Chapter 132: A new teacher? Feels familiar though…

Three weeks ago, inside a bustling classroom of the Ninja Academy a group of children were busy catching up with their friends in class.

Last school year ended many children parted ways or some were busy taking extra classes, so it was not unusual for most children to try to catch up. As they grew older they got busy with many other things they had to work at or invest themselves in. So for most it was a long time since they had seen each other.

Some were surprised at how bigger some got, some were bragging about their training or leaving the village. 

But as time went on more and more children poured inside the classroom, and took the seat they were assigned or were in the year prior, even though the classroom was different, as their teacher had yet to arrive, students simply saw the classrooms they were assigned from a piece of paper in the lobby. 

Only the first years students were left to gather in front of the academy as their parents saw them off.

However for students in the second grade and up they were simply made to enter the academy without any ceremony or fanfare, they were certainly not going to meet the Hokage or listen to one of his speeches before entering their classroom.

So was the same for Naruto's class. 

By the time school started all students were present and seat without much fanfare, they had been doing this for almost half of their life, at this point they were more or less in the know about what they had to do or expect from the academy.

Thus, it was that a pleading Naruto and a Homura who tried to ignore the latter were stuck seating next to each other.

Naruto:(Pleading) Come on~~~~~.

  Naruto who had sat next to Homura, could not stop bothering the latter. 

His excitement evident as he eagerly speculated about the arrival of their new teacher. Homura, however, remained engrossed in a book, seemingly unaffected by Naruto's enthusiasm. Naruto playfully nudged Homura's shoulder, hoping to pique his interest in their mischievous plan.

Homura: (Closing his book and sighing) Naruto, how many more pranks are you planning to pull? Don't you think it's time to focus on something more productive? (Or at least leave me out of it.)

Naruto: (Grinning mischievously) Aw, come on, Homura! Pranks are way more fun than these boring extra classes. Besides, teachers are boring anyway all they do is talk and talk, and then get mad at me.

Homura: (Raising an eyebrow) Maybe if you paid more attention in those classes, you'd actually learn something useful. Like sealing jutsu, for example.

Homura recommended Naruto to try his hand at sealing jutsu many times, but it never panned out. Not, only because he wanted Naruto to do something else besides causing him problems, even though Homura was not against most of Naruto's pranks. The academy was rather boring to him anyway. Besides he wanted to know if Naruto was talented in fuinjutsu since he was from the Uzumaki clan, after all.

Naruto: (Shrugging) Sealing jutsu is so boring! I don't need that stuff to become Hokage. My fists will do the talking!

Homura: Your fists will do the talking? Is that why you ran away from that old man yesterday after painting his wall? 

Naruto:(Flustered) S-shut up! I didn't run away! I was just...

Homura couldn't help but wonder if Naruto's disinterest in sealing jutsu stemmed from the influence of the Nine-Tails within him. The nine tails fox was carefully disturbing Naruto as he gathering or kneading chakra, it also shared a connection with Naruto which allowed it to see through him and feel many things. It was not impossible that it was actively hindering Naruto in those aspects, since it had been allowed to let some of his chakra slip by. 

Naruto's father, the 4th Hokage wanted Naruto to access to the nine tailed fox as a jinchuriki.

So he did not fully close the seal placed on Naruto.

Since Naruto was an Uzumaki just like his own matter, he was probably one of the few people on earth that  such a thing would be possible, since the Uzumaki strong life force and high chakra pool, would allow the nine tails from being freed in most cases. 

And Naruto would need the power sealed inside of him to survive in such a harsh world.

But beside Homura more or less understanding or perhaps guessing the fourth's wishes, it did not make it easier on him.

So far he had guessed that Naruto's talent for fuinjutsu was as bad as him, though both boys had an excuse, Naruto with the nine tails and Homura with the his chakra control being disrupted due to him having to adapt to new genes inside his body all the time being created, so far his chakra was hard to control since it felt that he was trying to control several different types of chakra within himself. 

As long as all of his genes were not in a state that were multiplying at different rates and Homura was not fully able to control them, such a thing as him losing control would continue to happen. 

A similar effect happened when Shimura Danzo had lost control of the 1st Hokage's cells within his body.

If Homura was more versed and overall knowledgeable in several field of sciences and had more experience, things would not have been so bad. In fact the only reason he had been alive was due to his peculiar constitution that does not reject others DNA and the fact that none of the cells he implanted himself with were as dangerous as the first Hokage's cells, that force rapid cellular division at an unpresented speed and the large amounts of energy contained inside them. 

But regardless of their current situation, Homura was not eager to go along with Naruto's pleas because he needed to get access to the public records of the library once again.

Despite his reservations, he reluctantly entertained Naruto's prank idea.

Homura: (Sighing again) Alright, fine. What's your brilliant plan this time?

Naruto: (Grinning even wider) Check this out! (He takes out a large plastic jug)

Homura: (Curious) What's in that jug, Naruto? Wait, is that oil? Are you planning to deep-fry something with all that oil? Dude I know you're hungry all the time but I can't let you deep fry our new teacher.

Naruto: (confused) What?! No! Do you take me for some kind of crazy guy?

Homura glared at Naruto in the eyes for a few seconds without saying nothing or breaking eye contact.

Homura:..no comment.

Naruto: (sighs) it's not for cooking. I'm gonna use it to make the new teacher slip! Just wait and see!

Homura who listened to Naruto was confused.

Homura: I...see. (That's his big plan? Besides that will never work on a shinobi.)

Sakura, who had been listening attentively to their conversation, chimed in with her concerns.

Sakura: Homura, are you really going to let Naruto go through with this? You stopped him from pulling pranks last year.

Homura: (Casually) Oh, that was just because I didn't want to get yelled at by the teachers as the class president. But now, as you can see, I don't really care, Ms. Class President. (He smirked, recalling his ousting from the position by Sakura)

Homura did not how she did it, but the end of last school year he was ousted, and Sakura more or less resumed her role. 

The wound still lingers.

Not because he cared for being class president, but it did allow him certain perks that ordinary students didn't have. 

Such as how he was able to get Sakura's DNA by making sure no one would get inside the classroom.

Regardless it was all gone.

Sakura: (Indignant) Homura, I don't appreciate your attitude! You got ousted because you did an overall a bad job, you skipped class a lot, what kind of class president is never within the class to begin with?

Homura: The kind of class president that was busy fighting for your rights.

Sakura: We all know that you would spend time playing hooky with Shikamaru or leave the academy altogether.

Homura: Lies!

The trio engaged in a heated discussion, their voices rising and filling the room. Naruto, seizing the opportunity, slipped away unnoticed, ready to execute his prank. It was only when Naruto gleefully declared his trap's completion that Homura and Sakura realized his absence.

Naruto: (Shouting) Hey guys, I did it! The prank is all set!

Homura sighed, feeling frustrated by his classmates' hypocrisy. To Homura, every single one of his classmates were hypocrites that would stab him in the back if they were given the chance. He would do the same, they had spent so many years now competing against each other that much was clear.

Everyone wanted to be on top and those that did not were more or less ignored and seen as not a threat. 

Friendships among ninjas seemed doomed when they feel like they have been made to compete against others for most of their life. This was not like in Boruto where everyone where more or less friends, the training and the way the previous teachers taught students within Homura's class was to always put emotions on the side. 

Homura currently only considered Naruto to be his somewhat friend, but it was because he did not feel threatened by Naruto...at least at times.

Just like Homura did not completely trust Naruto, Naruto did not fully trust Homura. 

Even Shikamaru and Homura who spent a lot of time together not going to class and eat together, if one were to ask Shikamaru and Homura if they were friends, the answer would be a resounding "no" from both parties.

That's because: "A shinobi must never show any weakness."

Even to the people they were close to, or should be.

Relationships between shinobi were complicated. 

Trust was the most valuable currency in the shinobi world, even more valuable than secret information. A shinobi was only expected to trust their village's chiefs and their decisions so that they were overall able to trust that those decisions were for the good of all within the village and maintain prosperity.

Homura had not even that available to him.

He had no delusions of what kind of village he was being raised in, and was not too eager to trust anyone or tell them his secrets.

That could get himself killed or worse.

But regardless of all that, and instead of bothering with Sakura, Homura, redirected his attention to the impending arrival of their new teacher.

Since all students present were able to hear the sound of footsteps heading towards their classrooms.

All cadets could do that much from year one; and their new teacher was not making an effort of hiding themselves.

As the teacher approached the classroom door, a palpable tension filled the air. However, to no one's surprise, he managed to open the door without being hit by the eraser trap that Naruto had set.

The students held their breath, waiting for their teacher's reaction.

Teacher: (With a stern expression) Who did this?

The teacher looked around the classroom without entering and asked that question while ignoring Naruto in front of him.

Homura: (Slightly confused Homura muttered to himself)...that's weird.

Naruto was clearly the culprit as he was standing right in front of their new teacher, not even a blind man would miss Naruto's presence due to how close both individual were. 

Teacher: Of all the juvenile pranks-!

Suddenly the new teacher stopped talking as he got a glance at Naruto's smiling face.

Unable to contain his laughter, Naruto started laughing right in front of the teacher.

Naruto: (Laughing)

The teacher's face turned slightly angrier as he proceeds to give Naruto a piece of his mind.

Teacher: (Growing visibly angry) *Grunt* Aaaah! 

The teacher finally steps into the classroom but slips on the oil, letting out a cry as he falls and drops his clipboards that he held so tightly within his right hand.

Seeing such a display, Homura's expression changes to contempt.

Homura: Hmph! (pathetic)

No one laughed as they saw the sad display that unfolded, though the expression between students face was mixed.

Homura inwardly sighed at the teacher's misfortune but found himself intrigued by the teacher's peculiar horizontal scar, triggering a sense of familiarity.

Homura: (Muttering to himself) That scar... I feel like I've seen it somewhere before.

It was only later that morning, during the introductions, that Homura learned why he felt slightly strange towards their teacher's face. He learned that their new teacher was Gemini, loved ramen and that his new teacher's name—Umino Iruka.

Though that name sounded familiar it took another hour for Homura to piece it together.

He had waited to meet this man for so long that he had almost but forgot everything about him.