Chapter 6
Shino also gave his self-introduction. As expected, it was all about how he liked bugs.
Naturally, both his appearance and his unusual interests made many classmates avoid him. Combined with his practically invisible presence, Shino was soon forgotten by most of the class.
Natsuki noticed this and patted his deskmate's shoulder in a show of support.
Then he stood up and said, "I'm Natsuki. I don't really have anything I particularly like, and I don't hate much either. As for my dream... haven't thought of one yet. That's it."
A name—and not much else.
Most of the class looked a bit speechless, but since Natsuki wasn't willing to share more, there wasn't anything they could do about it.
Plus, he wasn't especially eye-catching—just a clean and neat face. Like Shino, he was quickly overlooked.
That was fine with Natsuki. For now, he was focused on keeping a low profile. He just wanted to absorb knowledge, build a few useful friendships, and avoid trouble.
After everyone introduced themselves, the teachers began handing out textbooks.
As Natsuki had guessed, the curriculum included topics like the Will of Fire, the history of Konoha and the shinobi world, geography, math, physics, chemistry, biology, and of course, core ninja foundation classes.
Of course, there were outdoor classes too—training in taijutsu, kunai and shuriken throwing, rope escape, trap setup, and mock battles. These were the most important, since the real purpose of the Academy was to produce ninjas. And real ninjas lived and died by combat.
Once the textbooks were handed out, class officially began.