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After the first class, Nawaki rushed over to Shin.
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"Shin, I can''t believe you''re in our class!"
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"Yeah, looks like I''ll be needing your guidance," Shin said with a grin.
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"No problem! In this class, I''m the top dog!"
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Nawaki puffed out his chest, giving a thumbs-up.
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"Hello, let''s get acquainted. I''m Nara Shikaku, and these are Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chōza," Shikaku said, approaching with his two friends.
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Shin''s eyebrows shot up. The Ino-Shika-Chō trio, in his class?
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He decided not to dwell on it. With his influence, who knew how the Naruto timeline had changed?
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He figured the major events would still occur, like the Second Shinobi World War. But with him in the mix, things might unfold differently.
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"Nice to meet you all. I''m Uzumaki Shin. You can just call me Shin. I''m from Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools."
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Shikaku''s eyes flickered with interest. They chatted for a bit, then Shikaku and his friends left.
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Shin scanned the classroom. He had already seen so many familiar faces; there were bound to be more.
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To his left, he saw two pairs of Byakugan staring at him. They looked similar. Could they be Hiashi and Hizashi Hyūga?
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His gaze continued its sweep, stopping at the two students in front of Akiko and Kai. A boy with bright blond hair and a sunny smile...
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It had to be Minato Namikaze, the future Yondaime Hokage.
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But Minato looked quite feminine right now. His hair was a bit long, and his features were delicate. If Shin didn''t know better, he would have mistaken him for a girl.
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"So, are you enjoying yourself?"
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Shin asked Kushina.
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Kushina nodded. She had been nervous at first, but now she was feeling more comfortable.
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Perhaps because there were four of them, plus Chōza with his red hair, no one had made fun of Kushina''s hair color.
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Without any unpleasant incidents, Kushina was finding the Academy quite enjoyable. Well, it would be even better if she wasn''t sitting next to Uchiha Mikoto.
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"Shin, who do you think is prettier, her or me?"
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Kushina whispered, glancing at Mikoto.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!
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"Pretty? Neither. You''re both cute."
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They were five-year-olds; ''Cute'' was the appropriate descriptor.
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"Shin, you dummy! I''m not talking to you anymore!" Kushina huffed and turned away.
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Mikoto poked Shin timidly. "Are you two fighting?"
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"Yeah, you know how it is with kids. They get upset easily," Shin chuckled.
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"Shin! You think I''m just a kid?!"
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"Aren''t you? You''re literally a child," Shin said, shrugging.
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"Grrr!"
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Kushina chomped down on his arm and refused to let go.
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"Kushina! You bit me! Let go, or you''ll regret it! I''ll flick your forehead so hard, you''ll cry!" Shin threatened.
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Kushina finally released him, but not before leaving teeth marks on his arm.
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"Look, you''re making me bleed!" Shin pointed at his "wound." There was no blood, just teeth marks.
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But Kushina didn''t know that. Embarrassed, she gently rubbed his arm, looking up at him with pleading eyes.
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"I''m sorry, Shin. I was wrong. Please don''t be mad at me. Don''t ignore me, okay?" Kushina was terrified of Shin ignoring her.
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"I''m not mad." Shin ruffled her hair.
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Seeing that he really wasn''t angry, Kushina giggled and snuggled closer to him.
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Mikoto watched them, envy gnawing at her.
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She thought of her own life, devoid of family and friends. Even her relationship with her clan wasn''t good. She had always been alone.
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Shin noticed her gaze and looked at her. Mikoto quickly looked down, flustered.
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*Oh no, he caught me staring. What do I do?* Mikoto panicked.
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"I feel like a third wheel here," Nawaki said glumly.
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"Eek!"
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Kushina, who had been comfortably nestled against Shin, sat up abruptly. She glared at Nawaki. "Why are you still here?"
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"I wanted to talk to Shin, but you''re both ignoring me," Nawaki grumbled.
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Just then, the bell rang, signaling the start of the next class. Nawaki trudged back to his seat, dejected.
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Tanaka-sensei entered the classroom. The chatter died down instantly. It seemed he commanded respect.
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"Alright, class, today we''ll continue our lesson on Chakra."
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Tanaka-sensei launched into a basic explanation of Chakra. Shin already knew all this, even more than Tanaka-sensei.
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"The Chakra Refinement Technique? Is this all we''re learning in the Academy?" Kushina whispered to Shin.
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If this was all there was, it was pretty boring. She had already mastered Chakra Refinement and had quite a lot of Chakra.
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She had expected to learn powerful Jutsu in the Academy.
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Most students probably thought the same. But the Academy only taught the fundamentals.
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These fundamentals were important, but they wouldn''t be learning any powerful Jutsu here.
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They might learn the Academy Three, some basic trap-making, and Kunai and Shuriken throwing techniques.
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As for other Jutsu, unless you had a clan to teach you, you''d have to wait until you became a full-fledged ninja and find other ways to learn them.
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Suddenly, Mikoto passed Shin a notebook.
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Shin took it, looking at her questioningly.
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"These are the notes I took during the lesson. Maybe they''ll be helpful," Mikoto said softly.
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"Thank you, Mikoto-san," Shin said gratefully, opening the notebook.
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Her handwriting was elegant, far neater than his. It was a pleasure just to look at.
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Mikoto blushed, her head lowered. Shin had called her ''Mikoto-san,'' omitting her family name. Only close friends did that.
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"Uzumaki-san, are we friends now?" Mikoto asked, her eyes shining with hope.
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Shin paused, then smiled. "Of course. And please, call me Shin. ''Uzumaki-san'' sounds too formal."
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"Thank you, Uzumaki... Shin-san."
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Mikoto beamed. She finally had a friend.