In the blink of an eye, the ten-day vacation was over. Today was the official first day of the Ninja Academy.
Riku woke up early. Instead of the usual black Uchiha training gear, he opted for a blue short-sleeved Uchiha shirt and white shorts, much like Sasuke's first appearance.
After breakfast, he packed an extra portion of rice balls and set off to begin his school life.
Along the paths within the Uchiha clan grounds, he saw many kind and friendly old men and women who greeted him with concern.
"Little Riku, have you eaten? Come, have some of the buns your uncle made!"
"No thank you, Uncle Teshio! I've already eaten. But if you see Obito, tell him to hurry up. He's going to be late!"
In this friendly atmosphere, Riku walked out of the clan compound.
The Uchiha clansmen outside the compound were usually members of the Konoha Military Police Force on patrol. They all wore stern expressions, and some even had an air of arrogance about them.
"So this is the Uchiha clan," Riku thought. "A complex mix of pride, arrogance, kindness, and obsession."
Walking down the streets of Konoha, he would occasionally hear passersby whispering.
"Wow, that kid is so cute, and a little handsome too."
"I know, right? If he were a little older, I'd totally go after him."
"Calm down, Shizunami, you're fifty already… (￣O￣;)"
Riku glanced speechlessly at the old woman buying breakfast nearby, unable to stop himself from thinking, "So this is what it felt like for Sasuke."
Suddenly, he faintly heard the sound of wind behind him, accompanied by a rhythmic shout.
"Ten more laps around the village! If I can't do it, then five hundred leg kicks! Burn, my youth!"
It was Guy, training. Although Guy had won the entrance exam this year, he was denied admission due to his lack of aptitude for ninjutsu, just as Kakashi remembered.
Duy encouraged Guy, telling him that as long as he kept working hard and burning with the fires of youth, he would definitely make something of himself and be able to protect the people he cared about.
This made Guy train even harder, which in turn made things tougher for Riku, who trained alongside him. To keep from falling behind, Riku's own training regimen had steadily increased.
"My good friend, are you off to school?!" Guy shouted. His thick eyebrows and green jumpsuit were already eye-catching enough, but his booming voice drew even more attention from the people on the street.
Riku wasn't shy, but he could never shake the habit of feeling second-hand embarrassment. Though his toes curled in his shoes, he steeled himself and replied.
"That's right! Let's train together after school!"
"By the way, I don't see Uncle Duy. Isn't he training with you?"
"My dad? He's out on a mission. A C-rank mission, I think…"
Seeing Guy's face covered in sweat from training, Riku wiped it for him and, under the pretext of fixing his hair, placed a hand on his head.
*Ding!* You have touched the head of a C-rank ninja: Might Guy. Please choose one of the following rewards:
A green jumpsuit set.
One tube of eyebrow-thickening agent.
Konoha Strong Fist.
Riku chose "Konoha Strong Fist" without a moment's hesitation.
Immediately, accompanied by a slight headache, the techniques of the Konoha Strong Fist style were deeply ingrained in his mind.
Not only that, Riku could even feel his muscles being enhanced.
His body was now better adapted to the power delivery of the Strong Fist style, and his muscle groups felt as if they had been forcibly injected with muscle memory, allowing him to react in the shortest possible time. This was undoubtedly a massive boost to his taijutsu.
Good fortune lifts the spirits. Riku, buoyed by his reward, felt his mood soar. But he was running out of time before class started.
The two exchanged a few quick words. Guy continued his strenuous training, while Riku headed off to the academy. As he walked, Riku couldn't help but vent his frustration in his mind.
"Who was the idiot that moved the Uchiha compound to the edge of the village anyway?!"
"It's such a pain just to get to school. No wonder that fool Obito is late every single day."
"It would've been so much better if the Uchiha compound was located like the Hyuga, the Sarutobi, or even the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans."
"And speaking of which, why is someone as strong as Uncle Duy taking C-rank missions? Oh, right, because he's still a genin. It just goes to show Konoha has no eye for talent…"
Winding his way through streets and alleys, Riku finally reached the classroom on time. The moment he entered, he was enveloped by the boisterous atmosphere.
They were children, after all, and couldn't sit still. Everyone was chatting excitedly.
Among them, Riku saw many familiar faces.
Asuma, Kakashi, Rin Nohara, Genma Shiranui…
The only one missing was Obito Uchiha. It seemed he was late again.
There was one other unexpected person there--the terminator of the meek, Uchiha Aoto.
But the Aoto of today seemed to have lost the arrogance from ten days ago. His face was bruised and swollen as he sat properly in the back row by the window, studying his lessons.
Riku scanned the room and decisively chose the seat next to Aoto. Why? The back row by the window was the homeland of kings. To rule the school, one had to start from this seat of power.
Riku tossed his bag onto the desk closest to the window and patted Aoto's shoulder.
"Uchiha Aoto, mind if I sit here?"
Aoto's nose, covered with a bandage, twitched. He looked up at Riku.
"Uchiha Riku. I know I lost to you. If you want to humiliate me, you don't have to do it like this."
"Aoto, you're not some protagonist in a revenge novel. No one's trying to deliberately humiliate you. I just want to be able to look out the window when I don't feel like listening in class."
Aoto fell silent and quietly made way for him.
Riku sat down, organized his things, and pulled a bottle of liniment from his bag, tossing it to Aoto.
"What happened to you? Did you get jumped? Why do you look like this?"
"This is from training. Riku, one day I will surpass you!"
Riku found this rather amusing. He hadn't expected the boy he defeated to have ignited with such fighting spirit.
"Alright, then. Do your best. You can have the liniment. I have plenty of it."
Aoto touched his shin and his face instantly contorted in pain. In the end, reason won out over emotion. He took the liniment and mumbled a quiet, "Thanks."
Suddenly, the noisy chatter in the classroom ceased as if a mute button had been pressed.
"Based on my dozen-plus years of student experience, that means the teacher is here," Riku deduced.
And he was right. The person who entered was a sturdy, middle-aged teacher with a square jaw and a kind face.
"Hello, everyone. My name is Ōshima Ryūnosuke, and I will be your homeroom teacher. I look forward to working with you all…"
And so, the mundane and tedious school life began.
The curriculum for Riku's class consisted of theory lessons in the morning and practical combat training in the afternoon.
Although Riku prioritized his personal training, he was equally interested in the theoretical knowledge.
Just as Riku was absorbing knowledge like a sponge, a commotion that sounded like an approaching army erupted in the hallway.
"I'm gonna be late!!!"
The source of the voice skidded to a halt at the classroom door. It had to be Obito Uchiha.
"S-sorry, teacher! I'm… I'm late… because there was an old… an old lady on the road…" Obito said, panting.
Mr. Ōshima smiled kindly. "It's alright. You must be Obito Uchiha, correct? Come on in. Just try not to let it happen again."
Little did he know that Obito would be late every single day from then on.
Feeling as though he had received a pardon, Obito scrambled into the classroom and sat down next to Riku.
The back row now consisted of Aoto, Obito, and Riku.
Obito scooted away from Aoto with a look of distaste, his body nearly pressed against Riku's.
Spotting the rice balls in Riku's desk, Obito didn't hesitate for a second and stuffed one into his mouth.
"Obito, you're late, and now you're stealing my food?"
"Haha, what's a little food between friends? I'll bring you one next time."
"The thing is, that rice ball is from a few days ago."
"Really? I was wondering why it tasted a little weird."
"Yup. It's expired."
"Huh?! Then why did you bring it?!"
"I didn't realize until I got here!"
Obito: (?o?;;