Chapter 21: Rejection and Fury
"Teacher Yamaki!"
Ruo Feng said calmly, his gaze fixed on Yamaki as he approached.
Yamaki gave a slight nod. "You three are all here. Then follow me. Your class has already been assigned—study well, and one day, make Konoha proud."
The words carried a hint of encouragement, but to Ruo Feng, they sounded completely bland—filtered automatically in his mind. Empty platitudes didn't move him.
But Kuukano was different. Her eyes sparkled with fiery determination as she declared firmly, "I will become the first female Hokage of Konoha!"
Her presence was strong, and when she glanced at Ruo Feng, there was an unmistakable aura of a future heroine.
Reiko Uzumaki, slightly shy, lowered her head and quietly said, "I understand."
The three of them together were enough to give Yamaki a headache. Fortunately, he wasn't their teaching instructor—he was part of the school's administration. Knowing who these three were, he had no intention of actually teaching them himself.
Among the three, two were from the Uzumaki clan. One of them was destined to become a Jinchūriki, while the other would likely be the future Jinchūriki's close ally—a difference that would impact their roles in the future. As for Ruo Feng, Yamaki already knew who he was. With Jiraiya backing him and ties to the Senju clan forming over the past few days, no one dared to provoke him.
In other words, these three were untouchable. Yamaki could only allow them to grow freely. He shook his head inwardly and walked toward Class One, silently sympathizing with whoever would become their teacher.
"Bang… bang…"
The quiet classroom was suddenly shattered.
The instructor who was about to start class stopped, looking at Yamaki. "Lord Yamaki… what brings you here?"
As a teacher, he knew exactly who his superior was.
Yamaki chuckled lightly, then looked at the three new students. "Yamada… these are our three new students. From now on, they belong to Class One."
As the words fell, many eyes in the large classroom turned to Ruo Feng and the others.
Yamada, the teacher, blinked in surprise. "I see… so they're transfer students?"
Though his tone was casual, he could sense that these three were not ordinary students. That Yamaki personally came to escort them clearly meant they had a significant background.
"Correct," Yamaki said. "These three are in your care. Teach them well. The Hokage himself is very much looking forward to seeing their growth."
At Yamaki's words, Yamada's eyes gleamed with a hint of awe. "Understood. I'll make sure to teach them properly."
With that, Yamaki departed, leaving only the three of them in the classroom.
While Yamaki spoke with Yamada, Ruo Feng's gaze swept across the entire class. He couldn't consciously use his sensory ability yet, but some instinctive perception had already manifested.
As he observed his future classmates, several faces seemed familiar.
His eyes soon landed on the blond boy in front of him. Although he looked cute and slightly naive, there was no doubt—this was the future Minato Namikaze. Minato's gaze met the three of them, but most of his attention lingered on Kuukano and Reiko.
After a short pause, Yamada said, "Alright… since we have new students, why don't you introduce yourselves?"
A standard, common opening line.
Ruo Feng nodded silently and was about to step up when he noticed Kuukano trembling slightly, her face flushed with anger.
At that moment, Ruo Feng observed the gazes of the other students. They seemed hostile, as if rejecting the three of them entirely.
Kuukano, her eyes burning, shouted, "I am Uzumaki Kuukano! My dream is to become Konoha's first female Hokage!"
Her words roared with both anger and unwavering determination.
Ruo Feng was momentarily stunned—but the sound of laughter in the classroom snapped him out of it.
Turning his head, he saw many students laughing, ridiculing Kuukano's dream, mocking her fiery defiance.
Yamada, feeling slightly embarrassed, regained his composure and said with authority, "Quiet! This is Kuukano's dream. You have no right to mock another person's ambition!"
The laughter subsided gradually. It seemed Yamada's authority as a teacher was still respected.
He then turned to Ruo Feng. "Now, this student may introduce himself."
Ruo Feng looked at Kuukano with a reassuring glance before his expression hardened. A faint chill emanated from him as his chakra began to flow subtly.
"I am Ruo Feng. Remember this name, for one day, you will feel proud to know it. And do not dare to look at me with mockery—none of you have that right. Your eyes may only look up to me; they cannot follow my path."
With that, he took Kuukano's hand, exuding his chakra as he descended from the podium.
His bold words ignited anger in the students, yet his terrifying gaze left them speechless.
At some point, Ruo Feng's sensory ability had subtly awakened, exuding a coldness that silenced the students completely, making them avoid his gaze entirely.
Perhaps this was one use of his inherited ability, though Ruo Feng himself did not yet understand it. His grandfather had not taught him how to consciously wield this power, a legacy passed down from his mother's side.
But witnessing Kuukano's righteous anger and the students' ridicule, Ruo Feng's own emotions triggered the latent ability.
Yamada looked on in surprise. Hearing Ruo Feng's name brought a faint smile, though his gaze towards the boy subtly shifted in response.
The classroom fell into silence. Reiko Uzumaki, timid and hesitant, murmured a few words before quietly stepping down.
With the introductions complete, the three of them walked to seats near the door—an area where no other students sat.
Once seated, Yamada smiled gently and continued, "Now that the new students have introduced themselves, let's continue with class. Today, we will discuss chakra, specifically the extraction and refinement process. Each person's body is different; the energy within each cell varies. Thus, the chakra extracted differs in quality. Some time ago, Minato asked why, if everyone can extract chakra, there is a difference in its strength. To clarify this, I consulted many senior shinobi. The conclusion: the strength of chakra depends on one's physical constitution and, importantly, one's lineage…"
Yamada continued meticulously, explaining the nuances of chakra.
Ruo Feng listened carefully. Despite Jiraiya's previous instruction, this was knowledge he had only grasped in fragments—now, he could see the system and logic of chakra from a broader perspective.