Among the new students in this class, besides Kizaru, the Shimura family also had three other children enrolled in the Academy.
They were all carefully selected by the clan and had solid potential.
There were three of them—two boys and one girl: Shimura Shinobu, Shimura Yoshihiko, and Shimura Yuki. Among them, Shimura Yoshihiko was the grandson of the third elder.
The Shimura clan, like the Sarutobi clan, was a well-known second-tier ninja clan in the village. At its peak, the clan had more than eight hundred members, with nearly two hundred active shinobi—among them, close to twenty jōnin and special jōnin.
After Danzō rose to power, became the Hokage's advisor, and established Root, the family had made enormous sacrifices to support him.
In the more than ten years since Danzō founded Root, the clan's population had shrunk from over eight hundred at its height to just over five hundred. The number of active shinobi had been cut in half, leaving only around a hundred.
Their numbers had been heavily damaged.
But those sacrifices had also brought equally enormous benefits. With the clan backing him at all costs, Danzō had secured absolute control over Root. His influence in the village now stood "beneath only one man, above tens of thousands."
As Danzō's power grew, the number of shops owned by the Shimura clan in Konoha steadily increased. Their businesses became stronger, their ties with the nobles of the Land of Fire grew closer, and the land they held in the Fire Country more than doubled.
At the same time, Danzō used his position in Root to collect a great number of mid- to high-rank ninjutsu—up to and including forbidden techniques—for the clan.
Right now, the Shimura clan was both the strongest and the weakest it had been in fifty years.
For the Shimura, what they needed most was time—time to let all these benefits settle, and to convert their gains into true strength.
The appearance of Kizaru had changed the clan even further.
As long as Kizaru could grow up smoothly, the benefits the Shimura had acquired over the last few years would no longer be something other clans could easily steal away.
And in the future, with a top-class powerhouse like Kizaru as their pillar, the clan could seize even more advantages.
Because of this, the clan's care and support for Kizaru were all-encompassing and completely without restraint.
Children of Kizaru's generation heard their parents and elders praising him and scolding them with his name as the example—almost every single day.
"Kizaru is the one who'll lead our clan in the future. Remember this and mind your attitude around him."
Everyone had heard that line.
Shimura Kizaru was exactly that legendary "perfect child" other people's parents used to lecture their own kids with.
Growing up in that environment, and thanks to Kizaru's easygoing, approachable personality, the children of his generation admired him greatly.
For them, being close to Kizaru was something to be proud of.
Just like Shimura Shinobu, Shimura Yoshihiko, and Shimura Yuki right now—ever since they'd learned they would be in the same class as Kizaru-nii, all three had been filled with joy.
After finding out he would be in the same class as his "big brother," Shimura Yoshihiko had spent the entire morning boasting to every friend who would listen.
"Hahaha!"
Under the envious gazes of his friends, Yoshihiko planted his hands on his hips and threw his head back, laughing toward the sky.
"Tch."
Off to the side, Shimura Yuki—the only girl among the three new Shimura students—watched Yoshihiko's smug laughter and let out an annoyed snort, her beautiful eyes narrowing in irritation.
Yuki also admired Kizaru-nii deeply. The two of them shared a similar past—both had lost their parents on Root missions and had grown up under the clan's care.
Because of that shared experience and Kizaru's strong, reliable personality—Shimura Yuki's admiration for him bordered on fanatical.
In this year's entrance exam, however, Yuki had made a mistake and failed to enter the Academy's elite class. Because of that, she couldn't be classmates with Kizaru, and she'd been regretting it ever since.
"Yuki, are you jealous of me?" Shimura Yoshihiko heard her cold snort and immediately seized the chance to gloat. He had never liked this girl who was always hanging around Kizaru-nii.
"Hahaha! Who told you to slack off? You pretend to study hard, but you're always pestering Kizaru-nii. You didn't make it into the elite class this time? That's just the result of your usual laziness!"
"You—!"
Shimura Yuki's face flushed with anger. She glared at Yoshihiko with her large, bright eyes.
"During the exams at the end of the year, I'll challenge you and take my spot in the elite class back from you, you bastard!"
"Hah. Try it if you can."
Yoshihiko tilted his chin up proudly, a full look of disdain on his face.
"Okay, okay, that's enough… stop arguing…"
The one who stepped between them with a flustered expression was Shimura Shinobu, the boy with the gentlest temperament among the three. He looked soft and mild, and he anxiously tried to break things up.
"Shinobu, get out of the way!"
Still fuming at Yoshihiko's attitude, Yuki shoved Shinobu aside, clearly ready to start a real fight.
"Yuki, I wasn't trying to stir anything up," came a small voice off to the side, "but even I can't stand Yoshihiko's attitude sometimes."
The speaker was a little boy with narrowed fox-like eyes and glasses—Shimura Shintarō.
"Hey, hey, hey…"
Kizaru, who had been walking over from a distance intending to take his three younger clanmates to the Academy's entrance ceremony, heard Shintarō's instigating tone before he even reached them.
"Shintarō, you little rascal… are you causing trouble again?"
Kizaru lightly stomped his foot and, in a blur of speed, appeared right behind fox-eyed Shimura Shintarō. He immediately planted his right hand on the little fox's head and gave it a ruthless rub.
Being ambushed like that made Shintarō's cheeks flush bright red. This little guy admired and adored Kizaru-nii just as much as the others.
"D-Don't rub my head… I'm already grown up," Shintarō mumbled. After enduring it for more than ten seconds, he finally "came to his senses" and raised his hands to pry Kizaru's arm away.
"You, huh…"
Kizaru shook his head with a smile, bent down slightly, and extended his index finger, tapping Shintarō lightly on the forehead.
In his previous life, Kizaru had been the "King of Children" in his neighborhood. After being reborn into the Naruto world, he'd naturally become close with the kids in his clan as well.
By the time he was three or four, with a mind far more mature than his age, Kizaru had already been helping adults look after the younger children, taking them out to play and keeping them in line.
That was one of the big reasons why he was so popular among the clan's kids.
Kizaru knew Shintarō's situation very well.
The grand elder's grandson had been clever since he was small, but because he'd been born prematurely, his health had always been poor, and his talent as a shinobi was only average.
For this grandson who had lost his parents at such a young age, the great elder felt a mix of guilt and deep affection. With Shintarō's weak body and only average talent, he couldn't bear the thought of him suffering on the front lines, so he had never intended to let the boy walk the shinobi path.
The old man's one wish for his grandson was simple: that he live a safe, peaceful, happy life.
Because of that, Shintarō—who genuinely longed to become a shinobi and attend the Academy together with Kizaru-nii—was very envious of the three children in front of him.
"Kizaru-nii, you'll definitely become the strongest shinobi in the future!" Shintarō looked up at Kizaru, eyes shining like stars.
"Of course," Kizaru replied without an ounce of modesty.
Straightening up, he looked at the three little ones gathered around him.
"Yoshihiko, Yuki, Shinobu—get ready to go. If we dawdle any longer, you'll be late."
"I'm ready, Kizaru-nii!"
"Kizaru-nii, let's go!"
"Okay, Kizaru-nii!"
After the three answered one after another, they straightened their backs, puffed out their chests, and, under the envious gazes of all their friends, proudly followed behind Kizaru as he led them toward the Academy gate.
For the kids of the Shimura clan, there was nothing cooler than walking to their first day of class behind Kizaru—the future head of the clan, and their very own lazy, shining big brother.
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