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Chapter 8: No Loose Ends

As it was the first day of a new term, most of Class 3-A’s lessons were purely supplemental. It would take weeks before they transitioned into learning something new, so the day ended as it had started, with most of the students only pretending to pay attention while one of their Sensei’s droned on about the greatness of Lord Hashirama, the First Hokage.

With a series of synthetic chimes announcing the end of the school day, the Chunin instructor silenced the growing clamor, shouting, “Good job on your first day back at the Academy! I expect everyone to continue giving it their all for the remainder of the year! Dismissed…!”

Now that they were officially free to leave, the aura of boredom that had permeated the classroom abruptly disappeared. Children that had been on the verge of passing out moments prior were now full of energy, Kaia being almost the most enthusiastic as she turned to Wu and asked, “Want to come over and play!?”

Not expecting anyone to invite him over on his first day, the cogs in Wu’s mind kicked into overdrive as he considered the positives and negatives of the situation. Fortunately, he didn’t have respond as Kiba interjected to retort, “Are you an idiot? You have to assist Ane-san with Kotodoma’s new pups. You know outsiders aren’t allowed into the kennels.”

Deflating like a balloon, Kaia ended up drawing circles on the floor until Wu said, “It’s no big deal. I might not be able to come by today, but that doesn’t mean I can’t visit in the future. Just be sure to ask your parents in advance. I don’t want to intrude.”

Bouncing back to her feet, Kaia balled her tiny hands into fists, staring at Wu with stars in her eyes as she replied, “You’re so smart, Aniki! If I can get Tsume-sama’s and Kotodama-san’s permission, we may even be able to play with her puppies together…!”

Curbing some of Kaia’s vigor, Kiba gave the slightly shorter girl a light knock to the head as he said, “Stop being so forceful.” Then, as he also had responsibilities back at the Clan compound, he turned to Wu, adding, “Thanks for looking after Kaia today. As the future leader of the Inuzuka, I owe you one.”

Extending his first, Kiba waited for Wu to reciprocate the gesture before grabbing Kaia’s wrist and dragging her away. The petite Inuzuka offered no resistance to Kiba’s somewhat forceful actions, but she waved to Wu until they had exited the classroom.

Feeling as though a burden had been lifted from his shoulders, a genuine smile graced Wu’s face before promptly transitioning into his usual mask as Sakura tentatively approached him. She became noticeably tenser as the distance between them closed, but she managed an awkward smile once they were enough to converse, initiating the conversation by saying, “Sorry to bother you, Wu-kun, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said earlier…”

As he had said many things, Wu raised his brows, remarking, “Not to be rude, Sakura, but can you be a little more specific? I was pretty nervous at the time, so I can’t fully recall what was said.”

Though her brows furrowed slightly at Wu’s informal way of addressing her, Sakura managed to overcome her discomfort, explaining, “The part about you being new to the village. I can imagine Lord Hokage gave you something to prepare, but if you have any questions about the theoretical aspects of our lessons, I should be able to answer them…”

Seeing Sakura avert her eyes near the end, Wu briefly narrowed his own before smiling radiantly as he replied, “Thanks, Sakura. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. In exchange, feel free to rely on me as well.”

Seizing the opportunity, Sakura’s nervousness appeared to disappear as she gained a genuine smile and revealed, “Ino, myself, and the others all wanted to know what you were discussing with Sasuke-kun. He doesn’t really talk to anyone else, so we wanted to know if there was any trick to getting him to open up.”

Unsurprised by the pinkette’s request, the corners of Wu’s smile curled upward as he replied, “It’s pretty simple, really. Uchiha-san has a strong desire to grow stronger. If you or the other girls could keep up with him or had access to knowledge and skills he deemed useful, he would probably approach you on his own. The only reason he spurns you and the others is because he views you as hindrances to his growth.”

Taken aback by Wu’s candid analysis, Sakura could only stare at him in a daze, her mouth slightly agape. It was true that Sasuke had often referred to them as ‘hindrances,’ but they hadn’t taken his words to heart. As far as his fans were concerned, that was just how Sasuke spoke.

“I…I see…”

As Wu’s words settled within her, Sakura lowered her head and fell silent. She had spent the past seven months saving her allowance to purchase cute outfits and some beginner beauty products, but Sasuke hadn’t even batted an eye at her. Well, he did, but the only emotion visible in his gaze had been annoyance…

Since Sakura was technically preventing him from leaving, Wu suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, asking, “What’s wrong? Half of the reason you’re at the Academy is to improve your strength enough to become a capable Kunoichi. It only took me four years to obtain this level of strength. If you apply yourself and take your training seriously, there’s no reason you can’t become much stronger than you are now.”

Raising her face, Sakura’s pale green eyes glistened with hope as she inquired, “Do you think I can become strong enough to gain Sasuke’s attention…?”

Shrugging his shoulders, Wu asserted, “How strong a person becomes depends on their will. Talent and resources help, but even the greatest of geniuses will hit a wall if they never exert themselves. In other words, it doesn’t matter what I think. The only person who can decide your limits is you.”

Punctuating his statement, Wu gave Sakura’s oversized forehead a gentle poke before slipping past her and swaggering away with his hands in his pockets. The person he actually wanted to speak with had slipped out of the classroom while they were chatting, so he wanted to catch up to them before they left the building.

Recovering from her momentary stupor, Sakura reached up to touch her forehead before turning around to follow Wu’s departure. She had never met a boy her age who acted even remotely similar to Wu, and while nothing could replace Sasuke in her heart, Sakura couldn’t help noticing he was kind of cute…

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“Yo, chibi, wait up…!”

Though she wasn’t sure the voice was calling out to her, Hinata turned around to find Wu jogging over to her. His presence made her coil back a bit, but, recalling his ‘help’ during lunch, Hinata forced herself to stand her ground, asking, “Is there something I can help you, Sarutobi-san…?”

Ignoring the fact that Hinata was uncomfortable, Wu shamelessly invaded her personal space, nearly compelling her to back into the wall behind her as he leaned forward to ask, “What’s the deal with Naruto…?” in a hushed, nearly inaudible tone.

Hearing Wu’s question, Hinata suppressed her growing urge to retaliate with her Clan’s specialized Taijutsu, the Gentle Fist. She hated harming others, but she wasn’t completely incapable of defending herself.

Forcing a smile onto her face, Hinata asked, “What do you mean? Is there something wrong with Naruto-kun…?”

Furrowing his brows, just a bit, Wu asserted, “You know what I’m talking about. Why are most of the civilian students in our class so hostile toward him? As far as I can tell, he’s a fairly likable kid. It doesn’t make sense for so many people to hate him. Is it his hair…?”

Shaking her head a little too enthusiastically, Hinata managed to whip Wu in the face with one of her fringe bangs as she asserted, “There’s nothing wrong with Naruto-kun’s hair!”

Resisting the urge to pick Hinata up by her fringe, Wu waited ‘patiently’ for the young heiress to calm down. When she did, her expression became gloomy and slightly resentful as she admitted, “I don’t really know why so many people hate Naruto-kun. When I tried asking my father, he just told me it was a secret and that I’d learn about it once I became a Jonin…”

Gaining quite a bit from Hinata’s response, Wu mused, “Hoooo…so it’s a secret only the most powerful and trusted within the village are allowed to know? That’s interesting…”

Having gotten what he came for, Wu backed away from Hinata, regaining his usual smile as he scratched the back of his head, saying, “I appreciate you answering my questions, Hinata. Also, sorry for approaching you in such a…direct manner. It just bothered me seeing so many people looking at Naruto as if he was some kind of monster.”

Feeling significantly less tense now that Wu had given her some space, Hinata managed a marginally sincere smile as she assured, “It’s okay…I was just a little startled, that’s all. I…I know you didn’t mean any harm…”

Nodding his head as if to affirm the statement, Wu responded, “Thanks for understanding.” Then, as he had much better things to be doing, he half-turned, indicating his intention to leave as he added, “I’ll be sure to let you know if I learn anything. See you tomorrow, Hinata.”

Without waiting for the befuddled girl’s response, Wu turned around fully, quickly making his way toward the front entrance. The time he spent at the Academy hadn’t been very fruitful, so he planned to run back to the manor and get in a few hours of intense training before supper. There was no way in hell he was letting a brooding brat like Sasuke catch up to him…

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“So, how was your first day at school? Make any friends…?”

Putting a stopper in Wu’s plans, Hiruzen appeared shortly after the former arrived at the estate grounds. This left the former feeling a little annoyed, but it didn’t show as he adopted a toothy grin and replied, “Of course. The first two were a boy and girl from the Inuzuka Clan. After that, I managed to exhibit my strength against two of my classmates, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. The latter stormed off after realizing the difference in our strength, but I was able to make amends with him at lunch.”

Though he could tell that Wu had more to say, the mention of Naruto caused Hiruzen’s eyes to glisten. Once the boy reached a natural pause in his account, Hiruzen interrupted, his expression softening as he muttered, “Ah, Uzumaki Naruto…like you, I also view him as my grandson. I trust the two of you were able to get along?”

Surprising Hiruzen, Wu’s expression briefly became one of disbelief. He quickly fixed it, but Hiruzen had already taken an interest, asking, “What’s wrong? Naruto is a good kid. If you were able to make up with the young heir of the Uchiha, you shouldn’t have any trouble with Naruto.”

Shaking his head, Wu revealed, “It isn’t that…Naruto and I actually got along really well. We even ate lunch together alongside two of our other classmates, Hyuga Hinata and Inuzuka Kaia.”

Even more confused, Hiruzen asked, “Then what seems to be the issue, my boy? Speak freely.”

“…”

Though he would prefer to save his response until he had sorted out all the details in his mind, Wu took a steadying breath before staring into Hiruzen’s silvery-grey eyes and recounting everything he had witnessed during his first day at the Academy. This included details about how his classmates viewed Naruto, the fact he hadn’t brought a lunch, and, most damning of all, the way most of the Chunin instructors either ignored him or found the blonde-haired boy’s situation amusing…

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