Noon passed quickly. The group of Academy students—still not yet full-fledged ninja—had only one redeeming quality besides their boundless curiosity: endless energy.
After lunch, many grew restless, eagerly awaiting the return of the Third Hokage's students. But strangely, the infamous trio were late.
Could Tsunade be planning Jiraiya's funeral?
"Speaking of which, today's really hot," Uchiha Hayashi muttered.
He lay on a picnic blanket beneath the shade of a tree, calmly reading a book on chakra nature transformation and shape manipulation. Knowledge like this was crucial. A shinobi who didn't understand these principles would never reach true strength. Even someone like Naruto, years later, had needed Yamato's guidance to form the Rasenshuriken.
Thanks to his natural affinity with ninjutsu, Hayashi found these concepts easier than most.
"Konoha's in the center of the Land of Fire, so it's not too bad. The south must be hotter," Mikoto replied softly, glancing at him.
"Minato, won't you have some tea?" Hayashi called, looking up at the "Little Sun," who leaned against a large tree. Instead of relaxing before the matches, Minato was drenched in sweat, diligently refining his chakra.
"It's refreshing," Hayashi added.
"No, thank you." Minato shook his head, sweat dripping down his face. "I'd rather improve my strength."
"Working hard is good, but effort alone won't get you far," Hayashi said, shaking his head. "You know the basics—chakra reserves grow with age, but each stage has a limit. We're still young. If you force too much refining now, you'll just waste energy instead of storing it."
"Even so…" Minato began, but his words trailed off when the Third Hokage's students appeared on the viewing platform.
Orochimaru stood pale and expressionless, his golden snake-like eyes scanning the students. Beside him was Tsunade, whose attempt at a smile couldn't hide the throbbing vein of irritation on her forehead.
…And that was it.
The white-haired pervert was missing.
"Huh? Where's Jiraiya-sama?" Minato asked, tilting his head with genuine confusion.
Hayashi shrugged. "Probably in the hospital." Then, without missing a beat, he added, "Or buried at the Memorial Stone already."
"…"
"Alright," Orochimaru clapped his hands sharply, drawing the crowd's attention. "Due to time, we'll start the second match immediately. The rules are unchanged from this morning. Teams are divided by grade, but the battles are one-on-one. Winners may continue to challenge the next opponent, or they may concede and let a teammate take over."
"Injuries will be treated by Tsunade beside me."
"The winning team will receive guidance from us."
With that, Orochimaru stepped back, allowing Tsunade her silence. Clearly, he knew better than to provoke her further.
The first match began with Hayashi's team, joined by a fresh first-year.
Hayashi shook out his trench coat as he stepped forward. He had long dominated the top spot in his year, even suppressing the First Hokage's grandson. Among the Academy students, his name was already famous.
After all, Hayashi currently ranked first on the "Who I Want as My Boyfriend" list.
His popularity was overwhelming, and the support from the students below was deafening.
"Hayashi is so handsome!"
"No one's stronger than Hayashi!"
"As long as we have him, we'll win!"
Who keeps sending me those stares? Hayashi thought, catching sight of the fan club gathered below.
"Good luck," said the young Inuzuka girl, unfazed despite being a first-year. Her clan's pride wouldn't allow fear, so she encouraged her teammates with a determined smile.
Hayashi glanced at Minato and Mikoto. "Should I go first?"
Neither objected. Minato, though eager, let Hayashi take the lead. Mikoto gave him a small nod.
"Good luck, Hayashi," she said warmly.
"These guys are done for. Watch me clear three in a row." Hayashi grinned, giving Minato a thumbs-up before leaping lightly onto the stage.
The cheers that erupted were almost entirely for him. In contrast, the poor first-years had little support. Worse, their top three representatives were all girls.
Where's the pride of the boys? Hayashi thought, shaking his head. Letting girls lead the front lines wasn't exactly inspiring.
"Alright, begin," Orochimaru's hoarse voice echoed from the platform.
Hayashi and the first-year girl bowed to each other politely before assuming their stances.
"Senpai, please go easy on me," she said.
Three seconds later, the fight was over.
Hayashi had simply formed a genjutsu seal, snapped his 1fingers, and the girl collapsed, unconscious before she could even throw a punch.
The lively atmosphere below turned silent. Older students managed to keep calm, but the younger ones—still inexperienced with genjutsu—stared in confusion.
"Was that fixed?"
"Did she just give up?"
Orochimaru, clearly anticipating this, said nothing. His eyes glinted with interest as he announced, "First match, Uchiha Hayashi wins. Second match, begin."
Another girl stepped forward, her cheeks marked with red fang-like lines. An Inuzuka clan member.
The style was questionable. Hayashi couldn't understand why they risked their skin like that. Was this really fashion? Even Nohara Rin, years later, had similar markings. Was this actually a trend? Should he paint his face one day?
Of course, none of that mattered now.
"Your genjutsu is strong, but I won't lose!" Inuzuka Tsume declared, glaring at him fiercely as she reached into her tool pouch. She was cautious—this opponent's reputation was no joke.
"Oh?" Hayashi raised an eyebrow, then calmly formed the seal once more.
In the next moment, Tsume collapsed into a brief dream world, eyes closing as she fell unconscious.
"…"
This time, Hayashi had infused his chakra into sound, weaving the genjutsu through the snap of his fingers. Unless someone covered their ears and avoided his gaze like Minato sometimes did, there was no way to block it.