Konoha Ninja Academy.
Sasuke sat in the front row, staring at his textbook with a deep frown. Behind him, Ino lay sprawled across her desk, looking utterly listless.
"..."
"Hey."
"What?"
"When do you think Masahiko-sensei is coming back?" Ino groaned. "They've been gone for almost a week."
Shikamaru looked up, exasperated, while Chōji continued to shovel snacks into his mouth during the break.
"Shikamaru!"
"How should I know?" Shikamaru muttered impatiently. However, after a moment of thought, he added, "It should be soon."
"Why?" Ino instantly perked up.
"My dad and uncle Inoichi returned to the village yesterday," Shikamaru drawled, his voice lacking energy. "Their work shifts seem to be changing. It's just a guess, though. Don't quote me on it."
"Yes!"
Ino revived instantly, pulling out a compact mirror and her makeup kit. Shikamaru stared at her, dumbfounded. I said he 'might' be back soon, not that he's walking through the door right now!
After a few seconds, he turned his head away. 'Women are such a drag. Thank god the one she likes isn't me.'
Shikamaru glanced toward the other side of the room, his eyes lingering on the seat that had been empty for a week—Naruto's desk. A thoughtful expression crossed his face.
"Hey, speaking of Naruto... do you remember the way the Daimyō's wife and the others looked at him that day?"
"The way they looked at him?" Ino paused her primping, blinking. She searched her memory for a moment before shaking her head. "I didn't really pay attention."
Just then, a soft rustling sound came from the side.
"Here."
'Hm?'
Shikamaru turned to see Kurama Yakumo handing him a sketch. He paused, then took it. Ino leaned over to take a look and froze. "Why... why did you draw it like this?"
In the sketch, Masahiko stood behind Naruto. But in front of Naruto, the world was consumed by heavy fog and looming shadows. It seemed to symbolize a specific intent.
"It represents how things look in Yakumo's eyes," Shikamaru explained in a low voice. "Those people aren't friendly. The prospects for Naruto and Sensei's trip to the Capital... they aren't bright."
Yakumo didn't speak; she just sat quietly to the side.
Ino suddenly realized that Yakumo's mood had been low for the past few days as well. She thought for a moment. "Yakumo, I don't think I've ever been to your house. Can I come over to visit this afternoon?"
"Huh?" Yakumo looked surprised, then quickly nodded. "Of course. My parents would be happy to have you."
"Thanks so much!" Ino clasped her hands together gratefully.
The bell rang.
Iruka strode into the classroom. Seeing the class looking lethargic, he cracked a smile.
"I have some good news for everyone. Masahiko-sensei will be back by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."
The room erupted in cheers.
Recently, all Taijutsu classes had been covered by Mizuki. Mizuki wasn't weak—by Chūnin standards, he was quite capable. The problem was... he wasn't Masahiko.
Whenever the students compared Mizuki to Masahiko, the substitute's classes felt dry and uninspired. If conditions allowed, they would have happily let Masahiko teach every single subject.
Hearing that Masahiko was returning, even Sasuke couldn't help but let a faint smile touch his lips.
The Next Morning.
At the village gates, Izumo and Kotetsu were returning from a mission. They stopped, surprised to see a horde of children sweeping the streets near the entrance under the supervision of a ninja.
The students were sweeping and organizing the street, but their eyes kept darting toward the main gate.
The two gatekeepers paused for a few seconds.
"What are they doing?"
"No idea."
Kamizuki Izumo shook his head. Looking closer, he recognized the ninja leading the team and walked over to greet him. "Asuma."
"Izumo, Kotetsu. You guys are back too?" Asuma smiled.
They were all from the same graduating class. Back when they were Genin, they used to hang out frequently. But after graduation, life got busy, and their gatherings became few and far between.
Kotetsu laughed. "What are you doing here?"
"..." Asuma gave a dry, awkward chuckle. He glanced at the kids out of the corner of his eye. "These brats heard Masahiko-kun is coming back soon. They insisted on coming out to welcome him."
"Masahiko?" Izumo looked surprised, then curious. "I remember he became a Tokubetsu Jōnin recently. Did he go out on a mission instead of teaching?"
"No, he's still a teacher. He's currently serving as the Acting Head of the Education Unit at the Academy," Asuma replied.
'...What?'
'Acting Head of the Education Unit?'
Izumo and Kotetsu exchanged looks of pure shock.
After a few seconds of silence, one of them asked, "What on earth happened in the half-month we were gone?"
"It's too much to explain in a few sentences. Wait until I'm off duty, let's get together and catch up," Asuma said.
Izumo nodded in agreement.
The two went to the registry to sign in, but even after finishing, the situation felt surreal. They were all from common backgrounds. Naturally, they kept in touch, but contact had dropped off since they became Chūnin two years ago.
Hearing that Masahiko had promoted to Chūnin, and then rapidly to Special Jōnin, had already been incredible. But Acting Head of the Education Unit?
That was a critical position usually reserved for veteran Jōnin or elites from major clans.
'We're all from the same graduating class... so why are you so overpowered?!'
While the two were lamenting their stagnancy, they heard a faint cheer from the distance. Following the sound, they looked down the main road. A figure was sprinting toward the village, waving a jacket wildly in the air.
That shock of yellow hair was unmistakable.
"That's..."
"Uzumaki Naruto," Izumo finished.
Kotetsu nodded repeatedly.
As Naruto sprinted closer, they saw the others behind him. There was Yagyu Masahiko—with a face so handsome it left him with no male friends—and walking right beside him was Yūhi Kurenai.
Seeing this scene, the two gatekeepers felt a pang of heartache.
Back in their school days, they were in the same class as Masahiko, and basically no girls paid attention to them. After graduation, this guy stayed quiet for years, only to suddenly surpass them in rank—and his luck with women was still just as infuriatingly good!
"Dammit, I'm jealous," Kotetsu grumbled, his eyes red.
Yūhi Kurenai was the flower of their generation. Who didn't have a crush on her back then?
Izumo gritted his teeth. "He's definitely buying dinner tonight!"
"Yes! Absolutely!"
The two weren't in a rush to report back anymore; they stood by the gate, waiting.
Naruto stormed into the village. Seeing everyone sweeping, he laughed loudly. "Hahaha! You guys came all the way to the gate to clean the floor just to welcome this Lord Naruto?"
"Naruto! You idiot, move! Don't block Sensei!" Sakura roared, gritting her teeth.
The other students chimed in, yelling at him to get out of the way.
Only Hinata whispered softly, "Naruto-kun... welcome back."
Unfortunately, her voice was too quiet for even the person next to her to hear, let alone Naruto.
Naruto didn't feel bad at all; he just continued to laugh arrogantly. After seeing the deceptive glamor of the outside world, he found his classmates much cuter. Being around them felt free and easy.
The class wasn't truly angry, of course.
As Masahiko and Kurenai stepped through the main gate, before they could even register their return, the crowd of students swarmed them.
Kurenai and Asuma used the Body Flicker Technique to step aside, dodging the mob. Kurenai covered her mouth, giggling softly.
"Is Masahiko really this popular?" Asuma asked, looking a bit bewildered.
"Of course. You'll understand once you've been around for a while," Kurenai replied, though her gaze remained fixed on Masahiko within the crowd.
"Right... I'll go register first then..."
Asuma let out a silent sigh. He withdrew his gaze from Kurenai, turned, and headed toward the administration office.
'Whatever. I should go see the Old Man first.'
He suppressed his emotions and quietly walked away.
It took Masahiko quite a while to greet everyone and calm them down. Only after promising to tell them stories later did they settle down and obediently return to their Social Studies Fieldwork.
Only then did he notice Kotetsu and Izumo.
"Kotetsu, Izumo? You guys just get back from a mission too?"
"Yeah," Izumo said, walking over with a solemn expression. "Asuma mentioned getting together tonight. You coming?"
"Sure. Once I'm done with everything, I'll head over. My treat."
Masahiko smiled warmly. He had been wanting to find Izumo for a while, but their schedules never aligned. This was perfect.