The afternoon sun blazed mercilessly over the ninja academy training field.
"Alright, line up." Teacher Ibuki stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the row of little kids in front of him. "This afternoon is physical training. Everyone's going to run laps around the field."
"Teacher, how many laps?" Obito raised his hand and asked.
"Start with five laps to warm up."
"Five laps?" A chorus of wails immediately rose from the line.
Teacher Ibuki ignored the complaints and pointed at the track. "Ready... run."
At his command, more than a dozen children charged forward.
Obito shot out in front, shouting, "My road to becoming Hokage starts today!"
Guy followed close behind, tears already shining in his eyes. "Youth! This is youth!"
Kakashi's steps were light and easy, and he quickly moved to the front.
Shin-chan ran in the middle of the group, still muttering, "Toru, why do we have to run so fast?"
"Take it seriously, Shin-chan," Uchiha Toru said softly beside him. "When you run, you need to control your breathing and keep your pace steady."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just running in circles anyway."
After one lap, Shin-chan was wobbling like he might collapse at any second.
After two laps, he was still wobbling.
By the third lap, Shin-chan's eyes suddenly went wide.
"Toru."
"What now?" Uchiha Toru panted.
"Look over there." Shin-chan raised a hand and pointed.
Uchiha Toru followed his finger. "That's the class next door."
"That teacher."
"What about the teacher?"
Shin-chan's expression turned deadly serious. "She's a beauty."
Uchiha Toru: "..."
"And a really big beauty," Shin-chan added.
Uchiha Toru fell silent for two seconds and kept running. "So?"
"I believe..." Shin-chan suddenly sped up, "this is a fated encounter."
"What?"
Before Uchiha Toru could react, the figure beside him—who had been wobbling just a second ago—shot straight out.
He was so fast he looked like a gust of wind.
Uchiha Toru froze. "He... wasn't he exhausted?"
Teacher Ibuki was standing by the track writing down times when he suddenly felt a gust whip past him. He looked up and saw only a blur: red shirt, yellow shorts, and two little legs pumping like spinning wheels.
"What is going on?"
That red blur tore around the field at astonishing speed and, in no time at all, caught up with Kakashi, who was running in front.
Kakashi only felt a gust of wind pass by, and a familiar voice floated over.
"Coming through, coming through."
He blanked out for a moment, and by the time he reacted, Shin-chan had already crossed the finish line and was sprinting straight toward the class next door.
Meanwhile, Guy, who had been running in the middle of the group, saw that red figure dashing forward with the fire of youth itself, and tears instantly welled up in his eyes.
"That is the gale of youth!" Guy roared, and his legs suddenly accelerated, his green bodysuit sparkling in the sun.
Obito, who had already been panting hard, saw Guy pass him and immediately got fired up. "What? Someone's running faster than me? No way!"
With a yell, he sped up too.
The three of them chased one another around the track, completely breaking away from the main group, while the rest of the children looked at one another in confusion, not understanding what was happening.
Meanwhile, the class next door had just lined up and was about to begin running when they suddenly saw a little boy in red sprinting toward them at incredible speed.
Then—screech.
Shin-chan came to a perfect stop in front of the female teacher, hands behind his back, wearing his trademark grin.
"Big sister, you're so pretty."
The female teacher froze for a second and looked down at this tiny little boy, not quite processing it.
But Shin-chan had already continued on by himself. "My name is Nohara Shinnosuke. I'm five years old and I'm in Class A. Big sister, what's your name? Where do you live? Do you have a boyfriend?"
The female teacher's mouth twitched slightly, but her professional composure kept her smiling. "Little one, I'm the teacher of the class next door. My name is Yuunagi Asagi."
Shin-chan clutched both hands to his chest. "Your name is already written in my heart. Big sister, would you be willing to wait for me to grow up? I'll definitely become an outstanding ninja and protect you for the rest of your life."
The teacher's smile stiffened on her face.
At that moment, Guy and Obito came rushing over one after the other.
Guy skidded to a stop beside Shin-chan, gasping for breath, but still holding up a shining thumbs-up. "This is the sprint of youth!"
Obito overshot them completely, then stumbled back, panting. "I... can't... do this anymore..."
The three of them stood side by side in front of the other class in an utterly bizarre scene.
Teacher Yuunagi took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "You're students from Class A, right? Why did you run all the way over here?"
Shin-chan instantly answered, "Because Big Sister was so pretty that my legs started moving on their own. This must be fate guiding me. Big sister, do you believe in fate?"
"I..."
"I do." Shin-chan clenched his little fist. "Fate brought us together here. Oh, right, do you eat bell peppers? If you don't, then we'll definitely get along."
In the distance, Teacher Ibuki came striding over with a dark expression on his face.
"NOHARA SHINNOSUKE! MIGHT GUY! UCHIHA OBITO!" Teacher Ibuki's voice sounded like it was being forced out through gritted teeth.
Shin-chan glanced back at him, then quickly turned around again and said at lightning speed, "Big sister, it's a promise then—when I grow up, I'm coming back to marry you."
The moment he finished, he turned and ran, slipping back onto the track like a gust of wind.
Teacher Ibuki stood in front of the other class, his face dark as the bottom of a pot.
Yuunagi Asagi was trying hard not to laugh, but her shoulders were already shaking.
"Teacher Ibuki, your class sure has some interesting children."
Teacher Ibuki took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I'll make sure to discipline them properly when we get back."
Then he turned and strode toward his own class.
Behind him, Yuunagi Asagi finally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into laughter.
That child was really something.
Back on the track, Shin-chan had already returned to his lazy, dragging pace, running while reliving the moment.
"Yuunagi Asagi. That's such a nice name."
Uchiha Toru had somehow caught up with him, and he stared at Shin-chan expressionlessly. "You ran that fast just to flirt with the teacher?"
"That wasn't flirting," Shin-chan corrected him seriously. "It was a fated encounter."
"..."
"Toru, do you think Big Sister likes me?"
Uchiha Toru was silent for two seconds. "I think she'd like it more if you just ran properly."
"Then that means she likes me." Shin-chan's eyes lit up. "She's paying attention to how I run. Toru, you're so smart."
Uchiha Toru decided to stop talking.
The sun over the training field was still merciless.
Every now and then, Teacher Ibuki's furious shouts rang out:
"Nohara Shinnosuke, stop turning around to look at the class next door!"
"Might Guy, stop yelling and keep your rhythm!"
"Uchiha Obito, you're running the wrong way!"
And so the afternoon at Konoha Ninja Academy was as lively as ever.
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New Fanfic! Please and thank you for reading!