In the Hokage Office, Hiruzen Sarutobi watched Ryoko's grand declaration through the crystal ball and couldn't help but rub his temples.
He had intended to observe the child's disposition to see if he was a Konoha sprout worth cultivating. Now, it seemed the development of this seedling was deviating slightly from expectations.
Moreover, thinking back to the report about "eating Root out of house and home," he decided to observe a little longer.
In the classroom, Ryoko walked back to his seat with an impassive face amidst a sea of complex laughter.
His mind was already mature, and he knew very well how pathetic his words sounded to children, but so what? Those were his true thoughts.
As for those clearly malicious jeers and scoffs, he, Akimichi Ryoko, was one to hold a grudge.
After the introductions, the lesson officially began.
This Teacher, named Teacher, had a style similar to the future Iruka. He was a gentle Civilian Ninja responsible for teaching basic Ninjutsu theory and cultural knowledge.
However, for Ryoko, who had undergone the baptism of "actual combat" in Root, these lessons were quite dull and tedious.
As he listened, his eyelids began to fight, and his head started nodding down bit by bit.
"As expected, theoretical knowledge isn't my forte..." he thought drowsily. "But, sneaking a nap in class feels pretty comfortable."
Thinking this, he simply adjusted to a more comfortable position and went to meet the Duke of Zhou with a clear conscience.
Throughout the entire lesson, the Teacher's lecturing voice became nothing more than white noise to help him sleep.
Not to mention, the quality of his nap in class was quite high.
He found that in a deep sleep state, his body's energy consumption seemed to slow down, and that ever-present sense of hunger became less noticeable.
However, as soon as the school bell rang, the brief peace was shattered.
Several students exchanged glances and surrounded Ryoko's desk in groups of three to five, forming a small encirclement. They looked down at him as he just woke up, still rubbing his eyes.
The leading Hedgehog-haired Boy spoke in a provocative tone: "Hey, fatty, tell us, what skills do you have to get into our Class A?"
A tall, thin boy next to him immediately chimed in: "Exactly. Everyone knows Class A is for elites, either those with outstanding talent or those squeezed in through family connections."
As he spoke, he pointedly glanced at Ryoko's round physique and the Akimichi Clan crest.
Another girl with some freckles on her face also snorted, her tone clearly bitter: "Hmph, people from certain Ninja Clans are just like that. They have no real skill of their own and rely entirely on their families to pave the way."
These few were dressed plainly and seemed to come from civilian families or small clans. Their eyes held a mix of the inherent jealousy toward Ninja Clan children and resentment toward an outlier like Ryoko.
Ryoko wasn't about to indulge these guys who were clearly looking for trouble.
He slowly stood up, his body far taller and sturdier than his peers, suddenly standing before them like a wall and bringing a strong sense of pressure.
The students were startled by the size difference and instinctively took half a step back, breaking out in cold sweat, but they still wouldn't back down verbally.
"W-what are you doing? Do you think you can just hit people, you fatty?"
Ryoko picked his ear with his pinky, his tone a bit impatient.
"Isn't the Ninja Academy a place to learn how to fight? If you don't even have the courage to make a move and can only whine here, I suggest you go home and play in the mud."
These words completely enraged one of them. The Hedgehog-haired Boy's blood rushed to his head, and with a shout, he swung his fist and charged.
However, their size and strength were not even in the same league.
Ryoko didn't even bother taking a proper battle stance. He just casually pushed out his belly. His round, elastic abdomen vibrated slightly, and a burst of skillful force surged out, sending the charging Hedgehog-haired Boy stumbling back several meters until he landed hard on his butt.
Seeing their companion suffer a loss, the others were also provoked and charged together with shouts.
Unfortunately, in the face of absolute strength and weight, their showy but powerless moves were simply not enough.
Ryoko didn't even use Chakra. He just swiped at them casually, as if shooing away flies, and quickly laid them all out on the ground, groaning in pain.
One of the cleverer kids, seeing that taijutsu was no match, quickly shouted: "Don't get close to him! Use shuriken, use Kunai!"
They hurriedly fumbled for their training ninja tools, trying to pull back and launch long-range attacks.
As for more powerful combat-type Ninjutsu, they hadn't learned them at this stage and wouldn't know how to use them anyway.
The commotion was quite loud, and other students in the classroom gathered around to watch.
The children from prestigious Ninja Clans with greater strength, like those from the Hyuga and Uchiha families, did not intervene. Instead, they stood by with arms crossed, watching coldly.
They were also curious to see what real skills this new student, who had been squeezed into Class A, actually possessed.
"Stop! We're all classmates, don't fight!"
An anxious voice rang out as Uzumaki Kushina, with her vibrant red hair, squeezed to the front of the crowd to try and intervene.
She had only recently transferred to Konoha and had also been marginalized because of her hair color and status, so she was particularly averse to such things.
However, both sides were already heated, and her accented plea was completely drowned out by the chaotic noise and the shouts of the resentful students.
Facing the students charging with Kunai, there was no trace of panic in Ryoko's eyes.
The scenes of fighting for one's life in Root training were a hundred times more dangerous than this minor squabble.
His combat experience and understanding of his own strength meant he had no fear of a threat of this level.
Seeing the Kunai thrusting toward him, Ryoko didn't dodge. His body turned slightly in a movement that seemed clumsy but was actually subtle, proactively meeting the attack with his round, elastic, and fat-protected belly.
"Bang!"
With a dull thud, the student felt a massive reaction force from the other's belly. His wrist jolted, the Kunai nearly flew out of his hand, and he was sent flying backward uncontrollably, landing miserably several meters away.
Before the others could recover from this unbelievable scene, Ryoko's massive body erupted with a speed completely inconsistent with his size.
He was like a skillfully bounced rubber ball; his figure flickered as he crashed into the remaining students.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Several dull thuds followed by cries of pain, and the troublemaking students were easily knocked over like bowling pins.
The whole process was clean and efficient, completed almost in the blink of an eye.
To the surrounding Ninja Academy students, Ryoko's combat methods, relying on his size and strange counterattacks, already seemed very powerful.
But they didn't know that this fight was practically like playing house.
For Ryoko, who had eaten continuously for a month in Root and accumulated a massive amount of Chakra and energy in his body, this fight didn't even count as a warm-up.
"Damn it, how can the gap be this big?"
The Hedgehog-haired Boy, struggling to climb up, was filled with resentment and disbelief.
These Class A students, who considered themselves elites, were so vulnerable before this new fat kid.
However, before they could organize any effective resistance again, Ryoko's mountain-like figure already loomed over them.
He didn't even need to use any Ninjutsu; relying solely on his absolute weight and strength advantage, he easily suppressed those who still wanted to resist, leaving them unable to move.
In the face of such an absolute strength gap, their resentment and anger appeared pale and weak, unable to cause even the slightest ripple.
Ãdvåñçé çhàptêr àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)