"…"
In front of everyone, Ye Wu Di flicked his black hair and, with Hinata in his arms, narrowly dodged Iruka's teaching rod.
"Iruka-sensei, don't be so rough. You'll scare my wife, Hinata."
"You little…"
Seeing Ye Wu Di dodge his rod so effortlessly, Iruka's face grew serious.
As for Sakura, Ino, and the others, their faces were filled with shock.
"Ye Wu Di, who hasn't even passed the graduation exam, dodged Iruka-sensei's rod so easily? Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"
Gulp, gulp. "More importantly, unlike Sasuke and the others with their clan bloodlines and secret techniques, he's just an ordinary commoner!"
While the male students were incredulous, the female students' eyes gleamed as they stared at Ye Wu Di.
If Iruka weren't here, and if they could take him on, they'd have devoured him already!
"No way! Tonight, I'm staking out Brother Wu Di's house. I'm gonna make things happen!"
"Good sister, count me in! We'll storm his place together!"
"Me too, me too…"
Uh, what's going on here?
As the female students went wild, Iruka's expression suddenly turned awkward.
Not because of their antics, but because his missed swing had hit…
Naruto, who hadn't gotten far!
Smack!
"Aaaah…"
A pig-like squeal echoed across the training field.
"Uh, Naruto, you okay?"
"Iruka-sensei, you swung so fast—how could I dodge? You think I'm fine…?"
Naruto gave Iruka a deadpan look, pointing at the teaching rod still stuck to his face.
Iruka let out an awkward chuckle and quickly pulled the rod back.
"Well, Naruto, it wasn't on purpose. How about this? After school, I'll treat you to a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen. Deal?"
"Ichiraku Ramen?"
At the mention of ramen, Naruto's eyes lit up, his face brimming with excitement.
"I want a full meal! All-you-can-eat style!"
"Fine, fine…"
After soothing Naruto, Iruka breathed a sigh of relief.
But when he turned back to Ye Wu Di, his face darkened again.
Under everyone's gaze, Iruka loomed like a massive shadow, stepping toward Ye Wu Di.
"Ye—Wu—Di, put Hinata down now and get back to class!"
"Class? What, combat theory? Combat's about action, not theorizing."
"Practice is the only way to test truth."
Huh, that actually sounds… reasonable?
No, wait!
How did this kid trick me into agreeing?
Iruka froze, silent for a moment.
But in the end, he swung his teaching rod again.
"Even if you're right, you will attend theory class!"
"Attend my foot! Hinata and I are off to the woods to have fun. You guys enjoy your theory class, bleh!"
Body Flicker Technique!
Whoosh!
In front of everyone, Ye Wu Di bolted with Hinata in his arms.
Staring at the empty training field, Iruka froze, then shouted after Ye Wu Di's retreating figure.
"Ye—Wu—Di! (voice cracking)"
"The young miss was taken! Follow them!"
"Hyuga clan guards? Perfect, we'll track him down in no time!"
"I'll chase Ye Wu Di. Mizuki, watch the others. I'll be right back."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh…
As Iruka's voice faded, Mizuki glanced at the departing group and the chattering students.
A dark glint flickered in his eyes.
Tch, what a hassle!
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for earning 666 points of negative emotions from the Hyuga clan guards!
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for earning 999 points of negative emotions from Mizuki!
"Oh?"
Mizuki, huh…
Maybe he'd find time to "play" with him a bit.
999 points right off the bat? If he could mess with him for a day and night…
He'd have a jackpot draw in no time!
Brilliant!
While Ye Wu Di and Iruka raced under the sunset, back at the training field, Shikamaru, Choji, Kiba, and Naruto's eyes lit up.
They exchanged glances, then bolted in four different directions, buzzing with excitement.
"Hahaha, that's our Boss! Even Iruka-sensei can't catch him! We, the Skip-Class Four Musketeers, can't fall behind! Run!"
"Off to eat snacks at home!"
"Akamaru, you're up! Let's go!"
"One! Two! Three! Run!"
"What a bunch of idiots…"
Seeing Naruto, Choji, Kiba, and Akamaru's antics, Shikamaru thought their shouting was dumb.
Just run—why announce it?
But in the end, he quietly slipped back to the classroom to nap.
It was the perfect chance to slack off.
Why the classroom?
The most dangerous place is the safest.
Who'd expect him to return to class to sleep after ditching?
Bang!
But the next moment, the classroom windows shattered without warning.
Ye Wu Di, holding Hinata, appeared right in front of Shikamaru.
For a moment, they locked eyes, silent.
"…"
"…"
Soon, Shikamaru's face paled.
His eyes lost their spark, turning grayscale.
Because behind Ye Wu Di, a mob of burly men appeared!
The sheer number made Shikamaru sweat buckets!
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for earning 999 points of negative emotions from Shikamaru!
"Yo, Shikamaru, what're you doing back in class? None of my business, but blame the Hyuga guards for being so clingy."
"Gotta go, see ya!"
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for earning 666 points of negative emotions from the Hyuga clan guards!
"…"
Ye Wu Di, be a human for once!
I just wanted to dodge trouble and take a cozy nap.
Did you have to screw me over like this?
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for earning 666 points of negative emotions from Shikamaru!
"Ye Wu Di, huh…"
Meanwhile, as Ye Wu Di parkoured through the village, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, observed everything through his Telescope Technique.
Frowning slightly, he took a deep drag from his pipe, tapped it on the desk, and exhaled a faint smoke ring, muttering to himself.
"That kid's clones seem massless, but when he kicks off trees for leverage, they're solid…"
This technique… it's like Shisui's Body Flicker!
Could Shisui still be alive?
No, the age doesn't add up. Ye Wu Di must've lucked out and found Shisui's training method at his death site.
"Looks like it's time to keep an eye on this kid. Ye Wu Di… will you bring peace to the village, or chaos?"
"But that song he was blasting on the way to school was pretty catchy. Maybe I'll transform and hit the pleasure district, have the girls sing and dance to it."
He'd worked hard his whole life—couldn't he enjoy himself a little?
Tap, tap, tap!
Lost in thought, Sarutobi tapped his foot to the Pure Land of Bliss rhythm, unable to stop!
Ding! Congratulations, Host, for earning 666 points of negative emotions from Sarutobi Hiruzen!
"…"