Several delinquents lounging on the third-floor railing were clearly annoyed by the freshmen glaring at them defiantly.
"It's pissing me off. What's up with the way those brats are looking at us?"
"Hmph, do they think just because they're the Hokage's kid we won't kick their ass?"
Although their words came out strong, there was little conviction behind them, and their eyes kept drifting toward the boy in the center.
"Shuunen, what do we do?"
"You're the rising star of the Uchiha clan! You can't let yourself be outdone by a Sarutobi!"
In their minds, while the Sarutobi had the Third Hokage backing them, compared to the legendary Uchiha clan—one of the most prestigious names since the Warring States era—they were simply no match.
Besides, they didn't believe childish fights would spark any real conflict between the two powerful clans.
The boy called Shuunen looked somewhat hesitant. His father had specifically warned him not to cause trouble with anyone connected to the Hokage while at school.
The values and pride he had grown up with made it impossible for him to understand why the Uchiha—Konoha's greatest clan—should have to back down from anyone. But his father's insistence had eventually forced his hand.
It was precisely this compromise that led him to hang out with these so-called "companions," bullying the weak to hide his own lack of confidence.
Still, he'd never voice the weak excuses his father gave.
After thinking it through, Shuunen shook his head. "I'm not scared of Asuma, but there's nothing to gain from this. They've already learned how to band together—it could mean facing a group of dozens."
"No way? These freshmen already know how to stick together?"
"They probably only look tough. When things get real, they'll chicken out."
Truthfully, they were already having doubts.
To most students who couldn't use ninjutsu yet, sheer numbers were intimidating enough.
They themselves relied on gang strength to bully others at school—few older students dared mess with them.
Realizing this, their frustration slowly faded. One of them muttered half-heartedly, "Guess they're lucky. Let's go 'borrow' some cash from the second-years later."
"Actually, those second-year cowards have started sticking together too."
"That's fine—we'll pick the easiest targets. Besides, there aren't any monstrous prodigies like those freshmen among them. With Boss Shuunen around, they wouldn't dare take anyone else's side."
...
On the playground.
"Quick, stop Asuma! Don't let him use Clone Jutsu!"
"Damn it, not knowing any ninjutsu puts us at such a disadvantage!"
"Don't worry, we've got our class president too!"
"Seki, this time I definitely won't lose to you!" Asuma shouted as he dribbled the ball, five figures shifting positions rapidly as he charged straight at Seiki.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Seiki smiled gently.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Asuma asked in confusion, instinctively kicking the ball toward another version of himself.
"Hey Asuma," Unit 05 said with a sinister smile after receiving the ball. "Thanks, Asuma."
With a loud *Bang!* Unit 05 transformed into Seiki, then quickly dribbled back to their side of the field.
"So that guy was just a clone... damn it, when did he do that?" Asuma thought frustratedly. If not for Seiki distracting him with conversation, he should have noticed at the last moment.
Rather than charging straight toward the goal alone, Seiki passed the ball to a teammate. Even though these teammates kept fumbling the ball, Seiki still patiently supported them.
To Seiki, Asuma's individual heroism wasn't advisable. Although, if winning were the sole consideration, that might actually be the best approach.
Just as the match heated up, a girl from their class ran in hurriedly.
"Trouble! Trouble! There's a fight going down in our classroom!"
Seiki noticed no panic on her face—only excitement, like someone who'd caught wind of juicy gossip.
"Already reached this level of hints, huh?" Seiki already had a rough idea what happened, but still feigned surprise. "What's wrong, Suzuki-san?"
"It's Kurenai Yuhi, Mikawa Kaoru, Hana, and Yui! They're fighting each other!"
"What? How could they suddenly start fighting?"
"Because Yui and her two friends launched a Class President Guardian Battle!"
"Eh!!!" As those words fell, everyone around turned strange looks toward Seiki.
...
Though children in this world matured early, five or six-year-olds shouldn't have truly fallen in love yet. In Seiki's view, these vague emotions were more like admiration—longing for beautiful things.
This beauty could show up in lots of ways—looks, manners, personality, aura, or how smart they were. These beauties bring comfort, naturally drawing people toward those who are superior.
As for young children whose minds haven't fully developed, they haven't figured out how to hide their feelings yet. So creating a jealousy-fueled rivalry wasn't really that surprising.
In fact, such situations weren't rare even in Seiki's previous life. Thanks to his family's top-notch genes, his nephew—still in kindergarten—had already come crying to him more than once about how hard it was to keep all those little admirers happy at the same time.
Of course, Seiki definitely possessed the ability to prevent all this. The reason it evolved into its current state was actually because he secretly encouraged it behind the scenes.
"Ugh, even messing with the emotions of a bunch of five-year-olds... I really am the worst." With this lament, Seiki returned to the classroom.
Hardly stepping through the door, he heard chaotic shouting and crying from inside.
"My head hurts so much, waaahhh~"
"Ahhh! Hana's already unconscious!"
"What? Hana's unresponsive?"
"What? Hana's dead?"
"Woohoo! Go tell Teacher Yamakei quickly!"
Two little girls sat sobbing on the floor while another had collapsed nearby, completely motionless. Kurenai sat back at her desk, her wide eyes misty with tears.
Surrounding them were classmates noisily watching the spectacle unfold.
After glancing around a few times, Seiki had already deduced the general sequence of events.
It seemed that Hana and the two other girls had taken advantage of their numbers to cause trouble for Kurenai. However, Kurenai was undeniably Konoha's top genjutsu talent among normal prodigies. Naturally, she wasn't someone three regular girls could handle. With just one genjutsu, she turned the tables and defeated them.
That said, Kurenai had clearly underestimated the power of genjutsu. For immature children, genjutsu was significantly more dangerous than other ninjutsu techniques. Yui and the other girl were fine—though they both experienced some mild headaches—but Hana, with her weaker resistance, had fainted outright.
Moreover, unlike the elite kunoichi she would become in the future, right now Kurenai was merely a slightly talented little girl. Facing such a situation naturally left her completely panicked.
Seeing Seiki enter, Kurenai rushed forward without thinking, clutching his sleeve with tears streaming down her face. "Seiki... Seiki, I—I might have killed someone. Arrest me!"
Smiling gently, Seiki comforted her. "It's not as bad as you think. Hana is probably just unconscious."
"R-Really?" Looking like a small animal afraid of being abandoned by its master, Kurenai stared at Seiki with wide eyes.
Everyone in the classroom also noticed Seiki's arrival. As if finding their pillar of support, they all rushed over, talking over each other to explain what had happened.
Seiki spread out his arms, his voice calm but carrying great strength: "Don't worry, everyone. I'm here."
Those few words carried an almost magical effect, instantly calming the once-chaotic classroom.
Witnessing this scene, boys like Asuma felt envious—they also wished to command such respect. The other girls, meanwhile, looked at Seiki with admiration, eagerly waiting for his "performance."
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