02

A/N: MC is not Gay, he is just flirting with da homies.

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On the next morning, the sun spread light all over Konoha, declaring the start of a new day. Rays of the hot and bright sun fell on Yukan's face as he got up and proceeded to wash up at a slow pace.

After eating his breakfast, he left for the academy. The ninja world is currently in a chaotic situation because the second ninja war is going on.

Yukan, on his way, met Minato and Shikaku walking together.

"Hey c- Yukan, how are you?" Minato greeted Yukan.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Hey, what were you-" Yukan was about to ask Minato what he was about to say but was interrupted by Minato.

"Anyways, we should walk faster or Fukuzaki sensei will scold us for being late on the last day."

Shikaku on the side nodded and the three started walking faster.

Soon, they reached the academy and saw a man in a chunin uniform standing in front of a group of students.

The chunin was their class teacher, Fukuzaki Tsukayumi.

Seeing the three walking into the academy and trying to mix in the crowd, he said," Hey Minato, I didn't expect you to be late too. These two are always lazy, but you kept it in the closet… I didn't expect this."

"That, Sensei, I got lost on the path of grandma and then helped a path cross the road." Minato was not able to make the excuse properly and had to listen to Fukuzaki's long scolding.

Yukan and Shikaku were scolded too, but they were just too used to it that Shikaku could still yawn while being scolded.

Fukuzaki then brought everyone to the ground and started speaking," The criterion for graduation this time is a little different. You not only have to perform a jutsu successfully but you will also have to spar with your classmates."

Fukuzaki glanced at a sheet and called the first name," Uchiha Ryu, come here and throw shuriken at the target in front."

A boy then walked out of the crowd and picked up three shurikens. He threw all of them. One hit the centre and the other two were close.

"Next, Uchiha Mikoto." Fukuzaki announced the next name as he sent Ryu back.

After a while, most of the class was done and it was Yukan's turn to throw the shuriken.

Yukan stood at the place from where everyone threw their shurikens. He then threw three shurikens towards the target. One of the shurikens hit the centre while the other two were close.

"Nice. Next, Minato."

Minato walked up and did the throw too but had a better result than Yukan. Two of Minato's shuriken hit the centre and the third one was almost at the centre.

Soon, other tests were also taken, including the ninjutsu test.

Yukan was pretty bad at ninjutsu and could only do a few basic jutsu.

"Now, we are only left with the spar. Remember everyone, these are just friendly spars, there is no need to injure each other seriously. If you lose, don't dwell on it but rather, learn from it… Alright now, we'll start sparring now. The first pair, Nara Shikaku and Uchiha Mikoto come forward. " Fukuzaki said as he pointed to the large but empty ground in front of everyone.

"As soon as you are ready, you may start," Fukuzaki said as he picked up a pen and another sheet to grade all the students.

Yukan, who was now getting bored standing in the crowd and looking at the fight, started talking to Minato who was right beside him, " Hey Minato, what do you think, who will be your Sensei?"

"I am not sure. Most jonin are busy on the frontline… What about you, 'cutie pie'?" Minato said teasingly.

-What happened some days ago-

Yukan had brought Minato to his home, feeling pitiful that he didn't get to eat food made by a mother since Minato was an orphan. He wanted Minato to at least have the taste of some homemade food.

But Yukan did not expect that the moment the two would enter the house, his mother, Aayu would come out of the living room shouting," There's a cockroach in the room, cutie pie. Save your mommy."

…And ever since then, Minato has often called Yukan "cutie pie".

Yukan had asked him to stop doing that, not because he was irritated but because he did not want people to think he was dating at such a young age and that too, Minato.

"Hey, let's make a bet. If I get a better grade on the sparring test, you'll stop calling me a cutie pie."

As soon as Yukan said it, Minato's name was called by the teacher.

"Minato and Kenta Yoshiro, come here now," Fukuzaki shouted the next names for the spar as he then proceeded to write something on the sheet.

Minato stood up and left to go forward for the spar.

"Guess this is going to be tough," Yukan said. He knew that even now, Minato was good. Beating a civilian ninja whose name was not even mentioned in the original work would be easy for Minato.

A few minutes into the combat, Minato was able to pin down his opponent with barely any injuries.

"Nice work, Minato. Alright, the last pair, Yukan Norio and Uchiha Ryu come here." Fukuzaki said as he sent back Minato and Kenta into the crowd.

Both Yukan and Ryu stood in front of each other in the empty area, staring at each other, ready to beat their opponent.

"Start" Fukuzaki yelled. As soon as his voice came, Ryu charged at Yukan. He had clenched his fist and wanted to punch Yukan in his face and end this spar as soon as possible.

As the distance between Ryu and Yukan decreased, Yukan also started to move. Though 15% of Benimaru's power was not a lot, it was more than enough to beat down a kid, who is not even a genin, easily.

Yukan raised his hand and caught Ryu's punch easily.

This surprised Ryu a lot. Though his punch wasn't very strong, he was sure enough that someone of the same age should not be able to stop it this effortlessly.

"This how-" As Ryu was astounded and was questioning about his punch being stopped, Yukan moved.

Yukan tightened his grip on Ryu's hand and pulled Ryu towards himself. When Ryu came close, Yukan punched Ryu in his stomach with force, making Ryu feel immense pain.

All of this happened so fast that Ryu was not able to even react or even try to save himself. He held the area Yukan had punched on using his other hand and whined in pain.

Yukan left Ryu's hand suddenly, causing Ryu to fall and continue whining in pain while lying on the ground.

"Hey, you alright?" Yukan asked as he tapped on Ryu's cheeks a few times. Without wasting any time, Fukuzaki went forward and checked Ryu's condition.

"Hmm, he's alright, just a little injured. He'll be fine by afternoon… Go back to your place now, Yukan." Fukuzaki said as he picked up Ryu and brought him under the shade of a tree.

Yukan walked back and sat right beside Minato and said," I am pretty sure that I got the better grade so, don't call me cutie pie from now on"

"Why?" Minato asked with a confused expression.

"Huh? Didn't we.. agree on a …bet?" Yukan said with fear in his heart.

Although Minato is young, he is still very sharp.

"YOU made a bet. I never agreed, cutie pie" Minato said teasingly.

Yukan sighed. He could not change Minato. The only way to stop him now was to kill him.

"Everyone has passed the test. You will be divided into teams of three as always and will train under a jonin sensei. Remember, there is a war going on right now. When doing your missions, always stay safe and… al-always stay with your team kiddos, also, beware of the dangers…" Fukuzaki said. While speaking, he could feel his eyes getting a little wet.

He had seen these students since they were very young children. He had watched over them as they grew up and he didn't want to see their cold bodies coming back.

Fukuzaki suddenly left as he did not want his image to change in front of his students.

"A ninja doesn't need emotions, huh?" Fukuzaki reminded himself as he left the classroom full of students.

While Yukan was still fighting with Minato about changing his nickname, Kushina, Shikaku and Choza approached them from behind.

"Hey idiot, what are you both talking about?" Kushina asked Yukan as she came behind them.

Ever since Kushina came to Konoha 2 years ago, she has been very close to Yukan.

"Hey, tomato. We are talking about nothing but how to make some ketchup" Yukan replied.

Kushina and Yukan were very close friends.

While Minato did not like Kushina the other way, they were still good friends.

Still, his main job now was to mediate Kushina and Yukan's fights and to resolve them if he could.

"I think they were talking about something like cut-" Shikaku was saying but was blocked by Yukan in the middle.

Yukan slapped Shikaku on his mouth and changed the topic quickly, "Hey, since this is the day we graduate, let's eat some barbecue… and Choza, you will pay your bill."

Yukan said as he looked at Choza. The last time he treated Choza to a meal, his wallet was emptied and it still wasn't enough to pay the bill. In the end, Yukan had to wash the dishes there for a whole week.

"Heyy! That is not fair" Choza said.

"No, it is," Shikaku said. He also had some similar experiences. Although he did not wash the dishes, he mopped the floor…for a week at that.