The next morning, at dawn.
"Kurenai, be careful on your way. Oh right, did you take your lunch? Remember to go home early after school..."
"Yes yes, okay, I know!"
After saying goodbye to her increasingly affectionate old man, Kurenai cheerfully ran out of the house.
"Finally, my ninja life begins! Well... even if it's just a pre-genin!" Thinking about her new friend from yesterday, she felt full of anticipation for this wonderful school life.
Before long, she arrived at school and found the correct classroom.
Even though she'd woken up early, six or seven people were already gathered inside when she walked in.
At the center of their circle was none other than her good friend—Seiki Shimaseki.
"Shimaseki-san!" In front of strangers, Kurenai managed to control her inner excitement, greeting him relatively reservedly.
"Kurenai Yuhi!" Seiki stood up from his seat, happily responding, then introduced both sides: "This is Tamaki Amamiya, this is Ibiki Morino, and this is..."
"Ahh, hello everyone! Nice to meet you all!"
"Pleased to meet you."
They all exchanged greetings somewhat awkwardly at first, but things really warmed up once Seiki started chatting with them.
"It must be because Shimaseki-san connects everyone like social glue!" Realization dawned in Kurenai's heart, her eyes shining slightly as she looked at him.
Under Seiki's deliberate guidance, everyone quickly found common topics, and gradually became more comfortable with each other.
Subsequent newcomers entering the classroom either immediately headed towards their good friend Seiki, or under the influence of herd mentality, slowly joined this little group.
Therefore, when the bell finally rang, except for a few naturally introverted students or those indifferent toward socializing, practically all the other freshmen had gathered around Seiki.
Most of them remained unaware of what was happening, simply feeling that the atmosphere was lively and fun, their earlier fear of the unfamiliar environment now completely vanishing.
But there were also a small number of newcomers who remained sharp-minded enough to recognize the astonishing charisma Seiki possessed.
When Kei Yamakei excitedly entered the classroom, he was actually quite surprised—the chaos upperclassmen had warned him about never materialized. Almost all the freshers sat quietly in their seats. Only when he stepped onto the podium did they suddenly shout:
"Teacher, good morning!"
Though the voices were disorderly, mixed with lots of laughter, sounding more like they treated it as a game, Kei still couldn't help getting teary-eyed from emotion.
What great kids… As he sighed with emotional reflection, Kei couldn't help grumbling quietly in his heart—The seniors were truly too much. How could such lovely students ever be called demons?!
Don't those seniors feel even a little guilty?
"Everyone," Kei's gaze swept across the class as he began gently, "I am your basic instructor, Kei Yamakei. You can also call me Teacher Yamakei."
"Teacher, I also graduated from the Academy, so I fully understand everyone's aspirations and concerns. So going forward, I'll do my best to support all of you. At the same time, please don't feel intimidated—just regard me as your senior."
"Now then, why don't we all take turns introducing ourselves?" Kei Yamakei didn't make any special exceptions for himself. He looked at the student seated in the front row. "Mr. Ichiro Kimura, let's start with you."
"Yes!" The student clearly felt nervous. He had walked into the wrong classroom earlier, and by the time he found the right one, only the front seats remained. "I... My name is Ichiro Kimura. It's nice to meet you all."
When the student sat down right after finishing his introduction, Yamakei gave an awkward smile. "That was... concise indeed. However, we still have plenty of time left. The rest of you can elaborate a bit more on your personal details—things like hobbies or dreams."
The next student was more confident—he didn't even wait to be called and just stood up. "I'm Takaya Ryoji! My hobby is fighting. I'm gonna rule the Academy and become Hokage [the village's strongest ninja title]!"
Kei Yamakei forced out a polite chuckle. "What a powerful declaration. Then, the next person..."
"I'm Serizawa Hayato," another voice came in. "No particular hobbies. My dream is to become Hokage."
"Hey, behind me—you said Hokage after me!"
"Are you four years old or something? Becoming Hokage doesn't work just because someone says it first."
"You're all wrong! It's definitely me, Kamiyue Taku, who will become Hokage!"
"Idiots! Are you looking for a fight?"
"Bring it on! Don't be scared to throw a punch."
Just as it seemed like things were about to turn into an actual brawl, Kei Yamakei broke into a cold sweat. Why had the situation suddenly spiraled exactly as his seniors had warned?
"Wait! Everyone, calm down!"
Unfortunately, not only did no one heed his plea, but quite a few students even egged things on.
"Hoo-ah! Fight! Fight!"
At that moment, Seiki, who had been silently observing everything, suddenly stood up and spoke. "Mr. Takaya, Mr. Serizawa, and Mr. Kamiyue, could I say a word or two?"
"Huh? Oh, it's Seiki. Alright, go ahead." Takaya Ryoji scratched his head.
"Hmph. I'm only listening because it's Seiki." Serizawa Hayato folded his arms, clearly trying to play cool.
"Oh? Does Seiki want to become Hokage too?" Kamiyue Taku looked visibly conflicted.
Not just those three, even the classmates who'd been egging things on went quiet too. This sudden shift gave Yamakei an odd feeling—was he really the actual teacher here?
Seiki calmly asked, "Would you mind telling me why you want to become Hokage?"
"That's easy! Because Hokage is a title only the strongest ninja in the village can earn!"
"I want everyone in the village to recognize me!"
"I haven't really thought about it much. Well... I figure once I'm Hokage, my folks won't even dare lay a hand on me anymore."
Everyone wore complex expressions. The first two answers made sense, but seriously—was that third reason genuine?
"My views might be a bit different from yours. In my opinion..." Seiki showed no sign of hesitation, looking sincerely at the three of them in turn, "It's not that only Hokage can earn people's recognition, but rather only those who have earned people's recognition can become the Hokage!"
To those young students who hadn't really figured out life yet, his words weren't exactly shocking, but they did sound smart and kind of made sense.
Kei Yamakei, on the other hand, looked somewhat stunned after hearing Seiki's words, murmuring, "Only those who have earned people's recognition..."
Seeing their unexpectedly inspired expressions, Seiki pressed on while the iron was hot, "No man is an island—even the strongest person can only do so much alone. I'm sure you've all heard the story of the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha. Wasn't the First Hokage able to become Hokage precisely because he gained support from the village and his companions?"
"If you can't even gain recognition from your classmates, how can you expect to gain recognition from others in the village?"
In a way, it was just like writing an essay back in elementary school—without using some famous examples, even the most beautiful words wouldn't sound convincing enough.
After all, kids don't really dig long lectures about right and wrong.
When they first heard his opening remarks, the three were still rather confused, but their attitudes quickly changed after hearing the example about the First Hokage.
"Um... sorry, you guys can go ahead and be Hokage then."
"Fine, you can be Hokage first; I'll take my turn after you're done."
"It's not like being Hokage really sets my heart on fire or anything. Just promise me that when you two become Hokage, you'll tell our parents not to hit me anymore."
Witnessing this situation, Kei Yamakei couldn't help but laugh while also feeling relieved. What exactly did they think the Hokage position was?
"Oh, and Seiki..." Kei Yamakei's gaze settled on that gentle child who was like a spring of clear water, "This gentle child possesses ideas and vision far beyond ordinary people. Perhaps he's truly the one most likely to become the next Hokage!"
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~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** on the weekend!