Chapter 13: Konoha Villagers: My Bullying Soul Awakened

Once all the students had finished their introductions, Morikawa Naoki outlined the study arrangements for the next six years.

He covered the subjects they would study, what regular exams would entail, the general requirements for each grade level, and the graduation examination in the final year.

The graduation examination wasn't just a single event. During the final academic year, the academy would schedule a total of eight graduation tests. Passing just one of them was enough to secure graduation qualifications.

However, passing the graduation exam was only one of the conditions required to graduate. Regular academic performance was equally important. If a student's grades fell too far behind and failed to meet graduation standards, they would still be unable to become a shinobi, even if they passed the graduation exam.

Following that, Naoki briefly explained the rules of the ninja academy and gave a general overview of the instructors who would teach them in the future.

With all these matters covered, there was still some time left before the lunch break.

Naoki closed his lesson plans and sat on the edge of the podium, his tone relaxing considerably compared to before.

Unlike in later eras, the village didn't harbor many taboos regarding historical events. With the casual air of someone telling a story, Naoki began recounting the deeds of the First Hokage to them.

Starting from Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara founding Konoha together, he talked all the way up to the First Hokage capturing the tailed beasts, right until the midday dismissal bell rang.

Naoki had no intention of keeping them past the bell and directly announced the end of class.

"That's all for the morning. There will be a simple little test this afternoon, and I'll take you all down to the training ground then."

With that, he turned and left the classroom.

The moment the teacher departed, conversational murmurs began rising around the room.

These were six-year-old children who had sat quietly through an entire morning; they were more than ready to stretch their legs.

Shingo stretched lazily, only to see Hyūga Yūji turn his head back around to look at him once more, wearing a tangled expression of wanting to speak yet holding back.

Before Hyūga Yūji could decide whether or not to come over and question Shingo, Nawaki saw that the teacher had already walked away and impatiently grabbed Shingo's arm.

"Come on, come on, Shingo. I'll introduce you to some friends."

As the old saying goes: curiosity killed the cat.

Shingo knew that if Hyūga Yūji remained completely in the dark, his curiosity would only grow stronger. Within the Hyūga clan, excessive curiosity could very well lead to someone getting killed.

After a moment's thought, Shingo told Nawaki:

"I need to make a quick trip to the restroom. I'll be right back."

"Huh? Oh, alright then. Make it quick!"

Before stepping out of the classroom, Shingo deliberately glanced back at Hyūga Yūji.

Their eyes met, and Hyūga Yūji silently stood up, trailing behind Shingo.

Passing through the second-floor corridor, the two of them walked one after the other into the restroom.

Once inside, Shingo used his Mind's Eye to confirm there was no one else present, then checked the stalls one by one to let Yūji see clearly that it was indeed empty.

"Speak. There's no one here."

"Shingo-aniki, where is your Byakugan? How come I haven't seen you around the clan compound lately? And why did you drop the Hyūga surname? What on earth happened?"

Shingo didn't conceal anything, giving a concise and direct account of everything he had suffered.

Having his eyes gouged out, being cast out of the clan compound, and having his surname stripped.

Initiating this direct explanation with Yūji was far better than having Yūji run around asking random clansmen upon his return.

Without giving the stunned Yūji time to slowly digest the information, as the restroom wasn't a secure location, and someone could walk in at any second, Shingo raised a hand to pat Yūji's shoulder, instructing him in a calm tone:

"Yūji, from now on at school, don't get too close to me. It's for your own good, and mine as well."

With a look of dejection, Yūji nodded and walked out with his head bowed.

Shingo turned on the restroom faucet to rinse his hands, waiting a short while after Yūji's departure before returning to the classroom.

…

Stepping back inside, Shingo saw that Nawaki was no longer sitting in his original seat.

He had scampered over to the desks of the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, sitting right on the edge of a desk and chatting animatedly with them.

Seeing Shingo return, Nawaki waved at him with a beaming smile.

"Shingo, over here!"

Shingo walked over, and Nawaki hopped down from the desk, enthusiastically making introductions all around.

"Shingo, this is Nara Shikaku, Yamanaka Inoichi, and Akimichi Chōza."

With that, he turned to the other three.

"Shikaku, Inoichi, Chōza, this is Shingo."

Shingo exchanged nod-based greetings with the three of them.

After the introductions, a brief awkward silence settled over the group. It wasn't that anyone was intentionally being difficult; they simply didn't know Shingo well enough to figure out what subjects were appropriate to bring up.

It was Nawaki who took the initiative, bearing the heavy responsibility of breaking the ice.

"I'm telling you guys, Shingo and I only met this morning. The crowd in front of the notice board was insane, and when Shingo pushed his way through to check the class assignments and came back out, he accidentally bumped into my sister."

At this point, Nawaki gave a cheeky chuckle.

"After Shingo left, my sister actually said he had great strength. That's what caught my attention right off the bat."

"Tsunade-sama said that?"

Shikaku straightened up slightly, a flicker of curiosity coloring his tone.

"Yeah, my sister hardly ever praises anyone. Since she said so, Shingo definitely isn't ordinary."

Listening to Nawaki's buildup, Shikaku grew somewhat curious about just what level of physical strength could draw praise from Tsunade.

Inoichi maintained his polite demeanor, warm yet carrying a trace of restraint.

Chōza's reaction was much simpler. Since Nawaki was willing to make the introduction proactively, it meant Shingo was at least worth interacting with.

He reached into his small pack, pulled out a small piece of dried meat, and extended it across.

"Want to try some? My family makes it."

"Thanks."

Shingo took the piece of dried meat and tasted it.

The meaty aroma was rich, the saltiness was balanced, it had a nice chew to it, and it didn't get stuck between his teeth.

Backed by the Gourmet Palette skill provided by the chef class, Shingo could perceive all the intricate details of the dried meat.

The ingredients, the heat control, the seasoning...

When it came to food, the Akimichi clan truly held supreme authority.

After finishing the story of how he and Shingo met, Nawaki eagerly began recounting some of the amusing past adventures he shared with Shikaku and the others.

Listening for a short while, Shingo suddenly grew curious.

"Did you guys know each other since childhood?"

Although he asked the question, Shingo already had an answer forming in his mind. It was likely that the elders of the Ino-Shika-Chō families frequently interacted with the Third Hokage or Tsunade, and gatherings would always include their children. Over time, these kids naturally grew familiar with one another.

Yet the answer Nawaki provided turned out quite different from what Shingo had imagined.

"Ah? Not really. We've only known each other for... what, a little over a year?"

"One year and three months," Shikaku added from the side.

"How did you guys meet?" Shingo asked, intrigued.

"Man, that story is completely absurd. I was building a castle all by myself in the park sandbox when a few punks came running over looking for trouble. First, they cursed at me, then they kicked apart the sandcastle I built, and finally, they shoved me. There was no way I was going to put up with that, so I started fighting them. Those little brats couldn't beat me, so they went back to round up reinforcements.

"Before long, a dozen or so of them had me surrounded, and several were a few years older than me. Shikaku, Inoichi, and Chōza saw them ganging up on someone and bullying someone younger, so they charged right in to help. The four of us thrashed that bunch together."

With that, Nawaki nodded toward the side of the classroom:

"See? That guy over there, Akita Katsuya, was one of the punks who started it."

Wait...

Actual bullying?!

Shock washed over Shingo in tidal waves.

Were Konoha villagers really this hardcore? They even had the guts to bully the First Hokage's grandson?!

When you really counted them up, the number of people who suffered bullying in Konoha was staggering.

The Fourth's son, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, Uzumaki Naruto, reviled as a monster.

The Hyūga main house's daughter, Hyūga Hinata, scorned as a white-eyed monster.

The Uzumaki orphan, the Nine-Tails vessel, Uzumaki Kushina, mocked for looking like a tomato.

Aside from those, there was the eternal Genin Might Duy, Hatake Sakumo driven to suicide by public opinion, and Haruno Sakura mocked for her broad forehead.

Even in Boruto, Haruno Sakura, who had risen to become the director of Konoha Hospital, possessed undisputed Kage-level combat strength, and was a rare medical ninja, was still being treated unfairly, forced to coldly hug Uchiha Sarada and cry in her own home.

While Shingo was already aware of all these things, he never expected that even the First Hokage's grandson would end up a victim of bullying.

It just went to show that Konoha's bullying genetics were truly peerless in authority.

Nawaki bringing up this incident also stirred the memories of the others.

Inoichi usually looked gentle, but as he spoke of this, his voice carried a touch of youthful agitation.

"I just felt that having such a massive crowd pick on a single person was completely lacking in class. Shikaku, Chōza, and I caught each other's eyes and charged right in without a second thought."

Chōza nodded, recalling that day as well:

"That fight was rough, though. There were sixteen or seventeen guys on the other side, and nearly half of them were eleven or twelve years old. Good thing none of them were academy students, or we might not have won."

"Not bad at all, taking down the whole lot of them with just four people," Shingo praised.

"Hehe, it didn't end there," Shikaku said, casting an involuntary glance back toward Akita Katsuya, clearly still holding a grudge.

"Outnumbering someone and dragging in older kids was one thing, but those shameless bastards actually went running home to complain to their parents after getting beaten. And their parents were even more shameless, preparing to lay hands on a few kids."

"Then what?" Shingo grew even more curious.

"Hehe, then my sister showed up. She was originally coming to drag me home for dinner, but when she saw a bunch of adults surrounding us, she didn't waste a single word, one punch each, and she sent the whole lot straight to the hospital."

Nawaki's smile radiated undisguised pride.

Shikaku, Inoichi, and Chōza recalled the scene as well, unable to hold back their laughter.

Amidst their bantering and laughter, the initial unfamiliarity vanished entirely.

When the time came, they all produced their lunchboxes and sat together to eat.

The others had ordinary home-cooked meals, nothing out of the ordinary.

Chōza's bento, however, was extremely conspicuous. A double-layered tiered food box packed to the brim with grilled shrimp, rolled omelets, potato cakes, and red bean dumplings resting off to the side.

Then came Shingo's meal, which was even larger in volume than Chōza's.

Driven by his high-intensity training and his Warrior's Physique, his current appetite far exceeded that of his peers. Even Hinata probably couldn't match him.

The contents, however, were relatively monotonous, just grilled meat, vegetables, and rice.

To Shingo's surprise, this struck a direct bullseye for Chōza.

Chōza's absolute favorite food was grilled meat. If he could, he would have loved to carry a massive box of grilled meat like this himself. But because of training in the Akimichi clan's secret techniques, his diet required not only massive amounts of protein, but also plenty of sugars and fats. That was why his bento contained so many fried foods and sweets.

Gazing at the grilled meat, roasted to a golden brown on the outside and tender within, Chōza swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"Shingo, can I try a piece of your meat? It looks amazing. You can have some of mine, too."

Shingo pushed his lunchbox forward. He rather liked Chōza's straightforward, say-what's-on-your-mind personality.

"Help yourself."

Chōza happily picked up a piece with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth to savor carefully.

The surface of the meat was slightly crisp, while the inside remained juicy and tender. The muscle fibers had been processed meticulously; when bitten into, juices still burst forth. Only the flavor profile fell slightly short.

It wasn't that it tasted bad.

Rather, because this wasn't farm-raised livestock, but a wild boar Shingo had hunted himself in the forest, it carried a more pronounced gamey odor. Coupled with the fact that he lacked high-end seasonings right now, relying only on the basics like salt and pepper, it couldn't compare to commercial cuts.

In this era, freight transport wasn't all that advanced, and top-tier spices commanded exorbitant prices. Shingo wasn't willing to sink his meager savings into buying them.

Fortunately, his Level 1 Chef class had elevated his culinary skills to the level of a professional diner's cook. Combined with the prey-processing experience provided by his Level 2 Hunter class, he handled ingredients with considerable expertise. From skinning and bleeding to removing gamey odors and enhancing fragrance, the overlapping bonuses of the two classes allowed this grilled meat to maintain a decent standard despite the thin seasoning.

Chōza nodded, a hint of regret touching his tone, though he still affirmed:

"The texture and flavor are both good. It'd be even better if the seasoning were a bit richer."

Hearing that, Shingo knew that despite being only six years old, Chōza was already a seasoned gourmand.

"Yeah, I don't have many seasonings on hand right now. I'll head into the woods another day and see if I can find any plants usable for seasoning."

Hearing Shingo say that, Chōza immediately patted his chest and declared:

"I'll bring some for you tomorrow! My family has tons of it, more than enough to cover what I use for my own grilling."

After finishing lunch, the group chatted for a short while longer.

Before long, the afternoon bell rang out, and the students returned to their seats one after another.

Walking into the classroom, Naoki saw that the children who had been strangers to each other in the morning were now clustered together in small groups.

"Looks like you're all getting along well."

With that, he clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention to himself.

"This afternoon's test won't be in the classroom. Everyone gather at the playground."

Out on the playground, Naoki divided the students into two groups based on whether or not they had mastered the chakra refinement technique.

The results held no surprises for him.

The Uchiha, the Hyūga, the Ino-Shika-Chō...

All the students hailing from ninja clans had already mastered chakra refinement.

Among those from non-ninja families, only Shingo and a girl named Shimada Nana, whose parents were both shinobi, had mastered it.

Aside from those two, many of the rest were hearing the term "chakra refinement" for the very first time. Some didn't even know what chakra was, having no concept of it whatsoever.

Naoki didn't bother explaining it to them right then; they would learn about it naturally in subsequent lessons. Today's goal was primarily to gauge the students' foundational levels.

He started with the students who hadn't mastered chakra refinement, roughly grouping them by gender and build for the simplest sparring matches. 

For children who hadn't even grasped chakra refinement, sparring at this stage held very little practical meaning. Naoki simply wanted to avoid giving them the impression on their very first day that the teacher favored the clan students.

Sometimes it wasn't a matter of teacher bias; the gap was just glaringly obvious.

Once that group's matches concluded, Naoki offered them a few words of praise.

Then came the turn of the students who had already mastered chakra refinement to undergo combat testing.

Uchiha Ami had been raring to go for a long time. She figured there were only three girls in this group, and one of them was a civilian, so the odds were high she would be paired against Uchiha Ruri.

She had already prepared herself to give Ruri a severe beating.

To her dismay, the matchup list announced by Naoki shattered her fantasies entirely.

Uchiha Ami versus Nawaki.

Shikaku would fight two matches: first against Sarutobi Kazuya, then against Shimada Nana.

Yamanaka Inoichi versus Hyūga Yūji.

Akimichi Chōza versus Hyūga Hideki.

And finally, Shingo, who had scored full marks on the entrance assessment, would face Uchiha Ruri, already renowned as a prodigy within the Uchiha clan.

"Sensei, I want to fight Ruri."

Uchiha Ami raised her hand in dissatisfaction.

"No."

Naoki replied in a flat tone, issuing a direct rejection.

Catching the warning glint in Naoki's eyes, Ami could only swallow her frustration and step back.

The testing commenced swiftly.

At this entry-level stage, most of these clan children had only just begun touching upon clan secret techniques or ninjutsu. Yet it was barely a beginning; they were practically incapable of deploying them in actual combat.

Consequently, their matches relied primarily on physical conditioning and taijutsu skill.

Among them, Nawaki, Chōza, and the two Hyūga youths displayed clear advantages.

Yūji defeated Inoichi, while Chōza and Hideki traded blows back and forth until Chōza ultimately clinched victory through sheer superior strength.

Ami's strength wasn't weak, but Nawaki secured the final victory thanks to the constitution of the Senju clan.

After winning, Nawaki stood on the sidelines flashing a goofy grin, stealing glances at Ami every now and then.

Ami hadn't reacted too intensely to losing to Nawaki. But seeing Ruri, who usually kept her mouth shut, let out a rare, quiet laugh at her defeat, her irritation spiked.

The sound wasn't loud, but the insult factor was off the charts.

Grit her teeth as she might, Ami had no retort; a loser simply lacked the qualification to talk back.

She could only silently pray that this boy named Shingo would thoroughly thrash Ruri into next week.

Don't waste that tall frame of yours, she thought viciously.

Shikaku's two matches were won with absolute crispness. Shikaku's victories didn't stem from physical prowess, but rather from his mastery over his opponents' mental states, tactical choices, and ninja tool utilization, which sat a full tier above the other two.

Finally, it was time for Shingo versus Ruri.

The two stepped forward into the arena, first performing the Seal of Confrontation.

Then they separated, standing their ground as they awaited the teacher's command.

At Naoki's word, the battle officially commenced.

Shingo stood rooted to the spot, unmoving, while Ruri charged straight toward him.

To the other fresh recruits, her speed was blinding.

To Shingo, however, it fell somewhat short.

Almost instantly, she closed the distance to Shingo's front, thrusting out her right fist straight for his abdomen.

Shingo shifted his feet slightly, angling his body just enough to let her punch miss his clothing entirely by a hair.

Stunned, Ruri immediately reorganized her assault.

Violently slamming her left foot into the ground, she transformed her right punch into an elbow strike, lowering her center of gravity and crashing forward like a released arrow.

Shingo's right hand had already blocked her advancing line of movement long ago; her desperate charge was effortlessly intercepted.

Ruri poured more power into her footing, yet felt her body unable to advance even an inch further.

Her left hand swept across her waist, and a training kunai materialized in her palm.

Instantly twisting her torso, she thrust the kunai directly toward Shingo's shoulder.

Shingo's right hand still held a lock on Ruri's elbow; a simple, forceful push disrupted her balance, shoving her back a full step.

Without sufficient distance, that thrust naturally missed its mark entirely.

The next moment, Shingo raised his left fist.

No extraneous tricks, no flashy techniques, just the most ordinary, straightforward straight punch.

Yet this punch was terrifyingly fast.

So fast that Ruri couldn't even track its trajectory with her eyes, let alone coordinate her body to evade it.

Is this guy really a first-year student?!

How is he this strong?!

Almost on pure instinct, she crossed her arms defensively in front of her chest.

Before the anticipated pain struck, Naoki activated the Body Flicker Technique, materializing directly in front of her.

"Stop!"

Naoki caught Shingo's fist firmly in his palm.

"Not bad, kid! That's some serious power!"

Shingo's punch had carried immense momentum, and fearing that it might inflict severe injuries on Ruri, Naoki had rushed in without hesitation.

Yet upon intercepting the blow, he realized Shingo had intentionally held back his strength.

Shingo offered a mild smile, accepting the praise with a clear conscience.

To possess this kind of strength at his age required raw talent.

To consistently wear heavy weights on his body required sheer effort.

To know to hold back during combat required a sense of proportion.

Coupled with Shingo's unassuming, modest demeanor...

Naoki felt his favorability score for this kid reaching the absolute ceiling.

"Shingo wins. Ruri, you performed well too."

Naoki patted Shingo's back, signaling for him to complete the Seal of Reconciliation with Ruri.

At the edge of the training ground, Ami finally lost control.

"Hahahahaha! You did even worse than me! How did you not even last a minute?!"

Ami's laughter rang out extra loud, but Ruri acted as if she hadn't heard a word.

She mechanically extended her hand, completing the Seal of Reconciliation alongside Shingo.

Yet deep within those eyes, carrying a subtle, flickering light, the shadow of Shingo had begun to take root.