Ring ring ring…
The bell for morning dismissal rang, and Yami stood up and left the classroom through the back door.
Kushina had already received her textbooks and was copying Yami's notes. The moment she saw him move, she hurriedly stood up and followed.
Along the way, Kushina's mouth never stopped.
What was she seeing?
Everywhere Yami passed, whether boys or girls, people stopped and stepped aside.
Some boys who were too close even turned to face the wall, terrified their eyes might meet his.
Even so, a few boys unlucky enough to cross him in the hallway still could not escape.
Just because Yami walked up a staircase and one boy was taking up too much space, Yami grabbed him by the hair and shoved his head against the wall, grinding him there once, and the boy did not dare let out even a muffled groan.
The others immediately pressed themselves to the wall, or squatted down and hugged their knees, shrinking their presence as low as possible.
Only the girls were not treated that way.
Watching Yami provoke people like it was nothing, Kushina's jaw nearly dropped.
Now she finally understood why everyone in class feared him.
So this guy really was a delinquent.
"Why are you following me?"
Once they left the school building, Yami suddenly stopped, turned around, and stared at Kushina who had been trailing behind him. His brows furrowed slightly.
Kushina flinched under his gaze, her eyes instinctively dodging away.
Then, as if remembering something, she forced herself to look straight at him and answered with righteous confidence.
"Yuuya-sensei told you to look after me, so I want to follow you and learn the school."
Yami stared at her for a few seconds.
Only when she started looking guilty, her eyes wavering again, did he speak in a flat voice.
"If you're scared of getting bullied, just do what I do. Beat them until they behave. Beat them until they're scared of you."
"I'm going to train. I don't have time to babysit you."
With that, Yami turned and headed out of school.
Kushina stood there blankly, staring at his back.
The confusion in her chest cleared like clouds being blown away.
So that was it.
No wonder she had felt something off.
It was not that Yami picked fights for fun.
If he did not act like that, a loner like him would be bullied instead.
Rather than being bullied, he bullied first so everyone would fear him.
And the reason he helped her earlier was because he had seen his own past in her.
Kushina's skin prickled with goosebumps.
A thrill surged in her chest.
She had found someone like her.
So she chased after him again, stubbornly following behind.
Yami acted as if he had not noticed her at all. After leaving the school grounds, he led her into the forest, to an abandoned training field, and began practicing Body Flicker.
As sharp whooshing sounds ripped through the air, Kushina froze again, wide-eyed.
In her vision, a black afterimage zipped around the training field like a pencil scribbling across a blueprint, one stroke after another, lines crossing in every direction.
That alone told her just how fast he was.
And this was only a fraction of what he could do.
Five minutes later, once he was warmed up, Yami appeared beside a wooden post. He lifted his pant leg and unfastened the weighted iron plates strapped to his calves.
He tossed the weights aside.
Whether on purpose or by coincidence, they slammed into a wooden post not far away.
In the next instant, the post shattered as if a wild boar had crashed into it.
Yami hopped in place a few times.
Then he vanished again.
This time, the training field was no longer filled with crisscrossing black lines.
Without sensory techniques, only someone with extremely sharp eyes could barely catch a blurry shadow.
Even more unbelievable, earlier the flickering had kicked up leaves and made harsh tearing sounds.
Now, Yami's movement made no sound at all.
It was like a ghost blinking through space.
"This kind of Body Flicker is unbelievable… Is he really just a fourth-year?"
That voice did not come from Kushina.
The girl was already completely stunned, too shocked to speak.
The one who said it was an ANBU member hidden in the trees, using a concealment technique, assigned to secretly protect and monitor Kushina.
ANBU, the Hokage's direct special unit, did not specialize in flashy jutsu.
They specialized in assassination and reconnaissance.
And among their specialties, Body Flicker was one of the most important.
Every ANBU member had polished ordinary Body Flicker to an advanced level, then fused it with elemental movement or taijutsu-based speed.
They believed ordinary Body Flicker had already reached its limit at their level.
But now, in a child far younger than them, they were seeing a higher tier of Konoha's Body Flicker that even they could not replicate.
That ghostly speed, that silent footwork, all of it screamed of terrifying chakra control and reaction speed.
"A Body Flicker genius…"
The ANBU member muttered.
And elsewhere, watching the same scene, Hiruzen also murmured the exact same thought.
Yami did not notice the ANBU hidden in the shadows.
But he could guess he had entered Hiruzen's sight.
Today was Kushina's first day at the academy. Hiruzen would be paying close attention.
And the one seated beside her, Yami, would absolutely be on the list too. Hiruzen might have even already pulled up every detail of Yami's background.
That was why Yami deliberately brought Kushina here during lunch break.
To show a talent that was impressive, but not yet so outrageous it would alarm the wrong people.
In an era before Shisui existed, Yami used a Body Flicker that pushed beyond the normal ceiling to successfully attract Hiruzen's interest and weight.
A label was placed on him.
Body Flicker prodigy.
And that was only the beginning.
If he wanted Hiruzen's approval and investment, he would have to prepare even more "surprises" for the Third Hokage.
After training for another ten minutes, Yami finally stopped.
He picked up the weight plates and strapped them back on, then looked at Kushina in the distance with a faint frown.
"Why did you follow me again?"
"I… I…"
Kushina's mind was still blank, her words stumbling and failing.
"Tch… forget it."
Yami gave her an easy way out.
Then he asked, "Can you fight? Want to be my sparring partner?"
"R-Really? I can?"
Kushina's eyes lit up. She nodded like a pecking chick.
"I can fight. I'm really good at fighting!"
As if to prove it, she rolled up her sleeves and struck a flexing pose.
It was absurdly cute.
"Then don't cry later."
A slight curve appeared at the corner of Yami's mouth.
Then he charged straight at her.
A boy and a girl, both still kids, brawled without the slightest hesitation or concern for anything else.
"I see…"
Through the crystal ball, watching it all, Hiruzen's lips lifted into a small smile, his eyes filled with approval.
He had thought Yami was a troubled child with flaws, shaped by losing his parents.
Now it looked different.
This was simply a boy who knew how to protect himself.
Cold on the outside.
Warm at heart.
(End of Chapter)
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