The sun shone harshly this morning, as expected for summer in a place with a climate like this. A gentle breeze occasionally drifted over the lake near the Academy’s training grounds, immensely helping to alleviate the heat.
The entire group had gathered beneath a large tree near the edge of the lake, its wide canopy shielding us from the relentless sunlight overhead. Even with the shade, though, the heat of summer still lingered stubbornly against the skin.
“You’re not dragging us all here just to make us train together, are you?” Shikamaru asked lazily as he was lying flat on the grass with both hands behind his head.
“I’m not, Shikamaru. Relax,” I replied lightly.
Honestly, I highly doubted I could motivate him even if I tried. If I remembered correctly, Shikamaru only truly “regretted being weak” after Asuma died.
…Or was it after Choji, Kiba, and Neji nearly died during the Sasuke Retrieval Mission?
Whatever.
“Then why did you ask all of us to come to school today?” Shino asked. He leaned against the tree trunk while idly fiddling with a bug crawling across his finger.
“Yeah,” Sora added with a mild complaint. “Yesterday, you suddenly showed up, said ‘come to school tomorrow,’ and then immediately ran off again.”
Aki nodded beside him in agreement.
They really did act like childhood sweethearts, huh?
“Yeah, sorry about that.” I scratched the back of my head sheepishly. “I needed to stock up on supplies while the discounts were still going on, so I was in a hurry.”
I paused for a moment before continuing.
“Two days ago, I saw something really disturbing at the market. I wanted to hear what you guys think about it.”
Choji briefly stopped eating his snacks before asking, “Is it about food?”
“No, Choji.” I sighed. “But I really wish it was about food.”
Sakura and Ino exchanged curious glances at my response.
“If it happened at the market, then why are we here?” Kiba asked while squatting on the grass nearby, absentmindedly pulling at a few blades.
He glanced toward the Academy building before continuing.
“By the way, this won’t take long, right? I still haven’t done my homework yet.”
…Wait, what?
I stared at him in disbelief.
“Kiba… break ends in three days, and you still haven’t touched your homework?”
Kiba pouted immediately.
“It’s not like I haven’t started,” he muttered defensively.
…Should I tell him that writing a single, overly calligraphed ‘The’ didn’t actually count as starting?
Nah. Nobody here would get that reference anyway.
I decided not to pry further into Kiba’s academic situation, but just as I was about to answer his original question, I noticed several others suddenly shifting uncomfortably.
Especially the boys.
More specifically, every boy except Shino and Choji.
I slowly deadpanned at them.
“Don’t tell me none of you have done the homework either.”
Sakura immediately raised her hand with visible pride.
“I finished mine by the third day of break!”
Her smug expression practically radiated superiority.
Ino quickly raised her hand as well.
“I finished mine too!”
Hinata nodded timidly while fidgeting with her fingers.
“I-I’ve finished mine as well,” she said softly.
Aki also nodded when I glanced in her direction, silently confirming that she had completed hers too.
Sora immediately turned toward Aki with pleading eyes.
“Aki~ Can I bor—”
“No! Do it yourself!”
Aki cut him off mercilessly with a loud huff.
Sora slumped dramatically in defeat.
I turned toward Shino, who was still calmly observing the insect crawling across his hand.
He did not even bother looking up.
…So even Shino still had not done his homework.
Choji paused mid-bite.
“I’m almost done,” he said after swallowing. “I think I can finish by tomorrow night.”
Shikamaru lazily raised one hand without opening his eyes.
“Say less, Takeshi. I already know my mom’s going to nag about it tonight, which is why I planned to finally start today. So yeah, I’m with Kiba on this one. Hopefully this won’t take long.”
Good grief.
Kiba pointed at me.
“More importantly, you still haven’t answered my question. Why are we here?”
“I would also like to know that, Takeshi. What exactly is the occasion for this gathering?”
The familiar voice suddenly came from my left. A voice that sounded unmistakably like Iruka.
The entire group jolted.
Even Shino visibly stiffened for a moment.
Around twenty meters away stood Iruka himself, casually approaching beneath the shade of the trees. He wore his usual outfit: standard chunin vest, dark clothing, and of course, the forehead protector.
…Did he even own different clothes?
More importantly, did he ever wash those?
Still, I supposed this was expected of a chunin. The fact that he had managed to approach an entire group of Ninja Academy students intentionally without any of us noticing until he spoke was honestly impressive.
Emphasis on intentionally.
... Looking at you, Shino.
“So…” Iruka began while placing both hands on his hips.
His eyes swept across the gathered students before he finally stopped beside the tree.
“What’s the occasion? Because unless this is urgent, I would very much prefer some of you to finish your homework sooner rather than later.”
Several of the boys immediately flinched.
None of them dared make eye contact with him.
Deciding to save them from further awkwardness, I quickly moved the conversation forward.
“Iruka-sensei, I have a favor to ask.”
That immediately caught his attention.
“A favor?”
He glanced around at the group again, his brows knitting slightly.
“I’m sure you’re reasonable enough not to ask me to teach them what I taught you, Takeshi. Especially considering that break is almost over. Also, most of them here definitely will be taught those two things by their clan.”
That earned me several curious looks from the others.
Still, I ignored them for now.
I shook my head. “Of course not, Iruka-sensei. It’s about the reason I couldn’t focus properly during yesterday’s training.”
Iruka’s expression immediately turned serious.
Teacher mode activated, I guess.
“As I told my friends earlier,” I continued, “I saw something very disturbing at the market two days ago, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since.”
I gestured toward the group.
“That’s why I want to know what they think about it too. But before that, I need them to actually see what I saw.”
Iruka tilted his head in confusion. “Need them to see what you saw?” he repeated.
Concern slowly appeared on his face. “What exactly did you see, Takeshi?”
I deliberately hesitated.
Judging from the increasingly worried looks spreading throughout the group, the act seemed convincing enough.
After taking a slow breath, I finally answered.
“Uzumaki Naruto.”
I caught the subtle flinch from Iruka the moment the name left my mouth, which I conveniently ignored for now.
“I saw Naruto again at the market two days ago,” I continued. “So I want to ask Iruka-sensei to use Henge and transform into him for a little while, then walk around the market so my friends can see what I saw.”
Iruka’s expression instantly shifted from concern to utter bewilderment.
Meanwhile, the rest of the group looked equally confused.
As expected, Shikamaru and Shino were the first to recover.
“What exactly did you see, Takeshi?” Shino asked solemnly.
“Yeah,” Shikamaru added, now fully sitting upright. “Why do we need to see it ourselves instead of you just telling us?”
I turned toward them.
“Because I honestly don’t know if what I saw was real.” I said with a heavy voice, which made the atmosphere beneath the tree suddenly became noticeably heavier.
“I’m worried that if I explain it incorrectly, I’ll end up spreading false information.” I glanced briefly toward Iruka. “And according to what Iruka-sensei taught us, that would be a very bad thing.”
I turned back toward him.
“So… can you do it, please, Iruka-sensei?”
Iruka crossed his arms.
“That is not a commendable use of Henge, Takeshi.”
“Well, if I really saw things correctly,” I replied sharply, “then what the adults did at the market two days ago wasn’t exactly commendable either.”
Several of the others stiffened at my tone, and I also caught Iruka flinched again.
I softened my voice slightly afterward.
“Besides, I’m not asking Iruka-sensei to do anything bad while disguised as Naruto. Just walk around the market for a little while. Maybe pretend to buy something from one of the stalls at most.”
Then I clasped my hands together. “So… please?”
Iruka’s expression grew even more complicated.
He remained silent.
From my pheriperal vision, I can see the others watched us with increasing concern while I continued holding my clasped hands together.
Thirty seconds passed.
Then sixty.
After a full minute, I finally lowered my hands with acting reluctance.
“I’m sorry, Iruka-sensei,” I said while bowing politely. “I guess there’s some unspoken ninja rule regarding ninjutsu usage that I still don’t understand yet. I hope you can teach me about it later.”
Then I looked back up at him with a small smile.
“In that case, could you at least still come with us to the market? There are still some questions I need to ask that I think only you can answer.”
Iruka continued staring at me with that same conflicted expression for several seconds.
Then suddenly his eyes widened. Probably because he had finally realized the implication behind my compromise.
“Takeshi…” His voice lowered slightly. “Have you…?”
Without answering him verbally, I silently raised my hands again in front of my chest.
Then I slowly formed the hand seals.
Dog > Boar > Ram.
A puff of smoke exploded around me.
When it cleared, the faces staring back at me were filled with pure disbelief.
Not only Iruka’s, but everyone’s.
A few seconds later, I released the transformation with another puff of smoke.
“How is it, Iruka-sensei?” I asked calmly. “I’ll be the one Henge’d as Naruto instead. I only need you to accompany us because, again, there are some questions I need answered. Is that alright?”
Silence. Complete and utter silence.
Iruka just stared at me as if he had completely forgotten how to speak.
Choji still held a half-eaten chip frozen in midair.
Shikamaru’s, Kiba’s, and Sora’s mouth hung wide open.
Sakura, Ino, and Aki looked equally stunned.
Hinata blinked her eyes rapidly.
Even Shino had finally stopped fiddling with his insect.
And then—
“““EEEEHHHHHH?!?!?!”””
Note
With Sasuke's pretty much done for the time being, now's time for Naruto.