After feeding Tsunade the "imported candy," Ebara's heart pounded.
Though he and Tsunade were already very close, doing something so intimate was a first.
Who knew if Tsunade would explode with rage and tear him apart?
"Please, let this work…"
Ebara prayed silently, his eyes locked on Tsunade.
If her expression turned sour, he'd bolt immediately.
Tsunade's bright, watery eyes were first filled with shock.
Then, a hint of shyness flickered across them.
That shyness, like a spring fountain, soon overflowed in her gaze.
Her cheeks flushed red, and her fiery temper vanished.
Savoring the sweet candy in her mouth, Tsunade's heart bubbled with honey-like warmth.
This guy… he's not a complete blockhead after all.
"For the sake of this sweet candy," she said, beaming, "I'll let you off this time."
Ebara's heart leapt with joy.
It actually worked!
"You're going to the Uchiha compound, right?" Tsunade asked. "Be careful."
With that, she left, leaving behind a trail of fragrance.
Watching Tsunade depart happily, Ebara let out a long sigh of relief.
"Thanks, Mikoto."
Ebara ruffled Uchiha Mikoto's hair.
"No problem, Teacher Ebara. Just remember you owe me one," Mikoto said, her eyes narrowing into cute crescent moons.
"Don't worry, I won't forget," Ebara replied. "By the way, Mikoto, how'd you know about that trick?"
He eyed the sly little Uchiha suspiciously.
"Fugaku-nii told me."
"Fugaku? Uchiha Fugaku?"
"Yup."
"Damn, Fugaku's got game. That kid's future's looking bright."
Uchiha Fugaku, five years older than Mikoto, was nine now.
"Yup, Fugaku-nii is amazing. He's a genius of our Uchiha clan…" Mikoto said, full of admiration.
At nine, in Konoha, kids could be sent to the battlefield in emergencies.
"Genius, my ass. I could crush him with one hand," Ebara scoffed.
Mikoto stopped in her tracks, looking at Ebara seriously. "Teacher, you're a genin, right?"
"Yeah, so what?"
"Fugaku-nii has defeated a chunin!"
"…"
"Uh, Mikoto, you don't know this, but in Konoha, genin are the real deal."
As soon as Ebara finished, Mikoto gave him a dead serious look.
Then she bolted.
"Mikoto, why're you running?"
Ebara was baffled.
"My mom says I'm not allowed to talk to idiots!"
Ebara: "…"
With Mikoto gone, Ebara headed back to the Ninja Academy.
As he walked through the campus, he slapped his forehead. "That girl Mikoto skipped class…"
He shook his head in exasperation.
These kids were sharper than a guy who'd lived two lives.
Arriving at the classroom, now a pile of rubble, he found it predictably empty.
"Sensei, we're in classroom 25046," Minato's voice called from behind.
"Minato, you stayed back just to tell everyone?"
"As expected of you."
Ebara grinned.
After becoming a teacher at the Ninja Academy, Ebara felt the smartest thing he'd done was make Minato class leader.
"No, I stayed to tell you, Sensei," Minato said, embarrassed. "The other students already know."
He was embarrassed on Ebara's behalf.
Too bad Ebara had no idea what embarrassment was.
"Haha!"
"As expected of my students—sharp as tacks."
"I'm proud of you all," Ebara laughed.
Minato gave him a side-eye, as if to say: We're the ones embarrassed by you.
Following Minato to the new classroom, Ebara found it packed.
Everyone except Mikoto was there.
Seeing Ebara walk in unscathed, they were stunned.
"Teacher Ebara didn't get dismantled by Princess Tsunade!"
"I heard Tsunade's an elite jonin."
"No way. If she's an elite jonin, Ebara's head would've been smashed."
"Exactly. Teacher Ebara's the weakest teacher at the academy."
"Bunch of idiots. Tsunade likes him—why would she smash him?"
"Yeah, makes sense."
"But after how he acted this morning, how's he still in one piece?"
"Maybe he got on his knees and begged."
"Teacher Ebara always says a man's knees are gold. Looks like he cashed them in…"
Hearing the chatter below, Ebara's face darkened.
What kind of students were these?
Sensing his frustration, Minato whispered, "Sensei, you brought this on yourself."
Ebara shot him a glare.
"Back to your seat!"
Stepping up to the podium, Ebara tapped the blackboard. "Quiet down."
Everyone shut up, eyes fixed on him.
"Pop quiz!"
Ebara grinned mischievously.
The kids froze, horrified.
They hated pop quizzes.
Ebara's questions were, how to put it?
They made you want to puke last night's dinner.
"Sensei, didn't we just have a quiz a couple weeks ago?" Minato asked cautiously.
"So what? I feel like it, so deal with it!"
Ebara rolled his eyes confidently.
Confucius said: Do not do to others what you don't want done to you.
Laozi said: Do to others what you don't want done to you—insist on it.
How else do you find joy?
Back when he was a student, Ebara loathed exams.
Now, it was the opposite.
Watching the kids' twisted, miserable faces below, Ebara's earlier frustrations melted away.
"You, go to my office and grab the stuff from the first drawer on the right," Ebara said, pointing at Shino Aburame sitting up front.
Though reluctant, Shino fetched what Ebara wanted.
"Sensei, is this it?"
Shino placed a book on the desk.
All eyes turned to it.
Ebara nodded, about to praise Shino, when he saw the book's cover and panicked.
He quickly snatched it up.
"Why'd you bring this?"
Ebara scolded.
It was his extracurricular reading.
"Sensei, what is it?" a curious student asked.
Shino adjusted his sunglasses. "Ninja Ah Bing!"
"Chapter One: The Landlady."
"Ah Bing's ninja journey was far from ideal…"