Chapter 145: Leaf concentration practice (part 2)

Days turned into weeks as life at the academy followed its usual routine. The students delved into various lessons, their minds filled with knowledge and their bodies honed for the challenges ahead. Iruka had been leading the class for over a month now, thinking he had a handle on the rowdy bunch, but little did he know, he was vastly underestimating their mischievous nature.

In the midst of a lecture, students could be seen leaving the classroom without a good reason, sneaking away with mischievous grins. Iruka's voice rang out in frustration, "Hey, we're still in class!" But his words fell on deaf ears as Naruto and Kiba dashed away while laughing, leaving Iruka exasperated.

"I am going to get those two troublemakers back this time," Iruka muttered, determination etched on his face. He turned to Sakura, the responsible student in the room, and issued an instruction. "Sakura, watch over the classroom for me."

Sakura: Understood, sensei.

Sakura nodded obediently, ready to take charge of the chaotic room. She glanced around at her classmates, some half-asleep, others engrossed in their own distractions. It seemed like a never-ending battle to maintain order.

Meanwhile, Shikamaru, the master of laziness, sat in his seat with a bored look on his face, and became more vibrant as he saw his sensei getting ready to leave the classroom.

As Iruka dashed off in pursuit of Naruto and Kiba, the classroom seemed to relax. Shikamaru, seizing the opportunity, decided to take a break.

Shikamaru: Man, Naruto and Kiba ran away again, huh? I guess I'll take a break too.

Choji, sitting nearby and munching on his snacks, glanced at Shikamaru with a raised eyebrow.

Choji: Shikamaru, isn't it a bit too early to relax? Plus, you'll get hungry later.

He turned to Choji, munching on a snack and his usual loyal friend and partner in crime.

Shikamaru: "I don't want to hear that from you, Choji. Besides, I won't be the only one."

He gestured with his pencil-holding hand towards Homura, who had succumbed to the sweet embrace of slumber. Saya, seated in the row beneath Homura, attempted to rouse him from his nap, but her efforts proved futile.

Saya: "Homura, wake up! We're still in class!"

Homura: "Jyu…bei….Yagyu…Jubei…curse you"

Homura merely grumbled in his sleep, oblivious to the chaos around him. The sight of his unruly classmates left Saya sighing in resignation.

Saya: "Why does he keep always saying that? *sigh* It's no use. Homura is in his own world right now. I guess I'll just have to endure the rest of the class."

Little did she know that Homura was currently having a gruesome inside his mind with the help of his supercomputing, and from the look on his face he wasn't exactly winning.

Toshio: "Have you tried hitting him on the head to wake him up?"

Asked Toshio who was seating next to Saya, while trying to balance an eraser on his forehead.

Saya: "Last time I tried he fell deeper asleep." said Saya with a bothered look on her face.

Toshio:" W-what?!"

Toshio who heard has just heard Saya's claim was so surprised that he inadvertently dropped his eraser on the floor.

Toshio: (She means…that she knocked him out even deeper into unconsciousness?! That's scary.)

The realization of that fact was something the little red-eyed boy could only shudder in fear of his long-time friend and glad that he wasn't the one being on the receiving end.

As the class settled into a somewhat calm atmosphere, the students engaged in conversations with one another. Sakura, taking her responsibility as the monitor seriously, attempted to maintain order. However, she found herself drawn into a heated argument with Ino, both vying for Sasuke's attention.

Sakura: "Sasuke-kun, why don't you pay attention to me? I'm the one who truly cares about you!"

Ino: "Oh please, Sakura! You're just desperate. Sasuke-kun would never choose you over me!"

Meanwhile, Sasuke remained aloof, staring out of the window, unaffected by the girls fighting over him. He seemed disinterested in their quarrel, focused on something far more important.

In the midst of the commotion, Iruka returned to the classroom, a stern expression on his face. He carried Naruto and Kiba, who had bumps on their heads, under each arm, a clear sign of their mischievous escapade.

Iruka: "Enough is enough! Naruto, Kiba, you can't keep running away during class!"

Naruto and Kiba, looking slightly dazed from their encounter with Iruka, nodded sheepishly, knowing they had been caught.

Naruto: "Sorry, Iruka-sensei. We just wanted to really go to the bathroom."

Kiba: "Yeah, we didn't mean any harm."

Iruka: "Then why were you two on the playground!?"

Yelled a frustrated Umino Iruka at his two biggest troublemakers.

Kiba/Naruto: "Hiii!"

Both Naruto and Kiba were scared by the Iruka's pissed-off face and tried to run away but to no avail, their teacher's arms remained fixed in place, leaving the two boys with no hope to escape whatsoever.

Kiba: *sigh*(This job…is harder than I thought)

Iruka sighed, a mix of frustration and affection evident in his voice.

But soon he took a look at his classroom and saw two student sleeping and one eating food like no one's business, which made him reconsider his approach.

...........

...…..

...

"You foolish runts!" yelled Iruka, his frustration evident in his voice and face, as he lined up the five biggest troublemakers against the wall. Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, and Homura stood before him.

As Iruka's stern words echoed in the room, the five troublemaker students stood in a line against the wall, their expressions varying from confusion to indifference. Homura, always a bit aloof, voiced his confusion about his presence in the group.

Homura: "I am confused, why am I here?"

Shikamaru, ever the laid-back thinker, chimed in with a nonchalant remark.

Shikamaru: "That's right, I haven't exactly done anything."

Iruka's frustration grew, his patience wearing thin. He turned his attention to Homura and Shikamaru, berating them for their repeated acts of sleeping in class.

Iruka: "You two were sleeping in class! How many times do I have to tell you not to sleep in class!?"

Both Homura and Shikamaru remained silent, their gazes cast downward. Homura, aware that this was his 26th time being scolded for sleeping, felt a pang of disappointment within him. He didn't want his memory to be filled with these reprimands.

Naruto couldn't resist the opportunity to add his own critique, causing a sense of sadness and regret to wash over him.

Naruto: "That's right! Homura and Shikamaru, how dare you sleep in class?"

Iruka quickly shut down Naruto's comment, defending the two troublemakers.

Iruka: "Be quiet, Naruto! You're far worse than the two of them because at least they only sleep in class. You do everything they do wrong and then some! I'm still waiting to see you perform a single clone properly!"

The weight of Iruka's words hung heavily in the room. Naruto's face betrayed his sorrow and remorse at his lack of progress.

Naruto: "Why does everyone keep bringing up the clone thing?"

Iruka continued to admonish the group, highlighting their lack of concentration and their distance from the path of becoming excellent shinobi. Homura, however, had different aspirations and perspectives.

Homura's thoughts drifted away from the classroom and the notion of becoming an excellent shinobi. He had a singular goal in mind—to attain power. Becoming a shinobi was merely a means to that end. If there were other paths to power, such as being a vampire, shinigami, or jujitsu sorcerer, Homura would have gladly pursued them. He even found samurais to be stupid and useless, despite their honorable reputation.

As Homura contemplated his own desires, Kiba spoke up, expressing his own restlessness and preference for action over classroom studies.

Kiba: "Sorry, but I wasn't made to sit still at a desk. Right, Akamaru?"

Akamaru, perched atop Kiba's head, barked in agreement, prompting Homura's curiosity about the dog's understanding of human language. It was one of the many mysteries he had encountered, like the talking cat he had seen at the Uchiha compound.

Shikamaru let out another yawn, while Choji held his hand on his growling belly and said

Shikamaru: yawns Man, I'm bored.

Choji: Ugh, I'm so hungry.

Naruto: Sensei... is this lecture almost done?

His question infuriated Iruka even more, causing him to visibly shake in frustration. He struggled to contain himself, shaking his fist as he attempted to hold back his anger. But his students, displaying clear apathy, stared back at him, unimpressed by his loss of composure.

Iruka (visibly shaken): Grrr! W-Why, you little...!

Iruka struggles to contain himself, shaking his fist to hold back his anger.

He struggled even to find the right words, his voice trembling. Finally, he managed to regain some control.

Iruka: From now on, you guys are staying after school to work on your concentration!

Students: Ehhhh...

The students collectively groaned, expressing their disappointment, except for Homura. Homura contemplated how this would impact his other responsibilities, but he reasoned that wasting two hours wouldn't be too detrimental. However, he didn't like the idea of sacrificing his training time, especially now that he had recovered enough to resume his rigorous regimen.

Homura (thoughtful): How will this affect my other responsibilities? I will run away if it becomes too bothersome.

Confusion replaced disappointment as Iruka flung a leaf towards each student at high speed, placing a leaf on their foreheads with a mischievous grin.

Naruto: Huh? What's this for?

Iruka: You're about to take part in a custom passed down through each generation of the Hidden Leaf Village. It's a practice that sharpens the mind.

Explained Iruka, while his students remained confused.

Iruka: By concentrating all your energy on the leaf on your forehead, you will learn to build up your chakra. It's an ancient wisdom. By focusing on that single leaf, nothing can distract you. He who masters concentration is truly a great ninja.

Students exchange skeptical glances.

While the students inwardly sighed, thinking, "Not that again..." They hoped it wouldn't lead to another lengthy speech.

He seemed to really like to give speeches about morality or about ninjas.

However, Iruka wasn't finished. "This is the origin of the leaf symbol that we wear," he added.

Homura's thoughts raced as he processed Iruka's claims.

Homura (thinking): The origin of the leaf symbol? I thought it was because Uchiha Madara named the village after looking through a leaf with a hole in it... But maybe that's just the story of the village's name. Nothing to do with headbands…though that makes very little sense.

Naruto: Quit pulling our leg.

Shikamaru: Are you sure you're not making this up to get us to work harder?

Homura: I'm 99 percent sure that story is false. The village was named before headbands were made. Logically speaking, it doesn't make much sense.

Iruka becomes frustrated.

Iruka: No! I'm not making it up! It's all true!

Insisted a frustrated Iruka.

Kiba: Anyway, you can't become a great ninja just by polishing your concentration.

Naruto: Yeah! Everyone knows if you want to become a great ninja, you gotta be strong!

Choji: He does have a point.

Naruto: Stuff like this!? blows away the leaf on his forehead Pfft!

Iruka is completely surprised and utterly flabbergasted by Naruto's actions, his story had failed to resonate with his students at all.

Iruka: Ah!

Naruto and the other students laugh as they run away.

Iruka: Boys, wait a minute!

Iruka shouted, but his students jumped out of the window in the corridor, ignoring his calls, as the students run towards the window nearby.

The students jump out of the window, ignoring Iruka's plea.

Naruto: Haha! Catch you later, sensei!

Kiba: No time!

Iruka: Hey! Come back here, you ungrateful little misfits!

Iruka fails to catch his students near the window.

Iruka (sighs): And why didn't you run with them?

Homura (surprised): What?! No! I don't like any of those morons. Why do you keep grouping me with them? And besides you are chunin or something, why aren't you catching them? ( I am pretty sure he knows the shadow clone technique or is that anime-only information?)

Iruka:…I thought…I-I don't know anymore.

Said Iruka with a tired look on his face as he places his left hand on his forehead, he was mentally exhausted.

Homura (sighs): (...I hate seeing grown men sad, it's pathetic.) fine, I will work more on this (stupid) exercise, but if I don't get much better at.... whatever it is supposed to make me better at, you're going to owe.

Homura said as he grabbed the leaf on his forehead and was about to leave for class before he was interrupted by Iruka.

Iruka: Wait Homura?

Homura: huh?

Iruka: Is it true, that you're trying to become a medical ninja? I heard it from Naruto.

Homura for the first time, since he had met Iruka was truly surprised by something his teacher had said. He didn't remember having that talk with Naruto, much less saying that he wanted to become a medical ninja.

Seeing that Homura was not responding, Iruka thought that Homura was being reserved and not trying to open up. He had seen that Homura although he was quite loud and seemed to have quite a few friends was overall more reserved.

Iruka: I know that you read books on chakra control, and other types of medicine during class, so it was not much of a surprise when I heard that. Though I'd rather you pay attention in class instead. (Though his grades are quite high so far…)

Seeing an opportunity to do what he wants in class undisturbed, Homura decided to press on with the slight misunderstanding that had just occurred.

Homura: Yes. I have issues controlling my chakra sometimes, and I heard medical ninjutsu can help, that's why I read books in class….maybe I can find something to help me. (Though I have no idea what other nonsense Naruto told you, but that should be enough for him to get off my back.)

Iruka: I see… If you promise to stop sleeping during class and don't read other books not related to our lesson, I may have an idea of how to potentially help you. As long as your grades remain high.

Homura: Huh?

Homura didn't know at the time, but this conversation would be one that would stir away the path he was previously walking on, for better or worse.