"Good morning, Kurenai! Rin!"
Shiro Akira walked over and sat beside Kurenai Yuhi, raising his hand with a smile to greet her and Rin Nohara, who was seated in front.
"Good morning, Shiro Akira! ×2 (#^.^#)"
Kurenai and Rin both smiled as they responded.
"You're early today, Shiro Akira!"
Kurenai, who sat next to him, gazed at his handsome profile in a daze as she spoke.
"Not as early as you two."
Shiro Akira shook his head. "Lately, I feel like I can't afford to slack off anymore, so I got up earlier to start morning training. I want to improve my strength as much as possible."
War was approaching. Increasing his strength as soon as possible was the most important thing.
"I see!"
Kurenai nodded in understanding. "Then do your best, Shiro Akira!"
After that, Shiro Akira chatted casually with Kurenai and Rin.
As time passed, more and more classmates entered the classroom.
As soon as Asuma Sarutobi walked in, his gaze instinctively swept across the room before locking onto Kurenai.
Seeing her laughing and chatting with Shiro Akira, his face immediately darkened.
He strode over and slammed a hand onto Shiro Akira's desk, glaring at him. "Shiro Akira! You bastard! I challenge you to a duel! If you lose, stay away from Kurenai—do you dare?"
Before Shiro Akira could respond, Kurenai glared at Asuma, her face flushed with anger. "Asuma! What do you take me for?"
"N-no! Kurenai, listen! That's not what I meant!"
Asuma hurriedly waved his hands in panic.
"Exactly."
At that moment, Shiro Akira spoke calmly. "Kurenai isn't an object—you can't use her as a wager. So I refuse. And Asuma, you should grow up a little. We're not children anymore."
Asuma's face darkened even further.
What the hell? We're only six or seven years old—if that's not children, what is?
Of course, Asuma had never liked being treated like a kid, but Shiro Akira's tone made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
That kind of speech… that kind of attitude…
It reminded him of his father, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Equally annoying.
More importantly, he had just been outplayed by Shiro Akira.
Damn it…
"Pfft!"
At that moment, Kurenai, Rin, and the others couldn't help but laugh.
Asuma shot Shiro Akira an embarrassed and angry glare. "Just you wait!"
With that, he turned and went back to his seat.
He had clearly lost this round.
He hadn't expected Shiro Akira's tongue to be this sharp—it almost broke his composure.
"I'll find a chance to teach him a proper lesson during the next assessment!"
Asuma swore to himself.
There was no way he would let Kurenai be taken by Shiro Akira.
Only he was worthy of her.
"Shiro Akira! You bastard! What are you saying to Rin?!"
At that moment, Obito Uchiha suddenly burst into the classroom. Seeing Shiro Akira chatting happily with Rin, he immediately rushed over, shouting angrily.
Shiro Akira: "…"
What the hell? Again?
"Obito!"
Rin glared at him.
Obito immediately shrank back, scratching the back of his head and giving a silly grin.
"Ah, ah… this is all because of my devastatingly handsome face."
Shiro Akira spread his hands helplessly.
"Pfft!"
Kurenai burst into laughter and lightly smacked Shiro Akira's shoulder. "Who praises themselves like that? Being too narcissistic isn't a good thing, Shiro Akira!"
"Exactly!"
Rin nodded in agreement, though both of them were clearly joking.
"So what if you're handsome? I'm handsome too, alright?!"
Obito glared at Shiro Akira indignantly.
Even though he said that, he had to admit—Shiro Akira's face was indeed "ordinary" in the same way as a legendary beauty, far surpassing even Kakashi.
"Tch. Boring."
Not far away, Kakashi Hatake rolled his eyes as he observed the scene.
All of them were too childish. What was the use of being handsome?
In the ninja world, strength was everything.
He himself was so handsome, yet he had never cared about it. In fact, to prevent his looks from interfering, he had deliberately sealed most of his appearance behind a mask.
Even so, he still got harassed by girls from time to time, which annoyed him endlessly.
Women only slowed down the speed of his sword draw.
"Sigh… the burden of being too handsome."
Kakashi silently "humbled" himself in his heart.
Soon, the class bell rang, and Obito obediently returned to his seat and promptly fell asleep.
Shiro Akira, on the other hand, took out his textbook and began reading.
Before awakening his past-life memories, he hadn't studied seriously. But now, he felt these basics were still useful, so it was necessary to learn them properly.
At the same time, he wanted to test whether his learning and memory abilities had truly improved along with his increased mental strength.
When he practiced Lightning Release: Thunder Sphere and swordsmanship yesterday, he had already felt a qualitative improvement in his chakra control and comprehension.
Today, he would verify it again.
After finishing the book, Shiro Akira realized he had memorized almost all of its contents and even gained a certain level of understanding.
This was something he had never been capable of before his awakening.
He couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
I love studying!
Kurenai, who had been observing him the entire time, was quite surprised.
"It seems Shiro Akira really has changed… He's truly decided to work hard."
Previously, although Shiro Akira didn't sleep through every class, he was far from diligent.
"Maybe I should work harder too?"
Kurenai couldn't help but think.
She decided to observe a little longer. If Shiro Akira truly remained this serious, then she couldn't afford to slack off either—she would have to keep up with him.
Time passed quickly, and soon it was afternoon—school was over.
"Kurenai, see you tomorrow!"
After finishing his chakra refinement, Shiro Akira waved goodbye and left the academy.
"Hm?"
Halfway home, he suddenly sensed something unusual behind him.
It felt like someone was following him.
If not for his doubled mental strength and awakened memories, he might not have noticed at all.