Chapter 45: 045: Is It Too Late to Pretend I'm Asleep?
"Haha, full of energy, aren't we?" Uchiha Kurama removed the small bucket from his head, looking at Naruto, who was now standing on the podium, and offered a less-than-genuine compliment.
"Since everyone is so lively, it wouldn't be right for this teacher not to show off a little."
He initially wanted to politely find an excuse to take them outside, but instead, he received a blow to his dignity. Since they were so mischievous, he wouldn't hold back.
Of course, before that, it was best to get Sasuke out of the way.
"Uchiha Sasuke, step forward. Someone from your family is here. Go home." Kurama, disguised as Iruka, said to Sasuke.
"Oh, okay. Is it my brother?" Sasuke stood up happily. He felt a sense of familiarity with the older girl who came to borrow tools.
He now recalled that she was Itachi's classmate, Uchiha Izumi.
He didn't know why she was pretending to be an older student, but she wouldn't harm him. As expected, upon leaving the classroom, he saw Izumi walking towards him.
"Izumi-nee."
"Sasuke, something happened at the clan. Come with me back to the compound."
"Ah? What happened?"
"I'm not sure either. I was just summoned back. Let's go back first."
"Okay, let's hurry."
The two quickly ran downstairs.
Meanwhile, from the classroom, a faint voice could be heard:
"Temple of Nirvana Technique!"
Feathers, illusory as phantoms, floated out from the classroom windows, disappearing before they touched the ground.
As a member of the noble Uchiha clan, Sasuke recognized this as a genjutsu that could induce widespread sleep.
"Why did Iruka-sensei cast a genjutsu?" Sasuke asked in confusion.
"Maybe he's demonstrating a jutsu to the class," Izumi replied casually, her eyes carefully scanning their surroundings.
There were still clan members outside engaging with Konoha's ANBU.
She had to be vigilant for any potential attacks.
Suddenly, as they passed the anatomy model room, a loud crash of shattering glass echoed. A large group of figures surged out.
Izumi's pupils constricted slightly.
They were the wooden training dummies used to teach students about acupuncture points, human anatomy, and precision strikes!
"H-How... How did these wooden figures come alive?"
...
A minute earlier, inside the gifted class.
Kurama, who had just taken advantage of Sasuke's departure to cast the Temple of Nirvana Technique under the guise of a talent show, putting most of the students to sleep, was stunned.
Several students remained awake, defying the genjutsu. And he knew them all.
They were the geniuses of this elite class that warranted attention.
Hinata Hyuga, Choji Akimichi, Natsuki Yuhi, as well as Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka.
Strange.
The first three were well-documented super geniuses, but how come the latter two would resist his genjutsu?
It was precisely because of these exceptional talents that he hadn't released his transformation yet.
"Because I already knew you weren't Iruka-sensei."
"That's why I dodged the falling feathers. I recognize that sleep-inducing genjutsu." Shikamaru Nara, with his keen observation skills akin to mind-reading, stood up and said, kicking Choji Akimichi as he spoke.
"Oh? When did you realize?" Kurama, still disguised as Iruka, frowned, unable to figure out where he had slipped up.
His impersonation was quite good.
A few short sentences shouldn't have exposed his unfamiliarity with the class so quickly, right?
He had deliberately avoided calling names, hadn't stalled for time, and had immediately prioritized Sasuke's departure, followed by the talent show as a cover for his genjutsu.
"Uh, just now? I was suspicious before, but now I'm certain.
"I didn't expect you to admit it yourself after I casually fished for information." Shikamaru's words made Kurama's expression stiffen.
Were all the students in this class like this?
As a Jonin, he had been played by an Academy student.
Although the Uchiha coup tonight had him in a heightened state of excitement, and his attention was focused on the Jinchuriki and those super geniuses with abnormal abilities, it didn't excuse the fact that he had been outsmarted by a child.
If word of this got out, would his reputation as a renowned Uchiha be tarnished?
"Sigh... Wouldn't it be nice to just quietly fall asleep? Why must you court death?"
Kurama released his transformation, his three-tomoe Sharingan activating.
"Do you really think you can stop me with those so-called super geniuses and their unreliable abilities?"
Hearing this, Shikamaru secretly kicked his deskmate Choji again under the table.
"Can you stop kicking me? My foot's swollen. I'm not asleep."
"Choji, are you a fucking pig? I'm telling you to transform and defeat him!"
"Well, I got a new backpack today, and my transformation device is in my old one at home," Choji replied with a mournful face.
Shikamaru's expression went blank.
He turned to Kurama mechanically and asked, "Is it too late to fall asleep now?"
"What do you think?" Kurama sneered.
A brat trying to act tough.
He had long been annoyed by his father, Shikaku Nara, and his pretentious Konoha strategist demeanor.
He drew his tanto, about to finish off this embarrassing brat when...
A broom in the corner suddenly stood upright and swept towards Kurama.
Whoosh!!!
Several flashes of the blade later, the broom was severed into pieces. Kurama focused his gaze and saw Hinata struggling to control the nearby brooms in the corner.
Beside her, Natsuki Yuhi clapped his hands together and shouted, "Super Invincible Thunderbolt..."
Kurama's pupils constricted, remembering the lightning and fire jutsu that had destroyed the Academy.
Without hesitation, he grabbed the unconscious Jinchuriki, Naruto, and flashed from the podium to the aisle.
Then, he jumped directly out of the fourth-floor classroom window.
"Hey, are you fucking stupid? how could I possibly use such a large-scale jutsu with so many students around?" Natsuki's voice drifted down from above, causing Kurama's legs to give way.
He collapsed to his knees with a thud.
His face was ashen.
He had been tricked!! AGAIN!!!
At the same time, Izumi and Sasuke, who were descending the stairs, jumped from the second floor.
Countless wooden figures flew out from the second-floor model room.
That was another one of Natsuki's abilities, extracted from Hinata's tenseigan, far surpassing the Puppet Master Jutsu!