Before anyone realized it, the first semester was nearly over.
Throughout these past months, the first-year students only had academic and PE classes—studying or training every day, then trying to extract chakra.
In every first-year class except Class 1-A, some students were asked to leave. That's how rare it is to become a ninja. The entrance exam is already tough, but the graduation exam is on another level. And even if you "graduate," if a Jonin doesn't sign off on your skill, you'll still have to repeat the year. The elimination rate is ridiculously high.
And that's just for promoting an Academy student to a Genin. Above Genin are Chunin, then Special Jonin, and finally the all-rounder Jonin.
But none of this has much to do with Izayoi or the nine "rookie" students of Class 1-A. Other than the first couple of weeks, Izayoi hadn't used his real body to attend class at all. He wasn't going to bother coming in person until there were taijutsu sparring sessions.
After all, the main reason he enrolled was for Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke—to watch for their red-tier talent entries. Izayoi wants to unlock those entries before graduation; at least one or two. Otherwise, after graduation, it'll be a lot harder to obtain them—not because of power gaps, but because chances to meet or fight them will drop drastically.
In the original timeline, once the "Konoha 9" graduated, they didn't all see each other again until the Chunin Exams. Graduation happens at the end of March, and the Chunin Exams begin on July 1st—key dates every year, with an entire season in-between.
…
The afternoon bell rang, signaling the end of another day. The students, who'd spent the entire afternoon on PE, were still full of energy.
"Izayoi-kun, wanna play ninja with us?"
"Izayoi, heading home together?"
Some left school right away, others stayed, forming little groups to hang out. Izayoi received plenty of invites, being one of the most popular kids in class. Even though he came just as a shadow clone, solely focused on Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke, he still treated everyone else politely. Even when he turned people down, he did it gently.
Today was no different. Facing his classmates' invitations, Izayoi's clone put his palms together in a slight bow and smiled apologetically. "Sorry, I've already made plans with someone else. Maybe next time—promise!"
"Oh, Izayoi-kun's already booked? No surprise. See you later, then!"
"All right, next time—let's all play ninja games together!"
No one forced the issue, though they were disappointed. Once out of sight, Izayoi's clone slipped into an alleyway and dismissed itself. All its memories and fatigue flowed back to Izayoi's real body.
Already finished training, the real Izayoi was resting at home, waiting to absorb the strain of the dispelled clone's experiences. As he processed the new memories, he muttered, "There are only a few days left until vacation. Guess it's time to make my move."
…
July 20th.
Classes ended for the morning, and it was lunchtime. Some kids who lived close headed home to eat, while others brought packed lunches and stayed at school—some staying in the classroom, others going outside to eat. Usually, because Izayoi attended school via a shadow clone, he'd have it go home for lunch.
But today, his real body came to class in person, and he'd brought his own bento. He and Hinata were eating together in the classroom. Over the past three months, they'd become friends—not close enough to tell each other absolutely everything, but they knew each other's hobbies and a few secrets, like how Hinata enjoyed pressing flowers. And she'd also discovered the Izayoi who came to class was just a shadow clone. Upon learning that, she'd been speechless for a moment, eyes wide, stunned. Afterward, her admiration for him only grew. After all, the Academy hadn't even started teaching the Three Basic Techniques, yet he'd already mastered the Shadow Clone Jutsu. Pretty amazing.
While they were eating, Izayoi suddenly asked, "Hinata, tomorrow starts our summer break. Got any plans?"
"I'll probably stay home and train…" she replied softly.
"How about training with me?" Izayoi offered.
"C–Could I really?"
Hinata looked at him in surprise, then her face fell. She shook her head sadly. "No…Father won't let me go out freely."
Ever since the attempted kidnapping, Hinata had needed escorts just to leave the house, and she couldn't go out too often. Now that she was enrolled at the Academy—and there was an Uchiha in her class—she was expected to train hard for the sake of the Hyuga's pride.
"Hey, don't worry about it," Izayoi said, flashing a grin. "I'm just asking if you wanna go out tomorrow and train with me?"
"…Yeah."
Hinata replied in a near-whisper, eyes lowered.
"Great. I'll help you out. So here's what we'll do…"
Izayoi leaned in close to Hinata's ear and spoke in a low tone about his plan. The warm breath against her ear made her cheeks and ears go bright red, and she shook slightly, chopsticks trembling in her hand. This was the first time she'd been so close to Izayoi, and the "resistance" she'd built up over the last three months vanished in an instant. She nearly blanked out, forgetting half of what he just said.
"…Remember, you have to take the initiative tomorrow, or my plan's gonna get exposed," Izayoi warned.
"Uh-huh…"
Hinata nodded, dazed and adorable. Then she looked back up at him. "Izayoi-kun, wh–what did you say again?"
Izayoi: "…"
Without mercy, he flicked her forehead with a little pop. Under Hinata's plaintive gaze, he repeated his plan one more time. Hinata held her forehead, eyes bright.
…
The next day marked the start of the Academy's 40-day summer break. Izayoi left his house and headed for a small side street.
With a bang like air escaping a balloon, a figure appeared—a blonde girl wearing a hat, though her hair color was still visible. She darted out of the alley, heading straight for the Hyuga compound. If any of her Class 1-A classmates had been around, they'd have instantly recognized her as Ino Yamanaka.
"Hello there! I'm Ino Yamanaka. I'm here to see Hinata—she and I made plans yesterday!"
Standing at the Hyuga gates, Izayoi-in-disguise (using the Transformation Technique to look like Ino) put on a sweet smile. The two guards exchanged glances.
"Please wait a moment," said one. He gave the disguised Izayoi a close look, bowed politely, and went inside. A few minutes later, he returned, accompanied by a little girl in a white overcoat: Hinata.
Hinata jogged forward, and she and the faux-Ino shared a knowing look. Everything was going according to plan. The heiress was free to leave.