The bell marking the end of the morning session finally chimed, its ring echoing through the hallway like a song of liberation.
"Alright, that's all for now," Ibuki-sensei said, snapping his textbook shut. He paused, looking over his glasses. "Nohara Shinchan, don't let the lunch break distract you. I expect those three hundred words on the Will of Fire on my desk tomorrow morning."
Shinchan didn't respond. He had transformed into a puddle of melted wax, draped over his desk as if his bones had suddenly turned into jelly.
"Three hundred words," he groaned into the wood. "I can feel the afterlife calling me. It's cold and dark, but at least there's no homework."
Che was busy stacking his books into a neat, perfect pile. He glanced over and couldn't help but snicker. "Honestly, Shinchan, three hundred words isn't that much. It's basically just a few long sentences."
"A few sentences?" Shinchan lifted his head, one eye squinting in suspicion. "Okay, smart guy. If I write 'The Will of Fire is not eating green peppers,' how many words is that?"
Che did a quick mental tally. "Ten words."
"And how many times do I have to write that to hit the goal?"
"Thirty times."
Shinchan went silent, processing the math. Then, he slumped back down with a heavy thud. "Thirty times... my hand would fall off by the fifth. It's a suicide mission."
Che watched his friend's "life is a void" expression for a moment. He suddenly remembered something, reached into his bag, and pulled out a small, paper-wrapped square. He slid it across the desk, placing it right in front of Shinchan's nose.
"Here."
Shinchan's eyes crossed as he looked at the package. "What's this? Is it a subpoena?"
"Just open it."
Shinchan unwrapped the paper with the caution of someone handling a bomb. His eyes instantly doubled in size. "A chocolate bar!"
"Yeah," Che said, quickly looking away, his ears turning a faint shade of pink. "You mentioned you liked them yesterday. My family... well, we happened to have some at the compound, so I brought one."
Shinchan stared at the chocolate as if it were a holy relic, his jaw hanging open. Then he looked at Che with an intensity that made the Uchiha boy lean back. "Tetsu."
"Wh-what? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You are officially my best friend in the entire world!"
"Don't... don't be weird about it," Che stammered, his face flushing deeper.
"I mean it!" Shinchan lunged forward, wrapping Che in a sudden, enthusiastic hug. "Tetsu is the best! You are ten thousand times better than a green pepper!"
"Stop comparing me to vegetables!"
"Ten thousand times better than slimy natto!"
"That's barely a compliment!"
Shinchan finally let go, picking up the chocolate bar with a reverence usually reserved for ancient scrolls. He performed a tiny, seated celebratory dance before taking a slow, deliberate bite.
"Mmm."
Che watched him nervously. "Well? Is it... okay?"
Shinchan closed his eyes, chewing with a look of pure, unadulterated ecstasy. "It's delicious. It's so good I think I can hear angels singing. This is the king of chocolate bars."
"Really?"
"Yeah." Shinchan opened his eyes and held the bar out. "Tetsu, you have to have some."
"No, I brought it for you."
"Friends share, Tetsu. That's the rule." Shinchan snapped the bar in two, making sure to hand the slightly larger half to Che. "Here. Take it."
Che looked at the half-bar in his hand, a strange, fluttering warmth blooming in his chest. It wasn't the fiery heat of 'Youth' or the intensity of clan pride. It was just... nice. Like sitting in a patch of sunlight on a cold afternoon.
He took a bite.
"Is it good?" Shinchan asked, grinning.
"Yeah," Che nodded, a small, genuine smile breaking through his serious exterior. "It's really good."
"I knew it!" Shinchan chirped. "Hey, do you like those biscuits shaped like little bears? My mom bought a mountain of them. I'll smuggle some in tomorrow."
"I'd like that."
The two sat there in the quiet classroom, side-by-side, eating their chocolate. Outside, the midday sun was perfect, casting long, golden rectangles across the floor.
Guy happened to be jogging past the door and caught sight of the scene. His eyes immediately began to leak. "Youth! This is the peak of friendship! My heart is overflowing!"
Shinchan and Che both looked up at the green-clad boy standing in the doorway.
"Hey, Guy, want a piece?" Shinchan held up the last tiny corner of his half. "There's one bite left."
Guy froze. Then, the floodgates truly opened. "SHINCHAN!"
He lunged into the room, sweeping Shinchan into a crushing embrace. "You truly are a brother of the soul! I will never forget this kindness!"
"Ack—the hug! The power! I... can't... see... the... light..."
At the front of the room, Ibuki-sensei was packing his satchel. He watched the three boys with a small, tired smile. Maybe teaching isn't so bad, he thought. They're actually getting alon—
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"
A roar erupted from the back of the room, shattering the peace. Ibuki-sensei's smile vanished. He turned to see Obito standing up so fast his chair skidded across the floor, his face bright red as he glared at a boy in the back row.
"I said," Asuma Sarutobi repeated, his voice slow and dripping with irritation, "what's so great about being the Hokage? He's just a busy old man who's never around. He doesn't even know what's going on in his own house."
Obito clenched his fists, his goggles vibrating with rage. "The Hokage is the greatest ninja in history! He protects the whole village! How can you talk about him like that?"
"Because he's my old man," Asuma snapped, rolling his eyes. "I know him better than you do. All he cares about is scrolls, meetings, and 'The Will of Fire.' He doesn't have time for family. What's the point of being a hero if you're a ghost at home?"
Obito was shaking. "He sacrifices everything for us! He carries the weight of everyone's safety!"
Asuma stood up, matching Obito's glare. "Sacrifice? Who asked him to? I'd rather have a regular dad than a 'great' Hokage."
"You don't deserve to be his son!"
"You think I want to be?!" Asuma's voice rose to a yell. "Everywhere I go, it's 'Look, it's the Third's son.' I have to be perfect. I have to be the 'image' of the family. It's a prison!"
The two five-year-olds stood nose-to-nose, the air between them practically sparking. The rest of the class went dead silent, paralyzed by the sudden tension.
Ibuki-sensei scrambled toward them. "Hey! Hey! Break it up! We don't do this in class!"
But they didn't even hear him.
"Apologize," Obito growled. "Apologize to Lord Hokage right now."
"No. I'm telling the truth."
"YOU!"
Obito swung a wild punch. Asuma ducked, shoved Obito back, and in an instant, they were a blur of flailing limbs and scuffling feet.
"Stop it! Both of you!" Ibuki-sensei tried to wedge himself between them, but as a rookie teacher, he was completely overwhelmed. Every time he grabbed an arm, a leg would fly out from the other side.
"ENOUGH!" Ibuki shouted, but the boys were seeing red.
Some students scrambled away in fear; others started cheering. Kakashi sat in the back, watching the brawl with an expression of total boredom, making no move to help. Rin hovered nearby, wringing her hands. "Please! You're going to get hurt!"
Guy tried to intervene, but he was accidentally shoved aside by the momentum of the fight. The chaos was spiraling out of control.
Suddenly, a small figure appeared between the two combatants.
"Why are we hitting?" Shinchan asked, his voice calm and curious. "Is this about a chocolate bar?"
"NO!" both boys shouted in unison, pausing for a split second.
"Is it about a beautiful Older Sister with a great personality?"
"NO!"
"Is it about who gets the last stall in the bathroom?"
"OF COURSE NOT!"
Shinchan tilted his head, looking genuinely perplexed. "Then why are you working so hard? Fighting is a lot of cardio."
Obito pointed a trembling finger at Asuma. "He insulted the Hokage!"
Asuma sneered, wiping dust from his shirt. "I told the truth about my dad."
Shinchan blinked, looking from one to the other. He turned to Asuma. "Wait, your dad is the boss of the village?"
"Yeah. Unfortunately."
"So... is he really powerful? Like, can he make it so I don't have to write my essay?"
Asuma froze, his anger momentarily derailed by the sheer randomness of the question. He turned his face away, grumbling. "Whether he's powerful or not doesn't change the fact that he's never home."
Shinchan hummed thoughtfully, then looked at Obito. "And you want to be the boss, right?"
"Yeah! The best one ever!"
"Then," Shinchan said, leaning in with a conspiratorial whisper, "maybe you should ask Asuma's dad for tips on how to stay busy. That way, when you're Hokage, you'll have an excuse to avoid your homework too."
The sheer absurdity of the logic hung in the air. Obito blinked. Asuma blinked. Even Ibuki-sensei stopped mid-shout. The red-hot rage that had fueled the fight evaporated, replaced by a profound sense of "What is this kid talking about?"
Shinchan grinned, seemingly oblivious to the tension. "Anyway, fighting is hungry work. Tetsu and I have some chocolate. Want to be friends instead? It's much less tiring."
Obito looked at Asuma. Asuma looked at the floor. The "fated battle" was over, ended not by a ninja move, but by a five-year-old who just wanted to talk about snacks.
Ibuki-sensei let out a long, shaky breath. "Everyone... back to your seats. Now."
As the class settled, Shinchan sat back down next to Che. "See? I told you. Everything is easier with chocolate."
Che just shook his head. "I think you're the only person in the world who could stop a fight between the Uchiha and the Sarutobi by asking about homework."
"It's a gift," Shinchan said, already looking for more crumbs.
If you like it, please give power stones.