"Did you hear that--!!!" Fei Liu suddenly jumped up from his seat, and the chair legs made a harsh sound as they scraped against the ground.
His bright red hair seemed to burn even more fiercely, and his amber cat-like eyes widened into a circle, gleaming with a light a hundred times hotter than when he himself spoke of his dream.
He waved his fists excitedly, his voice so loud that it almost blew the roof off, "Chichen, my best friend, will become the Tsuchikage in the future! I will be the Tsuchikage's best brother in the future!"
He looked around the classroom, his chin held high, his proud and unquestionable declaration
Some children were infected by Fei Liu's enthusiasm, and their faces showed expressions of novelty and awe. It turns out that dreams can be described in this way.
But there were also some children, such as Heiyan, who had previously boasted that he would "knock the enemy away with one punch", who had a spark of dissatisfaction in their eyes, as if they felt that this goal was too arrogant and that they might not be worse than Chichen.
Mr. Chi Shan, the homeroom teacher at the podium, has been teaching for many years and has heard the dreams of countless children. Some want to become the strongest ninja, some want to make a lot of money, and some even want to raise a large group of ninja dogs. Of course, there are also those who want to become Kage, but the reason most people want to become Kage is that these five or six-year-old kids think he is cool, or that the Tsuchikage is the strongest person in the world.
This is the first time I have met someone as determined as Chi Chen.
Chi Shan's gaze swept across Chi Chen's calm silver-gray eyes and Fei Liu's flushed face, then across the students below the stage, all with varying expressions. He took a deep breath, and the brief blankness of shock on his face was quickly replaced by a calm expression.
He coughed lightly, the sound was not loud, but it clearly covered the lingering sound of Fei Liu and the slight commotion in the audience.
"Becoming the Tsuchikage," Teacher Chishan said slowly, "is a very great goal, Chichen-san. Greatness also means making unimaginable efforts and shouldering an extremely heavy responsibility. It is not just about strength, but also about wisdom, heart, and sacrifice. I hope that everyone will learn from Chichen-san's determination to protect everyone and work hard to protect the village and their companions!"
There was no mockery in his words, only an exhortation.
"Okay," Teacher Chi Shan's voice returned to its normal rhythm, and his gaze turned to the next student, "Next student. It's your turn, the one over there...um, Shino-san?"
The child who was named shuddered, still immersed in the shock of the moment, and stood up with a stutter: "My name is Shino. I want to become Miko's partner and protect her!"
"Good for you Shino, I didn't expect you to be such a person!"
The atmosphere during the following self-introduction was obviously different.
Children's voices may be loud or soft, and their dreams may be grand or simple.
Fei Liu was still fidgeting with excitement, nudging Chi Chen next to him with his elbow from time to time, as if he had already seen his brother wearing the Tsuchikage cloak.
Chi Chen himself was still thinking that there were many interesting things in the village, but they never appeared in the anime.
~~~~~~~~
For Chi Chen, most of the ninja school curriculum was like reviewing an old textbook. The theoretical lessons—ninja history, geography, basic tactics, chakra analysis—had already been repeatedly instilled in Ohnoki's study and think tank.
When the teacher was explaining the most basic chakra extraction, Chi Chen's thoughts might have drifted to how to increase the decomposition efficiency of Dust Release by one percent; when analyzing the impact of the common sandstorm weather on the border of the Land of Earth on combat, he might be simulating in his mind the plan of using light and heavy rock techniques to maintain the formation in the sandstorm.
His presence quickly made the teachers of the theoretical courses love and hate him.
What I love is that he can always give profound insights that far go beyond the textbooks. He can even quote classics and point out some outdated or one-sided views in the textbooks. Class discussions often go deeper because of his simple additions.
What he hated was that he took his "excellence" too for granted, almost making other students lose the courage to catch up and the desire to ask questions. Now most teachers no longer wanted to supervise Chi Chen's classes.
The basic combat courses presented a different scene. Basic physical training, shuriken throwing, hand seal practice... Chi Chen also mastered these very quickly, and his movements were as standard as in a textbook.
But he deliberately suppressed his strength, speed, and chakra accuracy, keeping himself within the range of "excellent but not too extreme." He didn't want to reveal his full strength too early, and he didn't want to undermine the confidence of other children, especially Fei Liu.
Fei Liu became Chi Chen's most distinctive "control group" in the ninja school. Theoretical classes were like a heavenly book to him. Those difficult-to-understand ninjutsu principles and complicated tactical deductions often turned his amber cat eyes into mosquito coils.
He would rather be drilled by the uncle in the mountains until his body aches than sit in the classroom and gnaw on books. Only when he was explaining the structure, maintenance and basic application of weapons would he be energetic and his eyes would shine.
In the practical class, Fei Liu seemed like a different person. Although his basic physical movements were sometimes a little clumsy, his ruthlessness and tenacity were fully displayed.
Especially when performing basic daily tasks, he remained remarkably calm, his eyes focused, as if facing not a wooden stake, but a real enemy. Although the "stone-touching" technique taught by the mountain was still rudimentary, the focus on finding "weaknesses" had become a habit.
The class that Chi Chen belongs to can be said to be a group of relatively talented ninja students in this class. Of course, this class is not just composed of civilians, there are also some big families in the Hidden Rock Village, such as the Kamisuri Konbee family, but they have little presence.
Although the five major ninja villages were all established under the oppression of Senju Hashirama's powerful strength, the Land of Earth can be said to be the most ordinary one among all the ninja villages. There is no bloodline family, and there are very few ninja families. It relies on the number of civilian ninjas.
The third Tsuchikage has continued this policy, so among all the ninja schools, the Land of Earth has the largest number of ninja students. This has also led to the poor financial situation of the Iwagakure Village. Otherwise, as an orphan village, it would be impossible for the law enforcement to make just enough money to live.
Every time Chi Chen sees his classmates, he realizes once again that this world is truly a complete world, not just what is shown in the comics.
Heiyan is incredibly powerful in actual combat, like a traditional rock ninja who enjoys the thrill of physical combat.
When Shino is with his classmates, he is always considerate and attentive. He even secretly prepares small gifts for Miko, and becomes so shy that he blushes when others see him.
Adai is a simple-minded student. After school, he goes to the grocery store to sell things so that he can buy medicine for his mother.
Chimori has been practicing shuriken hard. He said that this was left to him by his father, and he wants to protect the village like his father.
So many living people have never appeared in the comics, but this is why Chi Chen wants to stay here to protect this place.