The afternoon was the first outdoor class.
Iruka first had everyone run three kilometers, intending to see the little ones' capabilities.
Naruto's competitive spirit was aroused, and he ran ahead desperately, trying to leave Sasuke behind. However, Sasuke took his older brother as a role model and was determined to be the best in the class, so he naturally refused to fall behind.
Especially against Naruto, Sasuke particularly didn't want to lose.
Xia Mu, on the other hand, ran slowly among the crowd, even pretending to be exhausted, but in reality, he was leisurely watching the show.
After the three kilometers were finished, he barely broke a sweat, while Naruto was sprawled on the ground like a dead dog, exhausted, and his ranking wasn't very good either.
See, even with the Uzumaki physique and Nine-Tails' power, it's not enough. He's too malnourished normally.
His body is incredibly weak.
The first place naturally went to Sasuke. The cute, handsome boy glanced at Naruto with a smug expression, then coolly stood to the side, accepting the girls' screams and praises.
Naruto was so angry he jumped up, "What's with this Sasuke being so smug!"
Xia Mu, however, saw that the girls were divided into several camps. One was a group led by Ino Yamanaka, another was an individual led by Sakura Haruno, and the rest were scattered groups. Although all the camps were Sasuke's fans, they also didn't get along with each other and would probably start fighting at any moment.
Ino and Sakura were clearly so close before, but now their superficial friendship was shattered.
They would even curse at each other from time to time, truly a great show.
Crucially, Naruto had now transformed into a sycophant, fawning over Sakura, saying all sorts of nice things to try and win her favor, but Sakura only had eyes for Sasuke and just found Naruto annoying.
Oh right, a certain cute little girl was constantly rolling her eyes at Naruto, but unfortunately, Naruto didn't notice.
"These girls are so troublesome!" Shikamaru said grumpily.
Choji was munching on potato chips, paying no attention to his surroundings.
Xia Mu and Shino exchanged glances and shrugged again. It wasn't their business anyway, and there was no need to get involved. If it was noisy, they could just cover their ears.
Next was Kunai throwing practice.
Students from Ninja families had naturally already learned this, and their hit rates were not low.
Especially Sasuke, throwing techniques were a specialty of the Uchiha Clan. He basically hit the bullseye every time, causing another round of screams from the girls.
Naruto saw this and started yelling again, determined to surpass Sasuke. As a result, he didn't hit anything with his thrown Kunai, and one even almost castrated Iruka, leading to a scolding from Iruka.
Xia Mu didn't care about others. He practiced repeatedly according to the essentials Iruka taught, combined with the throwing experience in his family's scroll. At first, he could only barely hit the target, but then his hit rate increased. He even hit the bullseye a few times, making significant progress and receiving direct praise from Iruka.
It was useless for others to be envious. They didn't study properly in class, insisting on competing with each other, wasting precious practice time. Whose fault was that?
After school, Xia Mu took Shino to buy some fresh meat and ingredients on the street before taking Shino home.
"This is my house. The location is a bit remote."
Xia Mu pushed open the yard gate and introduced, "My parents have passed away. I live alone now and grow some small vegetables myself. I'll go cook first, Shino, can you help me pick some vegetables?"
He was certainly not being polite in directing his guest, but this was treating Shino like family.
"These vegetables are growing really well," Shino praised and silently took the vegetable basket to pick vegetables, rarely becoming talkative, "Our Aburame Clan also grows vegetables because we raise insects. Xia Mu, you grow vegetables much better than I do. Can I take some vegetable leaves to feed my insects?"
"Go ahead."
Xia Mu agreed casually. The rice was already cooking, the fresh meat was marinated, and he also cut a piece of cured meat before freeing up his hands.
Shino had also finished picking vegetables and took a tender vegetable leaf to feed his insects. Although the two didn't speak, the scene was unexpectedly harmonious. Even though Shino was wearing sunglasses, Xia Mu could tell that Shino was very happy.
Perhaps it was because he had finally made a friend, and it was his first time visiting a friend's house.
Xia Mu didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point, "Shino, I was actually researching one-handed hand seals last night, which is why I didn't sleep all night. And, I succeeded."
"One-handed hand seals?!"
Shino was startled, his eyes under his sunglasses looking as if he were seeing Xia Mu for the first time.
You know, one-handed hand seals aren't that simple. Many Jonin can't even do them, or have never even seen them. For example, Kakashi Hatake was incredibly surprised when he saw Bai perform one-handed hand seals during the Land of Waves mission, stating that it was his first time seeing it, like a kid who had never seen the world.
And someone who can perform one-handed hand seals is naturally a genius.
Especially since Xia Mu is only six years old, he is definitely a genius among geniuses!
Xia Mu extended his left hand in front of Shino, formed a few hand seals, and with a 'bang', transformed into Shino's appearance, a one-handed Transformation Technique.
Shino couldn't help but believe it and praised, "Xia Mu, you're amazing."
Xia Mu smiled, "I called you to my house, besides treating you, I wanted to teach you one-handed hand seals. Of course, it's not free. I actually found that my appetite has increased, and my savings plus the orphan allowance aren't enough. I'll be hungry soon. So, I'm asking you, my friend, for help. Do you want to learn?"
"I want to learn. How much do you think the tuition should be?"
Shino agreed without hesitation.
He was actually very willing to lend money to Xia Mu. After all, Xia Mu was his first friend, and it didn't matter if Xia Mu didn't pay him back because he knew Xia Mu's life wasn't easy and he was genuinely worried about Xia Mu.
It was probably Xia Mu's pride at play, unwilling to borrow money from a friend and afraid of not being able to pay it back, which is why he chose this method to ask for money.
As a friend, how could he not support him?
Besides, learning one-handed hand seals would also be of great benefit to him. He was happy and couldn't wait, so he naturally wouldn't refuse. This could be said to be a win-win situation.
Xia Mu, however, hesitated, "How about you just give me a little bit to get me through two months of hardship? I don't know how much to charge."
Shino also didn't know the market price, so he said, "I'll go home tonight and ask my dad. He'll definitely know what's a reasonable amount. Anyway, we'll try not to let either of us lose out."
"Alright. But Shino, you and your dad have to keep it a secret. I don't really want others to know about this."
"Don't worry, I understand your concerns."
Shino truly understood.
He knew clearly that Konoha was not as glamorous as it seemed on the surface, especially after his friend Aburame Torune from the clan went to Danzo's so-called Ambu, he knew that Konoha also had darkness.
Konoha's talents were being targeted by some dark individuals!
Even as the child of the Aburame Clan head, he couldn't resist. If Torune hadn't volunteered, he, the Clan head's son, would have been taken away.
Not to mention an orphan like Xia Mu with no background, there was no possibility of resistance at all!
Therefore, the fact that Xia Mu was a genius had to be kept a secret!