Chapter 65 - 3rd Year and A New Teacher

April 1st. Monday.

It was early morning of April 1st. Daichi was getting ready for the day. Just as he finished putting on his clothes his long term quest was updated..

[Ongoing quest - 'Path to the strongest' updated.]

'Huh… About time.'

[Tasks to complete this year have been updated. Training clothes in your inventory have been modified. Wear them when completing the daily quests.]

[Conditions:]

Complete 200 Push ups (Daily)

Complete 200 Squats (Daily)

Complete 200 Punches(Daily)

Run 20 Kilometers (Daily)

Complete at least 1 Dungeon before the end of this academic year.

Take the top spot in your class.

Learn advanced chakra control techniques.

[Rewards:]

Status Recovery (Daily)

Random Reward(Weekly)

+3 Stat Points (Weekly)

Special reward for clearing a dungeon.

Additional rewards for each extra dungeon cleared.

New Skill for successfully learning chakra control techniques.

[Failure:]

-5 Stat points.

Penalty Dungeon.

Death.

[Accept (Y/N)]

'It seems I'll have to spend a little bit more time on my morning workouts. And it looks like the system has increased the weight of the training gear.'

[Weighted Training Clothes] [Rare Item: Rank C]

[A training gear created by the system to help the 'player'. Consists of clothing garments that can be worn under the dress. Made from some of the most durable materials for withstanding intense training and designed to provide comfort and aesthetic appeal to the wearer. The clothes are black in color with several red intricate patterns on them.

Consists of 2 leg warmers to be worn below the knee and 2 arm sleeves to be worn below the elbow. Each weighing exactly 2 KG.

Consists of 1 undershirt and 1 trouser to be worn under the clothes. Each weighing exactly 6 KG.]

'Looks like learning chakra control techniques is the theme this year. How convenient… So a total of 20 Kilos huh! Nothing I can't handle anyway… No time to waste then.'

Daichi wore his new training clothes and started his workout.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ninja Academy.

Daichi was walking to his new classroom. As he reached he heard a commotion coming from inside. Several people were arguing. Daichi recognized that one of the voices belonged to Naruto.

'What the heck is going on in there?'

Daichi slid the door open and entered the room. As he stepped inside he saw Naruto standing in front of Hinata as if protecting her. He looked ahead and saw the three class jerks as Daichi called them in his mind, antagonizing Naruto and making fun of Hinata. The three were Hibachi, Unagi and Enji. Daichi looked around and found that most of the other future rookies were absent.

"Leave her alone. She didn't do anything to you." Naruto said as he stood in front of the girl.

Daichi couldn't help but smile as he saw the scene. 'Never change Naruto… Time to step in before it escalates.'

"Morning Naruto. Hinata." Daichi greeted them as he stood beside them.

"Daichi!!" Naruto was excited to see him after the break.

"H-Hello Daichi." Hinata quietly greeted him as well.

"Get lost Daichi. This has nothing to do with you!" Hibachi said with a glare.

"Yeah… About that… You picked a fight with my friend… So I can't exactly just walk away." Daichi said with a nonchalant smile.

The three class bullies looked angry hearing this. But they knew they couldn't beat Daichi. It was at that moment they heard several other voices joining their conversation.

"Man, how troublesome. Do you really have to do this on the first day?" The groaned sleepy voice belonging to the Shikamaru reached their ears.

"Hey Naruto, Daichi. Looks like you guys are having some fun. Mind if I join." Kiba walked up to them with a smile and looked at the three kids. Ino, Sakura, and Choji also came near them.

Seeing that they were outnumbered, Hibachi and his gang left them without another word.

"Morning guys. How was your holiday?" Daichi turned around and asked his friends.

"It was fun. But you would know that if you had shown up." It was Kiba who said it.

"Sorry. I was a little busy with some stuff." Daichi replied with a sheepish smile.

"Lemme guess. Training." Naruto said with his hands on his hips. Daichi had a sly smile in response.

Naruto and the others collectively sighed hearing the predictable answer.

"Let's just get to our seats before Daikoku sensei shows up." Shikamaru said and went to his seat. Choji followed him.

"Hey Hinata, come sit with us." Ino and Sakura grabbed the Hyuga girl and went to their spot. Daichi, Kiba, and Naruto went to their places as well. A few minutes later the bell rang and the doors slid open.

A chunin instructor who was not Daikoku Funeno walked into the room. Most of the class was surprised and didn't know who it was but Daichi knew. And he was excited to finally meet him.

The chunin was a man of average height and build. He had brown hair which he tied and kept in a ponytail and had a scar across the bridge of his nose. He was wearing the standard leaf village ninja outfit complete with flak jacket and sandals.

'Iruka Umino. Finally!! So this is when he becomes Naruto's teacher. I remember that in the anime things happened a bit differently. I guess my presence has changed some things.'

Daichi quickly used his 'Observe' skill on him.

[LV.54] [Iruka Umino]

[Age: 17]

[HP: 5006] [CP: 4228]

[Iruka Umino is a chunin of the Leaf village. He spent several years in the field before joining the academy last year as its teacher. He is a soft hearted individual who is fond of teaching. He is proficient in all forms of basic ninja skills as well as some Barrier Ninjutsu. His primary chakra nature is fire but he is capable of using water and Yin chakra natures as well. Despite losing his parents in the Nine tailed fox's attack he still maintains a positive outlook on life. Inspired by the 3rd Hokage's wisdom, Iruka decided to become a teacher to pass on the Will of fire to the next generation.]

Iruka walked to the podium and looked at the class. He had a wide smile on his face as he looked at his new students.

"Good morning class. Let me introduce myself. My name is Iruka Umino. Starting today I'll be your new homeroom teacher. So from now on you can call me Iruka sensei. Ichiraku Ramen is my favorite food. And I enjoy spending time at the hot springs and reading good books. I love being a teacher and I look forward to getting to know you all. Alright, now that you know about me, it's your turn. Let's begin the introductions."

At this moment Ino raised her hand. "Umm… Excuse me, Iruka sensei. What happened to Daikoku sensei?"

Iruka kept the same smile on his face but only Shikamaru, Daichi and Sasuke noticed the slight strain that accompanied that smile.

"Daikoku sensei was transferred to another class. Any other questions?"

Seeing that the students were quiet, Iruka asked each of them to introduce themselves. When it was Naruto's turn the smile on Iruka's face dimmed. Naruto boisterously introduced himself as if he didn't notice the new teacher's dislike of him.

Seeing Iruka's face, Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. 'Great. Another teacher that doesn't like Naruto.'

Daichi was also immersed in his thoughts. 'I remember that he was a little rough around the edges when it came to Naruto at the beginning. But soon it will work out.' Daichi then looked at Naruto. 'Soon you'll have a role model you can look up to and as a family you can count on.'

Introduction was soon completed and class began. Although outwardly it looked like Daichi was paying attention, inwardly he was thinking about something else. Daichi's attention shifted to Sasuke who was sitting a few rows in front of him.

'The Uchiha massacre will soon happen. The story didn't specify the exact date but if I'm right it should be happening this month. I thought about several ways I could warn the Hokage but after thinking things through it wouldn't have changed anything and any information leak would only bring me into the line of fire… I can't save the clan… And Ren and his family will die.'

Daichi's fists clenched under the table as he thought about the little baby girl Reo dying because of the machinations of people she never even met.

'I need to keep an eye on Sasuke. If I remember right then an agent of Danzo delays Sasuke at the academy the day of the massacre. It was to give Itachi time to complete his mission. So then I'll be able to figure out when the tragedy takes place if I keep an eye on him.'

The day quickly passed without much happening. During Daichi's walk home he saw some Uchiha clans men glaring at the people as they walked by.

'The tension between the village and the clan is increasing. And looks like the clan will be making their move soon.'

Daichi reached home after a few minutes and he saw a genin team at the front of his house handing a scroll to his grandfather. They left once they completed the mission. 'It must have been some sort of D-rank delivery mission.' Daichi concluded.

Kensei opened the scroll and was reading the contents as Daichi came inside.

"What's that, gramps?"

"It's a letter from an old friend. He lives in the capital. Apparently he wants to meet for a reunion." Kensei said as he looked at the scroll.

"So when is he coming?" Daichi was curious about Kensei's friends. The old man doesn't talk about them much.

"He won't be coming here but has invited me to his home in the capital."

"Are you going?" Daichi asked.

"Hmmm… Yes. He's an old friend and it's been a long time since I last saw him… Looks like I'll be taking a trip out of the village again."

"How long will you be gone?"

"I'll leave tomorrow and be back in about a week." Kensei answered and both of them relaxed in the backyard of the house. Daichi did some light training while Kensei asked about his day at the academy.

The next day Kensei left for the capital just as Daichi left for the academy. Daichi reached the classroom and saw that Naruto and Kiba were near Shino talking about the beetles. Naruto wanted to prank the girls with the small beetles while Shino protested. Daichi looked around and saw Hinata smiling as she talked with Ino and Sakura.

'Looks like the Rookie 6 just increased to rookie 8. Now if only the resident emo would join them… It'll truly be a geek's dream come true to see them together.'

Daichi chucked to himself at the thought and walked to his seat.

Days passed by with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Daichi kept an eye on Sasuke to figure out the date of the massacre. With each passing day Daichi was becoming slightly more and more anxious. But he hid his feelings so as to not arouse any suspicion.

It was Friday. The last day of their first week. The day's classes just got done and Daichi was walking through the hallways. The evening rays were shining down through the windows as he walked the empty hallway. At that moment a quest suddenly appeared. The sudden emergence of the quest surprised Daichi. He looked at the contents and was shocked.

'The Uchiha massacre. It's happening.'

[Quest Created - 'Rescue Reo Uchiha']

[Itachi has decided to kill the Uchiha clan. Successfully rescue Reo Uchiha before she is killed. Time limit : 1.5 Hours.]

[Rewards:]

12000 Exp.

Reputation increases with Aiko Hikara and Kensei Yasaji.

Reputation increases with Ren Uchiha and Kimiko Uchiha.

[Failure:]

Death.

Death of Kensei Yasaji and Reo Uchiha.

Reputation decreases with everyone.

[Warning: Successfully completing this quest will create a ripple effect and will have unknown consequences in the future.]

[Accept (Y/N)]

Daichi knew that accepting this mission would be dangerous. If anything happened then not only him but Kensei would also die as well.

At that moment another quest popped up.

[Alternate Quest]

[Quest Created - 'Follow the Root Agents.']

[Danzo Shimura has assigned 3 root agents to watch the Uchiha compound and make sure Itachi completes his mission. They are also assigned with the secondary mission of collecting Sharingan eyes. Find one of the agents and follow him back to the base and steal a Sharingan. ]

[Rewards:]

15000 Exp.

Uchiha Bloodline.

[Failure:]

Death or Conscripted into the Root Anbu.

Death of Kensei Yasaji.

Reputation decreases with everyone.

[Warning: Successfully completing this quest will create a ripple effect and will have unknown consequences in the future.]

[Accept (Y/N)]

[Note: Player can only accept one quest.]