Chapter 27: The Nine Young Heroes of the Leaf Village

The warm light of the chandelier cast a gentle glow over the two people seated across from each other. Yu Higashino sipped water slowly, while Shisui Uchiha sat in focused contemplation. Both inside and outside the house, everything was quiet.

Lately, Shisui had been troubled by the relationship between the Uchiha clan and the village. He felt as if his path forward was blocked by a thick fog, and no matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t find a way out for his clan.

However, after giving careful thought to the three suggestions Higashino Yu had offered, he discovered that the previously impenetrable fog now admitted a faint glimmer of light.

After a long while, Shisui returned to himself and looked at Higashino Yu with earnest eyes.

“Higashino, your advice is very helpful. I think I know what to do now. Thank you!”

Ding! Higashino Yu sensed another skill had appeared on his skill panel.

“You’re welcome,” Higashino replied politely. He could tell that Shisui had seriously considered his advice.

To be honest, Yu felt rather good at this moment. To have someone he hadn’t met many times genuinely take his suggestions to heart—this sense of being trusted and valued, tinged with a bit of accomplishment, was indeed quite satisfying.

Regardless of what kind of skill Shisui had just provided him, Yu found himself liking Shisui a little more.

He opened the panel.

[Body Flicker Technique lv1: 0/100]

Very nice; Yu’s opinion of Shisui improved yet again.

“If you run into any more problems in the future, feel free to come to me for advice,” Yu said.

“All right, I definitely will…” Shisui stood up. “Higashino, I’ll be going now, so I won’t disturb you any longer.”

“Mm.” Yu remained seated.

Shisui didn’t say anything more. He used the Body Flicker Technique and left Yu’s home, his departure resolute. His earlier contemplation had not only been about what to do next—it had been a moment of decision. He was determined to use his own strength to protect his clan and the village, no matter what.

At this moment, Shisui was without a doubt braver than the Shisui in the original story, who ultimately gave up his life.

Under the night sky, Shisui hurried home, eager to consider the details further. Yu’s three pieces of advice had shown him a direction for change, but exactly how to proceed would depend on him.

Sitting under the lamplight, Higashino Yu examined his skill panel. The newly added [Genjutsu] and [Body Flicker Technique] were both excellent skills.

The [Genjutsu] skill could not only trap others in illusions, but also continuously strengthen Yu’s own mental power. [Body Flicker Technique], while currently only a fast-movement skill, might eventually develop into true teleportation at higher levels, and perhaps might even allow travel to other worlds.

However, the problem was that improving proficiency in these two skills seemed anything but easy—a bit troublesome, really!

Yu decided not to dwell on it. It was late already; better to get some sleep.

The next day, “alarm clock” Naruto woke Yu up. Today, Naruto seemed especially excited, for a simple reason: he was going to register at the Ninja Academy.

“Yu-nii, is the Ninja Academy fun?”

“I don’t know.”

“Will I learn powerful ninjutsu there?”

“I don’t know.”

“How do I sign up? Gramps Third said I can just go, but I still feel uneasy.”

“I don’t know.”

Yu replied absentmindedly as he ate his noodles. Only after finishing did he pay proper attention.

“I’ll go with you to register.”

“Really? That’s great!” Naruto had thought he’d have to go by himself and had been a little nervous.

Yu considered that other children would all have their parents with them, and if Naruto went alone, he might feel lonely.

“Finish eating, then wash the dishes. I’ll go get ready.” As Naruto’s guardian, Yu felt he should at least look the part.

He changed into a clean outfit and tidied his hair. Yu felt he looked pretty good—if a perfect score was one hundred, he’d give himself over ninety, the rest out of modesty.

Naruto had already washed the dishes. Yu glanced at the time—just past eight, perfect timing.

“Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

One adult and one child stepped out the door and headed for the Ninja Academy.

The start of the school year was a major event in Konoha. All children of age could sign up, but only those with ninja talent could continue their studies; the rest would be filtered out after receiving basic education like literacy.

Naruto had no need to worry about any of that—he was definitely going to be a ninja.

Even though it was still early, the streets were already crowded, many people bringing children along—clearly all headed for the Academy.

Naruto looked enviously at the kids accompanied by their parents, but quickly remembered that Yu was with him, and felt a little lucky.

Sensing Naruto’s gaze, Yu looked over.

“What is it?”

“Nothing… Yu-nii, do you think Sasuke will come register too?”

“I don’t know,” Yu answered honestly. Who knew if big clans had their own channels?

But soon Yu figured that probably wasn’t the case, because he saw Choji, Shikamaru, and Ino ahead, along with their fathers—the old Ino-Shika-Cho trio and the new generation.

Those three families really were close, even bringing their kids to register together.

Near the Academy, Yu also spotted Sakura with her pink hair and Kiba with his face paint.

Counting these five, plus Naruto, and the Sasuke and Hinata he’d seen before, Yu realized he’d met all nine of Konoha’s new generation.

Wait… why did it seem like there were only eight? Who was missing?

He quickly found Shino, together with his father. Both were dressed in similar, tightly wrapped clothes, their presence almost unnoticeable.

Shortly after Yu and Naruto arrived at the Academy, Sasuke and Hinata showed up as well.

Perhaps it was fate, but though registration was open all day, the nine future “Konoha rookie stars” all showed up around the same time.

Noticing Sasuke, Naruto wanted to say hello, but for some reason held back.

Noticing Naruto, Hinata also wanted to greet him, but she too hesitated.

Hinata stole glances at Naruto, who occasionally looked at Sasuke, while Sasuke maintained his icy composure and tried not to look around. They were on the verge of forming a peculiar love triangle.

To keep Naruto from straying down the wrong path, Yu, who’d observed all this, decided to give him a bit of guidance.

“Naruto, do you see that little girl over there?”

“Which one?”

“That short-haired girl—the one you rescued last time.”

Naruto looked over and saw the girl with her head down, acting oddly. “What about her?”

“She keeps sneaking glances at you.”

“No way,” Naruto protested. “She’s got her head down—how could she be looking at me?”

“…Idiot, I said she’s sneaking glances. If you noticed, it wouldn’t be sneaky anymore.”

“Why would she sneak looks at me?”

“Maybe because you saved her last time. Maybe she’s started to like you.”

“Huh?” Naruto was stunned, a rare blush appearing on his face. “That can’t be! No way! I only stopped some kids from bullying her.”

“Do you remember me telling you I can see the future?” Yu asked.

“Yeah.”

“Your future wife is that girl.”

“….” Naruto was momentarily dumbstruck, then quickly protested, “What? I don’t believe you! Yu-nii, you’re lying again!”

“What’s wrong with her?” Yu countered.

“Uh… it’s not that… it’s just… just…” Naruto stammered, at a loss for words.

“Then there’s nothing to worry about.” Without waiting for Naruto’s answer, Yu changed the subject.

“Come on, let’s go register.”

“Oh.” Naruto responded, but couldn’t help glancing back at the odd little girl.

[Yu-nii must be lying… Yeah, he must be. He loves to tease me the most.]

Following Yu, the two reached the registration desk.

Registration was simple: fill in your details, pay the tuition, and come back tomorrow to see the class assignments—that was all.

For Naruto, since the Third Hokage had already spoken to the Academy, he didn’t even have to pay tuition.

With registration done, the two didn’t linger and left the Academy right away.

As they left, Yu noticed Naruto looking toward a certain spot, where that short-haired girl stood with her head down.

Yu felt gratified—Naruto probably wouldn’t go astray.

“Yu-nii, will you come with me tomorrow to see the class assignments?” Naruto asked as they walked home.

“Do you want me to come?”

“... Either way is fine, I guess.”

Yu could tell—Naruto wanted him to come.

“All right, I’ll come with you again tomorrow.”

“Hehe!” Naruto grinned foolishly, then asked, “When I start school, do I still have to work at your shop?”

“Do you want to?”

“I do, but school will take up a lot of time, right?”

“Then just come help out whenever you’re free.”

“Okay.”

“But I’ll have to change your pay…” Yu thought it over. “Actually, forget it, you won’t get paid anymore.”

Yu had given up hope of gaining new skills from Naruto. The rascal hung around every day, never intending to pay for a commission, and Yu didn’t want to be taken advantage of anymore.

Besides, Naruto’s meals were already covered, and he didn’t have much need for money—his pension was more than enough.

Naruto made a token fuss over Yu’s decision, but soon accepted it. He knew Yu had always treated him well.

The two walked home at a leisurely pace, sometimes bickering, no different from brothers bound by blood.