"Quiet, quiet for a moment!"
The chunin instructor stood at the lectern and clapped several times, trying to calm the noisy classroom, but the effect was poor.
Laughter still rolled from wall to wall, drowning out his voice.
Uzumaki Kushina stood at the edge of the platform with her hands clenched tight in her hem.
She pressed her lips together and watched the ruckus below, lost in thoughts of her own.
Only after a long while did the chatter fade.
Wiping sweat from his brow, the teacher led Kushina to the center of the platform, cleared his throat, and prepared to introduce her.
"Class, we have a new student today."
"My name is Uzumaki Kushina!"
Before he could finish, Kushina blurted it out, almost at a shout.
Whether it was elders' advice or her own idea, she clearly meant to show goodwill by taking the initiative.
The sudden self-introduction froze the class for a heartbeat. Then a wave of laughter erupted.
"Hahaha, what a strange name!"
"Look at her hair, red like a tomato!"
"Did she dye it?"
Amid the rising jeers, the teacher clapped hard to restore order, but the room only grew louder.
On the platform, Kushina lowered her head. Her shoulders trembled, and the hands at her sides curled into fists.
For a girl not yet seven, those sharp laughs cut too deep.
CLAP!
The crisp report cracked like thunder.
Every sound stopped cold. Dozens of eyes snapped to the source.
When they saw who had clapped, most of the kids hunched their necks. A few even covered places where they had been taught a lesson before.
Uchiha Jin leaned back in his chair, hands still poised mid-clap.
He swept the room with a blank look, a flicker of impatience passing through his dark eyes.
"Too noisy."
Just three words, yet the temperature seemed to drop. The brats straightened at once.
It was much like Jin in his past life catching the homeroom teacher standing by the window.
Once he was sure the little gremlins were quiet, he nodded to the teacher to continue.
With his presence looming, no one else dared make a sound.
The teacher gave Jin a grateful nod, then quickly finished the introduction for Kushina.
"This is Uzumaki Kushina from the Land of Whirlpools. She will be our new classmate. I hope you all get along."
He pointed to an open row in the back. "Kushina, pick a seat over there."
Kushina nodded and stepped down. Her gaze drifted toward Jin before she chose the empty seat behind him. The teacher moved on to the day's lesson.
Perhaps because a newcomer had joined, he skipped the usual curriculum and began explaining the ideals behind the Leaf's founding.
"The Will of Fire is our village's core," his voice rose and fell. "Starting with the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama..."
The old spiel made Jin feel like he was back in a civics class from his previous life.
The lecture became a perfect lullaby. Bathed in the warm afternoon light, drowsiness crept in.
Minutes ticked by. The teacher only grew more animated, spittle flying as he spoke.
Jin could not hold out any longer. He let his eyelids sink and slipped into his inner world.
...
Dark. Cold. Damp.
No wind. No sound.
Only a vast iron gate of dark red bars split the space in two, black water creeping past underfoot.
The setting resembled the seal inside Uzumaki Naruto's body, yet there were subtle differences.
There was no Nine Tails inside Jin. That beast still lingered in the fading life of Uzumaki Mito.
Sealed here was something else, a being as foreign to this world as Jin himself.
Beyond the bars rose a colossal dragon statue, twelve zodiac talismans set into its frame.
"Yo, Holy Master, I came to visit again." Jin waved his right hand with a broad grin, casual as if greeting an old friend.
"You damned brat!"
The statue addressed as the Holy Master shook with fury.
Stone jaws rattled. Searing flames surged from the dragon's maw.
The torrent of fire gathered into a roaring wall and swept toward Jin with crushing force.
It crashed against the bars and vanished, unraveling into coils of black vapor that swirled overhead.
"Still so hot-tempered, Holy Master."
Jin raised a hand. The black vapors flocked to him like swallows returning to the eaves.
A warm current flashed through his body, brief but intoxicating.
"If just your fire feels this delicious, I wonder how the rest of your power will taste."
Smacking his lips, he stared at the twelve talismans on the statue, heat burning in his eyes.
Seeing that greedy gaze, the Holy Master's anger blazed higher.
"You will pay for this, brat!"
The stone dragon's roar shook the sealed space, making the whole mindscape quiver.
Waves of fury slammed into the bars and sparked in dark red.
Jin had no doubt. Without the seal, the Holy Master would tear him apart the instant he broke free.
He only flicked his wrist and turned toward the exit.
"Save your strength, old man." His voice held a mocking lilt. "I will come check on you next time."
The Holy Master howled, more frenzied than before, while the twelve talismans lit with eerie glow.
Jin left it all behind. His figure grew translucent, then faded from the sealed space.