!Ding dong—The broadcast sounded the class bell. Not long after, Iruka, holding textbooks, walked into the classroom.With a complicated mood, he didn't notice the situation in the classroom at all. Instead, he habitually first looked at Sasuke's empty seat. This made his mood even more complicated.After a moment, he perked up again and said to the students in the classroom, "Students, return to your seats. Today we're going to..."Before he could finish, he found that the students all had dumbfounded expressions looking toward one place. Then he frowned and looked over, because that direction was toward Uzumaki Naruto's seat...
—
"Has class started?" Uchiha Bufan lifted his head from studying "Chakra Fundamentals." Suddenly realizing everyone was staring at him, he couldn't help but smile. "What? Is today's me somehow different from yesterday?"
Everyone: "..."
Slap!
The sound of a hand hitting a desk came from beside him. Bufan was startled.
Isn't that my friend! What are you doing?
Naruto didn't look at Bufan. Instead, his gaze swept across each classmate in the room.
"Bufan is under this great master's protection! No one can bully him!"
He wouldn't let this classmate—who was willing to approach him—be bullied by anyone in the class! Absolutely not!
"..." Everyone fell into silence. Even Shikamaru, who usually had a decent relationship with Naruto, couldn't help but cover his face.
No... haven't you noticed yet?!
At this moment, Iruka finally couldn't help but speak up: "Excuse me... student, may I ask who you are?"
Bufan, who hadn't yet recovered from Naruto's outburst, heard the homeroom teacher's strange inquiry. His brow furrowed slightly.
By all accounts, he should be recognized alongside Sasuke as an excellent student. Though he kept a low profile and didn't aim for first place, he was still ranked third. For Iruka-sensei to forget his name was...
Uchiha Bufan's mind went blank. Rather than overthink it, he simply said: "Iruka-sensei, did you not sleep well last night? You seem to have forgotten. I'm Uchiha Bufan—please don't forget again."
Hearing the caring voice from his student, Iruka felt touched and smiled in response: "Now that you mention it, that does seem right... I haven't been sleeping well these past few days..."
"?"
Halfway through his words, Iruka suddenly processed what he'd heard clearly.
Uchiha?!
Wasn't that the ninja family that had been completely wiped out, leaving only Sasuke alive?!
This situation would make anyone's brain overheat to dangerous levels.
So Iruka chose to temporarily abandon rational thought. He had the students return to their seats for self-study while he went alone to the Hokage building to report this news to the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Although the classmates returned to their positions, they couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
Uchiha Bufan didn't mind. He focused intently on the book in his hands, then pulled sheet after sheet of draft paper and a pen from his schoolbag, beginning to calculate the probability of successfully cultivating chakra.
Naruto, thinking he had successfully 'intimidated' the entire class, sat back in his seat feeling proud. He originally wanted to follow his newly acquainted classmate Bufan's example and properly read books. However, after one glance—thud—he collapsed onto his desk and fell asleep.
Mental Space
Drip drop.
Drip drop.
In a sewer-like environment where water droplets occasionally fell from the walls, Uzumaki Naruto suddenly appeared in front of a tall prison cage.
Naruto was stunned, then took a deep breath and looked around: "Where the hell is this?!"
"Is this still Konoha Village?!"
Just then, from the darkness within the tall prison cage, a pair of terrifyingly large red eyes emerged, staring at the appeared Naruto.
"Naruto."
"Ahhhhh! Ghost! Ghost-grandpa, don't kill me! I have a sixty-plus-year-old grandpa above and an unborn child below—please, I beg you, spare me!"
He was terrified of ghosts!
"..." Seeing this child speaking nonsense, the Nine-Tails, who had originally wanted to explain some matters to Naruto, fell silent for a moment.
After waiting a while and discovering the ghost wasn't coming out, Naruto finally stopped talking. He carefully raised his head, looked at the huge pair of eyes within the prison cage, and quietly said: "Um... Ghost-mister, did you need something from me?"
"Little brat, did you forget what happened these past two days?" Nine-Tails frowned. He knew from daily observation that Naruto was quite dense, but he hadn't expected this level of stupidity.
Hearing this, Naruto hugged his legs and sat down. His expression relaxed somewhat—at least he knew the ghost in front of him could communicate. He began thinking.
"These past two days... these past two days..."
"These past two days I went to Uncle Ichiraku's place to eat ramen. Uncle Ichiraku added two slices of char siu for me... I don't think there were any other matters..." Naruto murmured.
Nine-Tails: ?
"I'm talking about the Uchiha!"
"Oh! Uchiha... Uchiha... you mean about Sasuke's family all dying, right?" Naruto suddenly understood.
"Right, that's the matter." Nine-Tails couldn't help but mentally wipe non-existent sweat from his forehead. "Then tell me—who's left of the Uchiha clan now?"
Naruto showed an expression of looking at an idiot as he gazed at the pair of eyes in the prison cage's darkness: "Isn't that obvious?! Of course only Sasuke is left... huh?!"
"You finally remembered!" Nine-Tails rolled his eyes and complained internally.
Then Nine-Tails continued: "That's right. That little brat isn't human at all, but I can't see through what he actually is. Just now, it seemed an extremely terrifying power was preparing to approach you, but because you responded to the other party, this power disappeared."
"No way! A ghost was actually sitting beside me! No wonder I didn't recognize him!" Naruto collapsed, holding his head. When this 'dream' ended, he'd still have to go out and talk with that ghost—his heart couldn't help but tremble at the thought.
"I called you here to tell you—don't pretend not to recognize him, don't contradict him. Otherwise... you might die." Nine-Tails felt terrified of that power, because it could absolutely kill him, let alone little Naruto.
"I can't pretend not to recognize him?" Naruto's eyes filled with frightened tears.
Nine-Tails nodded: "Yes."
"By the way, I haven't asked yet—who are you?" Naruto couldn't help but move closer to the prison cage's main gate.
Gradually, the prison cage's internal environment became clearer. Naruto walked to within one meter of the cage and stopped, his entire body beginning to tremble.
"A super big fox!"
Nine-Tails sighed. He had originally wanted to occasionally torment this little brat, but he hadn't expected such a 'monster' to suddenly appear.
Hokage Office
At his desk, Sarutobi Hiruzen was handling documents.
Ever since the Uchiha matter concluded the day before yesterday, the heavy stone in his heart had finally been lifted. He felt extraordinarily peaceful at the moment.
An ANBU appeared.
"Hokage-sama, Sasuke has left the hospital and seems to be preparing to go home."
"Good. Be careful not to let Sasuke get injured."
"Yes!" The ANBU responded and disappeared from the room.
Time passed minute by minute.
About half an hour later, someone knocked on the main door. Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but frown, thinking there must be new matters to handle today.
Without raising his head, he continued browsing the documents and said to the door: "Please enter!"
"Hokage-sama! Something strange happened at the school. I came specifically to report it to you."
The person who entered was Umino Iruka.
His face was deathly pale.
Not long ago, he had planned to return to the office to look for the ninja school's roster to see if there was a 'Uchiha Bufan' listed.
By chance, he ran into Inoue Kazuhito, who was responsible for teaching third-grade Class A, and explained the situation.
The other party first showed a sad expression, saying it was rare to have such a gentle Uchiha who had died in that 'disaster.'
But when Inoue Kazuhito heard Iruka's words clearly, his face also changed.
He could definitively confirm that Uchiha Bufan was dead. ANBU had come to the door to notify him, and he had personally handed over Uchiha Bufan's school files to the ANBU member as the homeroom teacher.
Learning that Uchiha Bufan was actually a second-grade Class A member and that ANBU had 'confirmed his death'—these two pieces of news filled Iruka's heart with nameless terror and absurdity.
After asking Inoue Kazuhito to help watch the class and not to alarm the suddenly appeared 'Uchiha Bufan,' Iruka personally went to the Hokage building to report to the Third Hokage.
After hearing all this, Sarutobi Hiruzen was confused.
Could it be I'm dreaming now? Or is Iruka dreaming and not awake?!
He shook his head and took out his crystal ball to look toward Naruto's position.
Telescope Technique
However, the crystal ball showed no reaction at all!
The ninjutsu had failed!
Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately stood up. He had never had this technique fail when using it within the village, but now it had failed—something was definitely wrong.
"Iruka, return to class first. You don't need to handle this matter."
"Then Hokage-sama... what about that 'returned from the dead' student?" Iruka carefully inquired.
"Don't worry. I'll send people to handle it."
Sarutobi Hiruzen comforted Iruka and immediately sent out an ANBU member to take on this task.
Uchiha Clan Grounds
Sasuke had originally thought he would see the empty, cleaned entrance to the clan grounds.
But he discovered several Police Force members patrolling near the main gate.
"We'll rest today and resume tomorrow..." Uchiha Shisui said to the squad members in front of him.
"Shisui big brother!!" In an instant, Sasuke had completely forgotten that Shisui had long since died. He charged into Shisui's embrace.
Even though Shisui used to often steal away his big brother's attention, seeing a living, familiar Uchiha member filled Sasuke's heart with happiness.
This also meant Bufan was real! All of this was a dream!
"What's this? How did you come back, Sasuke?" Shisui looked at Sasuke in his embrace with a puzzled expression, raised his hand to rub that small head, and continued: "At this time, you should still be in class at school."
"I... I..." Sasuke didn't know how to explain and began to stutter.
Seeing that Sasuke's emotions seemed off, Shisui smiled: "If you're really uncomfortable, just go home and rest. Your big brother is home today~"
"Really..." Sasuke wiped his tears.
The next second, his entire body began trembling unconsciously.
Big brother... is at home?
My name is Sarutobi Yujiro. I'm an elite chunin.
I usually work diligently, striving every day for that clan leader who serves as Hokage.
But today, I received shocking news.
The Uchiha still have survivors!
And that survivor was one of the members whose corpse I was responsible for collecting...
"I hope it's not what I'm thinking."
Walking down the street, Sarutobi Yujiro felt depressed.
Facing an unknown existence, the Hokage's first reaction wasn't to have him go to the morgue to examine the unburied Uchiha corpses, but instead to find that possibly 'revived' little brat...
This made him somewhat uneasy about this mission.
Passing through street after street, Sarutobi Yujiro landed on a tree trunk outside the ninja school's teaching building.
From this position, he could see the situation in second-grade Class A.
At this time, Inoue Kazuhito sat at the classroom podium, trembling with fear.
"Teacher?"
"Why won't you answer my questions?"
Looking at that kind, amiable young face from the day before yesterday, Inoue Kazuhito now felt no kindness or amiability—only endless terror.
"Teacher... teacher can't answer... chakra... under normal circumstances, ninjutsu can't be used directly... hand seals are needed before ninjutsu can be used."
Getting Inoue Kazuhito's answer, Uchiha Bufan sighed slightly.
As expected, this kind of ordinary ninja school teacher fundamentally didn't know such things—didn't even have a bit of experience.
It seemed that limited talent prevented many people from daring to experiment.
"Alright, thank you, teacher."
The moment Inoue Kazuhito saw Uchiha Bufan turn around, the stone in his heart finally dropped.
He was now covered in sweat, terrified of being taken to the Pure Land by the 'ghost' in front of him.
Though he didn't know what this chunin was afraid of, he inexplicably felt fear from the heart toward his former student Bufan.
Before Inoue Kazuhito could catch his breath, Uchiha Bufan stopped, turned his head to seriously examine Inoue Kazuhito, and smiled: "However, this teacher looks familiar. I always feel like you previously taught our class?"
Inoue Kazuhito: ...
I'm your previous homeroom teacher!
Each grade's Class A courses were basically taught by the homeroom teacher, meaning he was responsible for third-grade Class A's many courses and had no free time.
Even if Iruka, the second-grade Class A homeroom teacher, was too busy, he would seek help from Mizuki, another chunin teacher responsible for this grade, rather than him.
"Um... I seem to have taught one class in second grade when Iruka happened to be sick." Inoue Kazuhito scratched his head, finally thinking of a reasonable explanation.
"Oh! I thought you looked familiar." Uchiha Bufan's tightly furrowed brow immediately relaxed as he walked toward his seat.
Not long after returning to his position—
Whoosh.
The classroom window opened, and a black shadow appeared beside Uchiha Bufan.
Everyone heard the sound and looked over curiously.
The ANBU said: "Uchiha Bufan, Hokage-sama wants to see you."
Uchiha Bufan stared blankly at his textbook, completely oblivious to the ANBU's appearance.
"Uchiha Bufan! Hokage-sama wants to see you!" Sarutobi Yujiro spoke a second time, his tone growing impatient.
Uzumaki Naruto, who had awakened from the mental space, saw an uncle beside him seemingly 'harassing' Uchiha Bufan. His face changed in alarm as he quietly said: "Um... what do you want with Bufan?"
Sarutobi Yujiro glanced at Naruto without paying attention, then roared at Uchiha Bufan again: "Uchiha Bufan, Hokage-sama wants to see you."
"If you don't come with me, don't blame me for taking action!"
But Uchiha Bufan was currently thinking about how chakra, being extracted from human body cells, should reasonably be able to release through the skin's pores, thereby achieving seal-less jutsu casting.
Suddenly, he frowned, seeming to realize something. He turned his head and only then discovered an ANBU standing beside him:
"Who are you?"
Sarutobi Yujiro took a deep breath. Having repeated himself three times, he was extremely impatient: "Come with me. Hokage-sama wants to see you."
"Hokage-sama?"
Uchiha Bufan thought for a moment and showed sudden understanding, but the next second he felt something was wrong. He hadn't displayed his talent, and the system hadn't been used yet—why would they discover his 'uniqueness'?
This was impossible. He must be dreaming. This wasn't reasonable at all.
Just as Sarutobi Yujiro was preparing to take action, a wave burst from Uchiha Bufan's body. In an instant, the eyes under the mask widened, and the right hand originally reaching toward Uchiha Bufan changed to pressing against his heart.
Then—thud—he fell to the ground.
At the same moment, Uchiha Bufan, like a robot, placed both hands on his desk, laid his head down, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
Everyone was completely confused about what had happened.
Naruto, trembling, got up from his chair, crouched down, and removed Sarutobi Yujiro's mask, revealing an uncle's face underneath.
Naruto put his hand near the man's breath...
"Ahhhhh——"
"He's dead!"
"What!" Hearing Naruto's shout, Inoue Kazuhito quickly stepped forward and felt Sarutobi Yujiro's neck.
The next second, Inoue Kazuhito shook his head: "Dead."
He didn't know what had happened, but it was best not to act rashly. The best course was to have all the students leave, keeping only Uchiha Bufan alone—that way it could be better handled.
"Everyone leave the classroom first!"
In the classroom, everyone nodded slightly, but the instant they tried to stand up, their legs had no strength, and their bottoms seemed glued to their seats—they couldn't move.
"Teacher, I can't get up!"
"I can't get up either!"
"Help——"
Seeing the chaos beginning in the classroom, Inoue Kazuhito nearly bit through his teeth. But he suddenly discovered that Naruto and Shikamaru could stand up.
[Author's note: In this story's setting, at this age, only Naruto and Shikamaru frequently skip class.]
Shikamaru looked helplessly at the other classmates, then turned to the teacher: "Teacher, it feels like something big has happened."
"I know!" Inoue Kazuhito was extremely anxious. He didn't know when this Uchiha Bufan who had killed the ANBU would wake up, and if he took action against the other students...
"I'll take the ANBU's corpse out of the classroom first. See if you can help the other students leave."
Shikamaru and Naruto nodded.
However, no matter who the two tried to help, they discovered there was no way to help anyone move from their position. They completely panicked.
"It's no good, teacher. We tried everything." Shikamaru wiped sweat. Having tried for almost ten minutes, if this continued, that Uchiha Bufan would probably wake up soon.
"Then let's see if we can leave school... Come with me to the Hokage building to find Hokage-sama!" Inoue Kazuhito gritted his teeth.
"Good!" Naruto and Shikamaru nodded simultaneously. Before leaving, Naruto looked at Uchiha Bufan with a complex gaze, but under Shikamaru's pulling, he chose to leave.
Uchiha Clan Grounds, Clan Leader Residence
Sasuke sat foolishly in the home corridor, watching his father drinking tea in the room, his big brother training with shuriken outside, and his mother cooking next door.
Too wonderful!
"Sasuke, big brother doesn't need to go to ANBU today. How come you suddenly don't need big brother to train with you?" 'Uchiha Itachi's' tone was exceptionally gentle—completely different from the big brother on the night of extermination.
"Nothing much... my mood is just a bit complex." Sasuke feared he was dreaming and that this dream would end at any moment.
'Uchiha Itachi' seemed to know what Sasuke was worried about and rubbed his head:
"Don't worry, Sasuke. No matter what happens, big brother will protect you well."
"Big brother..." Sasuke couldn't help but cry again.
"Day after day, not properly attending school, skipping class to come home and still crying—you're really losing the Uchiha clan's face." 'Uchiha Fugaku' walked out from the room, arms crossed.
"Father, younger brother might have encountered some troubling matter. Just let him rest one day." 'Uchiha Itachi' smiled.
'Uchiha Fugaku' didn't respond to 'Uchiha Itachi's' words, saying in a tsundere way: "Hmph! Your mother made your favorite tomatoes today. When eating, eat a few more bowls—do you hear me?"
Sasuke wiped his tears and nodded: "Understood, father."
Hokage Building
An ANBU rushed directly into the Hokage office, followed by Inoue Kazuhito, Shikamaru, and Naruto, as well as two ANBU carrying a corpse.
"Hokage-sama, big trouble!"
"He... he's dead!"
Originally wondering why the ANBU he'd sent out hadn't returned for so long, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been planning to call another person to check the situation.
Now he was getting this news!
Sarutobi Hiruzen suddenly stood up, looked at the ANBU corpse carried into the office, and angrily demanded:
"Dead?! Who did it?!"
Ring ring ring——
The ninja school's broadcast rang the end-of-class bell in every classroom—except for second-grade Class A.
Students flowed out in crowds, discussing what to eat for lunch today, whether to eat at school, nearby restaurants, or bring food to the cafeteria to heat...
Only second-grade Class A was ignored by everyone outside.
The students inside second-grade Class A were all gripped by deep fear.
"Haven't... haven't we finished class yet?" As someone from an ordinary ninja family, Haruno Sakura, whose parents were both chunin, had never heard of such strange things happening.
"I don't know." Yamanaka Ino in the back row shook her head.
Her stomach was very hungry now, and she wanted to use the toilet, but she couldn't get up.
The other classmates' emotions weren't much better—their faces and expressions all showed paleness.
Just then, footsteps rang from the corridor outside the classroom. The students outside couldn't help but look over, but they were pulled away by teachers telling them to quickly leave school.
"They're here." Inoue Kazuhito and Iruka both stood at the classroom door, beside them were ninja wearing ANBU tactical clothing and patterned masks.
Among them, a silver-white-haired youth stood at the front.
"Why don't you go in?" Having learned that an Uchiha had 'revived,' Hatake Kakashi had immediately put down his current task to cooperate with the Hokage's investigation squad.
Seeing Iruka walking down from the teachers' office, Kakashi couldn't help but have doubts.
Iruka said helplessly: "I just came back wanting to go in, but I can't enter. Even when I throw shuriken, they get blocked by invisible walls..."
"Like this?" Though Kakashi didn't quite believe it, he still drew the short sword from his back and stabbed toward the open classroom door.
Swoosh!
An air wall blocked Kakashi's attack, preventing his short sword from advancing further.
It really was true!
Seeing this, Kakashi withdrew his short sword, removed his mask, and moved his forehead protector slightly up, revealing a three-tomoe Sharingan.
His gaze directly focused on the classroom in front, but he saw the same thing as when not using Sharingan.
"No chakra fluctuation at all. How is this done!"
Kakashi couldn't help but draw his sword again and attack the classroom entrance, but still couldn't penetrate even half a point.
"Damn!" Kakashi slapped the air wall. He could only watch the terrified students in the classroom, unable to do anything.
"Captain, how about we try ninjutsu!" Suddenly, a nearby ANBU suggested.
"Right, if physical attacks don't work, maybe ninjutsu can?"
"But it can't be too large-scale to avoid harming the students inside the classroom."
Hearing this, Kakashi also had an idea: "Move away. I'll use my strongest S-rank lightning release to see if I can pierce through this 'wall.'"
Everyone made space. Kakashi stood in front of the classroom door, took a deep breath, and began hand seals:
Ox, Rabbit, Monkey.
"Lightning cutter!"
An ear-piercing sound transmitted from Kakashi's right hand, gathering into a ball of blue light with blue electric arcs jumping around it.
—
Kakashi aimed at the invisible barrier blocking the classroom door and swung with full force. In an instant, his Raikiri collided with the air wall, but the result was disappointing.
He could feel the lightning jutsu being absorbed by the barrier. All he could do was watch helplessly as his Raikiri disappeared completely.
"Damn! Even the captain's strongest S-rank jutsu is useless? That's supposed to be the lightning technique that can cut through anything!"
"If we're talking pure damage, wind is the strongest of the five elements, followed by lightning. If lightning release doesn't work... we might only have wind release left to try."
The ninjas began discussing strategies to break through the classroom's barrier. That's when Kakashi noticed something had changed—blood-red text had appeared on the blackboard inside.
"Wait! My attack seems to have triggered changes in the classroom."
Kakashi's shout drew the other members to the windows. They immediately saw that the previously blank blackboard was now displaying text.
[Classroom Strange Tale] [1. This classroom has no teacher. If a teacher appears, drive them away immediately] [2. During class time, leaving the classroom is forbidden—unless you are a student who likes to skip class] [3. Bathroom breaks are allowed, but only once every two hours, maximum ten minutes] [4. After two hours, an exam will begin. Study "Chakra Basics." You must score sixty points or above] [5. Disturbing Uchiha Bufan's sleep is prohibited] [Violation of any rule results in: ERASURE] (Note: Class ends at 4:30 PM, but you must wait for exam results before leaving freely)
After reading all the rules, Kakashi took a deep breath and glanced at the classroom clock.
11:41 AM—eleven minutes after class should have ended.
Inside the classroom, a civilian student clutched his head in panic. "What should we do... what does 'erasure' mean?"
"Do you even need to ask? It obviously means death!" Haruno Sakura bit her lip. She finally understood why Shikamaru and Naruto had been able to get up and leave earlier.
"No matter what, let's try the bathroom rule..."
Her suggestion made everyone nod. At least now they could leave their seats, just not the classroom itself.
Remembering the rules mentioned bathroom breaks were allowed, Sakura stood up. "Going to the bathroom... wait, maybe I can just walk out?"
She approached the classroom door and stepped through the entrance with no resistance.
Only then did she see Kakashi and the others standing right outside.
The ANBU immediately surrounded her. "You're Haruno Sakura, right? We saw you on the roster. Do you feel any physical discomfort?"
"Sakura, these are ANBU members. Just answer truthfully," Iruka said.
Sakura was stunned—from inside, she hadn't been able to see anything outside. She waved her hand awkwardly. "Um... I don't have any discomfort, but please let me through. I need to use the bathroom, and I only have ten minutes..."
One ANBU member instinctively reached to grab her, but Kakashi held him back and shook his head. He turned to Sakura instead. "I am Hatake Kakashi, ANBU captain. Go ahead to the bathroom first."
Sakura nodded and hurried toward the restroom.
Kakashi watched her leave, then tried entering the classroom again—still no response. He sighed heavily.
"Captain, why didn't you let me stop her? Maybe everything on that blackboard is just meant to scare people."
"Would you be willing to bet their lives on that?"
The ANBU member fell silent. These events were simply too bizarre, completely beyond normal ninja capabilities.
About five minutes later, Sakura returned from the bathroom. She nodded gratefully to Kakashi before reentering the classroom.
The waiting classmates immediately bombarded her with questions:
"Do you feel any discomfort?" "Did you really get out? What's happening outside?" "I'm so hungry... can I grab some food while going to the bathroom?"
"Choji! At a time like this, you're still thinking about food? Why don't you think about how to pass the upcoming exam instead!"
Sakura looked at her thirty remaining classmates and forced a smile. "I went to the bathroom and nothing happened, but I probably can't go out again—it would violate the rules. Also, there are seven or eight ANBU members outside the classroom..."
Having personally witnessed an ANBU member die mysteriously, plus everyone being unable to leave their seats while outsiders couldn't enter, Sakura now believed the rules were real.
She glanced toward the corridor outside, which appeared completely empty—no sign of Kakashi or the others.
"Even ANBU can't enter... and we can't see them from here. That proves these rules are real," Ino said through gritted teeth. She looked around at the other students. "Everyone listen! We just need to survive four hours and these rules will end. No one should harbor any foolish hopes."
"Y-yes! Ino is right," Hyuga Hinata nodded shyly.
"Damn it! This great lord hasn't become Hokage yet—I can't die here!" Inuzuka Kiba punched the wall angrily.
"Woof!" Akamaru barked from atop his head.
"Wait, maybe Kiba's ninja dog can move freely in and out?" a classmate suggested, pointing at Akamaru.
"Are you insane? How could I risk something like that!" Kiba exploded in anger. The thought of using his childhood companion as a test subject infuriated him. He grabbed the suggesting classmate by the collar.
"Alright, calm down. Let's think about what else we need to handle..." Ino rubbed her temples and reread the first rule.
[1. This classroom has no teacher. If a teacher appears, drive them away immediately]
More students took bathroom breaks over the next while. Kakashi tried having them bring items into the classroom, but found nothing could pass through. He could only watch helplessly from outside.
Eventually, even the Hokage abandoned his other duties to come personally. He sent ninjas to investigate from the other side of the classroom windows, but they found nothing.
Soon after, the ANBU investigating the Uchiha compound returned with news that made Sarutobi Hiruzen's vision darken.
The same situation existed there.
By 1 PM, only ANBU and the Hokage remained outside the ninja school, while crowds gathered around the school perimeter. Everyone wanted to know what was happening, and some parents of the affected students were demanding explanations from the Hokage.
This made Sarutobi Hiruzen extremely anxious. He had no answers either. Now he could only hope the children would emerge safely.
Just then, someone appeared in the corridor—Nara Shikamaru.
Though he preferred avoiding trouble, he couldn't watch his classmates die.
"Hokage-sama, everyone."
"Shikamaru! Why are you here? Go home immediately!" Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't want Shikamaru to die in that classroom. This was Shikaku's precious only child.
"Sorry, Hokage-sama. I can't watch my classmates die." Shikamaru walked quickly toward the classroom door.
"Stop him!" Sarutobi Hiruzen ordered directly.
At that moment, Kakashi remembered something. "Third Hokage-sama, I heard that this morning only Naruto and Shikamaru could get up and leave. Could they be the people mentioned in rule two?"
This made Sarutobi Hiruzen hesitate. Kakashi had explained the rules to him, and this whole situation was incredibly bizarre. Shikamaru had obviously inherited his father's intelligence—maybe he could find a way to resolve this.
"Alright, go in. If you truly can't solve this, please come out."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" Shikamaru bowed slightly, took a deep breath, and stepped into the classroom.
Everyone saw him like a savior—they desperately needed a strategist to help them now.
Time passed minute by minute. The classroom only had the sound of students discussing quietly in corners, seemingly normal as usual.
But both Kakashi and Sarutobi Hiruzen felt an ominous premonition.
Suddenly, at exactly 1:30 PM, a teacher appeared in the corridor outside the classroom.
Everyone heard footsteps. Looking toward the sound, most of the ninjas' pupils contracted in the next second.
"Orochimaru!"
"Captain!"
"I know!"
Recalling the past pursuit mission that remained vivid in memory...
Kakashi, who hadn't dared attack when facing this opponent before, had grown stronger now.
"I didn't stop you last time, but this time I absolutely won't let you escape!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't stop him, only gazed with nostalgic eyes at his former disciple approaching.
Just as Kakashi's Chidori charged up, an ANBU member drew his sword and rushed forward.
The moment his body passed through the space, the ANBU was completely bewildered. He instinctively turned around, only to find Orochimaru completely ignored them. The snake ninja walked straight through Kakashi and his charged Chidori, through all the assembled ninjas, arriving directly at the classroom door.
Click.
Orochimaru opened the classroom door, then closed it with another click.
"What are you all doing? It's class time. Please quietly return to your respective seats."
Everyone couldn't help but stare at the strange person now standing before them, wearing a teacher's uniform...
"Wait! Could this be the teacher from the rules?" a classmate whispered.
"The rules... the rules have disappeared!"
At that moment, another classmate shouted.
Everyone immediately looked toward the blackboard and found the rules had vanished, replaced by new blood-red text—a numerical countdown.
[1:00:00]
Orochimaru's cold face curved into a slight smile. "Please return to your seats, students, and open your textbooks."
But the students didn't listen—everyone knew they had to drive this opponent away or they would die.
"Get out!" "We don't welcome teachers! Leave!" "Go away!"
Some students even pulled out secretly-carried kunai, gripping them while glaring angrily at Orochimaru.
Orochimaru didn't mind, smiling as he spoke: "The teacher prefers educational methods. But if you insist on using force, I do have some self-defense capabilities."
Pythons as thick as wrists emerged from beneath him, slithering toward the students.
[Book setting: Orochimaru is the character the protagonist considers the most intelligent and scientifically fascinating person in the ninja world]
Faced with this scene, how could the students dare resist? They used the fastest speed of their lives to return to their seats.
"Very good." Orochimaru nodded approvingly.
Thus began Orochimaru's little classroom session.
"Everyone knows ninja world history. Our chakra originated from Otsutsuki Kaguya, also known as the legendary Rabbit Goddess. She brought god tree seeds that didn't belong to our world, eventually filling our realm with chakra..."
Students: What kind of nonsense history is this?
But the next second, they found their textbook contents had changed.
The book on their desks had been "Chakra Basics," but now the cover showed Orochimaru's image and the title read "Ninja World's Thousand Years."
The content had also changed from chakra extraction knowledge to complex, tedious historical information.
Shikamaru touched his chin, staring at this unprecedented history book while his brain nearly overloaded.
He could only quickly flip to the first page to read the beginning.
Orochimaru lectured from the platform while students below either read or listened with great interest.
"If not for the Sage of Six Paths and his brother working together to seal the Rabbit Goddess, we might have also become fertilizer for the god tree."
"Alright, the teacher has shared enough history. Everyone should understand the ancient Ancestor Country, the Rabbit Goddess, and chakra's origins."
"Next, I'll explain how to learn an A-rank jutsu—the Rasengan."
"If just one student can develop it to the first stage, you can make the teacher leave~"
Hearing this, Shikamaru's face turned ugly. "If... if we can't develop it..."
This was the jutsu rumored to be created by the Fourth Hokage, known for its S-rank learning difficulty. With their ninja school student level, it was simply impossible!
Orochimaru maintained his smile. "Then the teacher won't leave the classroom~ and will accompany you for the exam~"
The classroom fell into dead silence.
With forty-five minutes remaining, Orochimaru raised his hand. Water-filled plastic balloons appeared on everyone's desks.
"The first stage uses chakra to control water flow in high-speed rotation, bursting the water balloon. Of course, in this classroom, you won't lack chakra. When you exhaust your chakra, it will automatically recover, so don't worry about running out."
On the platform, Orochimaru looked at the motionless students with a smiling expression.
Shikamaru asked again: "Why doesn't Uchiha Bufan have to do it?"
Orochimaru: ?
"Don't ask so many questions. Whether to participate is your choice. You'd better watch the time." Orochimaru didn't answer Shikamaru's question, instead conjuring a bag of snacks from thin air to feed the white snake emerging from his neck.
Seeing this, Shikamaru could only grit his teeth and begin trying.
Outside the classroom, Kakashi heard the 'Orochimaru' on the platform's demand and shook his head directly. "This is impossible! Even Jiraiya-sama took considerable time to learn the Rasengan. Unless someone has the three-tomoe Sharingan to copy it..."
"Even if it seems impossible, it has to be possible... It's just the first stage, not asking them to master the complete Rasengan..." Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was equally grim, because he, the 'strongest Hokage,' could only watch from outside.
"Let me go! Let me in!"
At that moment, Uzumaki Naruto—who should have been at home—burst through, somehow evading the ANBU's defenses to reach the classroom door.
"Hokage grandpa! Why won't you let me participate? I heard what people outside were saying!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face stiffened. He hadn't expected word of this incident to leak to the parents downstairs. He glared harshly at the other ANBU—they couldn't even handle such basic containment.
Taking a deep breath, he tried using a gentle tone to comfort the blonde boy. "Um... little Naruto, this matter is extremely serious now. Trust Hokage grandpa—I'll definitely handle it properly."
Naruto immediately showed a confused expression. "Really?"
"Of course." Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled.
But in the next second, Naruto rushed directly to the classroom door and opened it, catching everyone off guard.
"Naruto!"
Whether it was Kakashi or the Hokage, they could only watch helplessly.
Naruto had already appeared inside the classroom, and they'd lost any means to intervene.
Orochimaru on the platform saw Naruto and scolded: "Uzumaki Naruto! You're skipping class again."
"Hehe, um, what are we doing now?" Naruto walked toward his seat, making eye contact with Shikamaru midway. The other desperately shook his head.
"Currently testing whether you can master the first stage of the Rasengan. If someone learns it, I will leave."
"I see! How do I do it?" Naruto didn't disturb Uchiha Bufan and returned to his seat, looking at the strange balloon before him.
Orochimaru explained the method again.
"So I just need to burst the water balloon! Isn't this easy?" Naruto directly tore the balloon apart, water splashing everywhere. A few drops even landed on Uchiha Bufan's face, making the sleeping youth's eyelashes twitch slightly.
Other classmates watched this scene with mouths agape, nervously glancing at Uchiha Bufan, afraid he would wake up.
After waiting a moment, Uchiha Bufan still didn't wake up, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Orochimaru showed a speechless expression and said helplessly: "Use chakra, not brute force. Please listen clearly, Uzumaki student..."
"Tch." Seeing his masterpiece had failed, Naruto could only sit back and start sleeping.
He definitely couldn't complete it normally. He'd have to ask the big fox.
Mental space.
Learning that Naruto had returned to the classroom and encountered these bizarre rules, the Nine-Tails bristled with alarm.
"Are you an idiot? This is obviously a death trap!"
"But I want to try. I can't watch my classmates and friends die..." Naruto said dejectedly.
In the cage, Nine-Tails lay on the water, not knowing what to say.
After a moment, it told Naruto the truth: "I can't help you. I don't know the Rasengan either."
"What? Big fox, didn't you say you've lived for a long time?"
"Even if I've lived forever, I still don't know it!"
"It's over. Am I going to die..." Naruto knelt dejectedly.
Seeing this, Nine-Tails suddenly had an idea. It stood up and said: "Ask that human if it's acceptable as long as chakra bursts the water balloon from the inside."
"If that's all it takes, I can do it."
Getting Nine-Tails' answer, Naruto couldn't help but exclaim: "Really? You're not lying to me!"
"Why would I lie to you? Go quickly!"
Naruto immediately returned to reality and repeated Nine-Tails' words exactly.
Time was down to less than half an hour. The students couldn't even make their water balloons budge, let alone burst them with chakra.
"Too difficult!" "I want my mom, wuu wuu wuu—" "Can't give up..."
Orochimaru ignored the students' complaints and looked at Naruto. After brief consideration, he nodded: "As long as internal force from within the water balloon bursts it, that's acceptable."
"Good!" "Now watch this great lord's performance!"
Uzumaki Naruto stood up, gripping the water balloon with both hands. Nine-Tails inside sighed: "Just this once."
Instantly, crimson chakra flowed from his body, slowly moving toward the water balloon.
Seeing this scene, Orochimaru was dumbfounded—Naruto wasn't using chakra to control water rotation to burst the balloon at all! He was planning to let chakra enter the balloon and directly burst it with raw chakra!
"You're cheating!" Orochimaru said angrily.
"You just said it was acceptable." Naruto smiled in response. The water balloon in his hands burst with a pop, water splashing everywhere.
[If this challenge fails, Orochimaru will proctor the exam. Unsatisfactory class performance triggers the all-death rule. Satisfactory performance triggers the failing grade rule.] [If cleared, breaks the final rule and changes the proctor]
This time, Uchiha Bufan got a face full of water. Opening his eyes, soaked like a drowned rat, his mouth twitched as he stared at the smug Naruto beside him.
"What the hell are you doing? No pranks during class!"
Everyone had been celebrating, thinking they were saved, but didn't expect this to become a new nightmare.
Shikamaru held his water balloon, mouth twitching: "Just let everything be destroyed. This inexplicable situation can finally end."
But unexpectedly, the rules didn't eliminate them.
Also, Orochimaru on the platform had disappeared.
A few minutes later.
Uchiha Bufan wiped his wet hair and clothes with tissues, looking at Naruto with mild exasperation:
"By the way, where did that water balloon come from?"
"Um... um..." Naruto didn't know how to explain. After a moment, he thought of a reasonable excuse: "I brought it earlier. I was planning to prank the teacher, but it suddenly burst."
"Oh, I see." After drying off, Uchiha Bufan noticed a stack of test papers on the platform, his eyes brightening.
"Is there going to be an exam?"
"Ah?" Naruto still didn't know about the rules, so he was confused.
Shikamaru hurriedly stepped forward to explain: "Right, right, there's going to be an exam."
"Then as class representative, I should substitute as proctor and grade the papers." Uchiha Bufan pointed to himself, then walked to the platform.
Everyone fell silent again.
When the hell did you become our class representative?!
Uchiha Bufan didn't hear everyone's inner complaints and walked to the platform on his own, reviewing the test papers' difficulty. Finding them quite simple, he gave everyone an OK gesture.
The meaning was clear: With me here, I guarantee everyone passes.
Before distributing the papers, everyone nervously reviewed their "Chakra Basics" textbook—which had returned to its original form—terrified of failing the exam.
Uchiha Bufan began distributing test papers individually. After finishing, he returned to sit before the blackboard and began daydreaming.
At 5:30, he collected the papers. Seeing all tests were completely filled out, Uchiha Bufan was delighted—he enjoyed this kind of creative thinking. It would help him learn more chakra applications.
"Although the paper scores fifty-nine points, the handwriting is good. I'll give you one more point..."
"Many answers are wrong, but this approach is interesting. You pass."
"Whoa, all correct! Whose paper is this? Ah, it's Sakura's... no wonder."
"Very neat handwriting and good grades too. So it's you, little Hinata."
He continued grading, and after about twenty minutes, reached the final test paper.
"..."
"Naruto... you're making this very difficult for me, buddy!"
Uchiha Bufan stood up, looked at everyone, sat down again, then stood up once more, shouting at the sweating Naruto: "Hey, Naruto, come over here."
Instantly, everyone's gaze fell on Naruto. Shikamaru remembered that Naruto's academic performance was simply explosive—always single digits, occasionally just reaching double digits...
Others thought the same thing.
Despair, fear, bewilderment...
What they'd thought was their salvation had become the final blow.
Naruto felt the same way. Since Uchiha Bufan had 'seriously' proctored this exam, no one present had dared cheat. He could only answer based on his actual knowledge.
When Naruto approached, Uchiha Bufan took out Haruno Sakura's perfect test paper and slapped it in front of him, whispering: "Quickly copy this perfect score down to passing grade level, otherwise I have no way to help you cheat!"
Naruto: ?
Front-row classmates who overheard: ?
Uchiha Bufan noticed everyone's stares and coughed: "I'm an excellent student leader chosen by my classmates. As long as everyone votes for me once a year, I guarantee no one fails."
Outside, Kakashi, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and all the ninjas couldn't help but twitch their faces.
Finally, everyone successfully walked out of the classroom. Naruto held his eighty-point test paper and showed off to the stunned Sarutobi Hiruzen: "Hokage grandpa, I scored eighty points! I've never scored this high in my life!"
Others: ...
Have you already forgotten what we just went through?
Sarutobi Hiruzen sighed. He knew Naruto was simple-minded, but hadn't expected him to be this simple. His gaze focused on the black-haired youth carrying a school bag as he walked out of the classroom—Uchiha Bufan.
But he didn't know how to approach, because the ANBU he'd sent had died just from speaking with Uchiha Bufan. The cause of death was cardiac paralysis.
Just as Sarutobi Hiruzen was about to grit his teeth and stop Uchiha Bufan anyway, he suddenly found the black-haired youth with the school bag had vanished.
"Where is he?"
Kakashi and the ANBU also felt something flash before their eyes. In the blink of an eye, the youth had disappeared.