Chapter 140

Coming to a halt, Senju swept the quiet class with a serious glance.

"But don't hope that everyone will succeed! This year, there will be a lot of practical training, ninja training in addition to the subjects you already have, and slacking off won't be tolerated! Your life depends on how well you grasp all the lessons, so try to approach your future lessons with all seriousness..."

The kunoichi continued speaking, but I gradually stopped listening to her, realizing that her further speech would only intimidate the students and urge them to take their studies seriously. Instead, I began to discreetly look around, examining my classmates, and perhaps future teammates.

There were just under twenty of them — eighteen, but what immediately caught my eye was the excellent physical condition of each one, regardless of gender and size. So, they train seriously at the academy even non-clan children, not distinguishing by origin. Well, that's good.

Of course, the only Akimichi in the group looked more like a ball, but even under his skin and layer of fat, muscles bulged. From our clan, there was only me, but there were two Yamanaka twins, vaguely familiar to me — I had seen them with Inoichi a few times. I'm not very sociable to know their names, but not for long.

Inuzuka were also present in duplicate, but the second boy was hiding further away in the gallery, not allowing himself to be examined closely. There wasn't a single Uchiha in the class. But the Hyuga were leading in numbers — four people from the side branch and one from the main. And when I looked at the only girl, I felt like rubbing my eyes — two seats away from me sat a spitting image of Hinata!

The same short haircut of blue hair, the same little nose, and even a similar jacket, hiding the figure! The only thing spoiling the view was the headband on her forehead, a mark of the side branch of the Hyuga clan, covering the seal. Strange, she should be from the main branch and have a clear forehead if you remember the manga...

Either my knowledge of the plot has failed me for the first time, or the seal can be removed, and I tend to lean towards the latter. Hmm, I'll have to find out more about this.

In addition to the teacher, Senju was accompanied by two boys and one girl, and unlike the first one — all three were dark-haired. The boy sitting to the right of me across the aisle wore the Sarutobi emblem and looked eerily like a young Asuma and Hiruzen combined. If I'm not mistaken, he would be the Hokage's eldest son.

Who would have thought we were the same age. And two Aburame cloaked in robes completed the list of clan children. Generally, among them, it's mostly men who go into combat, while women monitor the development of beetle colonies and engage in research. How do you know these are girls? The upper part is noticeable even under their clothes.

The whole lesson went something like this — I listened with half an ear, but thanks to my glasses, I could freely examine the surrounding children, as well as assess the chakra levels of each. And I must say, I wasn't disappointed.

Except for the Aburame, whose chakra was mostly consumed by the beetles, even non-clan members had a decent amount, not to mention the rest and the Senju, who had about a quarter of my volume. Considering that such reserves are usually only found in experienced tokubetsu jonin or even jonin — there's something to be proud of!

As soon as the bell rang, most of the class rushed to the door, joyfully chattering and laughing. Hmm, even training to be killers didn't take their childhood away. Among those who remained in their seats was a copy of Hinata, as well as my neighbor, who had been curiously eyeing me. I should get to know him, and then try to find out more about the Hyuga.

"Nice to meet you, man," I reached out. "Ryo Nara, I prefer when people call me by my name without suffixes."

Inuzuka looked at my hand as if it were a venomous snake, nervously twitched his eye, but still shook hands. Just at that moment, I felt a strong stomp on my foot, and the puppy on the boy's lap growled menacingly.

"Inuzuka Tsume... and I'm a girl!" the "boy" introduced herself with a slightly hoarse voice, baring her teeth in a "friendly" smile and trying to crush my hand.

Damn, I feel like I'm in for a fun year!

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