Shikamaru didn't mind moving up to second grade. He wouldn't say he was looking forward to it, but at least his lazy lifestyle could stay the same.
As long as nobody was being noisy.
"Hey, hey, Shikamaru! Let me tell you, during the holidays—"
Shikamaru clamped his hands over his ears and buried his head in the crook of his arms, making his feelings perfectly clear without saying a word.
Naruto refused to give up. He circled halfway around the desk, trying to shove his voice through any gap he could find. "I saw so many amazing ninja! It was during the tournament, Shikamaru…"
Shikamaru stayed completely still, so Naruto went around to the other side instead. "Choji! You wanna hear it, right?"
Choji was focused on the potato chips in his hand. He gave Naruto a brief glance, neither nodding nor shaking his head, then went right back to eating.
The blond boy finally lost steam. He dropped back into his seat and slumped over his desk. "I saw so many things I wanted to tell you guys…"
Silence settled over the classroom again.
At that moment, Shikamaru lowered his arms. "Before that, didn't you say Iruka-sensei promised to help you test your chakra nature?"
Now it was Naruto's turn to cover his ears—but Shikamaru's voice still managed to drill its way in.
"So, what did your chakra nature turn out to be?"
Around the room, a few students glanced Naruto's way.
"Ah, that… well, um… it's Ground…"
"Dead last," Sasuke's cold voice came from diagonally behind him, "there is no 'Ground' chakra nature."
Naruto's face went crimson and he started babbling.
Stuff like, "I clearly already learned the Transformation Jutsu, I was just a little bit off…"
Or, "Iruka-sensei didn't keep his word."
And even, "Real genius ninja don't use the Transformation Jutsu in battle anyway," and so on.
Low laughter broke out from one corner, then another, then a third. Someone failed to hold back a snort, and soon the whole room was laughing.
The second son of the Uchiha clan head, already in a bad mood, couldn't help the brief, mocking snort that curled at the corner of his mouth.
Naruto's ears were burning red. He hunched his shoulders, about to protest again—
The classroom door slid open just then, and Iruka walked in. Standing beside him was a girl with pale yellow hair and purple eyes.
"Everyone," Iruka clapped his hands, "today I'm going to introduce a new classmate."
The laughter stopped at once.
"This is Shion. She'll be transferring into our class starting today."
—
In the hallway, Ebisu stood by the window, watching through the glass as Iruka led Shion into the classroom.
"Lord Roshi, regarding the Priestess of the Land of Demons, should we arrange any special courses for her?"
"Just let her attend the regular classes," Roshi said, his gaze drifting toward the classroom as well. "She can join in for physical education, but there's no need to arrange any combat training."
"I understand. I'll inform Iruka."
Leaving the window, the two of them headed down the corridor toward the faculty office.
"There's another matter," Roshi continued. "The Ninjutsu exchange program between the Village and Kumogakure was originally meant to start only at the Genin level, but it's been decided to expand it and include the Ninja Academy students as well."
"A group of students from Kumogakure has already arrived. Samui, a Jonin from Kumogakure, will also be coming to the Academy to teach for a while as part of the exchange."
"The course schedule will be quite demanding to arrange. I'll be counting on you for that, Ebisu-sensei."
They stopped outside the office. Ebisu slid the door open and stepped aside to let Roshi enter first.
"The Kumogakure students..." Ebisu chose his words carefully. "I'm not sure how far along they are in their previous coursework."
"Just hold classes as usual," Roshi replied, moving to stand beside the desk. "They'll be here for half a year. That should be enough time for them to adapt."
"In that case, approximately how many are there?"
"Five from each grade, except for the first-years."
At that, Ebisu let out a quiet breath of relief. If they'd had at least one year of Academy training, they'd have a basic foundation, which made things much easier.
"In addition, the Ninjutsu exchange program will focus even more on the Genin level."
"So when the time comes, I'll have to trouble you to put in extra effort there as well, Ebisu-sensei."
Now a newly promoted Special Jonin, Ebisu immediately straightened his back. "Understood. I will not allow Konoha's reputation to suffer."
"Thank you for your hard work." Roshi patted him on the shoulder. "The Village has introduced many reforms to the Academy and ninja training. You're an expert in this field, so I can only rely on you even more."
The elite instructor drew himself up even straighter.
"Please rest assured, Lord Roshi! I, Ebisu, will not fail your expectations!"
—
During her first class, Shion already found it difficult to keep up.
She glanced down at the schedule—Ninja World Geography, Basic Taijutsu, Chakra Theory, Mission Flow Analysis... then Shuriken Throwing and Trap Identification.
A ninja's curriculum was completely different from that of a priestess.
A priestess only needed to study culture, sealing jutsu, and all matters related to monsters. A ninja, on the other hand, had to learn protection, judgment, and survival across all kinds of terrain. Their commissions were diverse, so the knowledge they needed was far broader.
She felt a flicker of regret.
Why had she chosen to come to the Ninja Academy?
"If you'd rather stay with your guards, you don't have to attend the Ninja Academy."
When she'd asked why she had to go to school, that black-haired ninja called "Lord Roshi" had answered her with those words.
"Until Moryo resurfaces and is completely dealt with, Konoha can't send you back to the Land of Demons."
"As for when Moryo will appear, we have no way of knowing."
"You may have to stay in Konoha for the rest of your life."
"So I'm giving you two choices. One: remain as the Lady Priestess and be strictly protected in a mansion until the day Moryo appears."
"Or two: until then, live in this village as just Shion."
The guards bristled, but in front of Lord Roshi, their protests meant nothing.
He was only waiting for her answer.
"I… want to go to school."
Now Shion sat at her new desk, staring down at the schedule. Her fingertips pressed into the edge of the paper, leaving faint creases.
It was so difficult… But before that feeling could show on her face, the bell signaling the end of class rang.
Almost at once, her desk was surrounded.
"Why'd you transfer so late in the term? Where did you go to school before?"
The first to lean in was a boy with spiky blond hair and a fox-like face, his blue eyes startlingly bright.
Then more and more classmates crowded around.
"Shion's hair is so pretty…"
"Was Shion from a rich family before?"
"Shion…"
Everyone was calling her name, voices piling on top of one another like waves. Shion hunched her shoulders, fear tightening her chest, her hands clenching around her sleeves.
"Don't crowd her like that!" A girl with short blond hair shoved her way in, planting herself by Shion's desk and turning on the others. "Can't you see Shion's uncomfortable?"
A pink-haired girl came over too.
The two of them drove the rest of the crowd back.
The short-haired blond girl turned to Shion with a smile. "My name is Ino Yamanaka. Your name is Shion, right? It's a really beautiful name—there's a very pretty flower called that too."
"We have those flowers at my family's shop. How about I bring some to show you tomorrow?"
Shion stared at her, blank for a moment, then nodded without thinking. "…Yes… okay."
She heard her own voice—it was very small, but she had definitely spoken.
Ino's smile brightened even more. She dragged over a nearby chair and sat down. "Then it's a promise! Oh, do you want to see the notes from the first class? Some of it might be a little hard…"
Sakura leaned in as well, pulling out her own notebook. "You can borrow mine too!"
The two girls' voices wove together. As Shion listened, the tension in her hands slowly eased, her grip on her sleeves loosening.
The Ninja Academy… seems nice… The thought slipped quietly into her mind.
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