"My name is Hagawa. I don't have many hobbies. As for my dream, I hope to become a ninja like Lord Hokage."
Hagawa's real dream was simply to survive, but that would have sounded too out of place. So, he stated the dream required of every Ninja Academy student: to become the Hokage. It was no different from saying you wanted to be a scientist in his past life.
He even played a little trick. He didn't say he wanted to become the Hokage, but rather a ninja like Lord Hokage. With Danzo Shimura's eyes on him, he had no choice but to temporarily side with Hiruzen Sarutobi. This was a case of "he who understands the times is a wise man." His main focus now was loyalty.
"The ninja who ultimately becomes Hokage will definitely be me, Obito Uchiha!" Obito shot up from his seat, his face full of pride. Rin Nohara instinctively tugged at his sleeve, but to no avail.
"Childish," Kakashi Hatake said, his face expressionless. He wasn't some three-year-old kid; he was a big five-year-old kid! Even if he wanted to become Hokage, he wouldn't argue about it with words, but with actions.
Looking at Obito, Hagawa suddenly thought of a dark joke. He couldn't become the Hokage, so he went and did the Hokage.
"What's so great about being the Hokage?" Asuma Sarutobi slowly stood up and said in a deep voice, "I'm going to surpass the Hokage!"
The classroom instantly fell silent. Everyone knew he was the son of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hagawa's expression was a bit strange. As a fan who knew the plot, he was well aware of how unrealistic Asuma's declaration was. His talent was quite limited; he wasn't even that outstanding among Jonin, let alone capable of surpassing Hiruzen.
"It's good to have dreams, but if you want to achieve them, you need to study hard," Eiichiro said, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention. "Hagawa, that seat in the back by the window is for you."
The classroom desks seated three people each. As a transfer student who had arrived two months late, Hagawa had to sit in the last row. He didn't mind, though. The back row by the window was a great spot.
His deskmate was a little girl with short black hair. Meeting her gaze, Hagawa said, "Hello, I'm Hagawa."
As a spy, he had two paths: become a wallflower or become a social butterfly. His system and his looks, however, wouldn't allow him to be a wallflower. It was a shame he wasn't from the Aburame clan; otherwise, he would have come with a built-in Presence Concealment effect.
"I'm Shizune. It's nice to meet you," Shizune said with a smile.
Hagawa was genuinely surprised. Shizune? Is she still in the Ninja Academy at this time?
In the original series, Tsunade developed hemophobia—a psychological fear of blood—after the deaths of her brother Nawaki and her lover Dan Katō. For a medical ninja, developing hemophobia was a devastating blow. Tsunade had then left Konoha with Shizune to wander the ninja world, gambling.
Hagawa stroked his chin. Is Tsunade still in the village?
Hagawa glanced around. The row in front of him was occupied by Kakashi, Rin, and Obito. To his front-left were Kurenai, Asuma, and another boy he didn't recognize.
"Today's lesson is on the History of Konoha. Everyone, please turn to page thirteen," Eiichiro's voice pulled Hagawa back from his thoughts.
He casually opened the book, his eyes lingering on the table of contents for a few seconds. There were four major chapters: The Sage of Six Paths, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hagawa flipped to the first chapter... Something's wrong. Nine-tenths, no, ten-tenths of this is wrong.
It said here that the Sage of Six Paths created all sorts of ninjutsu and also established the rules for ninja squads. Among them was the rule that a three-person team should ideally include one medical ninja.
Wasn't that Tsunade's proposal? Has history been altered? Or did something else go wrong?
"The First Hokage established Konoha Village in an era of chaos and wrote the Ninja Code, which forbids drinking and gambling during missions..." Eiichiro droned on from the podium.
Hagawa snapped back to reality, thinking to himself, This has to be unofficial history, right? While it wasn't as wild as "butt literature," Hashirama Senju was clearly a master of both drinking and gambling.
He flipped to the last page and saw that the book was written by Hiruzen Sarutobi. Ah, never mind then. This is the work of a professional.
He could already predict what was coming—
The bell for the end of class rang. Eiichiro left with his textbook, and the classroom immediately burst into noise.
"Kurenai..." Asuma had just started to speak when he saw Kurenai hop off her stool and run over to Hagawa's desk. He subconsciously clenched his fists. At this rate, he was going to lose everything, including his dignity!
"Hagawa, are you getting used to things?" Kurenai asked after greeting Shizune.
"Yeah," Hagawa nodded. As a former university student, learning elementary school material felt like coming home. In his past life, he had even joined the Yuanfudao tutoring platform to mercilessly crush elementary schoolers.
"This is for you," Kurenai said, taking out a notebook. "These are the key points I've noted down over the past two months. It should be helpful."
"Thank you," Hagawa said with a serious expression.
"I won't disturb you then. See you at lunch," Kurenai said with a small wave before turning to leave.
"You two know each other?" Shizune asked curiously, as if she had discovered something.
"Kurenai's father is my teacher," Hagawa explained.
"A Jonin teacher?" Shizune's eyes widened. Normally, students had to wait until after graduation to be assigned a team leader. Hagawa's situation was clearly beyond her comprehension.
"Do you know Lady Tsunade?" Hagawa asked, a thought sparking in his mind as he saw her surprised expression.
Shizune shook her head.
Hagawa once again felt that something was off. He suddenly realized the problem. In the original series, Tsunade and Dan Katō bonded during a Jonin meeting where they discussed adding a medical ninja to every squad. But now, the Sage of Six Paths had apparently already done that.
It seemed this world had undergone some unknown changes. Could it be the butterfly effect from his transmigration? Hagawa couldn't figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it.
Time quickly passed, and soon it was noon. Students either went home or found a place to eat. Hagawa closed his textbook and saw Kurenai standing sweetly in front of him. Her ruby-red eyes shimmered in the sunlight, a beautiful sight. Not far away, Asuma's gaze was filled with resentment.
"You two go ahead," Shizune said, getting up to join Rin. Kurenai smoothly took her seat.
"Are you and Asuma close?" Hagawa asked as he opened his bento box.
"Not really, we're just deskmates," Kurenai said with some annoyance. "But he's always pestering me."
"I see." Hagawa picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece of fried shrimp.
As a "Pure Love Warrior," he would never become a "Minotaur" (he said with a straight face). But since they weren't in a relationship, he had no psychological burden.