After glancing at the few rookies,
Yagyu casually released Ino's small hand and walked toward the teaching building.
"Forget introducing friends. I have no interest in you kids' little house-playing games."
The rookies right now had nothing worth talking about.
Even Nara Shikamaru, who was the most mature among them, was still just a childish little kid.
For Yagyu, a grown man, to accommodate them would honestly be uncomfortable.
"Hmph. That show-off is so annoying,bleh!"
Looking at Yagyu's departing back, Ino made a face at him with an unhappy expression.
"If you're not interested then forget it. Acting like a silent gourd every day,only knowing how to train and cultivate."
She kicked the small stone beneath her foot.
Then Ino turned around and ran toward her group of friends.
Inviting Yagyu had only been her own idea. Since he was unwilling,there was nothing she could do about it.
At that moment, Ino truly felt that Yagyu was far too boring.
…
After shaking off Ino,
Yagyu entered the classroom alone and casually found a seat to wait for the first day of lessons to begin.
One after another, the students assigned to this class gradually arrived.
Naturally,this also included Ino and the others whom he had encountered earlier below the teaching building.
However,Ino was clearly still angry at Yagyu and had no intention of speaking to him.
Yagyu welcomed that outcome.
Finally,he could enjoy some peace and quiet.
During the past three days,this little girl Ino had somehow become obsessed with visiting the place where Yagyu trained every day.
She had been bothering him constantly.
Ignoring Ino,Yagyu's gaze instead fell upon a small blond boy sitting in the classroom who seemed completely out of place and very lonely.
"So that's the protagonist."
Looking at Uzumaki Naruto,Yagyu thought to himself.
"Right now he just looks like a malnourished orphan. Who would imagine that this guy is actually the son of the Fourth Hokage,and will become one of the great heroes who save the Shinobi World?"
The sins of the Third Hokage and that old schemer Danzo.
The privileged life that should have belonged to a hero's orphan had been forcibly turned into such a tragic childhood.
It could only be said that fate was truly cruel.
Not long after Yagyu finished observing Naruto,
Uchiha Sasuke arrived.
He wore clothing bearing the emblem of the Uchiha Clan and was still an innocent little brother-obsessed boy.
His hands were tucked into his pockets and his face wore a proud,cold expression.
Immediately,many girls in the classroom began staring at him with admiration.
"Looks combined with the Uchiha Clan name really do have incredible appeal for these little girls."
Seeing the excitement among the girls in the classroom increase because of Sasuke's arrival,Yagyu felt somewhat speechless.
"And aren't the girls in this world falling in love a bit too early?"
The girls in this classroom were generally only around six years old.
Yet they were already discussing which boy looked the most handsome.
Ridiculous.
After seeing that the people he cared about had already arrived,Yagyu stopped paying attention to the rest.
He quietly sat there with both hands under the desk,continuously practicing hand seals.
The strength of a shinobi's combat ability was greatly related to hand seal speed.
Yagyu did not expect himself to reach the monstrous level of Uchiha Itachi,who could perform six or seven hand seals in a single second.
But five seals per second should not be too much to ask.
This was something that required long-term,accumulated practice.
While Yagyu was silently practicing hand seals,
on the other side of the classroom,
Ino,Haruno Sakura,and the other girls who already knew each other were enthusiastically chatting about the boys in the class.
However,most of their discussion revolved around Uchiha Sasuke.
"Ino,don't you think Sasuke-kun is really handsome?"
Sitting beside Ino,Haruno Sakura asked softly with a blush on her face.
"And since he's from the Uchiha Clan,he must also be very strong,right?"
Hearing her friend's question,
Ino glanced at Uchiha Sasuke and paused for a moment.
"Really? I don't think he's that handsome. And if we're talking about being strong…"
Involuntarily,Ino's gaze shifted toward Yagyu sitting in the corner,who looked like he was spacing out.
That annoying guy was the truly strong one.
Noticing Ino's gaze,Sakura and the other girls' eyes suddenly lit up.
As if they had realized something,they began giggling quietly.
"So that's how it is. Ino,you already have someone you like?"
Since Sakura and Ino were probably the closest friends,Sakura asked with a smile.
"Huh?"
Caught off guard by Sakura's sudden question,Ino looked completely confused.
"Someone I like? Who? Yagyu Sosuke,that annoying guy? How is that possible?"
Seeing Ino hurriedly trying to explain herself,
Sakura and the others simply looked at her with smiling faces,clearly not believing her.
After explaining for quite a while with no effect at all,
Ino ended up blaming everything on the completely unaware Yagyu.
"Yagyu Sosuke!"
Grinding her teeth,Ino roared in her heart.
"You annoying idiot,just you wait."
…
On the first day of school,there were no lessons.
After all the students had arrived,
their teacher for this elite class,Iruka,came into the classroom.
After distributing some basic textbooks,
he had each student take turns going to the front and introducing themselves.
Once the classroom matters were settled,the final event of the first day began.
At the Ninja Academy playground,in front of a temporarily constructed podium,all the students stood neatly arranged according to their classes.
On the podium,wearing long robes and the Hokage hat,the elderly Third Hokage was giving a speech.
"Where the leaves dance,the fire also burns eternally! The fire will continue to illuminate the village,and allow new leaves to sprout…"
This was the Will of Fire passed down from the First Hokage,Senju Hashirama.
It was also the collective spirit that had been inherited throughout generations of Konoha.
Even Yagyu listened with a solemn expression,and a look of respect.
Indeed,in the history of Konoha's development,there had been plenty of darkness and stains.
Perhaps the Will of Fire was sometimes only a slogan.
But it could not be denied that the Will of Fire itself carried real positive meaning.
The problem was not the Will of Fire,but rather the crooked individuals who appeared during its inheritance.
As for why Yagyu acknowledged the Will of Fire so much,and even maintained a certain level of respect toward the Third Hokage standing above,there was only one reason.
The interests involved.
"After all,I am a beneficiary of the Will of Fire."
Looking at the elderly Third Hokage,respect appeared in Yagyu's eyes.
"I can't very well eat the food given to me,and then turn around and curse the one who served it just because of some distant strangers or some shallow sense of saintly justice."
When living in this world,it was better to maintain a basic moral bottom line.
A mature man needed not only kindness,but also rationality.
Of course,if someone asked Yagyu to act according to the Will of Fire,then his answer would only be one sentence.
"Go to hell."