Chapter 171: Homura, time traveler.

HOMURA:...blah blah so in other words, I will one day save the princess from her fate from having to die like her mother did. So she one day swore to marry me. In other words, you guys should start kissing my ass because pretty soon I will be rich and a prince of my own kingdom so...I should get the last dumpling.

Homura unfolds an elaborate story, claiming a destined future with a red-haired princess. His arrogance paints a picture of a future rich and princely self. The classmates, though perplexed, fall silent.

-....

He took their silence for them being speechless by his story, of course they would. It was a story tested by a group of greedy executives in order to grab as much money from dumb children.

HOMURA: I will be a hero in the future and get married to a beautiful red-haired girl and be a ruler of my own country. (Or was it a caravan?)

He wasn't really too sure, as far as he could remember… he fell asleep during some parts of the movie.

That was the plot of 1 of the Naruto movies but since Homura didn't really know the future or if those events would happen. He thought either way he could do something about it but he was sure that he would be pretty badass while it.

To him, there was no need for naruto to get involved especially since it had to do with a princess.

The highest conquest he could dream of…a pure maiden,

Besides, getting married or even engaged to a princess was just one among many of his backup plans to live the good life in the near future.

HOMURA (smug) So, in other words, start kissing my ass now. Then, I should be allowed to get the last dumpling.

Suddenly, his hand is slapped away as a collective voice questions his absurd tale.

slap

HOMURA: Ouch! What the-! What the fck!

KIBA(angry) How stupid do you think we are?

HOMURA...is that rhetorical question? Because I think collectively you guys are about as dumb as the filthy mutt that you carry around.

KIBA(angry) you bastard! Don't you dare mock Akamaru. He has more talent in one of his paws than you have!

The dog on top of Kiba's head started barking in unison with his loud master seemingly.

HOMURA...Well that's clearly not true, who's the liar now?

After some more ranting between Kiba and Homura; the mood once again returned to normal.

Though, Homura was also confused as to when they started eating together, much less put their money to collectively buy an extra meal that they would share.

Most people in the class barely saw each other as friends unless they were on friendly terms before or during the first year, most saw their fellow students as competitors.

SHIKAMARU *sigh* finally everyone calmed down?

Kiba was the one to answer.

KIBA(angry) It's not my fault! I didn't start insulting other people's partners, besides what was the point of that story?! I feel like I just wasted an hour of my life listening to that nonsensical story! What was that supposed to be? A fairy tale? As if a princess would ever need you to save her!

SHIKAMARU He's right though. That was utter nonsense. I didn't think there could be someone as delusional or suck at lying as much… though you do seem to have put a lot of effort into that lie. Why would you do that? (Did he try to imply that he was the 4th hokage's son?... I really don't get it…)

Shikamaru replied in a semi-interested look.

The story Homura had told his group of friends seemed to be too well crafted to be a simple fever dream, thus he could only conclude that Homura had copied the plot of a book or movie, but the fact that Homura claimed that he fought together with the fourth Hokage made it impossible for any movie or book he knew of.

NARUTO(confrontational) No! Call him for what he is! What's this nonsense about monsters made of chakra living inside the planet that can send messages through time!? As if you could see into the future! And what does even mean to travel through time!?

HOMURA You guys are really morons, huh?! Travelling through time is when you can go into the past or future! It is not really that complicated!

KIBA (confrontational) And how would you even do that? And what the fck is a pool of chakra, also a ghost dragon!? For starters, dragons aren't real! Why would you try to make us believe in such a stupid fairy tale?

Yelled Kiba.

HOMURA Dragons do exist! The same for ghosts! And yeah, maybe…maybe it wasn't a pool...exactly.. but it was like a river of chakra…ish…maybe. (I also don't get it either.)

CHOJI besides, you said that she was from the past and now we are in the future from her point of view...won't she be an old lady by now?

Added Choji.

HOMURA.....eh? N-nonononono you don't get it! She was originally from the future but she just happened to be in the past...no, she was from the past but was in the future but then she traveled to....the...past...*nerve* W-well you don't know it either! Maybe she will still be hot! You don't know that! Maybe she will have two more beautiful daughters who are twins! I deserve the last dumpling! Now more than ever!!! (Sh*t! A huge part of my future plans just blew itself up! I hate time travel! The only way to get the ryummyaku's chakra now, is to learn Minato's fuinjutsu! It seemed really complicated, I just don't care about trying to decipher that nonsense.)

SHIKAMARU...dude you're losing it!

Then Shikamaru times in, and asked a pertinent question the boy was previously calmly eating while the other boys present were arguing about Homura's ludicrous story.

SHIKAMARU What I don't get is…what did that story you told us have to do with the story Naruto told us about you getting arrested? I mean you're not dumb enough to deface the faces of the hokages like Naruto right here. (I think)

Naruto hearing that he was being called dumb stopped fighting over the last dumpling.

NARUTO Hey! What is that supposed to mean?! Don't compare me with him!

Naruto stood up and he pointed towards Homura, who was using this chance to get the last dumpling but was blocked by Kiba.

To Homura's annoyance, if this wasn't for the fact they were at the academy, they would have fought with more intensity already, but they all more or less understood their place as cadets. Besides, picking unsanctioned fights was a clear path to getting detention.

Academy students' detention was far from normal detention; as such often seen in worlds without giant animals.

In fact, the life of an academy student is far less glamorous than one might believe, it is full of hard work and danger.

Homura had an image that his academy life would be the same as some of what he knew from Boruto but it was quite different. It seemed the curriculum had changed greatly within the 2 decades of peace between the 2 shows.

He had forgotten that although the world appear peaceful from his perspective of living within the leaf village; it was in fact not.

Thus, students needed to be put through the wringer in order to come out much stronger and face adversity.

NARUTO I was there when Homura's disguise fell off and he was taken away. He first tried to escape but was caught. After that, he told the older girl he was scamming something about him being a man and needing to be free, and if she could help him avoid getting arrested. Although I don't recall everything that happened afterward, she became angry and began physically ass…asspaulting him or something; and then she left. Iruka sensei was the one they contacted before letting him go.

SHIKAMARU…Jeez. That'd be impressive if it wasn't so stupid. ( asspaulting? He must have heard that word from one of the guards…)

Shikamaru's eyes seemed filled with hints of pity and disgust; though his tone was the same as always.

HOMURA Hey there's a lot of transforming creeps out there! Frogs turning into foxes, and people turning into frogs. At least she got to be with a handsome guy like me!

KIBA Says the one pretending to be pretending to be a prince from a fictitious country.

SHIKAMARU …so stupid.

NARUTO You guys should have seen that lady, she was really mad, they had to take Homura away to avoid him getting beaten down further.

Naruto seemed to describe the scene with glee.

Homura wanted to refute but it wasn't his finest moment.

HOMURA Hmph! I can see what this! You guys are just jealous because at least I have kissed several girls before and have gone through multiple dates! Who among you has ever been on a date here before?! You, Mr. loner? Dog whisperer? You, f-I mean you Choji? Or is it the guy who fails to get close to our class rep?

The mood between the boys seemingly soured by Homura's comments.

NARUTO…I mean, it isn't really like that…

A depressed Naruto didn't really know what to say, he had been in love with a girl that clearly didn't return his feelings for years on end.

Just thinking about the cruel truth made him depressed since he seemed to never get his shot with the girl of his dreams.

KIBA… I-it's not like we can't, we just been busy… With training and stuff…

Said Kiba, he didn't think much about love prior to Homura, as a Shinobi he was told and made to learn to not really seek out temptations.

The thought of even dating someone much less getting a kiss from a beautiful girl had somewhat taken him for a spin.

Though Shikamaru and Choji didn't really think much of it. Which the former used the current silent mood to ask a question.

SHIKAMARU Why would I care about that? It seems more like a pain in the ass honestly.

KIBA Y-Yeah!…but since you've already experienced it…what does it feel like?

Kiba asked the question that may have been somewhat floating inside most of the current boy's mind.

HOMURA Eh?! Huh? Well…Like, amazing….like bubblegum! That's right!

Truth be told, Homura, has never really kissed anyone. He never got this far, either due to failure or his emotional inability to commit to anything approaching a serious relationship. He liked the attention and the popularity that came with it.

Not really the part of having to maintain a strong relationship or be there when asked for help.

Though most girls he tried to deceive always thought something was fishy about him. His multiple disguises came with weird backstories, always being somewhat wealthy but always trying to avoid paying and never really telling them his nonexistent addresses.

Thus, it wasn't long before rumors started circulating about Homura's scheme throughout the village, thus leading to his arrest.

Still, as a 12-year-old boy, there wasn't really anyone he could realistically date. Not because it was too early for him to get engaged, but because he was far too young for the young women he had set his eyes on.

Women seem to prefer older guys to them in this world, at least on average.

As Homura he had no real chance, but as Jade, Sakaki, and several other personas; he could experience a life outside the confine of being a cadet at the academy.

SHIKAMARU Bubblegum? that's strange that's a strange thing to say?

Shikamaru added.

CHOJI No, I get it!

Choji added as he then proceeded to explain in a serious look.

CHOJI Homura was trying to say that it was sweet. Just like how freshly baked bread is at its sweetest and fluffiest when it emerges from the oven, that initial bite is the one that truly delights the taste buds. A flavor that cannot be replicated…

He explained leaving the rest of the boys both confused and astonished at the same time which Homura was quick to take advantage of.

However what left Homura speechless is that he ate the last dumpling without making any fuss about.

HOMURA:T-that's right! Choji gets it!… Unlike you snotty brats, he is a real man. !? (Why the h*ll did I agree with him? This is the same guy who sometimes stares at Kiba's dog like a predator looking for a meal...Is it because his voice and stare became more serious?)

Homura's thoughts aside, Shikamaru was soon the one to break the silent mood.

SHIKAMARU Well, whatever. What I was asking was why Naruto was chasing after Homura.

NARUTO …He was supposed to help me study for the exams, then he said he was coming back but ran off!

Though that perhaps was a step too far for Homura.

HOMURA I didn't really run off! I took 4 days of my busy schedule to help you study, But you would often fall asleep halfway through reading a scroll, only to wake up and say..."I want to eat cup ramen!" Who does that!?

To Homura, Naruto had a problem concentrating for extended periods, he couldn't believe the same person would one day learn sage mode by sitting still for a whole week.

Unfortunately, that peaceful time would soon end.

??? cough cough are you boys done!?

As the boys looked at the familiar voice coming next to them, it revealed a very familiar smiling face, nonetheless, it was a smile that came out scarier than friendly.

"Yabe! He is giving us the usual Iruka creepy stare when he is mad", homura thought.

IRUKA-SENSEI (smiling) Are you boys done? Why are you chatting as if today's class hasn't restarted?

Panicking, Homura tries to escape Iruka-sensei's wrath, who seems to be aware of their conversation.

IRUKA-SENSEI I am thinking about giving you all a whole month's worth of detention, especially a certain someone…" smile!

He said looking towards Homura, whose spine then proceeded arch.

Even though teachers don't really give detention in the normal sense, since students can't really skip out on their personal time to train, detention at the academy often includes terrible chores that would often test one's skills or it was a training regiment of one's weakest topics

"When did he come back to the classroom?"

Was the thought Naruto's group had in mind.

Has your main subject teacher, I can't believe that I failed to make my students not even be able to detect someone entering a classroom through the front door…where did I go wrong?

NARUTO I-iruka-sensei! T-this isn't like that?

KIBA Y-yeah we didn't hear you coming in!

Naruto and Kiba tried to excuse their misdeeds, it was hard to think that only a few years prior they would have simply run off and skipped class.

SHIKAMARU R-right we would have totally been ready, if we were aware of you were coming in.

All the students who were most at risk of getting detention were scared of having to face it.

-HOMURA ...No. No more! Don't give me more detention...I can't take it anymore, and I-I have the best grades in the whole class! You need me to get a raise or a promotion!

To a cadet, detention might as well be the worst thing possible.

IRUKA-SENSEI...1st, me being promoted does not rely on you! Second, that is a lie and you know it. You've managed to barely pass most cooperation tests given to you in every single class.

HOMURA…I mean who cares about the other boring classes, I am the most intelligent student in the class overall, compared to me…everyone else is as dumb a mule. Not even the smart ones.

Homura muttered loud enough that most of the other students could hear his statement fully.

IRUKA-SENSEI… So you're calling my class boring too, huh? For that remark I should really give you twice the usual amount of detention hours!

HOMURA no way!!!!

NARUTO hehe

CHOJI grin

SHIKAMARU grin

KIBA serves you right!

IRUKA-SENSEI...However, we have no time for that...Next week we will be rather busy.

Iruka then turned around and started walking down the stairs; leaving a certain group of students rather relieved.

HOMURA phew...I thought I was done for...

Homura hung down his head as his shoulders dropped. It was as if a huge weight had been lifted.

NARUTO hehehe!

KIBA smirk

Then as he was about to reach his desk, iruka-sensei dropped his notepad on the desk and turned around.

IRUKA-SENSEI As you all know, we will be starting your midterm finals next week. It will mark the final part of your last year at the academy for most of you.

STUDENTS .....

The mood became heavy.

Every student present knows that this will be a tougher challenge than the previous round of exams; though, they were not particularly eager to face whatever challenge may come their way.

Nonetheless, it was among the final steps towards graduation.

Every year the faculty expects students to increase their proficiency in whatever lessons they would learn, it could be anything from ninjutsu to any other thing they were taught throughout the years.

Although most students can perform most of the ninjutsu they were taught and other things that they studied during their time at the academy, it didn't mean that they had mastered everything.

There was a huge difference between transforming into a person and a small everyday object. Even if both transformations technically made use of the very same jutsu.

Small mistakes and imperfections in application often make jutsus not work or fail to achieve their purpose, imperfections are the hardest things to keep track of alongside many other non-essential details.

However, in the shinobi world a tiny detail may be the difference between living or dying.

They required a person to pay attention to each minute detail and have a cool head during all of the procedures.

IRUKA-SENSEI since you have already been tested in your survival skills, trap making, tracking skills as well as shurikenjutsu skills. These topics will not be included for the final exams this time, but those grades whose grades are bellow the average will have to take remedial classes during the weekend.

The atmosphere in the class seemed to relax a bit from this revelation.

As some students seemed to be rather comfortable with Iruka's decision, though some are definitely rather bummed by the revelation since it meant they would have to train those topics before the remedial.

HOMURA: (I can't blame them, tracking and trap making are a pain in the ass!)

Homura was relaxed by the revelation, his grades were only low on two specific topics, thanks to C's help he was good at tracking, trap making, and shurikenjutsu. Though the only really topic he needed help was tracking since he wasn't very good at it, but even then he had the sharingan as a kekkei genkai he could easily track chakra if he really needed.

IRUKA-SENSEI so we are going to have written test on all general topics from Monday to Wednesday, and a ninjutsu test on Thursday and finally on Friday, there will be a taijutsu test. Any questions?

SAKURA: Iruka sensei!

A certain pink-haired student raised her hand as she called for her teacher's attention.

IRUKA-SENSEI yes, Haruno.

SAKURA: regarding the taijutsu test are the boys and girls going to be divided again?

IRUKA-SENSEI No. This year will be the same as last year. You will face an opponent in practical combat in a 1v1. However, in addition to it, you will have another fight but it will be a 2v1.

INO: Iruka-sensei! Iruka-sensei does that mean we get to choose someone to fight alongside us?

Asked Yamanka Ino, beating several other student to the punch, it was clear to anyone who had a brain that they wanted to partner up with a certain moody boy.

IRUKA-SENSEI Of course you will be fighting alone and facing two opponents.

Iruka's smile did not only demoralize the students but also shattered their hopes, that it would be an easy test.

IRUKA-SENSEI The rules are the same as last year. But this time you will be asked to last for at least a minute in order to get full marks. However, this time you are allowed to use any weapons but your opponents will only be allowed to use a single kunai. Also, you're not allowed to use ninjutsu since it will be to test your taijutsu or bukijutsu prowess in extreme situations.

-oh~~~~(students)

The mood plummeted to the abyss of no return.

TOSHIO facing 2 opponents for a whole minute....no way!

SASUKE....

RANDOM STUDENT I am gonna fail this exam for sure!

SHIKAMARU ...what a drag sigh

GEKKOU...father I won't disappoint you...but....

URYUU humph!

Different attitudes, shown by several students could be felt by their attitudes or remarks.

Even the 2 loudest guys in our class (aka kiba and Naruto) are a bit shaken at the thought of having to fight 2 opponents at once. Even if it is only an exam.

KIBA…(Two against one? That's totally unfair…if I don't manage to manage to last both mom and big sis will be up my ass…)

Kiba could vividly imagine his mother who was a special jonin yelling at him for not living up to the reputation of their clan and his older sister dragging him out to the clan's special training ground for more intense training.

Just imagining it was enough to demoralize the young man, who wasn't really willing to waste his weekends training in the wild.

NARUTO…(Two against one? I mean, I am awesome enough to win…but if can't use the sexy jutsu…I have to think of an entirely new awesome strategy. I thought this time I would win easily by taking out Iruka sensei and impressing everyone, but now what do I do?)

While Naruto was rethinking his plan of attack the same as many other students, their teacher was the one to bring the class back to normal by announcing several other topics and training regiments that they would be undertaking.

IRUKA-SENSEI Are there any following questions?

The class was in total silence. Probably from the shock of having to hold back 2 opponents for a whole minute.

IRUKA-SENSEI Alright! Then today's remaining class will be a practice session, where we will go through the basics. I will then meet you at the 5 training ground in 10 minutes. You are required to bring your usual practice gear for the lesson.

After Iruka said that he immediately left the classroom.

Ignoring all the other depressed students.

HOMURA Damn! (I doubt the opponents will be guys about our age, if that is true, it is definitely going to be people close to chunin level or actual chunins.)

Just remembering the difference in strength that Homura was actually capable of and the strength he exhibited at school was quite different.

He was much faster than most thought he was though his strength was about the same, he wasn't actually that strong so there was no need for Homura to limit his strength by wearing heavier equipment.

Even though he did use it like most cadets, but it was mostly for regular training purposes and advancing his weapon mastery skills.

Nonetheless, even if all that was true, the current him could not fight people he suspected to be chunin, even for a full minute.

HOMURA (there's almost no one older than 20 that isn't a chunin…no, that's not true…What the hell am I thinking?… The pressure on how to proceed must be getting to me, though if they are to test us, then probably the first 30 seconds will be testing our basics and the rest will be then trying to put us down… What a drag...Why did I have to become a ninja? All I wanted was a sharingan and be able to use the Susanoo… but its too much work.. )

He did not think that he could do it without using his most cheat-like abilities, he never truly fought two opponents at once and hasn't really been fighting anyone for a long time.

The academy had rules for sparring, and most combat situations they experienced didn't really involve fighting more than one foe. But tests were different, tactics and trickery or anything not really sanctioned was allowed; which meant students were not forced to use normal weaponry.

At least the people they would face this time would only be using standard kunais, though that also meant they were quite experienced in fighting and would certainly be a hard fight.

If they were genins... Homura wouldn't be too worried.

Genins skills levels usually vary wildly but chunins not so much.

Good chunins promote to jonin fast.

Still, that fact did not help Homura's situation who made certain to hide most of his strength after the incident where Naruto was chased by enemy spies in the back woods.

HOMURA sigh (If ninjutsu is useless. I only have shurikenjutsu jutsu left. My swordsmanship is not good enough, besides if I used a sword to fight 2 opponents... meh. If I fail it is not that big of a deal! Though I don't really want to lose.)

Wielding two swords at the same time or rather, weapons, was not something any shinobi would attempt, though Homura could do it easily. Still, he didn't want others to know that he was capable of it and he'd prefer to have a hand free of any tools so that he could use several strategies and tools.

Sadly, in a fight against 2 foes that might not be the best option. Especially if it meant losing far quicker.

People like Sasuke and Naruto were always in his mind, losing to either of them was something Homura could not see himself doing. Even if Naruto was not strong he was quite the trickster,

HOMURA(....nope! Cannot do it! I like the prestige of being a genius, it gives me a lot of street cred, besides how am I gonna stick it to Sasuke and everyone in the class, if I get beat up by 2 chunins(sources needed) in a matter of seconds? If don't ace it, than i am just another loud idiot that likes to hype himself up like Naruto and Kiba.)

Homura thought that if he did not ace his final year, he would be seen as a fraud and end up living a hell filled with mockery.

HOMURA (Besides if I fall behind, I will probably not be in a team with Toshio or Uryuu.)

Despite him belittling sometimes his former roommates, they were indeed strong and quite gifted, he had no doubt that if their situation were different that they would be ahead of him in both talent and abilities.

If he were placed in a team with just one of them his possibility of passing the chunin exam was higher than 50 percent. Thus, it was imperative for him to perform well in the final part of his academic year. Even revealing a bit more of his strength.

He then looked at a distance towards the rock portrait of the hokages outside the window.

Almost every academy student ever, fantasized that they would one day join their predecessors.

The legacy of the hokage could not be underestimated, they were more than men, they were legends for the villagers. Even the third, who was the only one still breathing, was seen as a figure larger than life and which most villagers could not stop themselves from admiring

As Homura stared at all of rock portrait of the hokages, suddenly he found myself inexplicably drawn to the fourth.

HOMURA (Why couldn't I be like Minato! And be a real genius like him! I bet he was so popular and naturally good at everything...damn it! Of all the characters in the series, I hate him the most! Amazing powers… Popular…Hot wife...though she seems a bit crazy! And most importantly as the hokage he was certainly loaded!… I have none of that. Besides his odd naming sense, he was pretty much the image of a winner in life… I want to get the prettiest girl in my time too, but my… wait?! Mikoto, Sasuke's mom, she was alive too back then… Which of them was the prettiest?… I think it is a draw…so it falls down, to which of them has the biggest assets?… I can't tell.)

Homura tried as hard as he could but, he came up empty each time, by the time he was born Kushina had died less than 24 hours later, and he only met Mikoto once as a child.

The rather reserved type of clothing most women wear if they are not in their shinobi attire, tended to be quite reserved.

Besides, when talking about assets that left little to the imagination, only one lady came to mind, but the fact that she was old enough to be his grandmother was something even Homura could not ignore and tried to think of something else.

HOMURA sigh (Why did Kishimoto attempt fan service with a granny of all things? This is why I don't get people. No! I have no time to be depressed! I still have 7 days to prepare.

I will keep up with appearances and appear as cool as possible...that's… That's my ninja way!)

Chapter end