Thirty minutes later~
The classroom was finally filled with graduated students. Out of the original twenty-seven, only twenty-four remained.
The identity of the three who failed was obviously civilian. There was no way a genuine Ninja Clan descendant would fail the Clone Jutsu.
Naruto, despite his initial inability to perform the Clone Jutsu, was a complete exception—being the child of the plot, the son of Minato, a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan, the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki, and the reincarnation of Asura. His future was never meant to be ordinary. The same held true for his beloved partner, Sasuke.
With his eyes closed, Ryuku leaned back against the bench, relaxing his mind and tuning out the surrounding noise.
Having Kakashi as my Jōnin instructor wouldn't be half bad... I could ask him to teach me all four elemental releases—he's mastered hundreds of Jutsu, after all...
As he pondered the situation, Ryuku began to analyze the capabilities of all the Jōnin he knew. The number he could recall didn't even reach double digits, so it didn't take much effort.
The result, however, was disappointing.
Are there really no Jōnin in Konoha on par with Kakashi? No way Hiruzen or Jiraiya would take students now... and the experienced members of the Anbu Black Ops never take Genin under their wing...
I guess I'll have to collect Jutsu left and right from everyone…
"...Hey, are you there, Ryuku-kun?"
A familiar, soft voice reached him from the side.
Hah... she sure is a persistent one...
Turning his head to the left, Ryuku spotted two girls seated nearby.
Yamanaka Ino, wearing her usual smile, was gazing at him with sparkling green eyes, her interest barely concealed. Beside her sat a shy-looking girl with dark blue hair and pale white eyes, noble yet visibly insecure. The Hyuga Clan's heiress—Hyuga Hinata.
"Yeah, where else would I be..." he replied calmly, meeting Ino's gaze directly. "Don't mind me. I tend to get lost in my thoughts."
Ino's ears turned slightly red under his calm and intense stare, making her lose her composure for a moment. "What are you, an old man? Haha…" she blurted out.
Oh no... how stupid am I? Why'd I say that? Stupid Ino… she cursed herself inwardly.
Remaining calm despite her awkward joke, Ryuku gave her a subtle smile. "Perhaps… I'm an old man in disguise."
Momentarily caught off guard, Ino couldn't help but chuckle. "I see, so that's how it is… No wonder you always act like that."
Ryuku suddenly furrowed his brow and replied in a mock-pleading tone, "Uh, please don't tell anyone. I only revealed this to you..."
Playing along, Ino winked. "Hai, hai. Relax, old man. Your secret's safe with me..."
"Pft…"
A quiet laugh reached their ears.
Turning their heads toward the sound, they quickly spotted the culprit—a girl who had clearly been eavesdropping.
Hinata, upon being found out, hid her face behind her hands. Her cheeks turned a crimson mess all the way to her ears, her eyes blinking in embarrassment.
"I... I-I didn't m-mean to... I'm..."
To her surprise, however, Ino giggled brightly, amused by her cute reaction.
"Don't be like that, Hinata," she said, giving her a tap on the shoulder and flashing a friendly smile. "You should laugh more often—you'll feel much better that way, got it?"
Laugh...? How...? Hinata could only wonder.
Giving a silent nod, she glanced at the boy beside Ino, the tallest in the classroom.
He was also looking at her with a smile, just like Ino. Flustered, she turned her gaze downward, not used to being the center of attention.
It was at that moment that a sharp, loud cry came from the other side of the room.
"KYAAAAA!!!"
Startled by the shrill voice, Ryuku and the two girls jerked their heads to the left.
What they saw next was something hard to believe:
A yellow-headed and a black-haired boy were busy checking each other's mouths in broad daylight.
Ryuku averted his gaze almost instantly, closing his eyes to throw the unwanted memory into the depths of his mind.
"Wow, those two are really going at it," Ino marveled, placing a hand over her mouth—though her thoughts were a different story: Poor Sakura… did you enjoy that? Hahaha...
As for Hinata, her eyes fluttered in shock, her heart thudding wildly.
Na-Naruto-kun… why are you…
What followed was too pitiful to put into words. Enraged, the pink-haired girl thrashed Naruto around like a training dummy, beating him into utter submission.
Watching the chaos from the corner of his eye, Ryuku let out a sigh before raising his voice. "Oye, Naruto. Come here for a second."
Every student turned to look, but Ryuku didn't seem to care.
Swollen and bruised, Naruto lifted his head and saw it was Ryuku calling him. "Ouch… ouch… Ryuku?" he muttered, flinching in pain as he slowly made his way over.
Shikamaru, seated behind Naruto's bench, was lazily resting his head on his palm. His half-lidded eyes took in the scene before him.
From which angle does this class resemble a Ninja class? It's more like a children's playground... What a drag...
Once Naruto arrived beside Ryuku, he muttered, "Are you going to make fun of me now?"
Ryuku shook his head slightly without saying a word. He raised his hand toward Naruto's swollen cheek, and a warm green aura appeared from his palm, healing the swelling in just a second.
"Ohh! What's that? What's that?!" Naruto shouted in surprise, staring at the green glow in awe.
"For the third time, I'm a healer, you idiot," Ryuku replied calmly, moving to heal the other side of his face.
"Ah, right!" Naruto finally remembered, flashing a wide grin. "Thanks, Ryuku!"
"Whatever."
Nearby, two girls watched the scene in astonishment. In fact, most of the students had a hard time believing their eyes.
"Ryuku-kun, you know Medical Ninjutsu?!" Ino asked, visibly shocked.
Looking directly into her eyes, Ryuku chuckled. "As you can see, I'm pretty good at it."
Hearing his casual answer, Ino rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, mister genius…"
Beside her, Hinata wore a gentle, grateful expression. Her pale lavender eyes flickered with something unfamiliar, something warm, whenever they looked at the gray-haired boy.
He's kind… just like Oka-sama…