A few days later, one morning, Teacher Ibuki walked into the classroom and tapped the blackboard.
"Quiet down, everyone. I have something important to announce."
The room gradually settled. All the children looked up at him.
Teacher Ibuki cleared his throat. "In two weeks, Konoha will be hosting the Chunin Exams."
The moment the words left his mouth, the classroom exploded.
"The Chunin Exams?"
"My brother took those before!"
"Are ninja from other villages coming too?"
Teacher Ibuki tapped the board again.
"Quiet. Let me finish."
The children quieted down, though their eyes were all sparkling.
"During the Chunin Exams, a lot of ninja from other villages will be entering Konoha," Teacher Ibuki said, pausing for emphasis. "When you're going to and from school, be extra careful. Don't run off, don't follow strangers, and if anything happens, find a teacher or a patrol ninja immediately."
Shin-chan raised his hand.
"Teacher, will pretty big sisters from other villages come too?"
The room went silent for a second.
Then someone failed to hold back a laugh.
Teacher Ibuki's mouth twitched. "That... is possible."
Shin-chan's eyes lit up.
"Then I want to go watch the Chunin Exams!"
"What for?"
"To see pretty big sisters."
Teacher Ibuki took a deep breath.
"Sit down."
Shin-chan obediently sat, though his face was full of anticipation.
Once the class had calmed down enough, Teacher Ibuki tapped the board again.
"There's one more thing."
The room quieted.
"Since high-ranking officials from the Land of Fire will be visiting during the Chunin Exams," Teacher Ibuki said, "the ninja school also needs to present a fresh new face."
He paused.
"Today's assignment is a full school cleaning."
There was one second of silence.
Then the room erupted in cheers.
"No class!"
"This is the best!"
"Long live cleaning day!"
Shin-chan cheered twice too, then suddenly remembered something and poked Uchiha Toru.
"Toru, what do you even do during a cleaning day?"
"Wipe windows, sweep floors, clean up the yard," Uchiha Toru replied. "Basically, make the school clean."
"Oh." Shin-chan nodded. "So is it tiring?"
"A little."
Shin-chan's face fell instantly.
"Then I'm taking back my cheering."
"You already cheered."
"I take it back."
"You can't."
Shin-chan sighed and slumped over his desk.
Before long, Teacher Ibuki started assigning tasks.
"Nohara Shinnosuke, Uchiha Toru—you two are in charge of cleaning the classroom windows."
Shin-chan raised his hand. "Teacher, is there any reward for cleaning windows?"
"No."
"Any snacks?"
"No."
"Then can I get out of homework one time?"
Teacher Ibuki took a deep breath. "Ask one more question, and your homework doubles today."
Shin-chan lowered his hand and sighed.
Uchiha Toru had already picked up a bucket and rags and started walking out.
Shin-chan followed, then halfway there turned back, grabbed a rag, and hurried after him.
By the time the cleaning finally ended, the sun was still hanging high in the sky.
Teacher Ibuki stood at the front of the classroom, looking at the group of dusty little gremlins below him, and sighed.
"Alright, that's it for today. You're dismissed early. Head home."
The room went silent for a second.
Then—
"YEAH!!!"
"Early dismissal!"
"Long live Teacher Ibuki!"
The cheers almost shook the windows.
Shin-chan's eyes lit up.
Early dismissal?
So that meant he could go straight home and eat snacks!
He secretly glanced toward Kakashi.
Kakashi was leaning against the window, looking like early dismissal didn't matter to him at all.
Shin-chan quietly edged one step toward the door.
Then another.
Almost there.
One more step and he'd be out.
"Shin-chan!"
A voice called from behind him.
One foot still half in the air, Shin-chan slowly turned around and saw Rin running toward him.
"Shin-chan!" Rin stopped in front of him, breathing a little hard. "Good thing you hadn't left yet."
Shin-chan's face fell a little. "What is it?"
Rin straightened up and looked at him seriously.
"I thought about the advice you gave me before for a really long time."
"What advice?" Shin-chan scratched his head.
Rin froze.
"You know... the thing you said before, about how if I want to become a medical ninja, I first need to get really good at chakra control, and then..."
Shin-chan tilted his head and thought about it.
That did sound vaguely familiar.
It was the advice the pretty medical ninja at the hospital had given. He'd only repeated it.
"You forgot?" Rin looked at him.
"No, no." Shin-chan quickly shook his head. "I remember."
"I really think you were right, so I've been practicing chakra control a lot lately."
Rin paused, and her eyes shone.
"And then Shizune said that an elder in her family has time today and can come give us some special training."
"Shizune?" Shin-chan had no clear memory of the name.
"Yeah." Rin nodded. "And Kurenai's coming too."
"So?" Shin-chan asked.
"So I wanted to ask if you'd come too," Rin said. "Shizune said this is a rare chance. Her elder is usually really busy, but today just happens to be free."
She looked at him expectantly.
Shin-chan looked at her, then looked out the window.
The sun was still high, warm and sleepy. It was perfect weather for going home, eating snacks, and taking a nap.
He scratched his head. "Training, huh..."
"Yeah." Rin nodded hard.
Shin-chan scratched his head again.
"But I just finished cleaning, and I'm really tired."
"You can rest a little and then go."
"My arms are sore too."
"Stretch a bit and you'll be fine."
"My stomach's hungry too."
"When training's over, I'll buy you dango."
Shin-chan's eyes lit up for a second, then dimmed again.
"But..."
He thought and thought, and finally found a reason.
"I'm not trying to become a medical ninja anyway."
Rin froze.
"So what would I even do there?" Shin-chan spread his hands. "I'm not good at chakra control. I'd just stand there."
Rin opened her mouth, wanting to say something.
But Shin-chan had already taken a step back.
"You go by yourself. I'm going home to eat snacks."
"But..."
"Good luck." Shin-chan waved at her. "You'll definitely become a medical ninja."
Rin stood there, watching Shin-chan slowly sidestep toward the door.
She wanted to say something else, but he had already turned and waved at her.
"Bye."
Rin watched that little red back disappear out the door, and a little disappointment welled up inside her.
"Rin."
A voice spoke beside her.
Rin looked up and saw Shizune standing there, holding several books in her arms, quietly watching her.
"Shizune?" Rin blinked. "When did you get here?"
"Just now," Shizune said. "I was waiting to go train with you."
She paused and glanced toward the doorway.
"Shin-chan isn't coming?"
Rin shook her head. "He said it was too much trouble."
Shizune was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Then let's go."
Rin looked once more toward the doorway.
It was empty now.
She took a deep breath and followed Shizune out.
After a few steps, she couldn't help murmuring, "He's obviously really talented. He's just too lazy."
Shizune didn't say anything. She only smiled faintly.
By the time they reached the school gate, Kurenai was already waiting outside.
After Shin-chan got home, he flopped down onto the tatami in the living room.
"Shin-chan," Misae called from the kitchen, "aren't you going to training today?"
"We got out early today," Shin-chan called back lazily.
"That doesn't mean you can just lie there. Go help Mom buy something."
"What a pain..."
"Nohara Shinnosuke!"
Shin-chan sighed and slowly dragged himself up. "What do you need?"
"Soy sauce."
"Okay."
His answer stretched out forever.
After buying the soy sauce in the shopping district, Shin-chan wandered slowly back home.
"Shin-chan!"
A voice called from the side.
Shin-chan turned and saw a teenage boy standing in front of a shop, waving at him.
"What are you doing?"
"Buying soy sauce." Shin-chan lifted the bottle in his hand.
Teuchi looked at the bottle, then into the shop behind him, his expression growing troubled.
"What's wrong?" Shin-chan tilted his head.
"Well..." Teuchi scratched his head. "We just ran out of soy sauce in the shop, and my master told me to go get some. But I'm right in the middle of kneading the dough, so I can't leave..."
He looked at the soy sauce bottle in Shin-chan's hand, clearly wanting to say something but not quite daring.
Shin-chan blinked, then held it out.
"Here."
Teuchi froze. "Huh?"
"Don't you need soy sauce?" Shin-chan said. "Take it."
"But..."
"It's fine." Shin-chan had already pushed the bottle into his hands.
"Shin-chan, wait a second!"
Teuchi grabbed the soy sauce and ran into the kitchen. A bunch of clattering sounds came from inside, and then he ran back out holding an elegant paper box.
"This is for you." He shoved the box into Shin-chan's arms. "A customer brought it back from the capital."
Shin-chan opened the box, stuffed one sweet into his mouth, and his eyes lit up instantly. "Good."
"As long as you like it. Thanks."
"You're welcome." Shin-chan hugged the box and started wandering home again, completely forgetting about the soy sauce.
By the time he reached the street corner, he was so focused on eating the sweets that he didn't notice someone in front of him.
Thunk.
He collided with them and fell backward. The box flew out of his hands, and the sweets scattered all over the ground.
He sat there blankly, staring at the broken sweets.
Then he looked up.
In front of him stood a plump middle-aged man carrying a fishing rod, with a big bamboo basket in each hand, both filled to the brim with fish.
The man looked down at the ruined sweets, then at Shin-chan's devastated face. "Ah, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!"
Shin-chan looked at the sweets, his lips beginning to wobble.
The man panicked even more.
"Sorry, little guy. I was looking at the fish and didn't watch where I was going..."
He scratched his head, looked at the baskets of fish in his hands, then at Shin-chan, and suddenly slapped his thigh.
"Alright, I'll compensate you with fish!"
Shin-chan blinked. "Fish?"
"Yeah." The man pushed one of the baskets toward him. "Look, they're all fresh. Caught them today."
Shin-chan looked down at the basket.
There were a lot of fish in there, all packed together, tails still flicking and splashing.
"But I don't want fish..."
"Take them, take them." The man stuffed the basket into Shin-chan's hands. "I had a lucky day and caught two whole baskets. I'll give you these."