On the training grounds, all the first-year students lined up at the edge of the field.
Despite the teachers' best efforts, order was nothing more than a pipe dream.
Whether it was Kiba running alongside Akamaru, Sasuke surrounded by countless fawning moths, Naruto trying to get attention, or the other brats from other classes; putting all those ingredients together in one place was the perfect recipe for a morning of chaos.
With a more strained expression than usual, Yashin dragged Shino along to walk through the crowd, hoping to find something that might lift his spirits and, while he was at it, to see what life was like for his little friends reflected in the faces of his classmates.
However, after his right shoulder began to ache from bumping into others too many times, he decided to leave the crowd and go sit near the door.
…
"Are you a masochist?"
…
Instead of answering, Yashin simply mobilized his chakra and formed a pair of hand seals.
Shino, seeing his inexplicable behavior, wanted to ask him what on earth he was doing, but when he saw that nothing interesting happened after he finished moving his hands, he chose to remain silent.
Asking about every strange thing his friend did would quickly leave him speechless.
…
"Demodicosis? Seriously? What's next? Lacing your face creams with ink? I'm more and more surprised by just how low your… restraint has taken you. Still, I can't help but wonder: What's the difference between who you are now and that girl with the white eyes who used to annoy you so much the moment you saw her—and whom you even went so far as to hit?"
…
Suddenly, the screams of countless girls began to echo across the courtyard.
At the center of the commotion, Naruto, who seemed to have just said something offensive about Sasuke, was smiling smugly.
Far from the crowd, standing perfectly still beside her sister, Hinata watched the blond boy with anxiety etched into her doll-like eyes.
However, a light touch and a murmur from Hanabi were enough to make her avert her gaze to the ground, just like a scolded puppy.
As he watched this pathetic spectacle, the intensity of Yashin's gaze dropped several degrees, while his chakra mobilized so that the sight wouldn't reduce him to something that would normally enrage him, even as his being remained submerged in an artificial calm.
Adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol immediately made him feel that fire, that urge to clench his jaw, but the rage was directed not only at Hinata Hyuga's behavior, but also at himself.
The voice in his head was right.
No, that actually fell short of what Yashin really thought of himself.
…
Before the youngest Hyuga could notice the look she was giving her not-so-beloved older sister, Yashin turned his gaze toward the new arrivals walking through the door.
Led by another white-eyed brat, the second-year students made their appearance on the training grounds. However, their arrival was far from enough to calm the commotion among the first-years.
Near the end of the procession, a couple of familiar figures appeared before Yashin's eyes.
The boy with bushy eyebrows and long hair tied in a braid walked with a serious and, to some extent, resigned expression—a face completely different from the one his counterpart would have in the future.
On the other hand, the girl with buns and a salmon-colored qipao walked forward smiling, her cheeks flushed.
For a second, their gazes met, but the chance encounter lasted only an instant before they parted. Even so, the girl's smile widened slightly.
A minute later, the commotion was abruptly interrupted when the teachers announced the arrival of the Third Hokage.
His kind, wrinkled face soon appeared before the students.
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The Professor.
The God of Shinobi.
The Third Hokage.
All those titles seemed to weigh on every step he took, on every wrinkle on his face, on every strand of his gray hair.
Perhaps for most children, dazzled by the robe and hat he wore, it wasn't clear, but to Yashin, the relentless passage of time couldn't have been more obvious.
Thinking about what he once was and comparing it to what he was now, instead of admiration, the only thing that should have been stirred in anyone who felt even a shred of appreciation for the old man was pity. Yet everyone seemed so happy and content, as if degenerating to that point were something to be proud of or something to aspire to.
Yashin knew this, but his regard for the old man was as scarce as Hamura's descendants on the moon. So the only feeling he could direct toward the old man was simple, pure contempt.
Something similar was happening with the bandaged old man who was unexpectedly walking alongside the third.
The Shinobi of Darkness. Danzo Shimura shouldn't be in a place as dazzling as the ninja school, yet the man walked with his head held high and a somber expression in broad daylight.
Fortunately for almost all the children, his presence was completely overshadowed by that of the third one; however, Yashin, who was the object of old man Shimura's undivided attention, could not say the same.
…
"Hey, what the hell did you do to get this old pervert to have his sights set on you?"
…
Despite being just as confused as the voice in his head, the redhead met the old man's gaze without hesitation before turning his attention back to the third-generation Hokage when he began to ramble.
…
"Well, well… Who would've thought that even a cripple could still catch the attention of the famed Shadow Hokage? Want to bet on what made that decrepit old man crawl out of his sewer?"
…
A long, dry yawn was Yashin's only response.
He didn't need to bet.
Aside from the indiscriminate proliferation of his Demodex mites, he hadn't done much of anything lately, so the only reason he might be here was to see how the waste he'd once been so interested in was faring.
Maybe age had caught up with the old man and made him feel nostalgic or something like that, so he decided to come see him in person before letting him go completely.
A rather thoughtful gesture, considering that for years the only ones watching over him were those bland Root ninjas.
When the old third-year finished speaking, the fights finally began.
Extras fighting against extras.
The only first-years paying attention to what was happening in the center of the training ground were Sarada and Shino.
The others… were already doing quite well without acting like Naruto, Kiba, or the male Uchiha.
However, when the Hyuga prodigy stepped forward, the murmurs died down immediately and all eyes turned to him.
Although the opponent was nearly a head taller than the pale-eyed boy, he barely seemed to be present, and his involuntary trembling only served to make him look even smaller.
Unlike the Hyuga princesses, Neji didn't activate his dojutsu once the sensei announced the start of the fight. He simply pounced on his opponent, and before the latter could even raise his arms to defend himself, he was struck until he collapsed to the ground.
A victory as easy as it was brutal.
Despite the groans beneath his feet or the exclamations of astonishment from the crowd, the expression of the prodigy of the family branch remained frozen in indifference.
Not even the Hokage's deliberately loud praise could move the Hyuga's heart.
With a seal of reconciliation as rigid as his face and without looking at anyone in particular, he left the center of the stage.
His replacement, a smiling girl in a salmon-colored qipao and a pair of buns, held a peculiar three-bladed kunai.
…
"For her to be handling that weapon so carelessly, it seems that girl's confidence is sky-high if she thinks she's already mastered it in such a short time. Besides, why bring something so dangerous to a simple exhibition match? Does she harbor some kind of grudge against her opponent?"
…
The question was answered as soon as the fight began.
Before her opponent could even begin to advance toward her, Tenten threw the peculiar kunai at his feet, forcing him to swerve.
Without wasting that split second of advantage, the girl propelled herself several meters into the air and unfurled a long scroll, from which countless three-bladed kunais shot out.
Terrified, the boy couldn't even take a step back. He simply closed his eyes and shielded his head with both arms, as if that could save him from the indiscriminate barrage.
The spectators' screams of fear and surprise only heightened his terror; however, the sharp impacts, the slight tremor of the ground around him, and the absence of pain made him open his eyes again.
The metal handles of the kunai embedded in the ground dazzled him for a moment.
The boy's knees buckled when he saw how close some of the kunai had come to piercing his feet instead of the ground. Even so, he managed to stay upright so that he could, at least, surrender with his head held high.
Once he left the stage and Tenten was left alone, she put her hands on her hips before bursting into a wildly theatrical laugh.
— Now, as the winner, I'll exercise my right to speak!
— … Tenten.
The tone of the second-year class teacher, standing alongside the rest of his stunned students, sounded, to say the least, exasperated.
— There's no such thing as a right to speak just because you won a fight.
"…
…
…
— As I was saying, I'll exercise my right to speak. If you're curious about the three-bladed kunais I use, you can find them at my family's shop. Not only do they strike harder than an ordinary kunai, but the wounds they inflict are also much more lethal. In short, they're perfect!"
The amused looks from the Third Hokage and the other teachers only deepened the heaviness of Tenten's teacher's sigh.
— For those who are interested, you can take the kunai in the courtyard. The address of my shop is on the handle, so…
The sudden stampede her words unleashed prevented her from finishing. Still, seeing the crowd scramble for each of her kunais, the smile on Tenten's face blossomed as if spring had arrived.
…
"Advertising in this situation. I must admit that girl's mind is quite peculiar."
…
It took several minutes for order to be restored. However, neither the Hokage nor any of the instructors could really be upset after receiving a kunai as a "gift."
Once everything was back to normal, the matches continued until every second-year student had had a chance to show off their skills.
Just as the Third Hokage was about to call it a morning, the hoarse voice of the mummy sitting beside him made him shut his mouth again.
— Now that we've seen what the upperclassmen can do, why don't we see what the first-years are capable of? After all, there are many geniuses among the newcomers. I'm sure several of them still don't understand the difference between their abilities and those of their seniors.
As he spoke, Danzo's eyes never left Yashin for a single second.
Hiruzen noticed it too; even so, his friend's words made too much sense to dismiss them as just another one of his usual tricks.
…
"Who would've thought? I actually won the bet."
…