After the first css, Nawaki rushed over to Shin.

  "Shin, I 't believe you're in our css!"

  "Yeah, looks like I'll be needing yuidance," Shin said with a grin.

  "No problem! In this css, I'm the top dog!"

  Nauffed out his chest, giving a thumbs-up.

  "Hello, let's get acquainted. I'm Nara Shikaku, and these are Yamanaka Inoichi and Akimichi Chōza," Shikaku said, approag with his two friends.

  Shin's eyebrows shot up. The Ino-Shika-Chō trio, in his css?

  He decided not to dwell on it. With his influence, who knew how the Naruto timeline had ged?

  He figured the major events would still occur, like the Sed Shinobi World War. But with him in the mix, things might unfold differently.

  "o meet you all. I'm Uzumaki Shin. You just call me Shin. I'm from Uzushiogakure in the Land of Whirlpools."

  Shikaku's eyes flickered with i. They chatted for a bit, then Shikaku and his friends left.

  Shin sed the . He had already seen so many familiar faces; there were bound to be more.

  To his left, he saw two pairs of Byakugan staring at him. They looked simir. Could they be Hiashi and Hizashi Hyūga?

  His gaze tis sweep, stopping at the two students in front of Akiko and Kai. A boy with bright blond hair and a sunny smile...

  It had to be Minato Namikaze, the future Yondaime Hokage.

  But Minato looked quite feminine right now. His hair was a bit long, and his features were delicate. If Shin didn't know better, he would have mistaken him firl.

  "So, are you enjoying yourself?"

  Shin asked Kushina.

  Kushina nodded. She had been nervous at first, but now she was feeling more fortable.

  Perhaps because there were four of them, plus Chōza with his red hair, no one had made fun of Kushina's hair color.

  Without any unpleasant is, Kushina was finding the Academy quite enjoyable. Well, it would be eveer if she wasn't sittio Uchiha Mikoto.

  "Shin, who do you think is prettier, her or me?"

  Kushina whispered, gng at Mikoto.

  "Pretty? her. You're both cute."

  They were five-year-olds; 'Cute' was the appropriate descriptor.

  "Shin, you dummy! I'm not talking to you anymore!" Kushina huffed and turned away.

  Mikoto poked Shin timidly. "Are you two fighting?"

  "Yeah, you know how it is with kids. They get upset easily," Shin chuckled.

  "Shin! You think I'm just a kid?!"

  "Aren't you? You're literally a child," Shin said, shrugging.

  "Grrr!"

  Kushina ped down on his arm and refused to let go.

  "Kushina! You bit me! Let go, or you'll regret it! I'll flick your forehead so hard, you'll cry!" Shin threatened.

  Kushina finally released him, but not before leavih marks on his arm.

  "Look, you're making me bleed!" Shin poi his "wound." There was no blood, just teeth marks.

  But Kushina didn't know that. Embarrassed, she gently rubbed his arm, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

  "I'm sorry, Shin. I was wrong. Please don't be mad at me. Don't ignore me, okay?" Kushina was terrified of Shin ign her.

  "I'm not mad." Shin ruffled her hair.

  Seeing that he really wasn't angry, Kushina giggled and snuggled closer to him.

  Mikoto watched them, envy gnawing at her.

  She thought of her own life, devoid of family and friends. Even her retionship with her wasn't good. She had always been alone.

  Shin noticed her gaze and looked at her. Mikoto quickly looked down, flustered.

  *Oh no, he caught me staring. What do I do?* Mikoto panicked.

  "I feel like a third wheel here," Nawaki said glumly.

  "Eek!"

  Kushina, who had been fortably led against Shin, sat up abruptly. She gred at Nawaki. "Why are you still here?"

  "I wao talk to Shin, but you're both ign me," Nawaki grumbled.

  Just then, the bell rang, signaling the start of the css. Nawaki trudged back to his seat, dejected.

  Tanaka-sensei ehe . The chatter died down instantly. It seemed he anded respect.

  "Alright, css, today we'll tinue our lesson on Chakra."

  Tanaka-sensei unched into a basic expnation of Chakra. Shin already knew all this, even more than Tanaka-sensei.

  "The Chakra Refieique? Is this all we're learning in the Academy?" Kushina whispered to Shin.

  If this was all there was, it retty b. She had already mastered Chakra Refi and had quite a lot of Chakra.

  She had expected to learn powerful Jutsu in the Academy.

  Most students probably thought the same. But the Academy only taught the fuals.

  These fuals were important, but they wouldn't be learning any powerful Jutsu here.

  They might learn the Academy Three, some basic trap-making, and Kunai and Shuriken throwing teiques.

  As for other Jutsu, unless you had a to teach you, you'd have to wait until you became a full-fledged ninja and find other ways to learn them.

  Suddenly, Mikoto passed Shin a notebook.

  Shin took it, looking at her questioningly.

  "These are the notes I took during the lesson. Maybe they'll be helpful," Mikoto said softly.

  "Thank you, Mikoto-san," Shin said gratefully, opening the notebook.

  Her handwriting was elegant, far han his. It leasure just to look at.

  Mikoto blushed, her head lowered. Shin had called her 'Mikoto-san,' omitting her family name. Only close friends did that.

  "Uzumaki-san, are we friends now?" Mikoto asked, her eyes shining with hope.

  Shin paused, then smiled. "Of course. And please, call me Shin. 'Uzumaki-san' sounds too formal."

  "Thank you, Uzumaki... Shin-san."

  Mikoto beamed. She finally had a friend.

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