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The dim light flickered in Kaito's small apartment, casting long shadows against the cracked walls. His breath came in sharp, controlled bursts as he powered through another set of push-ups. His arms trembled, sweat dripping from his forehead, forming a growing puddle beneath him. The only sounds in the room were his ragged breathing and the creak of the floorboards beneath his weight.
"Fifty… fifty-one… fifty-two..." he muttered under his breath, jaw clenched. His body screamed at him to stop, but he pushed through. Weakness was unacceptable.
After finishing his last rep, Kaito sprang to his feet, his chest rising and falling with each breath. He walked over to the small table where a towel rested, grabbing it to wipe the sweat running down his body. His muscles ached, but it was a good pain...proof of his progress.
"First day of school... and I'm already late," he muttered with a sigh. Not that it really mattered. Everything they were going to teach, he already knew. The Academy had little to offer him, and missing a few hours wouldn't change anything.
He headed to the bathroom and glanced at his reflection in the mirror. His physique had transformed over the past two months. His body was more defined, his frame bulkier yet still lean. A small smirk formed on his lips. He was stronger now...more prepared. And in the world he lived in, strength meant everything.
He had a physique similar to Bruce Lee's—lean, defined, but not overly muscular. He was proud of his hard work, though he knew he owed much of his progress to the mystical palm jutsu and the boar meat he ate.
With a grin, he made his way to the shower, letting the hot water wash away the sweat. If he was going to be late, he figured he might as well look and smell decent.
Once he was done, he stepped out, toweling off before throwing on a black tee and a pair of gray shorts. He got on his same old, beaten-up open-toeded sandals—worn but reliable. With a final stretch, he was ready to head out.
He did feel a certain way about wearing these clothes to school since they were his nicer ones. But with his other clothes still unwashed, he didn't have much of a choice.
The fit was a bit tight, with his muscles pressing against the fabric of his black tee, making him look a little bulkier than usual. Not that he minded—it showed off how hard he had worked over the summer. But still tight.
After double-checking his backpack to make sure he had everything he needed, he slung it over his shoulder and stepped out the door, heading to school.
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Kaito moved through the wooden halls at a slow, uncertain pace. He wasn't lost exactly, but he also didn't have a clear destination. Unlike other schools where students switched classrooms, here, you were assigned one room, and that was where you stayed until graduation.
Still, he had no idea where he was supposed to be. Yet, somehow, his feet carried him forward until he found himself standing in front of a wooden sliding door with a sign hanging above it: "1-A."
That same strange feeling from earlier stirred in his chest. It was as if something beyond his understanding had drawn him here, whether instinct or something else entirely. He wasn't one to question things too much, especially if they helped him get by. And right now, this was the only lead he had.
Kaito gripped the door handle tightly before slowly pushing it open. 'Just slip in unnoticed,' he told himself. But the moment he stepped inside, every head in the massive lecture hall turned toward him. Rows of seats stretched far back, designed to hold at least fifty students, yet somehow, all of them seemed to be staring right at him.
He sighed. 'So much for sneaking in quietly.' Shoving his hands into his pockets, he kept his head down and made his way toward the back of the classroom, hoping to find a seat before anyone said anything.
But, of course, luck was never on his side.
"Well, if it isn't Kaito. Finally decided to wake up, huh?" a loud voice called out, cutting through the quiet room.
Behind him, near the front of the room, stood a man with short black hair slicked back beneath a leaf headband. He wore a standard green flak jacket over a blue long-sleeved shirt with a round neckline. His pants matched the shirt in color, with one leg wrapped in bandages. Unlike Kaito's worn-out footwear, his open-toed sandals looked well-kept.
Kaito met his gaze with a neutral expression before bowing slightly. "Sorry, sir, it won't happen again, Sēji-sensei..." Kaito 'politely' apologized. He hadn't met the man before, yet somehow, his name felt oddly familiar, like he had known him his entire life.
Despite his apology, Seiji stood there with a frown, his lips pressed into a tight, unhappy line. He could feel the weight of the other students' stares—some snickering, others just watching in silence.
"Wait... that's Kaito?" someone whispered from the crowd. "He looks... different. Kind of cute now."
Kaito ignored the comment entirely, keeping his gaze forward as he made his way to the back of the room, acting as if he hadn't heard a thing.
"Psst...Kaito." A voice came from the side. Kaito turned his head to see Izumi waving at him and gesturing toward the empty seat beside her.
He hesitated for a moment before nodding and making his way over, sliding into the chair. Almost instantly, the once-quiet classroom erupted into hushed whispers.
"He's sitting beside Izumi?" someone murmured.
"Are they dating?" another voice questioned, barely above a whisper.
Kaito sighed, pretending not to hear as he kept his focus forward. It wasn't worth reacting to.
"Alright, quiet down, class," Sēji called out, bringing the murmurs to a halt. "Since Kaito was late, I'll start all over again." Sēji said before he turned back to the board, writing something down as the lesson continued.
Izumi leaned over, her voice low. "Why are you so late?" she whispered.
Kaito chuckled quietly, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, I woke up late..."
Izumi sighed, shaking her head. "You really need to start waking up earlier. If you keep being late, you'll miss the lessons and fall behind."
Kaito just gave a nod. "Yeah... I know."
Izumi couldn't help but chuckle. "But isn't it funny that they think we're dating?" she whispered, trying to stifle her laughter.
Kaito smiled. "I mean, I wouldn't mind it... you are cute," he admitted. She was cute, no doubt about that. But he wouldn't go for her though. His adult morality wouldn't let him. Technically, he was a twenty-six-year-old trapped in an eleven-year-old's body. But did that give him the right? What even was the legal age of consent in the Naruto-verse?
Izumi's face twitched as her cheeks flushed red. "Tha...that—" she stuttered, completely caught off guard by Kaito's words.
Kaito's grin widened. "Don't worry, I'm just joking—"
Before he could finish, Sēji cut him off. "Kaito, something you want to share with the class?" His sharp gaze landed directly on Kaito, making it clear that he wasn't amused.
"No, sir..." he said immediately.
"Something funny?" Sēji asked. "If that's the case... how about you solve this question on the board?" He gestured toward the question on the black board.
Kaito couldn't help but roll his eyes slightly. 'This guy is trying his hardest to embarrass me...' he thought. With a sigh, he pushed his chair back, stood up, and made his way down the steps to the front of the classroom.
As he stood there, he could feel the weight of everyone's eyes pressing down on him. The classroom was silent except for the faint scratching of a pencil somewhere in the back. He turned his gaze to the board, where the problem was written in clear, bold numbers. It wasn't even difficult—just basic addition and multiplication was needed to solve it, something a twelve-year-old could solve.
From the side, Sēji smirked, twirling a piece of chalk between his fingers before holding it out to Kaito. "Go on, take it."
Kaito sighed, stepping forward and grabbing the chalk from Sēji's hand. He could feel the smugness radiating off of him. It was the kind of problem anyone in the room could solve, but that wasn't the point, was it? Sēji wasn't testing his math skills. He was trying to embarrass him, figuring he couldn't answer the question.
"What's wrong, Kaito?" Sēji asked, arms crossed, his grin widening. "Too hard for you?"
Kaito paused, then scoffed. "No, it's just too easy," he muttered before stepping up to the board. Without hesitation, he picked up the chalk and quickly solved the problem. As soon as he finished, he tossed the chalk back to Sēji and returned to his seat without another word.
". . . That's right..." Sēji murmured, his eyes scanning over the answer. He sounded genuinely surprised but quickly composed himself, clearing his throat. "Ahem, anyway, let's continue..." He wasted no time moving past the moment, as if nothing had happened.
Kaito, unfazed, climbed the steps to his seat beside Izumi, hands shoved in his pockets, settling back in as if nothing just happened.
"That was cool... you totally put Sēji-sensei in his place," Izumi whispered, making sure Sēji couldn't hear her.
Kaito just shrugged. "I know..." he said bluntly.
The rest of the class dragged on, boring as usual. Kaito couldn't help but zone out. The lessons were just basic math, science, and history—stuff he already knew. It felt like sitting in a kindergarten class.
But he didn't mind. It gave him time to think, to strategize, and to plan ahead.
"Alright, class. Now that we're back from break, I hope you've all been training your Shinobi and Kunoichi skills. If not, today is not going to be fun for you," Sēji said, his voice firm. "Today, I'll be assessing your abilities. First, a jutsu demonstration—showing proficiency in the three basic jutsu required for graduation. Second, a shurikenjutsu test. And finally, a sparring match."
As soon as he finished speaking, the classroom buzzed with whispers and murmurs. Some students looked excited, others nervous. But Kaito wasn't paying attention to any of it. He had his own problems to deal with. 'I'm completely screwed.' And he was. He didn't know any of the three jutsu required to graduate, and his taijutsu wasn't strong enough to hold his own in a sparring match.
His shurikenjutsu was decent—not perfect, but solid enough considering he had spent the entire summer training. He could hit the target consistently, though not dead center. Still, progress was progress. He was improving.
But when it came to the other two areas... yeah, he was screwed.
"Alright, quiet down, quiet down," Sēji clapped his hands, calling for his students' attention.
"I'll call you one by one, and you'll come to the front of the room to demonstrate," he explained again. He then walked over to his desk, picking up a clipboard filled with a long list of names.
"Alright... first up is Miyu," he announced loudly. As he spoke, a girl with long black hair stood up from one of the rows and made her way to the front of the room.
'Thank God I'm not first,' Kaito thought, relieved. 'If I just watch carefully, I can memorize the hand signs and perform them when it's my turn.'
"Alright, first is the Transformation Jutsu..." Sēji said, his sharp gaze fixed on Miyu.
She nodded in response, quickly forming a series of hand signs. A puff of smoke erupted around her, and when it cleared, she stood there as a perfect copy of Sēji, mirroring his appearance down to the smallest detail—even his clothes.
Sēji gave an approving nod. "Alright, now the Clone Jutsu," he instructed, watching her closely.
Miyu dispelled the transformation, returning to her normal self. Without hesitation, she rushed through another flurry of hand signs. Another puff of smoke appeared but this time beside her, and as it faded, a flawless copy of herself stood at her side.
Seiji gave another satisfied nod and moved on. "Alright, next is the rope escape justu," he announced. With a quick handsign, a puff of smoke erupted around Miyu, and when it cleared, ropes were tightly wrapped around her, binding her in place.
Without hesitation, Miyu formed a singular handsign with her free fingers. Almost instantly, the ropes loosened and dropped to the floor.
Seiji smiled approvingly and nodded. "Good job. You're definitely on your way to becoming a splendid kunoichi one day."
Miyu returned his nod before making her way back to her desk, a hint of pride in her expression.
"Alright... next is," Sēji said, scanning the list in his hands.
One by one, he called out names, watching as each student stepped forward for their turn. Finally, only one name remained.
"Next is... Kaito." Sēji's voice echoed through the quiet space.
Kaito exhaled slowly, pushing himself up from his seat. The weight of every gaze in the room settled on him as he made his way down the stairs. Reaching the front of the room, he stood tall, meeting the eyes of those watching, then turned to face Sēji.
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A/N: The reason I went with the rope escape jutsu instead of the substitution jutsu is simple...it just doesn't make sense in a realistic setting.
Think about it. The substitution jutsu lets you swap your body with an object, usually a log, right before an attack lands. But if someone can do that mid-fight, that would make them the fastest person alive. Like, how does that even work? Do they just casually cut a log, have it ready, and swap places with it in the split second before getting hit? See what I mean? It just doesn't add up.
If any of you have a way to make it work in my story without breaking logic, let me know.
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