"You're gonna take the bribe," I told Gendai, dead certain, sitting across from him at a table, just the two of us in a classroom.
"Nope," he said.
It wasn't a regular classroom. More like the kind of office where adults settled "little problems."
"You're taking the bribe."
End of the school year. I needed my attendance record fixed if I wanted to move up a grade.
"Nope."
"You're taking it."
"Nope."
"Hmph." I crossed my arms and leaned back. "So money's a no-go?"
"Correct," he finally varied his answer. "And I'm not taking anything else either. You're working off those absences on Academy grounds, student-san. Only then do I close the book. We've got twenty trees that need transplanting. Then transplanting back."
...
Silence hung between us.
"Right. See you on the next report card."
I stood up and left.
Poor Gendai had no idea who he was dealing with. The guy genuinely didn't know I was usually pretty good at picking locks—even the human kind.
A few days of tailing him and I had everything I needed. Sensei's weak spot.
A little more time to hire the right people.
Soon enough the make‑up period for academic delinquents rolled around.
"You'd be better off taking cash," I told him again, same seat as before.
"No. I'm not taking anything."
"Sure?"
"Positive."
"M'kay." I nodded, stood, and walked to the door under his puzzled stare. "You're closing my year right now, or everyone finds out."
I slid the door open. Two mature, gorgeous women in kimono stepped into view, slits in the fabric showing off some very serious cleavage.
"Time to face your vices, MILF‑lover."
The women walked in. I walked out.
"What the hell is this?!" came the panicked yelp behind me as Gendai shot up from his chair, face turning nuclear red.
One of the ladies slid the door shut, and I didn't see anything else. I quickly left the Academy.
I still had plenty of things to do. I was finally making some progress in medical ninjutsu, I was getting pretty good at fuinjutsu, and on top of Water and Wind I'd started grinding Fire release.
In the end they passed me, and nobody made me transplant a single damn tree. That was my Plan "W"—for "whore." My clones had found out Kumao was crazy about older women. And that day he just couldn't hold himself back. Or didn't find the strength to resist. Unnecessary details. The only thing that mattered was that, not through any fault of mine, people found out about his little "incident."
Hiruzen summoned me and spent ten full minutes chewing me out, going on about how bringing fallen women into the Academy, the alma mater of shinobi, was very uncultured. When he realized I wasn't feeling particularly repentant, he just asked me nicely not to do it again, and I agreed.
Gendai got fired. Rumor said he tried to pin it all on me. Too bad the one caught in that kind of indecent state on school property was him, not me. So the once‑respected sensei turned into just some pervert chunin nobody really liked.
Next year they brought in fresh meat… or rather, a guy named Umino Iruka.
Some grandpa, basically the senior teacher and sort of vice principal, stood in front of my group introducing an eighteen‑year‑old. Iruka had black hair tied back in a ponytail like Shikamaru's, and a horizontal scar running across the bridge of his nose.
"In connection with… unforeseen circumstances," the old man told us, "Gendai‑sensei will no longer be able to teach your class. However, the Academy administration has promptly found him a worthy replacement. Allow me to introduce your new homeroom teacher—Umino Iruka. Iruka‑sensei is a graduate of our Academy, a chunin of Konoha and, despite his youth, a very responsible and dedicated shinobi. He will help you master all the knowledge and skills you need to become the pride of our village. Please treat him kindly. Iruka‑sensei, the floor is yours."
Iruka then repeated pretty much the same spiel about himself. That he'd take our training seriously and all that.
Funny thing about Gendai. In the anime, Iruka was Naruto's teacher. Somehow, with my own actions, I'd fixed that bit of canon.
I figured canon as a whole would still go straight to hell sooner or later. Probably from the moment when, instead of just focusing on myself, it became more profitable for me to start meddling in big outside affairs. But that was future business.
Classes with him started. Iruka was energetic, often soft, but also often… hm, strict—if yelling his head off at kids skipping class counts as "strict." Except he never yelled at me and didn't even pay attention to my truancy. Though he did throw me questions in class from time to time. Apparently the Academy higher‑ups had changed their policy regarding me and whispered something about me to the new sensei. And when the year came to an end, that's exactly how it turned out. When I came to close the year, Iruka said everything was fine on my end and told me to head home and stop giving the entire Academy a headache.
Time flew: slow because of all the gradual progress in my own research, but fast if you measured it by Academy years.
I still talked to my peers in moderation. The girls started clinging to Sasuke less, so he could finally breathe a little easier.
Sometimes, besides the guys, I started exchanging words with Ino again, and sometimes with Sakura. Ino liked talking about plants, while Sakura liked talking about studying. Over time, taking her friend's example and seeing I wasn't some psycho, Sakura stopped avoiding me, which is why we started talking at all.
When Hinata and I were both already past nine (she's a couple of months younger than me), something really nasty happened to her—some bastard from the Land of Lightning tried to kidnap her.
Peace between the Hidden Leaf and Lightning had only just been established. A delegation from Cloud came to visit us—shinobi from the village in the Land of Lightning. And one of those, no doubt, assholes, decided to snatch the Hyuga heiress at night. Unfortunately for the visitor, Hinata's father quickly caught up to him and killed him on the spot.
For such audacity as killing their subordinate, that brazen mug A—the Raikage, the boss of Cloud—demanded they hand over Hinata's dad, or they'd just keep the war with Konoha going.
Unfortunately for the Hyuga clan, Hiruzen backed down and ordered the white‑eyed bunch to hand over their clan head.
As far as I know, they fudged things so it looked like it wasn't the clan head, but his twin brother, who'd killed A's subordinate, so they handed the brother over instead. Cloud swallowed that and left.
This world might look kinder than my previous one, but there's still nasty shit in it. Hiashi's brother was waiting for death in the Land of Lightning.
It hurt to look at Hinata after that incident. It hit her hard.
For a little over a week I started going to the Academy more often than usual, just to drag her out of that state. We'd also sometimes walk after classes, talking. In the end it gave Hinata strength, and she even got a little more combative, more confident, more energetic.
Interlude. Hyuga Hinata
The clan head's eldest daughter was soft, pensive and vulnerable. She'd inherited her gentle temperament from her mother.
Overall, the girl liked those traits, and she liked being so much like her mother. But her father—strict, firm and, it seemed, unshakable—saw only weakness in them.
Expectations for Hinata within the clan were sky‑high. Her father's training sessions were very harsh, and she almost never got praised for them. No wonder the girl grew up unsure of herself. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how she tore her muscles apart, it was always "not enough."
Over time Hinata only became more convinced of her own helplessness and kept losing heart. Even her cousin Neji didn't see her kindness as a good quality and almost despised her for her weakness.
She couldn't really blame her cousin. His life, like hers, was very hard. He was subjected to even harsher training, and the punishments for failure were many times more brutal.
The Caged Bird Seal. It's put on all members of the branch family to protect the eyes and to make sure the main family doesn't lose its power. All for "stability," according to ancient tradition.
Almost every time Neji did something wrong in training, or flat‑out refused to obey, punishment followed. Hinata's father, who often trained them together, would mercilessly activate the seal and look on without regret as his nephew writhed in pain.
Hinata hardly understood how cruel that was. She was still too young to really get it. But she pitied her cousin, tried to show him care—care he harshly rejected. Her father scared her. Maybe that fear was also part of what pushed Hinata away from developing strength in herself, whether strength of character or strength as a shinobi. But at the same time she admired her father. She wanted to become as strong and unshakable as he was… she just couldn't.
A very important, maybe even turning, day for Hinata was the day she entered the Academy. The appearance of that blond boy, Naruto‑kun, completely stunned her. Spitting on all the rules the clan had hammered into her, the girl couldn't shake one thought: "Wait, you're allowed to just do that?!" and only her upbringing kept her from standing there with her mouth hanging open at the sight.
That day, still under a huge impression, she was quietly walking home. Until three boys blocked her path, latched onto her and started calling her names. And then that same strange boy from the Academy showed up again. To Hinata's surprise, he stood up for her, fearlessly stepping up against three at once. And his move… that "Sh‑a‑a‑a!"… was weird, but the girl listened to his instructions with all the attention she had.
The way he used something so simple but so effective filled Hinata with admiration. And his belief that she'd held herself well—it… warmed her?
And then his words: "Your opinion matters too," hit like a kick in the gut from her cousin. Her opinion? For the first time the girl opened her eyes to the fact that in the clan they only told her what they wanted from her, but never asked what she wanted. Only her mother seemed interested in her and her interests. But the clan was always in first place, and she had to match its standards.
When Naruto‑kun offered to walk her home, she, surprisingly easily, managed to show some initiative. And even… oh, the embarrassment! Take the boy's hand!
The fact she didn't faint on the spot was the greatest act of willpower in her life!
The next day Naruto‑kun sat beside her. He was… rather—no, by her standards he was very energetic. So warm, so caring… A sun that broke through her sometimes cold and cruel world to flood it with warming light.
She wanted to reach for him, to hug him to warm herself… to give him some of her own warmth… But Hinata would probably never allow herself something like that. And he was also like a new reference point, a standard she finally liked. Pushing her forward. So alien, yet strangely fitting her world, she wanted to become like him. Just as strong, so that her father would stop looking at her so coldly.
Naruto‑kun showed her that you could be different. Confident, even cheeky. Say what you think. You could hit back. His world was completely different, and without even knowing it, he cracked open a door into that world for her.
Then came that horrible evening. Fear, the kidnapper's cold hands, despair… and rescue by her father. But after that the world only became colder. Neji pulled away completely; his silence hurt louder than any accusation. He clearly blamed her… the entire main family for what had happened to his father. The looks from the elders she had to see almost every day became heavy. The girl fell back into her quiet gray shell, feeling even weaker and more helpless.
And Naruto‑kun appeared again. He started coming to the Academy more often. He sat next to her, not asking for anything, but his presence was as tangible as the warmth of a campfire on a cold night. Her sun… He dragged her out on walks after class, talked about some strange and not always understandable things—about psychology, about tactics, about flowers, the only topic from all that where the girl really knew her stuff. He didn't try to pity her. He was just there, chasing away her fears with his confidence and strange sense of humor.
His care was nothing like the strict oversight of the clan. It was… warm. Alive. Sincere. And that warmth lit something new inside her. A spark. The desire to become stronger. Not just for the clan or for her father, but for herself. So she wouldn't be that weak girl who needed protecting anymore. So that one day she could stand beside… Naruto‑kun, instead of hiding behind his back.
The girl started training harder, remembering his words and that weird but effective determination of his. Every practiced strike, every drop of sweat was a step away from the old, frightened Hinata. The spirit inside her that had smoldered for so long began, little by little, to flare up.
She was still quiet, still shy. But now, deep in her Byakugan, there was a new light that had never been there before. A light which had been lit, with its rays, by Uzumaki Naruto.
Uzumaki Naruto's POV
Hinata's newfound fire… I'll be remembering that story of hers with pride for a long time.
Something really entertaining happened about a week after the incident with the Hyuga clan.
Apparently, as Hinata later told me, when we were out walking, one of the Hyuga elders noticed us. He shot our little duo a seriously nasty glare, then disappeared.
Could've been nothing. For all I knew the guy had just suddenly popped a hemorrhoid. But the story had a short sequel.
When Hinata got back, that same elder came up to her and pretty much demanded she stop talking to me.
He didn't even try to explain himself properly, and Hinata didn't listen anyway. Because she was suddenly overtaken by a kind of anger she'd never felt before. And then, channeling chakra into her body as much as she could out of sheer rage, she reproduced my "Sh‑a‑a‑a!" The elder didn't have time to react, and after that they even had to call a medical‑nin for him.
Whether the medic‑nin managed to put everything back together, history is silent. Hinata, worried, came to ask me if she'd gone too far or been too cruel. I assured her she'd done everything perfectly. We weren't strangers anymore, and if someone tried to forbid me from talking to her, I'd be really pissed too. I told her she'd definitely done great. And I gave her some advice to keep training, so that if someone came at her again with the same demands, she could hit even harder.
Hinata took my words to heart and probably even wrote them down somewhere.
I also later asked her what her father thought of me. She answered that he never mentioned me at all. She did mention that she talked with me, but Hiashi didn't care. Or he pretended not to care.
That was the end of the elder story. Life moved on at its usual pace.
At the Academy, some new fun got added: classes where kids beat each other's faces in, plus physical training.
In the first kind of class, obviously, I was holding back. A lot. Those were more like warm‑up lessons, just to get the muscles going before heading to the real training hall. I wasn't trying especially hard not to stand out, but I did give my peers a chance to show themselves.
To my surprise, Hinata didn't refuse to fight even against me. She was pretty stiff at first, but that went away over time.
What really shook my group was the "fall of the titan." Sasuke was a pretty talented kid. From old rumors I'd heard, he'd managed to learn a C‑rank jutsu—Great Fireball—in just a week, back when his clan was still alive. Impressive, sure, but compared to me that achievement was tiny. So in our spar, after I'd let him show off enough in my opinion, I stopped dragging the fight out, stopped holding back, and with one precise punch to the jaw sent him flying out of the ring. That's how Uchiha lost to me.
The kid just stared up at the sky for a full minute, not even trying to get up. I guess losing to me was too unexpected for him. I don't know what he thought of me before, but judging from my truancy and so‑so grades, his perception had to be telling him I was anything but a difficult opponent. And after that, massive dissonance kicked in.
What happened to Sasuke's fan club… that was something to see. First they froze, then they were running around Sasuke like a flock of hens with just one egg.
Again to my surprise, the fan club didn't try to mob me. But they did start feeling something weird when they saw me, especially when actually talking to me. It showed most in how Ino and Sakura pulled away from me for a while.
Anyway, those were details. The second class was physical training. That one was taught by a Mizuki. And to be fair, he taught it pretty well. As I later found out, he was also Iruka's childhood friend. At first, and for a while, they honestly stayed friends at the Academy, went places together or whatever—they didn't tell me the details.
But that sincerity didn't last very long.
As promised, Iruka took the job of teaching seriously and handled it great. In our group, as well as in other groups where Umino was teaching but not the main homeroom teacher, the average grades went up. The higher‑ups noticed, started giving Iruka bonuses, and in just a year of work he became Teacher of the Year.
That popularity of Iruka's became the apple of discord in his relationship with Mizuki—or at least, that's how it looked from my pretty sharp observations. Mizuki, on the contrary, started sticking to Umino even more, I figure to grab at least a piece of his glory that way.
My meta‑knowledge from another universe was still with me, and I remembered that Mizuki was something like the first cardboard villain. This is the real world. A real person like this, of course, has his own backstory. It got me interested in digging into that story a bit—and in preemptively removing a dangerous element.
Using my spy skills and clones again, I started watching him. And within the first few days, results started coming in…
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