Chapter 26: The Seating Arrangement Incident

~ Push the story forward with your Power Stones

~ Every 400 PS = Bonus Chapter!

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At the Konoha Ninja Academy, during the Transformation Jutsu class.

"Rinjin Sakukata," Ōzora Chūryū called out from the podium, reading from the class roster.

"Here," Rinjin responded lazily, then stood up and walked to the front, standing before Teacher Ōzora.

With his thumbs straight and overlapping, left thumb on top, Rinjin formed a simple Ram hand seal.

"Poof!"

With a light sound and dissipating white smoke, a figure appearing about 80% similar to Ōzora Chūryū appeared on the platform.

Ōzora Chūryū stroked his chin, walking circles around Rinjin.

"Apart from being a bit short, the rest is fine. 60 points, passing grade. Keep working at it."

"Poof!"

Another light sound, and Rinjin returned to his original form, turning to head back to his seat.

Before he could sit down, Jiraiya's disgruntled voice came from the adjacent seat.

"You bastard, Rinjin! We agreed to fail together, so what's with you getting exactly 60 points in every subject?!"

"..." Rinjin was speechless. Though he had his reasons, he couldn't explain them to Jiraiya.

What was the point of competing with a bunch of kids in exams!

If failing didn't mean staying behind for extra lessons, Rinjin wouldn't even bother taking the tests.

As for why he only aimed for 60 points - wasn't that the sweetest spot?! It both avoided unnecessary interaction with classmates and maintained a passing grade, escaping pointless extra lessons.

The Transformation Jutsu was a simple technique, one of the three basic ninja techniques. Beginners using it had obvious flaws, but masters of the technique could create transformations without any detectable issues.

For a qualified undercover agent, mastery of the Transformation Jutsu was even more important than combat ability.

And Rinjin was an expert in this field.

The evaluations continued, soon reaching Ryōta Uchiha, who sat in front of Rinjin.

"Perfect transformation! 100 points!"

Sitting below, Rinjin smiled inwardly.

The academy's evaluations were really too simple! Ryōta Uchiha's transformation had at least seven minor flaws, yet Teacher Ōzora gave him 100 points. If it were Mizuguma evaluating, he would've failed for sure.

Konoha's strength lay in their abundance of kekkei genkai and forbidden techniques.

The simple Sharingan and Byakugan made so many villages drool with envy.

Add to that forbidden techniques like the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, Flying Raijin, Eight Gates, Dead Demon Consuming Seal, and Spirit Transformation Technique - these easily created an insurmountable gap between their jōnin and those of other villages.

Not to mention Konoha's tendency to produce abnormally strong genin.

After receiving his perfect score, Ryōta Uchiha slowly walked back to his seat amid his classmates' amazed looks.

"Rinjin Sakukata, what was your score again?"

Ryōta Uchiha asked mockingly, then answered his own question with a sneer.

"Oh! I remember now - you only got 60 points. How lucky! Almost failed, hope you stay this lucky every time."

Looking at this annoying kid, Rinjin pursed his lips silently, choosing not to engage.

However, Jiraiya couldn't stand by quietly. He slammed his desk and shouted.

"What's so great about that? So you got a perfect score - big deal! Rinjin gets 60 points every time! Can you get 100 points every time?!"

Hearing this, Rinjin covered his forehead in exasperation.

Damn, this guy's logic was something else! What was there to be proud about getting 60 points every time? He couldn't tell if Jiraiya was praising or mocking him!

Hearing Jiraiya's words, Ryōta Uchiha sneered.

"Heh, you two make quite the pair! One dead-last who never passes, and one lucky dead-last who barely scrapes by - perfect match."

"Sigh!" Rinjin sighed, slowly raising his head to look at Ryōta Uchiha, his eyes full of resignation.

I wasn't planning to target you, but now you've forced my hand. Why bother? Wouldn't it be better to just live quietly?

"Got yourself some clean pants?" Rinjin asked coldly.

At these words, Ryōta Uchiha's face instantly reddened as he involuntarily recalled the incident where Rinjin had scared him into wetting himself. Immediately, a powerful sense of humiliation washed over him.

Meanwhile, laughter erupted throughout the classroom.

After the pants-wetting incident, Ryōta Uchiha had taken a week's leave to let things blow over.

Now Rinjin had brought it up again, essentially ripping open his wound and rubbing salt in it.

"You... you bastard! What's so great about being strong? How dare you mock the Uchiha!"

Ryōta Uchiha screamed hysterically, his eyes full of hatred.

At the podium, Ōzora Chūryū pressed his throbbing temples, feeling that this was the most difficult class he'd ever taught.

The arrogant Uchiha, the troublemaking Jiraiya, the unmanageable Rinjin.

These three were the epicenter of chaos.

The last incident wasn't even resolved yet, the training ground was still under repair, Ryōta Uchiha had just returned from his leave, and now they were at it again?!

Just then, Rinjin innocently raised his hand, pointing at Ryōta Uchiha.

"Teacher Ōzora, this guy is disrupting my studies. Can I beat him up?"

At these words, the entire class instinctively ducked their heads, involuntarily recalling the scene where Rinjin had destroyed the training ground with one stomp.

"No!" Ōzora Chūryū reflexively shouted, rushing between Rinjin and Ryōta Uchiha.

Ryōta Uchiha's legs went weak, and he kept backing away.

Though Rinjin had used a questioning tone, Ryōta could see the clear threat in his eyes.

"Stay back! If you touch me, the Uchiha clan will make you wish you were dead!" Ryōta Uchiha shouted with false bravado.

Hearing this, many classmates frowned. As fellow members of Konoha, such words went too far. Did he think they were still in the Warring States period?

Even Ōzora Chūryū, standing between them, shot Ryōta Uchiha a disapproving glare.

These children from major clans had much stronger foundations in ninjutsu and taijutsu than civilian ninja, but! Their personalities were also heavily influenced by their clans.

Worse still, some completely lacked any sense of the Will of Fire.

Rinjin narrowed his eyes, noting the reactions of his classmates, and smiled deviously inside.

Perfect, if this could lead to the early downfall of the Uchiha clan, that would be fantastic. I might even get my hands on a pair of Sharingan~

Where should I put the Sharingan? Don't want to replace my original eyes... belly button? Or... somewhere else?

Dropping pants to use Amaterasu??? Then bleeding non-stop??? People thinking it's hemorrhoids???

Damn, the imagery is too much!

"Ahem..." A light cough interrupted Rinjin's wild imagination.

"Well, Tsunade, would you please switch seats with Ryōta Uchiha?" Ōzora Chūryū suggested diplomatically.

As soon as the words were spoken, Rinjin felt Jiraiya instantly perk up beside him, staring eagerly at the blonde girl with a high ponytail in the middle of the classroom.

"Yes, Teacher Ōzora," came the crisp voice of the young girl as Tsunade nodded.

She gathered her books and left her seat.

In front of Rinjin, Ryōta Uchiha packed his books while warily watching Rinjin's every move.

Suddenly, Rinjin quickly raised his right hand.

"Ah! Teacher, he's going to hit me!" Ryōta Uchiha stumbled in fright, falling on his backside, his short legs kicking at the ground.

"Oh, sorry, my head was itchy," Rinjin grinned brightly, scratching his head.

Ōzora Chūryū's face darkened. None of these kids were easy to handle.

This time! After finishing with this class, I'm applying to become a jōnin. Never teaching at the academy again!

Seeing he'd been tricked again, Ryōta Uchiha trembled with rage.

"Just you wait!" He spat venomously before grabbing his books and storming away without looking back.

Seeing the matter resolved, Ōzora Chūryū gave a brief lecture about 'getting along with classmates' before returning to the podium.

As soon as the blonde girl sat down in front, Jiraiya leaned forward, giving Rinjin a mischievous look.

"Brother, that was some expert-level tattling! I've never seen such satisfying tattling before!"

Seeing Jiraiya's wandering eyes and attempts at small talk, Rinjin's mouth curved into a grin.

"Jiraiya, you don't happen to like Tsunade, do you?" His voice was low, just enough for Jiraiya to hear.

"What?! N-no way!" Jiraiya immediately became flustered, shaking his head vigorously.

Still just a pre-graduate academy student, he hadn't developed thick enough skin yet. Having his feelings exposed, especially with the girl in question right in front, left Jiraiya completely rattled.

Though Jiraiya kept denying it, Rinjin had already confirmed the answer from his face, which had turned as red as a baboon's bottom.

He couldn't understand why so many people in the original story liked Tsunade.

Wasn't Konan cute? Wasn't Ringo appealing? Wasn't Mei Terumī beautiful?

Konan was so adorable, could make paper bombs, and was obedient - wasn't she better than the violent Tsunade?

Ringo with her Crystal Release could easily make money, and her slightly tsundere personality - wasn't that more appealing than the wasteful Tsunade?

And Mei Terumī - well, let me wipe my nosebleed first!

Anyway, Rinjin felt that while Tsunade was well-endowed, in reality, being both wasteful and violent would be absolutely terrifying!

Of course, what he didn't know was that sometimes, what you fear most is exactly what you get, but that's a story for another time.

Seeing Jiraiya's self-incriminating behavior, Rinjin's grin widened.

"Jiraiya, better prepare to treat me! Otherwise, I'll spread the news about your crush on Tsunade all over the village!"

Hearing this, Jiraiya grabbed Rinjin's neck in embarrassed anger.

"Don't! Don't make things up! How could I like this flat-chested super washboard princess!"

"Hehe, I don't care. If you don't treat me, I'll tell everyone."

Seeing Rinjin's shameless attitude, Jiraiya finally gave in.

He felt his pocket, finding only two pitiful coins totaling 200 ryō.

After some thought, he reluctantly asked, "What... what do you want to eat?"

Hearing this, Rinjin smiled mysteriously and held up one finger: "One stick of takoyaki is enough to seal my lips!"

Hearing it was just one stick of takoyaki, Jiraiya let out a long sigh of relief. Takoyaki was a Konoha specialty snack, costing only 10 ryō per stick - both affordable and delicious.

"Deal."

"Deal."

In front of them, Tsunade's small fists were clenched tight as she struggled to control her anger.

That bastard Jiraiya, calling me a flat-chested super washboard princess! Damn it, next combat class, I'm definitely going to beat you up!

And Rinjin was even worse! Using me to blackmail that idiot Jiraiya!

What's more infuriating was that he settled for just one stick of takoyaki!

You two jerks, just you wait!