Seven years later.
In the corridor of the ninja academy, sunlight poured in through the windows, drawing square patches of light and shadow across the floor.
Nohara Himawari walked down the corridor with her schoolbag on her back. A sunflower-shaped charm hung from the bag.
"Hima!"
A shout came from behind her.
She turned around. A girl with twin ponytails ran over, her eyes the signature Byakugan of the Hyūga clan.
Hyūga Suzune. She was Hima's best friend in class.
"Morning, Suzune." Hima slowed down and waited for her.
Suzune ran to her side and took an exquisite paper bag from her schoolbag. "Here. Red bean cakes my mom made. She packed an extra portion."
"Thanks." Hima casually accepted it.
"Why are you so early today?"
"My brother used the bathroom for half an hour this morning and woke me up." Hima put the paper bag away. "I couldn't fall back asleep anyway, so I came early."
"Is your brother still the same as always?"
"Same as always." Hima sighed. "Yesterday, he even stood in front of the mirror and said, 'I really am getting more and more handsome,' for five whole minutes."
Suzune covered her mouth and laughed.
The two walked into the classroom.
Quite a few people had already arrived, gathered in groups of twos and threes as they chatted.
In the corner sat a black-haired boy, Uchiha Shisui, the top student in class.
Ninjutsu, taijutsu, written exams—he was first in everything.
Whenever the teachers mentioned him, they always said things like "a genius of the Uchiha clan," "a promising future," and "far more mature than his peers."
Hima glanced at him, withdrew her gaze, and went to sit down at her seat.
Suzune sat beside her. "Teacher Ibuki said yesterday that he has a surprise for us today."
"Teacher Ibuki's surprises..." Hima shook her head. "Last time he said he had a surprise for us, it turned out he moved the exam three days earlier."
Suzune's face turned pale. "So many people failed that time."
"That's why I'm not looking forward to it at all."
Suzune was about to say something else when the bell rang.
Teacher Ibuki pushed open the door and walked in. "Everyone, sit properly."
The classroom quieted down.
"Today, a special guest is coming to our class." Teacher Ibuki looked around the room. "A genius ninja."
The silence in the classroom instantly broke. The students leaned toward one another and whispered.
"A genius ninja?"
"Can he use powerful ninjutsu?"
"Is he super strong?"
Teacher Ibuki raised his hand, and the classroom quieted down again.
"When he arrives later, all of you must be polite."
A boy raised his hand. "Who is it?"
"Many of you may have heard his name before." Ibuki paused. "He is a genius who graduated from the ninja academy at five years old."
The classroom exploded completely.
"Five years old?"
"Doesn't that mean he graduated when he was even younger than us?"
"How strong would he have to be?"
Hima had originally been leaning against the back of her chair, but when she heard the words "five years old," her body suddenly stiffened.
An image flashed through her mind.
A few nights ago, she had been sitting in the living room eating snacks. Her brother came home from outside, and the moment he entered, he stood in front of the mirror, tilting his head left and right.
"Hima, look. Isn't your big brother especially handsome today?"
"Mm, handsome." At the time, she was busy eating pudding and hadn't even raised her head.
"You didn't even look."
"I did."
"Your eyes were looking at the pudding."
"The pudding looks better than you."
Her brother was silent for two seconds, then said to the mirror again, "Forget it. You don't know how to appreciate beauty. When the time comes, you'll understand just how handsome I am."
Then her brother hummed a song and went to take a bath, leaving her alone to stare blankly at her pudding.
Hima lowered her head and buried her face in her palms.
No way.
Suzune noticed something strange about her and leaned over to whisper, "Hima, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Hima did not lift her head.
"Your face is really red."
"It's hot."
"It's pretty cool today."
Hima lowered her hands and took a deep breath. "Nothing. Really, it's nothing."
Suzune looked at her twice and didn't ask further.
"Teacher." A boy with a buzz cut in the back row raised his hand. "Is it Hatake Kakashi-senpai?"
"Konoha's swordsmanship genius. I heard that none of the missions he's carried out have ever failed."
"My older sister has seen him in person. She said he walks with the wind, and his aura is really strong. Just standing there makes people afraid to get close."
"I heard an opponent looked into his eyes and surrendered on the spot."
"That's too exaggerated."
"It's not exaggerated at all. It's true."
The corner of Hima's mouth twitched as she remembered the last time Kakashi came to their house looking for her brother.
Her brother had jumped up from the sofa. "Kakashi, you're finally here!"
"I found that special edition of Make-Out Paradise you said you wanted last time."
"Good brother!" Her brother immediately threw an arm around Kakashi's neck.
"You smell like potato chips." Kakashi sounded a little disgusted. "Let go first."
"I just ate potato chips."
"Let go."
"No."
Hima had stood in the entryway, watching the two of them argue for ages over whether he should let go or not. There had been nothing like a powerful aura at all.
"There's also Uchiha Toru," another boy said. "The genius of the Uchiha family."
"He's especially good at Fire Style, and he's really handsome too."
"His mission completion rate is also one hundred percent!"
Hima listened from the side, the pen in her hand unconsciously spinning once more.
She remembered Big Brother Toru coming over to their house to play. Somehow, he was often led astray by her brother without even realizing it.
He was indeed handsome, but a genius?
She still remembered the last time she asked Big Brother Toru if he had any dreams. He actually said he wanted to become the Minister of Chocolate Sticks. What kind of weird official position was that?!
Hima subconsciously sighed.
"There's one more!" Suzune's voice rose excitedly. "Nohara Shinnosuke-senpai."
Hima's pen stopped.
"He also graduated at five years old." Suzune counted on her fingers. "He was in the same class as Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Toru. I heard he has an especially huge amount of chakra and knows tons of ninjutsu."
"He learned swordsmanship from Konoha's White Fang, studied ninjutsu under the Sannin, and knows lots of secret techniques too..."
"Doesn't that mean he can do anything?"
"That's why he's called a genius."
The children chattered noisily.
"I heard this senpai is super gentle." Suzune held her face in both hands. "I really want to meet him."
Hima looked at Suzune's shining eyes and slowly opened her mouth.
That brother who got chased around and scolded by Mom, stuffed smelly socks under the sofa cushions, and collapsed on the sofa shouting that he was tired the moment he got home could actually make all of you this excited?
She looked at Suzune's face, which was full of admiration. Those words rolled around in her throat once, but in the end, she swallowed them back down.
"Hima." Suzune turned her head. "You have the same surname as Nohara-senpai."
"Ah, really?" Hima blinked. "What a coincidence."
Teacher Ibuki stood at the podium, looking at the students below who had erupted into chaos. He knocked on the podium.
"Quiet."
In a brief instant, the classroom became quiet.
"You'll know which senpai is coming when he arrives," Ibuki paused. "But I'll make the rules clear first. First, when he comes in, you are not allowed to swarm him. Second, raise your hand if you want to ask a question. Do not shout over each other. Third..."
He swept his gaze around the classroom, pausing on the faces of a few especially excited students.
"Third, do not ask strange questions."
"What counts as a strange question?" someone muttered softly.
"For example, 'Senpai, what type do you like?' or 'Senpai, do you have someone you like?' Those count as strange questions," Teacher Ibuki said. "He is here to talk to you about his experience as a ninja, not to attend a mixer."
Several girls immediately showed disappointed expressions.