Iruka, after surviving the whirlwind that was Itomaru's entrance and Naruto's ego, tried to regain control of the lesson. With the demeanor of a man clinging to hope by the thinnest thread, he turned back to the chalkboard.
Picking up a piece of chalk with practiced ease, he continued, "Let's... move on to our class, shall we," he said, as the noise dialed down.
Sulky glares were still being sent towards Itomaru, who lazily sat on the chair, hands over the backrest as he scratched his face with his pinky, ignoring the glaring faces.
He continued, "Today's first class is mathematics," earning groans all around the room.
Naruto crossed his arms, sulking, "Not this again! I want cool ninja stuff!"
Kiba nodded rapidly, and Akamaru barked, "Yes, Yes! Give us something cooler!"
Sakura had a smug expression, shooting glances at Sasuke, as if this is where she shines in front of the Uchiha heir.
Sasuke gave a cold snort and turned towards the window.
Shikamaru, plopped on the desk, sighing, "Troublesome."
Scribbling a problem on the board, alongside graphs and accurate drawings of weapons being thrown, Iruka ignores the protests.
The moment the chalk stopped moving, the students went quiet—not out of respect, but because the problem filled the entire board. It was more like a war diagram than a school problem, with arrows, flying kunais and other miscellaneous drawings.
"Hey, look! Iruka-Sensei drew a skewered corpse!" Kiba exclaimed. Naruto had a gleam, "Coool! Draw another one!"
The other boys in the class discussed excitedly, while the girls look with disgust at the drawing.
Iruka ignored their exclamations. "This," he said, "is a problem that embodies advanced shurikenjutsu techniques. It uses all the concepts I taught since you started the academy. As this is your last year, shurikenjutsu must be mastered before you go into the field," he stopped, twirled the chalk on his finger, as if to try make the students awed, "Anyone want to try?"
He turned to the class,
Dead silence.
Shikamaru sighed heavily but didn't even lift his head. Besides him, Choji slowed as he ate his chips, in order to make less noise.
Hinata simply lowered herself even lower, afraid Iruka would choose her.
Sakura squinted at the board, "Is that… imaginary numbers?" mentally spiraling, she restlessly thought, 'What if Sasuke thinks I'm stupid if I get it wrong? No. No way.'
Naruto is confused, "Imaginary? So... they don't exist?", making the class laugh.
Shikamaru, sighed, "Naruto, it was taught last year."
Naruto scratched his head, "Was it?"
Kiba laughed, "As expected of the dead last," which made the class laugh even further.
Naruto jumped on the desk, "Kiba, you bastard! If you are so smart, go ahead and solve it!"
Iruka watched it all and waited, hopeful, that some good soul would take pity on the poor chunin and raise their hands, so he can continue his class.
No one moved.
Then came the scoff. A long, theatrical scoff from the back.
"You're all seriously just going to sit there and stare at it like cavepeople discovering fire?"
Iruka deflated slightly, 'where is my good soul?' he thought.
Itomaru stood, clearly offended by the class's collective mediocrity. "I knew Konoha had slipped, but I didn't realize it had fallen so much," he looked with disgust at them, " I learned this when I was 6, by watching Shizune-nee-san throwing a kunai at a boar."
Naruto, ever ready to spark chaos, pointed a finger. "Then you do it, big mouth!"
Itomaru smirked. "I was going to anyway, but thanks for the invitation, underachiever."
He strolled to the front, his flip-flops echoing through the class like a rhythmic drum. Casually twirling the chalk in his hand like a kunai, he looked at the board for a moment, then began writing—symbols flowing like water, lines weaving around each other like a dance.
He didn't just solve the problem. He deconstructed it, explained its moving parts, and casually added information that Iruka was certain he could not reveal to students yet.
"Student Itomaru, that... perhaps you should not say that?", Iruka asked, aging a year as he looked at the corners of the room and outside, as if an ANBU might pop out.
Itomaru dismissed, "What? I read the records," He then took out a red sealed scroll, with the kanji of 'ANBU' in its seal. Iruka almost fainted. "Its just an ANBU technique, no big deal."
Then, as if by summoning, an ANBU appeared, hands stretched towards Itomaru, who gave the scroll without looking back, "Tell the old man I will give the rest after class," The ANBU stopped for a moment. Cold sweat slipped from his mask as he disappeared just as quickly as he appeared.
Iruka leaned on the board rest, with weak knees and hand on his chest, mumbling incoherent words.
The students were flabbergasted.
As Naruto was about to say something, Sakura put her hand on his mouth, shutting him up.
Shikamaru nodded, "That never happened," and everyone else agreed.
When Itomaru finished, he underlined the final answer with a dramatic flourish and turned to the stunned class. "There. Solved. And not just how, but why." He then threw the chalk like a kunai, embedding itself in the board. Iruka twitched his eyes. Dejected, he muttered, "my board... My chalk..."
The class sat in stunned silence.
Even Sasuke blinked, narrowing his eyes slightly. For the first time he felt a sense of threat from a peer.
Sakura and Ino looked at each other, then exchanged glances between Sasuke and Itomaru, their thoughts remained unknown to all but themselves.
Some girls were starting to whisper to themselves, thinking that he actually looks cool.
Naruto, of course, had to say something. "He just made that up!"
"No," Iruka said, blinking slowly with a tired look. "No, he didn't. That… was correct."
Shikamaru watched Itomaru silently, in deep thought, 'Not just a loud mouth... calculated.'
Shino, with his almost non-existent presence, silently studied the board, taking notes in a small notebook.
Itomaru nodded, walking back to his seat. "Try to keep up, future cannon fodder."
Kiba grumbled, "Smart and full of himself...", Akamaru barked.
"I heard that, Dog Whisperer."
Iruka sighed while mumbling to himself, already regretting every life decision that led him here, "... maybe the country of tea? Early retirement does sound nice..."
Itomaru leaned back in his chair, smug and relaxed. He might've been in a classroom, but it was clear he saw himself somewhere far above it.
And, unfortunately for everyone else—
He had the numbers to prove it.