The lessons at the Ninja Academy were practically useless to Kitahara Kaede.
While the teacher stood at the podium explaining the principles of chakra extraction, a few clan children in the front row listened intently. However, their elders had likely taught them all of this long ago.
In the back row, Jiraiya was sprawled across his desk, sleeping soundly with a thin trail of drool escaping the corner of his mouth.
Tsunade, on the other hand, was listening seriously.
Kitahara Kaede leaned back in his chair, his gaze drifting toward the treetops outside the window. He had already mastered this basic material in his previous life. Currently, his chakra extraction speed and control precision far surpassed those of his fifteen-year-old self from the real world.
Sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture on "the most common mistakes beginners make" was a genuine waste of ti.
The mont the teacher turned to write on the chalkboard, Kaede ford a hand seal beneath the desk.
A clone appeared in his seat, mimicking his pose with a hand supporting his chin and eyes half-closed. The original leaped out the window, landing soundlessly on the ground.
The training grounds in the back mountains were empty.
Standing twenty ters away from a dead tree, he ford a sequence of seals, channeling chakra toward his throat.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
The fireball slamd into the dead wood, erupting in a roar. It was over two ters in diater, leaving the trunk crackling and charred.
'Not enough.'
He adjusted his breathing and did it again.
This routine continued for more than half the sester. The clone sat in the classroom while the original trained in the mountains. On the rare occasion he returned early, he simply waited outside the classroom for the bell to ring.
For the most part, no one noticed.
Until one day after class, when Tsunade blocked his path at a corner in the hallway. She stood with her arms crossed and her back against the wall, her face practically screaming *you're toast*.
"Slipped away again," she noted.
"I've already learned everything they're teaching. Sitting there is just a waste—"
"That clone of yours," Tsunade interrupted, her voice dropped low. "There's no tactile sensation when you touch it. It's like a wooden post."
Kitahara Kaede paused. She had observed him that closely?
"...The teacher didn't notice."
"The teacher doesn't notice because the teacher doesn't touch you," Tsunade stared at him. "What happens if he calls your na and tells you to stand up and answer a question?"
Kaede remained silent. It was indeed a flaw in his plan.
Tsunade huffed and turned away. He assud the matter was dropped.
During the next class, just as the teacher's gaze began to drift toward his direction, Tsunade raised her hand.
"Teacher, could you explain the relationship between the rotation of chakra and the order of hand seals one more ti?"
The topic had been covered ten minutes prior. But since the granddaughter of the First Hokage was asking, the teacher had no choice but to answer.
The teacher's attention was diverted. The clone remained safe.
When Kitahara Kaede climbed back through the window, Tsunade was flipping through her textbook without looking up. He glanced at her but said nothing.
The next day, the teacher's eyes drifted toward him again.
Tsunade's hand went up once more.
"Teacher, regarding nature transformation—does Fire overco Wind, or does Wind overco Fire?"
That had been explained yesterday.
The third day.
"Teacher, where can I buy chakra sensing paper?"
The teacher's composure finally cracked. "Tsunade, you've had... quite a few questions lately."
"Isn't a strong thirst for knowledge a good thing?"
The teacher pursed his lips and looked back down at his lesson plan, saying nothing more.
It beca a pattern for every subsequent class. Whenever the teacher's gaze drifted toward Kaede's seat, Tsunade "happened" to have a question.
Questions about chakra, questions about ninja tools, questions about the curriculum. At one point, she asked if the cafeteria al fees counted as mission expenses—causing even the diligent students in the front row to turn around and stare at her.
In private, the teacher told his colleagues, "The First Lord's granddaughter certainly has an intense thirst for knowledge; it's just that her focus is a bit... skewed."
After class, Kitahara Kaede leaned against the hallway railing as Tsunade walked past him.
"Having a question every single day? Quite a coincidence."
"Pure coincidence," she replied.
"Will it be a coincidence tomorrow as well?"
"Depends on my mood."
With that, she walked away without looking back. Watching her retreating figure, the corner of Kaede's mouth twitched.
He didn't say thank you.
Tsunade didn't give him the chance to.
That was fine. In her logic, this probably wasn't called "helping"—it was more like "I felt like doing it."
As for why she felt like it—if he asked, she wouldn't tell him. If he pressed too hard, he'd likely get punched.
***
At the end of the sester.
When the teacher entered the classroom, he wasn't carrying a textbook, but a rolled-up map.
"Practical combat exercise. Location: the back mountains. Three-person teams, ti limit: four hours."
He pinned the map to the blackboard, showing the densely packed contour lines of the mountains.
"The school has hidden numbered wooden plates throughout the area. The team with the highest total score wins."
He paused.
"Stealing is permitted."
The classroom erupted into chaos as students scrambled to form teams.
Tsunade turned her head and looked at Kitahara Kaede. She didn't say a word, but her gaze needed no translation: *You're with . Non-negotiable.*
Kitahara Kaede nodded. They still needed one more.
"Count in!"
Jiraiya leaped forward from the back row and flopped into a seat in front, wearing an irritatingly smug grin.
Tsunade frowned.
"Three people to a team, and you two only have two," Jiraiya said, waving his hand. "If you don't pick , who else are you going to pick?"
He tilted his head. "Aside from him, who else in this school have you even spoken to?"
Tsunade opened her mouth to argue, but found she had no rebuttal. She turned to look at Kitahara Kaede.
Kaede shrugged. "Fine."
"Great!—"
"You're responsible for the hardest work," Tsunade interrupted.
"...Fine."
Jiraiya's bravado deflated halfway, but he couldn't hide the grin. Being on a team with Tsunade was worth doing all the heavy lifting.
***
Back mountains.
The exercise began.
The trio advanced along a path at the foot of the mountain, with Kitahara Kaede scanning the map as they walked. Wooden plates were dense in the lowlands but carried low point values. Plates in the highlands were sparse, but a single one was worth several of the others.
He stopped by a stream.
"Split up. I'll sweep the mountain and go for the high-value plates. You two follow the creek eastward and collect as many low-value ones as you can."
He handed the map to Tsunade.
"Regroup here in two hours."
Tsunade took the map, glanced at it, and nodded. The terrain by the creek was open, making two people the most efficient pairing. The path to the summit was steep, but in terms of taijutsu, no one in this year's class could match Kitahara Kaede.
"Don't overdo it," she said.
Kaede gave a casual wave, turned, and vanished into the brush in a few strides.
Jiraiya watched his back disappear, his brain taking a second to catch up.
'He's gone.'
'It's just and Tsunade.'
"What are you daydreaming for? Let's go," Tsunade said, already stepping forward.
"Coming, coming!"
Jiraiya jogged to catch up, walking beside her along the creek. Sunlight filtered through the canopy, illuminating her golden ponytail. He stole a glance at her and quickly looked away.
He had to say sothing.
"Where do you think the plates are hidden?"
"Under rocks, in tree hollows, in the brush. Stop asking and start looking."
Tsunade squatted down and flipped over a rock; sure enough, a wooden plate was pressed underneath. One point.
"Tch."
Jiraiya began searching as well. His thod was far more brutal than Tsunade's—he simply kicked away piles of rubble and tore through the undergrowth. It wasn't graceful, but it was efficient.
In twenty minutes, they found three: one point, two points, and one point.
"This area is full of trash," Tsunade said, stuffing the plates into her pocket.
"Still, a win is a win..." Jiraiya tossed the two-point plate in his hand. "Every little bit adds up—"
Mid-sentence, he suddenly realized sothing.
Tsunade seed to be in a good mood.
Usually, when he talked to her at school, she'd roll her eyes within three sentences and walk away within five. Today, they had exchanged over a dozen.
Even though every single one of those sentences had been a jab at him, the fact that she was engaging at all was better than being treated like thin air.
A small, unconscious smile played on Jiraiya's lips as he pondered what topic to bring up next—
Suddenly, Tsunade stopped.
Jiraiya halted beside her and followed her gaze.
Soone was standing in the brush by the stream.
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