The Land of Fire, Konoha Village, Ninja Academy.
A red-haired boy was sound asleep in the last row.
Iruka, standing at the lectern, glanced at the boy, shook his head, and chose not to disturb him.
"Now we will begin team assignments. When your name is called, please stand beside your assigned jōnin instructor."
"Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura—Team 7."
… After all the teams had been assigned, the red-haired boy stretched and looked around the empty classroom.
Just as he'd expected, no sensei had been assigned to lead him.
The red-haired boy's name was Feng An. Thirteen years ago, he had inexplicably transmigrated into this world—the world of Naruto—as a baby.
He never knew his father, and his mother died during childbirth.
From then on, his life was filled with endless malice. Everyone who had known his mother despised him, so much so that by the age of six, he took the money he had saved over the years and left his so-called relatives, keeping only the name Feng An. The only things worth celebrating were his affinity for all seven chakra natures and the unique chakra chains associated with his red hair.
"Time to go home."
Feng An grabbed his small satchel and prepared to leave.
"Feng An…"
Hm?
Someone was still here?
Feng An turned and saw a black-haired girl with pale eyes holding a broom and dustpan, cleaning.
"Ah, Hinata, what is it?"
Hinata lowered her head slightly. "Um… it's our turn to clean today."
Feng An and Hinata were a two-person team responsible for cleaning every Friday. Today, the last day of team assignments, happened to be Friday.
He had almost forgotten.
Feng An set down his satchel and took the broom and dustpan from Hinata's hands.
"You go on home. I'll finish up here."
Hinata bowed her head and murmured softly, "But… we should clean together."
"You've already cleaned all the windows, the balcony, and every corner of the classroom. Are you really going to fight me over sweeping the floor?"
Feng An raised an eyebrow and suddenly took Hinata's small hand.
Feeling his touch, Hinata's face instantly flushed crimson, and she instinctively tried to pull away.
"Don't move yet."
Feng An gently spread open Hinata's hand and carefully extracted several small wood splinters.
"There, all done."
After checking carefully to ensure no more splinters remained, Feng An released her hand.
Hinata's face was still flushed. "Thank you… But how did you know I had splinters? I didn't even notice…"
"Simple—I got pricked by this broom too."
Feng An held up the broom handle, which was covered in tiny, barely visible splinters.
He had felt a slight sting after gripping it for a while. Hinata's hands were damp from wiping the windows, making it easier for splinters to embed. As a Hyūga, she hadn't even noticed—she had been too focused on cleaning.
"Ah…"
Hinata felt a little guilty, realizing Feng An had gotten splinters because of her.
"You should head home, or your father will scold you again."
"Ah!"
The thought of her father, Hyūga Hiashi, made her flustered. She nodded quickly and hurried out of the classroom.
Still feeling apologetic, Hinata turned back before leaving and said softly, "Feng An… I'm sorry for the trouble."
Watching her flustered retreat, Feng An chuckled softly.
A moment later, after confirming the classroom was completely empty, Feng An quickly formed hand signs.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Five shadow clones, identical to Feng An, appeared.
Years ago, Feng An had discovered that the hand signs and ninjutsu principles from his previous life were exactly the same in this world. Relying on his memories, he had mastered all the jutsu he could recall over the years.
"You take the first row, you the second…"
Feng An assigned a row to each of the six of them. The cleaning was finished in minutes.
Done.
After dismissing the shadow clones, Feng An picked up his satchel from the desk and prepared to leave.
Just then, the door burst open.
A flustered, pink-haired Sakura rushed in.
Feng Ann glanced at her, ignored her, and continued toward the door.
"Wait! Did you see anything in my desk?"
Seeing Feng An about to leave without a backward glance, Sakura grabbed his satchel.
Her eyes were cold. "Did you take something of mine?"
He already disliked the lovesick Sakura intensely. He hadn't provoked her, yet today she was accusing him of theft.
Feng An replied calmly, "Tell me, what did you lose?"
Sakura froze, then stammered, "It's… It's just something for girls. I can't tell you."
As she spoke, she reached to open his satchel.
Feng An smiled.
"As expected—exceptionally poor manners."
"Feng An! What is that supposed to mean?"
Seeing her actions, Feng An's smile faded, and he snatched his satchel back.
"Would I steal from you? You're talking about that pendant you planned to give Sasuke, right? Makes sense—using the excuse of being on the same team to give him a gift is pretty convenient, isn't it?"
Sakura's eyes widened in shock.
"How does he know I specially prepared two matching couple pendants to give to Sasuke?"
No!
Her expression grew even more determined.
"You must have stolen my pendant! Otherwise, how would you know I was going to give it to Sasuke?"
"Give it back!"
She made another grab for him.
He didn't even bother carrying textbooks in his satchel, let alone some girl's pendant.
Feng An had no intention of indulging her. A quick substitution technique left Sakura hugging and tugging at a log.
Realizing what had happened, Sakura was astonished.
She hadn't expected Feng An to use the Substitution Technique so skillfully.
Normally, Feng An just attended class, slept, left, and used the restroom—coasting along until graduation. Many had suspected he cheated on the ninja qualification exam.
Sakura punched the log away and said fiercely, "Hmph! If I find that pendant in your satchel, you're going to pay!"
Feng An's eyes narrowed slightly. He hadn't expected her monstrous strength to manifest so early.
He didn't think Sakura could harm him at this age, but he also refused to be falsely accused.
"Fine, you can look. But what if it's not there?"
Feng An's hesitation only made Sakura more confident. Why else would he be afraid to let her search his bag?
Chest puffed out, she declared, "Impossible! If it's not in your bag, I'll do whatever you ask!"
"Oh?"
Now Feng An was mildly interested.
"You said it. If I ask something… unconventional later, Haruno Sakura, don't you dare regret it."
Hearing his tone, Sakura shivered.
"You… you pervert! You're not going to… to try to kiss me, are you?"
Kiss? Don't flatter yourself. No—wait, you're underestimating things, little girl.
Feng An couldn't help but shake his head with a soft chuckle.
A lovesick fool—he hadn't expected her to be so naïve.
But it made sense; Haruno Sakura was only eleven or twelve years old.
"What? Regretting it already? I don't really care."
With that, Feng An began to walk past Sakura.
"Who said I was regretting it!"
Sakura grabbed Feng An's sleeve, her expression stubborn.
"I want to see."
*****
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