Sunagakure, Ninja Academy.
Ring ring—
After class, small groups of children gathered together, excitedly discussing last night's commotion.
"You saw it too, right? Last night, that terrifying monster—the giant raccoon—showed up again!"
"What's there to be surprised about? It's not the first time!"
"This time was different! That giant raccoon actually cried after getting beaten!"
"No way! It actually cried?"
"Cross my heart, it's true!"
"Did you really see it?"
"I didn't see it myself, but someone who was there told me straight up!"
In the middle of this heated discussion, someone suddenly blurted out, "I heard the Konoha ninja was the one who made that giant raccoon cry last night. But since the Kazekage couldn't make it cry during his previous two attacks, doesn't that mean this Konoha ninja is stronger than the Kazekage?"
When those words fell, the surrounding atmosphere grew quiet for a moment.
Only after a while did someone reply with certainty, "Impossible. The Kazekage is definitely the strongest ninja in the shinobi world!"
"The Kazekage must have held back because he cares about 'small' animals."
"That has to be it. Even though that big raccoon is troublesome, it's still our Sunagakure property. The Kazekage must've been afraid of damaging it, so he deliberately held back his strength."
However, there were also different voices within these arguments.
"But wait, wasn't Lord Seiki said to be the strongest ninja across the entire shinobi world?"
"I seem to have heard something similar too. My family elders even said he was the one who ended the war!"
"I heard he used to be the joint commander of both Sunagakure and Konoha during the war period. Even the Kazekage had to follow his orders!"
"How impressive. So Lord Seiki is actually such an amazing person?"
Just at this moment, a cold and sharp voice came from behind them.
"What do you mean by 'strongest in the shinobi world'? If Konoha really possessed that kind of power, they wouldn't have pretended to be weak and begged us Sunagakure to join the battle!"
Everyone turned around, seeing several older boys standing at the doorway with expressions of contempt.
"Yeah, you actually believe that nonsense meant to fool people?"
"Don't forget—our Sunagakure is the strongest!"
"As for that so-called Seiki Shimaseki—just a useless nobody who got lucky. Without the Kazekage having subdued the One-Tail twice before, how could he possibly defeat that monster?"
"The Kazekage simply declined that Kage-level commander position out of humility. Unlike that shameless guy who grabbed it without hesitation!"
The younger students lowered their heads, timidly remaining silent.
Seeing this, the older students nodded in satisfaction before asking, "By the way, where are those exchange students from Konoha?"
No one answered, but their instinctive glances toward the corner spoke volumes.
In the corner area, two sulking little girls sat alongside a calmly expressioned little boy.
"They're them?" The leader among the upperclassmen scoffed, striding over to the corner with disdain.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it! How dare they talk trash about our teacher..." In a corner of the room, Ren clenched her teeth and muttered, "...I'll never forgive them!"
"I'll smash all their teeth!" Mist also said angrily.
"Calm down, let me handle this," Kabuto said calmly, though his voice sent a chilling sensation through the air.
The two girls exchanged glances, now worried about those guys instead.
"You're not planning to kill them, are you?"
"Although I don't mind killing, it would trouble our teacher!"
Kabuto tilted his head, flashing an innocent smile. "What are you talking about? I'm just a little kid; how could I do something so terrifying?"
Just then, several upperclassmen approached, looking down their noses at the group. "So you're the exchange students from Konoha?"
"Yes sir, that's us." Kabuto stood up timidly, as he bowed respectfully. "However, you might have some misunderstanding—we were orphaned during the war and later taken in by Konoha; we weren't originally from Konoha."
"Not from Konoha?" The older boys were taken aback—this wasn't part of the plan!
Taking advantage of their momentary shock, Kabuto quickly added, "Kids like us who grew up outside the village don't qualify for admission to Konoha Academy. Therefore, we're incredibly grateful for Sunagakure School offering us a place to study! Compared to Konoha, Sunagakure is truly much more open-minded and generous in vision!"
Seeing Kabuto's teary display of gratitude, the older guys actually felt a little awkward.
"Haha, so that's how it is!"
"No wonder you look so likable, kid!"
Observing this, Kabuto gazed up at them with wide, pure eyes and asked, "Senpai[s], you must be excellent ninja from Sunagakure School, right?"
They proudly nodded. "Of course! We're super tough!"
"Then Senpais must be really strong too, right?"
"That goes without saying... Hmm, why are you asking this?"
"Truthfully, orphans like us who've experienced wartime always feel a sense of crisis. If possible, I want to become a powerful ninja myself!" Kabuto said dispiritedly, "But Seiki-sama only teaches us some Medical Ninjutsu during spare time, saying things like how Medical Ninja can be just as formidable as other ninja."
They all responded with scoffs.
"What kind of combat effectiveness can a Medical Ninja have?"
"He deliberately avoids teaching you other techniques just to control you!"
Kabuto bit his lower lip, appearing with heartbreaking innocence. "I'm genuinely grateful that Seiki-sama is willing to teach us these jutsu, but I still desire strength—I don't want to be merely a Medical Ninja dependent on others."
"Therefore, please allow me to beg you, Senpais: fight against me just once! Please beat me mercilessly and prove Seiki-sama wrong!"
"Haha, that's no pro..."
One of them instinctively started agreeing, but before finishing was dragged behind by the others.
"Why are you holding me back? This is a perfect chance to demonstrate Sunagakure's strength!"
"I feel something's off—doesn't it seem too coincidental?"
"You think he's deceiving us? Probably not. Look at how sincere his eyes are! Besides, weren't we originally here to pick a fight with them anyway?"
"Guess that's how it looks. We were asking for trouble after all, so at least we've got the high ground now."
After whispering amongst themselves, they turned their attention back to him.
"Then we agree..." However, before he could finish, one of them suddenly realized something, "Wait, you already know [Medical Ninjutsu]?"
Kabuto blinked, "Yeah, why? Is there a problem with that?"
A few older boys felt awkward; even the most basic [Medical Ninjutsu] was at least D-ranked, yet some among them still couldn't master Body Replacement techniques!
Still, seeing Kabuto's innocent and clear gaze, they thought maybe they were overreacting. What use could such a low-level [Medical Ninjutsu] possibly have?
Besides, wasn't his willingness to share this information a sign of trust in them?
"Just to confirm—you only know [Medical Ninjutsu], right?"
"You don't know any other Ninjutsu at all?"
Kabuto's eyes remained sincere, "Seriously, I only know a few very simple [Medical Ninjutsu]!"
Hearing this, the older students finally relaxed.
"Get to the training field! Let us seniors show you what real training's like!"
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