"Kurenai, what's going on here?"
Panic. Absolute panic. Sarutobi Asuma, utterly flustered, asked in a hurried tone.
Kurenai blinked in confusion, unsure why he was reacting so intensely.
They hadn't known each other long, and being so young, she wasn't aware of the implications. She simply saw him as a friend.
She had no idea how devastating that one sentence had been—enough to mentally shatter Asuma on the spot and turn him into the class clown.
"Here's what happened."
Kurenai briefly explained the situation.
When he heard the full story, Asuma trembled under the mid-morning sun, his body shaking with rage.
The culprit… was his own father?
He was in full teenage rebellion mode. Wanting to get out from under the Third Hokage's shadow, he had a strained relationship with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Asuma?"
Kurenai noticed something and tilted her head. "Why is your face red?"
"A-Ah, it's nothing,"
Asuma steadied himself and forced a smile.
"We're about to be late. Let's go."
Kurenai didn't think too much about it and continued walking.
Asuma trailed behind, casting side glances at Yukawa every few seconds.
Yukawa's eye twitched.
All the way there, Asuma had been staring him down.
It reminded him of a meme from his previous life:
"I'll keep watching you… forever and ever…" .jpg
---
At the Ninja Academy gates, Kurenai turned and said,
"Asuma, I'm taking Yukawa to meet the teacher. You head to class first."
"I can take him!"
Asuma jumped in quickly, volunteering.
"Nope."
Kurenai refused outright. "My dad gave me this job."
"But—"
Asuma still wanted to fight for it, but Kurenai had already turned the corner with Yukawa.
No!
Watching the two walk off together, Asuma instinctively reached out a hand in vain.
Damn you, Yukawa!
His expression twisted in silent anguish.
---
Faculty Office.
Yukawa handed his admission notice to a young ninja.
Kurenai had introduced him earlier—Eiichiro Yamamoto, a run-of-the-mill chūnin.
"Yukawa, welcome to Class 1-A."
Eiichiro closed the letter with a smile.
A student approved directly by Hiruzen Sarutobi—he had to treat this seriously.
"Thank you, Sensei."
Yukawa bowed politely.
Eiichiro nodded with a satisfied expression.
Didn't seem like a troublemaker at all.
"Kurenai, you're dismissed."
Eiichiro added, "I'll take Yukawa to class."
"Okay!"
Kurenai gave Yukawa a subtle wink, then left.
---
"These are your first-year textbooks."
Eiichiro picked up a small stack from his desk.
Yukawa counted—seven in total.
The top one read: "Chakra: Concepts and Refinement Techniques."
"Class starts in a few minutes. Feel free to skim through them."
"Got it."
Given the time, Yukawa flipped through the table of contents.
Titles included Ninja Tool Throwing, The Will of Fire, The Ninja Code, and History of Konoha—a starter pack set.
He remembered reading online in his past life how some fans analyzed the Chūnin Exams' written test and discovered it included questions on English, chemistry, and physics.
Although graduating to genin technically only required the Three Basic Techniques, the Academy actually taught a lot.
Ding-ding-ding—
The school bell rang.
"Let's go."
Eiichiro grabbed a book and headed out.
Yukawa followed close behind.
Soon, they arrived at Class 1-A.
Eiichiro walked to the front of the room while Yukawa waited at the door.
By then, several students had already noticed him—curious eyes scanning him from head to toe.
Some of the girls' eyes were practically glowing green, like they were ready to devour him.
Yukawa immediately spotted Kakashi Hatake.
With spiky white hair and a mask covering the lower half of his face, he was impossible to miss.
In the original, Kakashi had graduated at five, became a chūnin at six, and was a jōnin by thirteen—an undisputed prodigy.
He'd later become a disciple of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and the sensei to Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
To Kakashi's left was an empty seat. To his right sat a kind-looking girl.
Yukawa guessed immediately—Rin Nohara.
She was easy to identify: short brown hair, gentle features, and two purple markings on her cheeks.
That empty seat? Likely reserved for Obito Uchiha.
The future main antagonist, now just a clumsy, tail-end student.
"AAAHHHHHHH!"
Suddenly, a beast-like wail echoed through the hallway.
Yukawa turned instinctively—just in time to see a boy about his age charging forward, face red, sweat flying.
He wore a sporty jacket and dark goggles.
"Outta the way!"
The boy shouted as he barreled toward him.
Yukawa stepped aside just in time.
The boy zipped past like a blur and into the classroom, skidding to a halt—but his momentum was too much.
After several awkward stop-starts, he crashed dramatically to the floor.
"You're late again, Obito."
Eiichiro sighed, shaking his head.
"Sorry, Sensei!"
Obito Uchiha scrambled to his feet. "I was helping an old lady cross the street and lost track of time!"
"Try a new excuse next time,"
Eiichiro said with a resigned tone.
"I'm serious!"
Obito protested desperately.
"Just take your seat."
Eiichiro clearly didn't believe him.
No way someone helps old ladies cross the street every single day.
"Rin!"
Obito sat down and waved eagerly at Rin.
"Good morning, Obito."
Rin replied sweetly.
"Hehehe…"
Obito grinned like a goofball.
"Before we begin, I have an announcement."
Eiichiro clapped his hands against the podium.
The class quieted down instantly. The smarter students had already guessed it had something to do with Yukawa.
"Starting today, Yukawa will be joining our class. Let's all give him a warm welcome!"
He began clapping, prompting the class to follow.
The classroom echoed with applause—though not everyone joined in.
Like Sarutobi Asuma, for instance.
He glanced over at Kurenai, who was clapping excitedly—and his chest tightened. His eyes practically turned green with envy.
Jealousy, thy name is Asuma.
"That new kid's pretty good-looking,"
a short-haired girl sitting behind Rin murmured.
"Rin, what do you think?"
Obito's tone was laced with suspicion.
Rin noticed his expression and hesitated.
She did think Yukawa was handsome…
But if she said so, Obito would definitely get upset.
"Looks don't matter. Strength is what counts."
Kakashi spoke coolly.
"Show-off!"
Obito flared up. The word strength had hit a nerve. "Just wait—I'll awaken my Sharingan one day and make you kneel!"
He was convinced Rin only liked Kakashi because of his strength.
"I agree with Kakashi!"
A chipper voice called out from the front row.
It was a lively boy in a green bodysuit, flashing a gleaming smile and a huge thumbs-up: Might Guy.
"Alright,"
Eiichiro raised a hand to quiet the chatter.
"Yukawa, please introduce yourself to the class."