Worried that Hanako Ito might say something else embarrassing, Hirofumi took two bites of his meal and set his chopsticks down.
“Grandpa, Father, Mother — I’m done eating! Heading to school now!”
Aoyama Ito caught the look his wife shot across the table and stood up.
Hirofumi glanced back at his father, who had followed him out looking like there was something to say but couldn’t quite get it out.
Normally his father never walked him to the door when he left for school, and besides, Hirofumi wasn’t a little kid anymore.
“Father… is something the matter?” Hirofumi asked, looking toward Aoyama Ito with mild curiosity.
“Ah… well, it’s like this…”
Aoyama Ito looked a little awkward, fidgeting slightly.
“Just say whatever’s on your mind, Father — this isn’t like you at all!”
“Ah…
it’s just, well — it’s what your mother said just now.
Your father has been your age before, you know.
It’s completely normal for young boys to have certain…
strange thoughts…
Still, you do need to take care of your body.
You’re still a bit young, after all.
Having strange thoughts late at night when you’re alone, that’s perfectly normal!
It’s just that going forward, you really should make sure to get more rest.
Don’t end up like today.
Those dark circles are way too heavy!”
Hirofumi’s mouth twisted, and his face flushed red in an instant.
What on earth was his father talking about?!
Surely he didn’t think Hirofumi had stayed up all night doing something weird?!
焯!
“Father! I have absolutely no idea what you’re saying! You don’t need to walk me out either! Goodbye!”
The moment the words were out, Hirofumi bolted, sprinting straight toward the Ninja Academy like he was fleeing for his life.
Aoyama Ito stood there in place, reaching up with an awkward hand to scratch the tip of his nose.
Back when Aoyama Ito had first grown curious about those kinds of things at that age, this was exactly how his own father had sat him down and talked things through.
So why did it go so completely wrong when he tried it with his own son?!
Arriving at the Ninja Academy, Hirofumi let out a long breath.
It seemed last night’s session with Uchiha Bandits had indeed gone a bit too far.
Far enough that his own parents had gotten completely the wrong idea.
Going forward, he would need to be a little more careful about his training.
Inside the classroom, Iruka-sensei hadn’t arrived yet, and the whole room was buzzing with noisy chaos.
Shikamaru Nara was slumped over a desk looking completely lifeless.
Ino Yamanaka was fiddling with a few fresh flowers.
Choji Akimichi was going to town on a bag of chips.
Sakura Haruno was staring at Sasuke Uchiha with that starry-eyed look.
And Naruto Uzumaki was standing on top of a desk, hollering about who knows what.
“Hey! Choji, starting already? How many snacks did you bring today?”
“Loads, obviously! It’s not like you don’t know, this backpack holds nothing but snacks!”
Choji reached straight into the bag, pulled out another pack of chips, and held it out.
“Hey! Ino, those are some nice flowers! Who are they for?!”
Ino’s face went pink in an instant, and the words just wouldn’t come out.
“Shikamaru! Bad night’s sleep?!”
“Going to school is such a drag…”
Shikamaru scratched that pineapple head with zero energy.
“Hey hey hey! Naruto! What are you doing up there, performance art?!”
“Hirofumi, why do you feel different from before? It’s so weird, you’re basically exactly like that smug Sasuke!”
Naruto, still standing on the desk, tilted his head at Hirofumi with a puzzled look, then glanced over at Sasuke sitting in the corner by the window.
“Oh ho! Forehead! Still sneaking glances at Sasuke?!”
“What?! You horrible Hirofumi Ito! What are you even saying?! I was not! Sneaking glances… as if I would!”
Sakura’s face turned beet red while saying it.
At the same time, Sakura stole a quick look over at Sasuke nearby, wanting to catch what kind of reaction Sasuke would have upon finding out.
But Sasuke just sat there with an expression of complete, serene indifference and showed absolutely no reaction whatsoever.
“…”
Hirofumi made his way around the room, exchanging greetings with every classmate.
After all these years, everyone had long since gotten familiar, relationships were genuinely good all around.
Hirofumi could even say with pride that he was on chip-sharing terms with Choji Akimichi.
Meanwhile, Sasuke kept an outward appearance of watching the view outside the window, but the corner of his eye was quietly tracking Hirofumi the entire time.
And within that gaze, a faint, nearly imperceptible trace of envy flickered past.
Then Sasuke noticed Hirofumi walking toward him, and a small involuntary knot of tension formed inside.
Even though Hirofumi had come over to talk plenty of times before, Sasuke had never once given him a friendly look in return.
Just…
didn’t know how to handle it.
There were times when the urge was there to have a real conversation, but the moment the words came out, they came out all wrong.
“Hey there, Sasuke! Looking even more handsome today, I see, though the gap between you and yours truly is still enormous! Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh heh…”
Sasuke’s face went red in an instant.
“Tch! All you ever do is talk big?! I heard we have live combat drills today, Hirofumi Ito! I’ll show you exactly what Uchiha strength looks like! What Uchiha pride means!”
Sasuke turned away stiffly after saying it, and instantly felt a wave of regret.
Damn it!
Just a moment ago, what Sasuke had actually wanted was to argue about who was better-looking, so why did it somehow end up turning into Uchiha strength and Uchiha pride again?!
Sneaking a sideways glance at Hirofumi, Sasuke saw the other guy didn’t look upset at all and quietly let out a breath of relief.
Last night, after returning to the Uchiha clan grounds, wide, empty, and home to no one but himself, Sasuke had lain awake thinking about many things.
Especially that strange, particular feeling Hirofumi Ito stirred up.
That feeling almost like the same blood flowing through their veins.
Sasuke’s instincts were telling him that Hirofumi very possibly carried Uchiha blood.
Though that idiot Naruto also gave off a certain strange feeling, it was completely different from the one Hirofumi Ito gave.
➤ Next: Ino Yamanaka’s Flower
Chapter 20 – Ino Yamanaka’s Flower
Sasuke Uchiha had no way of understanding the Chakra connection between Indra Otsutsuki and Asura Otsutsuki.
So as far as Sasuke was concerned, apart from the man he was destined to kill, only two people in this world were special — Naruto Uzumaki and Hirofumi Ito.
Hirofumi had noticed it too.
Sasuke’s attitude toward him felt subtly different from before.
And Naruto had now said it two days in a row, yesterday and today, that Hirofumi had changed somehow, in a way Naruto couldn’t quite put into words.
Then there was madara uchiha, whose manner toward him had also shifted ever so slightly compared to the moment Hirofumi had first summoned him.
All of that pointed to one very interesting possibility.
Could it be because of Indra’s Chakra?
In the original story, the Chakra reincarnations of Indra Otsutsuki and Asura Otsutsuki had produced two legendary pairs of frenemies, both at the very peak of the Shinobi World.
madara uchiha and hashirama senju.
Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha.
Both pairs were the textbook definition of love and hate wrapped into one.
So now that he had Indra’s Chakra…
did that make him the third wheel?
Had he just barged straight into the middle of Naruto and Sasuke’s entire love-hate saga?!
At that thought, Hirofumi couldn’t help but steal a glance at both of them, then quickly shook his head.
He was absolutely not into that kind of thing.
All that burning passion could stay right where it belonged, between those two.
He was male.
His preferences were female.
With that firmly settled, Hirofumi looked over at Ino Yamanaka, who was still holding the flowers in her hands.
For a moment their eyes met.
Ino’s face flushed pink and she quickly dropped her gaze.
Look at that.
Just look at that!
So he was still pretty charming after all!
He had actually noticed Ino Yamanaka’s feelings a long time ago.
But they were still at the Ninja Academy, so he hadn’t let himself think too hard about it.
Everything after graduation.
Truth be told, though, Ino Yamanaka was genuinely impressive.
Fine features, a slender figure, among the new generation of the Hidden Leaf Village, her looks were absolutely top-tier.
And it wasn’t just that.
Her family background was excellent too.
Inoichi Yamanaka, her father, was the current head of the Yamanaka Clan.
She was, without question, a girl who had it all.
Landing her would be an instant ticket to the top.
And the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans were so close they practically operated as one.
If he could marry Ino Yamanaka someday, that meant securing the support of three clans at once.
For his future goal of taking control of the Hidden Leaf Village, that was no small advantage.
He was still turning all of that over in his mind when Ino Yamanaka picked up the flowers and began making her way toward him, each step small and hesitant.
“Hirofumi… this is for you. It’s a flower I grew myself. I hope you like it…”
She held the flowers out in front of him, her whole manner radiating shyness, head lowered, not quite daring to look at his face.
He hadn’t expected her to make the first move.
He reached out and took them.
“Arigatou! Ino! I really love your flowers. Only…”
The turn in his sentence made Ino’s heart clench.
She had always had strong feelings for Hirofumi, but giving someone flowers, that was a first for her.
The decision had come from overhearing her parents talk one evening.
Her father had mentioned that when he was young, he used to bring her mother flowers all the time for no particular reason, and that was how he had eventually won her over.
That story had stuck.
Ino had gone home, picked out the most beautiful flowers she had grown herself, and brought them to school.
But what did he mean by “only”?
Was he saying he didn’t want to accept them?!
Then she heard the rest of what Hirofumi had to say.
“Only… these flowers may be beautiful, but they’re not as beautiful as you. In my eyes, Ino, you’re far prettier than any flower!”
Ino Yamanaka’s body temperature spiked in an instant.
Her face went as red and radiant as a furnace.
Steam began rising from her forehead.
Hirofumi stared.
He was completely dumbstruck.
He had always assumed steam was Hinata Hyūga’s exclusive ability.
He had noticed more than once that Hinata would do exactly this whenever Naruto was nearby.
Back then he had actually been a little envious of Naruto, like, what even was that?!
That was the legendary steam girl straight out of the stories!
And now…
apparently he had one too?!
Ino was so flustered after hearing those words that she couldn’t get a single syllable out.
Stumbling back to the seat in a complete panic.
Hirofumi watched that retreating figure and felt very satisfied.
Still, everything after graduation.
The hazy, unspoken feelings between a boy and a girl really were something wonderful.
When Iruka-sensei walked through the door, the classroom gradually settled into quiet.
“Everyone, today our class will be holding a live combat training session. This is your final year at the Ninja Academy — once you graduate, you become real ninja. That means live combat training is not optional. This morning we’ll review our academic subjects. This afternoon, we begin!”
The room lit up.
Live combat training meant no regular class, reason enough to be excited.
Sasuke Uchiha fixed his gaze on Hirofumi Ito, eyes burning with competitive fire.
In every previous training session, Hirofumi had been the biggest threat.
Every single time.
Not this time.
But Hirofumi Ito had already slumped forward onto his desk, or more precisely, in the strictest sense, he hadn’t fallen asleep at all.
He had entered the Summoning Space.
Up on the platform, Iruka-sensei looked out at the classroom and let out a quiet sigh.
His students were talented.
They were also an absolute handful.
The napping squad: Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara, Kiba Inuzuka…
Choji Akimichi, who was almost always eating snacks.
The cold and aloof Sasuke Uchiha, who never wanted to talk to anyone.
The romance-obsessed Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka, one always watching Sasuke, the other always watching Hirofumi Ito.
Oh right, and then there was Shino Aburame, who never seemed to have any presence whatsoever…
Hard to say why the presence was so impossibly low.
Iruka even found himself forgetting Shino existed on a regular basis.
That kind of terrifyingly low presence, honestly, the kid was a born natural at being a ninja.
Hm?
Who was it he’d just been thinking about…
Never mind.
Back to class.
➤ Next: Kick My Backside, Slap Your Face
Thanks for reading!
✨
If you like where this is going:
Add this book to your Library 📚
Every stone counts.
Keep the momentum going!