This day was the start of the Ninja Academy school year.
After eating breakfast, Xia Mu walked to the Ninja Academy alone. On the way, he encountered many children accompanied by their parents, their chatter being a bit annoying.
Of course, there were also some orphans who were alone.
Xia Mu didn't pay much attention. Upon arriving at the school, he immediately found his class on the bulletin board and also took a look at the names of his classmates.
"Oh ho, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka, Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame. As expected, I'm in the same class as this generation's rookie nine? That's good, it's a chance to make friends. After all, the future higher-ups of Konoha will basically be these people. Building good relationships early is very important."
"However, making friends in the early stages requires caution. Some can be befriended, while others should be ignored for now. Otherwise, it will lead to trouble."
For example, Sasuke Uchiha.
Currently, the relationship between the Uchiha and the Village is very tense, and Sasuke's older brother is still a psychopath. If he gets too close to Sasuke, he might get caught in the crossfire.
Another example is Naruto Uzumaki.
This guy is a Jinchuriki, so he shouldn't be approached rashly, otherwise he could easily be targeted by the Third Hokage and Danzo. Furthermore, this guy is an idiot and very noisy. Being friends with someone like that would make him stupid and also constantly annoyed.
As for the others, Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka are boy-crazy, Hinata Hyuga is too shy, and Kiba Inuzuka's dog pees everywhere, so he'll give up on them for now.
That leaves Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Shino Aburame as the most worthwhile people to befriend.
Among them, the most reliable one has to be Shino Aburame.
In the original work, Shino Aburame's strength and intelligence were always online. Whether it was reconnaissance, defense, offense, or guarding, he was basically never ineffective, and he valued the bond with his comrades highly. He was someone you could entrust your back to.
Such a reliable person, who wouldn't want to be friends with him?
Thus, Xia Mu silently found a secluded spot, his eyes scanning the entire area, beginning to search for Shino Aburame.
However, perhaps Shino's presence was truly too low, as Xia Mu searched for a long time without finding him. Instead, all the students had arrived and were gathered together by several teachers.
Then, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, appeared on a high platform, immediately causing a commotion.
"Hehe, hello children, I am the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. I am very happy to meet everyone here today. You are the young sprouts of Konoha, the future of the Village... blah blah blah..."
The Third Hokage spoke passionately, his eyes shining brightly, clearly believing what he was saying.
The new students below also showed expressions of excitement one by one.
Xia Mu was speechless internally, but he had to show an excited expression. After all, the children of Konoha all admired the Hokage and the Will of Fire. If he acted differently from others, he would be seen as an anomaly.
Regardless of whether the Will of Fire was correct or not, it was the political correctness of Konoha, and everyone had to abide by it.
Otherwise, they could expect to be called in for 'tea' by the Ambu!
Xia Mu's face was so stiff from excitement, but the Third Hokage kept talking endlessly, making it difficult for him to maintain his excited expression. He even wanted to yawn on the spot.
Damn it, didn't it all boil down to one sentence, "Where the leaves dance, the fire burns"? Was it necessary to give such a long speech?
Fortunately, the Hokage was also quite busy and finally finished speaking.
Xia Mu breathed a sigh of relief, quietly rubbed his stiff cheeks, and began following the new student group to find his class. Upon entering the classroom, he immediately scanned the room and finally saw Shino Aburame.
Logically, the Aburame Clan's attire of large hoods and dark sunglasses should be very eye-catching, but each of them had a very low sense of presence. Sometimes, even if they were right beside you, it was hard to notice them. This was very strange, probably related to their family's insect techniques, but there was no need to investigate the reason.
Anyway, Shino was very bothered by this, so he just needed to be mindful of his presence at all times.
Xia Mu walked over confidently and smiled, "Hello, is anyone sitting here? Can I sit here?"
He got straight to the point without any beating around the bush. Making friends requires sincerity, not playing so many games. Even if he had a purpose, as long as he was sincere, Shino wouldn't dislike him.
Shino Aburame was startled. His eyes couldn't be seen under his sunglasses, but he nodded readily, "No one is here, you can sit."
"Okay, then we're deskmates."
Xia Mu sat down decisively, took out a paper bag of dried sweet potatoes from his pocket and handed it over, "My name is Xia Mu. These are dried sweet potatoes I made myself. If you don't mind, let's eat some together."
The simplest way to make friends: share food!
And it didn't need to be anything fancy. On the contrary, homemade food showed more sincerity and was most likely to touch someone like Shino.
Shino Aburame glanced at the dried sweet potatoes, then saw Xia Mu take one and start eating. So he also reached out, took one, and put it in his mouth. The slight sweetness made his expression relax a little.
"My name is Shino Aburame. Please take care of me."
See? Didn't they become friends?
Xia Mu was in a good mood. After finishing one dried sweet potato, he took another. Suddenly, he felt a gaze and turned around to see a chubby face, which startled him.
This was a fat person, with Naruto-like swirls of blush on each chubby cheek. His small eyes were fixed on the dried sweet potatoes.
Who else could it be but Choji Akimichi, the food lover?
Behind Choji, the pineapple-haired Shikamaru stood with his hands behind his head, looking helpless at Choji.
Xia Mu was amused. It seemed bringing dried sweet potatoes this morning was the right move; it actually attracted these two as well. Wasn't this a chance to make friends?
He offered the dried sweet potatoes, "Do you guys want some too?"
"Eat, eat! I want to eat!"
Choji wasn't shy either. He immediately took one and shoved it into his mouth, a look of satisfaction instantly appearing on his face.
The dried sweet potatoes weren't particularly delicious, but for a food lover, being able to eat something tasty was the greatest happiness. Moreover, Choji ate potato chips all day, so changing the flavor was also very enjoyable.
Seeing this, Shikamaru also took one, "Then I won't be polite."
Xia Mu took the opportunity to introduce himself, "My name is Xia Mu. This is my deskmate, and my new friend, Shino. Oh, since you've eaten my dried sweet potatoes, we're friends too."
Shino nodded in greeting, "My name is Shino Aburame. Please take care of me."
"Shikamaru Nara."
"Choji Akimichi."
The two also said their names. There wasn't much need for further conversation; they were acquainted now.
After Xia Mu shared the dried sweet potatoes around, only one was left in the paper bag. Suddenly, a chubby hand quickly reached out, its target naturally being the last dried sweet potato.
Xia Mu immediately reached out and grabbed the chubby hand, chuckling, "Choji, you can't snatch it!"
Choji narrowed his eyes and said, "The last piece of a snack must be eaten by me. That's my Ninja Way!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "Hey, Choji, yesterday when we ate yakiniku, you also said that food that comes to your mouth cannot be refused, and that was your Ninja Way. Your Ninja Way changes very quickly."