"Akira—!"
"Wow… he's so handsome…"
"Junior Akira, are you free after school? Let's train together!"
"Ren, this is a gift I prepared especially for you!"
"I made this bento myself. Please make sure to try it!"
"Senior Ren, I brought one too…"
"That bowl-cut guy, move aside!"
"Yeah, you're blocking the view!"
At the entrance of the Ninja Academy—
In less than half a minute, the moment Akira Ren's handsome figure appeared, the surrounding girls instantly noticed him.
Not only the girls from his class—
Even girls from neighboring classes, as well as both younger and older students, all lit up as if fish had smelled blood in the water.
Their eyes sparkled.
Groups of them rushed over together.
Their cheeks were flushed red with excitement, hearts practically shining in their eyes.
Within moments, Rock Lee was squeezed aside.
He was even accidentally battered until his face was bruised and swollen.
Meanwhile, Hyūga Neji, who hadn't walked far yet, turned back and glanced at the scene.
Seeing the crowd of crazed girls, the corner of his mouth twitched.
"This guy is really popular…"
Although Neji had no interest in those girls—
He had to admit that Ren's popularity made even him feel a hint of jealousy.
"As expected of my lifelong rival, Ren!"
Rock Lee struggled back to his feet in a rather pitiful state.
Looking toward Akira Ren, who was surrounded by girls, his face was full of envy.
But he wasn't discouraged at all.
He was already used to this kind of scene.
Clenching his fists, he was filled with fiery determination.
"But youth never gives up easily! I've decided—after school I'll run ten more laps around the village!"
"Neji, do you want to join me?"
"Idiot…"
Hyūga Neji moved farther away from him.
With a blank expression, he walked toward the classroom.
"Not interested."
"Thank you, everyone. I appreciate the thought… but the bento and gifts really aren't necessary."
After quite some effort, Akira Ren finally managed to break free from the siege of the overly enthusiastic girls.
Rejecting the rather direct confessions, he hurried back into the classroom.
"Ren, over here! Over here!"
Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead—
Just as he stepped into the classroom, before Rock Lee—who had already taken his seat—could even greet him—
A small girl with two round buns in her hair sitting on the right side of the third row excitedly waved her hands at him.
She completely ignored Lee sitting beside her.
"Tenten, morning."
Seeing his deskmate, Tenten, Ren smiled lightly.
After patting Lee on the shoulder, he walked over with his books and sat down in the middle seat on the right side of the third row.
"Ren, this is the bento I prepared for you today. Please make sure to try it!"
With a sweet smile, Tenten took out an exquisitely prepared lunchbox she had already made and handed it to him.
Her bright eyes were filled with expectation.
A faint blush appeared on her delicate face.
But having grown up helping out at her family's weapon shop, her personality was cheerful and open.
She wasn't overly shy at all.
"Thank you."
Taking the bento, Akira Ren smiled.
Seeing the jealous and resentful expressions on some of the male classmates around him, he felt a little helpless inside but didn't pay it much attention.
Unlike the other girls—
He had always held a special fondness for this Chinese-style girl.
So he rarely rejected her kindness outright.
"Hehe…"
Tenten rested her chin in her hands, sitting quietly.
Ignoring the murderous looks from the other girls in the classroom, she smiled happily.
Looking at Akira Ren's heroic features, the more she looked, the more handsome and pleasing he seemed.
His gentle and tranquil aura captivated her completely.
She found it hard to look away.
A sweet smile naturally appeared on her delicate face.
"These puppet books…"
But when the corner of her eye caught sight of the several books Ren had placed on the desk earlier—
She suddenly fell silent.
Because this wasn't the first time she had seen them.
Recently, Akira Ren had been constantly reading books related to puppet techniques.
Looking at him, she asked curiously,
"Ren, didn't you say you wanted to become a medical ninja? Are you really planning to become a puppeteer too?"
"Why would you think that?"
Seeing the confusion on Tenten's small face, Akira Ren asked seriously,
"As a qualified medical ninja, isn't it perfectly necessary—and reasonable—for me to learn a bit of puppet technique for self-defense?"
With his extremely precise chakra control, and as a medical ninja—
The basics of puppet techniques were obviously not difficult for him.
Combined with the creativity he brought from the information-explosion era of the 21st century, along with the knowledge he had gradually accumulated from borrowing all kinds of books from the library over the years—
And his own talent, which he believed was not inferior to anyone else's—
Even though he didn't intend to devote all his energy to puppet techniques—
In the short term, he might not be able to surpass Sasori of the Red Sand, the genius puppeteer from Sunagakure who had assassinated the Third Kazekage and sparked the fuse for the Third Great Ninja War.
But he was confident he wouldn't be far behind.
Tenten: "…"
Faced with such a powerful argument, she found herself completely unable to refute it.
Rolling her eyes slightly, she said,
"Is there even such a thing as a medical ninja like that?"
"Yes. Your idol—one of the legendary Three Sannin, Lady Tsunade."
"Not only is she skilled in medical ninjutsu, but I've heard her combat strength is also extremely formidable."
"Fine, fine. Do whatever you like."
Sorry.
She had been too shallow.
The world of geniuses was clearly something ordinary people couldn't understand.
…
Ding—dang—
At noon—
The day passed quickly.
After the teacher dismissed class and announced that there would be no classes in the afternoon and that the next two days would be holidays, the group of energetic children immediately erupted with excitement.
They rushed out of the classroom in small groups.
Some returned home, while others threw their arms over each other's shoulders and headed off to play together.
After saying goodbye to the somewhat reluctant Tenten—
And ignoring the girls who tried to strike up conversations—
Akira Ren didn't go train with Rock Lee as he usually did.
Instead, he declined Lee's invitation and headed straight home.
Compared to the grand residences of major clans like the Uchiha, Hyūga, or the Ino–Shika–Chō families, Akira Ren's home wasn't particularly large.
But compared to orphans like Uzumaki Naruto, it certainly wasn't small either.
It was a house assigned to him and his grandmother after the village reconstruction.
Three bedrooms, one living room, and one bathroom.
They lived on the second floor.
For just the two of them, it was more than adequate.
What surprised him was that the neighbor living across the hall was an elite chūnin named Yūhi Kurenai.
She was a very gentle older sister who took especially good care of him.
Having also lost family during the Nine-Tails' attack several years ago, she felt deep sympathy for Ren, whose circumstances were similar to hers.
Whenever she was home, she often looked after the grandmother and grandson.
She frequently came over to the Akira household for meals.
Although calling it "mooching meals" wasn't quite accurate.
More often than not, she was the one buying the groceries and cooking.
Over time, Akira Ren naturally grew very close to Yūhi Kurenai.
The two of them had a relationship much like siblings.
"I'm home."