Beside the ramen stall on the street corner, two silver-haired heads, one large and one small, were watching the scene.
"Dad, it's time for us to go." Five-year-old Kakashi wore a mask, revealing only a pair of lazy eyes, seemingly uninterested in the farce that had just occurred.
But Sakumo Hatake didn't move. Only when that small red figure disappeared around the corner did he speak softly: "Kakashi."
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"Hmm?"
A trace of a smile played on Sakumo's lips: "That child has something you don't."
"What?"
"The courage to not care about how others look at him." Sakumo turned and began to walk forward, "That child ran into the crowd not to prove anything, but simply because he wanted to."
Kakashi followed his father, remaining silent for a while.
"That's just being stupid."
"Maybe." Sakumo didn't argue, "But sometimes, being stupid to the extreme can take you further than being smart."
Kakashi didn't answer.
However, his gaze involuntarily drifted toward that small path.
That short figure in the red short-sleeved shirt and the bright smile he gave while giving a thumbs-up were inexplicably etched into his mind.
He shook his head, tossing the image aside.
...
The gates of the Ninja Academy were right before their eyes.
Misae practically dragged Shin-chan through the final stretch, finally skidding to a halt at the entrance.
"Phew... phew... we're here." She panted heavily, wiping the sweat from her forehead, "We finally made it on time. Hurry and go in!"
Shin-chan stood where he was, tilting his head as he looked at her.
"Mom."
"What now?"
"Where's my schoolbag?"
Misae froze.
"And my lunch box," Shin-chan added, his tone as calm as if he were talking about the weather.
Misae's smile stiffened on her face. She slowly looked down at her empty hands, then at Shin-chan's empty hands, muttering in a daze, "Where are the schoolbag and lunch box?"
"At the entrance, next to the shoe cabinet," Shin-chan reminded her.
"..."
A popping vein cross slowly emerged on Misae's temple.
"Nohara Shinnosuke!!!"
"Present."
"Why didn't you remind me when we were at home?"
Shin-chan blinked, looking innocent: "Mom didn't give me a chance to speak, you just pulled me and ran."
Misae's popping veins increased from one to three.
"Then you just watched Mom drag you all the way here and said nothing?"
Shin-chan thought for a moment and nodded seriously: "Yeah, because I thought Mom had some special plan, like dropping me off first and then using Ninjutsu to fly back and get them."
"I'm not a Ninja!"
"But this is Konoha Village, isn't everyone a Ninja?"
Misae took a deep breath, then another.
Then she turned around and sprinted.
"Wait at the gate for me, don't go anywhere!!!"
Her voice had already drifted dozens of meters away.
Shin-chan watched his mother's departing figure and shook his head: "Adults have such bad tempers."
Then he turned around, hands behind his back, and began to survey the Ninja Academy he had never entered before.
In the yard, there were sandpits, swings, and some training equipment he had never seen. Trees were planted in the corners, with benches under the shade.
"Wow, the slide here is so high."
Shin-chan's eyes lit up. Just as he was thinking about whether to try it out, he saw a small boy in a blue Ninja outfit sitting on a bench ahead.
The boy was about his age, with neatly combed black hair and incredibly delicate features. His eyes were large and round, but at the moment, he was staring at the ground with a sulky expression.
A woman in a kimono stood beside him, her expression gentle.
"Tetsu, listen to Mom. You have to get along well with your new classmates today, okay?"
"I know," he replied in a small voice.
"Don't always keep a stiff face; you should smile more. As a child of the Uchiha Clan, you must let people see your upbringing."
"Mhm."
"If anything happens, go find a teacher, or wait for Mom to pick you up. Remember, you are a child of the Uchiha Clan, you must..."
"Be excellent and not bring shame to the family." The boy finished for his mother, a hint of grievance in his tone, "I know all that."
The woman nodded with satisfaction and patted his head: "Good boy, Mom is leaving now."
She stood up, straightened her lapel, and turned to leave.
The boy on the bench remained in that posture, his shoulders slumping slightly.
Shin-chan stood three meters away and watched for a long time.
Then he walked over and plonked himself down next to the boy.
"Hello there."
The boy was startled and jerked his head around, meeting a smiling face.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Nohara Shinnosuke, five years old, and today is my first day of school." Shin-chan rested his hands on his knees, swinging his short legs, "And you?"
The boy instinctively straightened his back, trying to maintain a serious expression: "I am Uchiha Che."
"Uchiha?" Shin-chan tilted his head, "That pretty lady just called you Tetsu."
"That's my mom..." Uchiha Che pursed his lips, wanting to say something but swallowing it back.
Shin-chan leaned in closer, staring at his face.
Uchiha Che felt unnerved by the stare and shrank back: "What are you looking at?"
"Are you unhappy?" Shin-chan asked.
"No."
"Yes, you are." Shin-chan pointed at his eyebrows, "Right here, it's all wrinkled up. My mom looks like that when she's mad too."
Uchiha Che instinctively touched the space between his brows.
"I..." He opened his mouth. For some reason, this strange boy made him want to confide, "I just don't want to attend the Ninja Academy."
"Why?"
"Because," Uchiha Che lowered his head, "the kids here think I'm weird. They say I'm too clean, too well-behaved, and that I don't like playing in the mud."
He paused, his voice getting even smaller: "I want to play too, but Mom says people of the Uchiha Clan can't get their clothes dirty, can't fight with others, and must always mind their image."
Shin-chan listened intently and nodded: "Then what do you like to play?"
"Me?" Uchiha Che thought for a moment, "I like reading books and collecting cards, but no one here will play those with me."
Shin-chan blinked, then suddenly jumped off the bench, ran in front of him, and held out his right hand.
"Then let's be friends!"
Uchiha Che looked up, meeting a pair of bright eyes.
"I'm Nohara Shinnosuke, five years old. At home, I have a mom and a little dog named Shiro. My dad is often away on missions." Shin-chan said it all in one breath.
Uchiha Che stared blankly at the hand before him. No one had ever come up to him so directly and said they wanted to be friends.
"Don't you think I'm weird?"
"Weird?" Shin-chan tilted his head and thought, "A little bit, but that's okay. I'm weird too. My mom says I'm weird from head to toe."
Uchiha Che couldn't help but smile, then reached out and shook Shin-chan's hand.
"Then let's be friends."
"Yay!" Shin-chan shook his hand vigorously, then suddenly remembered something, "By the way, do you like eating Chocobi?"
"It's... it's okay?"
"Then do you have chocolate bars at home?"
"Yes... I do."
"Great! Next time I go to your house to play, you can eat my Chocobi and I'll eat your chocolate bars." Shin-chan's eyes curved into crescent moons, "But if there are any pretty older sisters, you have to leave them for me."
Uchiha Che didn't understand the last part, but he suddenly felt that today wasn't so bad after all.
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