"Ding ding ding." Just as Yun Kong was mumbling his self-introduction, a sudden ringing of the bell interrupted him.
Yun Kong paused for a moment. After all, no one in the classroom could hear him clearly, so it wouldn't matter whether he continued speaking or not. Once the bell stopped, he could resume anyway.
With that thought, Yun Kong closed his mouth and stopped his speech.
The bell rang sharply and briefly, lasting only a few seconds before it quickly faded away. Yun Kong was just about to speak again and continue his self-promotion, but unexpectedly, the teacher in front of him, named Yamada No, spoke faster than him: "Alright, thank you for Yun Kong's introduction. Let's give him a round of applause."
The classroom immediately erupted in scattered applause, and Yun Kong was hit by a sudden urge to strangle the teacher. "What the hell, if you didn't want me to speak, then don't make me. If you let me speak, at least let me finish! What is this nonsense?"
Yun Kong's expression hadn't fully shifted when Yamada No spoke again, even faster than before: "That's all for today's morning class. School is dismissed."
After speaking, the teacher shamelessly used a Body Flicker Technique and disappeared from the classroom.
"This atmosphere is unbelievable. Damn it, I've never seen a teacher who likes ending class early more than the students!" Yun Kong twisted his neck, which was stiff from sleeping, and slowly sat back down. "Lying down to sleep is so uncomfortable. If I had known this morning's class would be this boring, I would have just slept at home!"
Yun Kong was about to lie back down and continue his nap. "Where was I before Obito woke me up? Oh, right, I was about to 'educate' a few little girls on physiology. Hmm, let's continue sleeping."
Just as Yun Kong was about to drift off, Obito beside him shook him again.
"Yun Kong, I'm hungry!" Obito said somewhat awkwardly.
"If you're hungry, just eat! Do you want me to make it for you?" Yun Kong mumbled, his eyes half-lidded.
"But the bento is in your bag..." Obito's meaning was clear. He wasn't comfortable rummaging through Yun Kong's bag himself.
Understanding what Obito meant, Yun Kong was instantly wide awake.
"Come on, didn't you already open it on the way to school? And your bag's been on your back this whole time, placed in the drawer right in front of you. What's there to be embarrassed about?"
Obito was really just an innocent and simple boy who knew not to touch other people's things. Yun Kong was both defeated and impressed by his purity.
Waking up completely, Yun Kong took the bento handed to him by Obito, stood up, and said, "Let's go, let's find a quieter place outside to eat."
The school wasn't large, and it didn't seem to have any restrictions against eating in the classroom. Yun Kong noticed several boys and girls had already taken out their bentos. Some of them, who were close friends, even gathered together to share and taste each other's food.
The classroom, however, was loud—no, it was extremely noisy. It was the first day of school, and everything was new and exciting for the students. Especially after they made new friends and with no parents around, they quickly entered "freedom mode" without a second thought.
Yun Kong could see a few over-excited kids who were throwing food from their bentos at each other. "Wait till you're hungry and your stomach growls. Don't come crying later," Yun Kong cursed as he left the classroom with Obito.
Soon, they found a quieter spot outside—the swing set where Naruto often played alone. Though now, it seemed that Naruto was likely still inside Minato.
Yun Kong sat on one of the swings and waved at Obito, who quickly followed. They had no particular destination in mind, and with Obito's personality, any place to eat would do. It was really because of Yun Kong's nature that Obito had followed him out of the classroom.
Once Obito saw that Yun Kong had found a spot, he quickly sat next to him on the swing, took out his bento, and began eating. Yun Kong was immediately reminded of the true nature of a food lover as Obito praised his mother's cooking between bites.
"Just eat. My mom's not here, so save the flattery for when you meet her," Yun Kong said, calmly chewing and swallowing his food.
"Did you listen carefully during the self-introductions earlier?" Yun Kong asked as he ate, considering that he had taken a nice nap earlier and was fully energized now.
"Yeah!" Obito mumbled, his voice unclear.
"Any classmates you think are worth noting?" Yun Kong asked.
"What do you mean by 'worth noting'?" Obito asked. There were only two people he was paying attention to, but he wasn't sure if Yun Kong meant the same thing.
"Anyone you think could pose a threat to you, or anyone you subconsciously want to keep an eye on," Yun Kong explained.
The self-introductions were part of the first lesson, a simple way for the students to get to know each other, but it also served as the first lesson for aspiring ninjas: gathering intelligence.
"The only ones worth noting in our class are the other Uchiha, a girl from the Hyuga family, and the current generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. But they're nothing to worry about. I'm not really concerned about them," Obito thought for a moment and replied seriously.
"However, there is one boy I think is strong..."
"I sense a faint smell of blood on him; he's probably seen combat before. Although, it might not have been human blood."
"Oh?" Yun Kong was surprised. He hadn't realized how much he had missed by sleeping through the class. It probably had something to do with how that teacher, Yamada No, didn't seem to hold him in high regard.
"Who is it?" Yun Kong asked.
"His name is Hatake Kakashi, son of the legendary Konoha White Fang, Hatake Sakumo," Obito replied, unusually pausing his rapid eating to speak seriously. "I saw him a few days ago, and he was already able to perform a perfect Earth Release technique. He's probably made even more progress by now."
I see, thought Yun Kong, letting out a slow breath. He had feared there might be a hidden ace in the class. But it turned out to be Hatake Kakashi, the Copy Ninja, Konoha's number one technician.
"Don't worry, Obito. You will never be weaker than anyone else," Yun Kong said, trying to comfort him as he saw the serious expression on Obito's face.
Almost immediately, Yun Kong realized that his attempt at comfort was futile.
Because the very next moment, Obito, who had been serious just a second ago, shouted without hesitation, "Of course! I'm going to be the Hokage!"
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