Naruto: Wooing Tsunade from Day One!-Chapter 370: The Academy Entrance Ceremony

Kakashi cast a sidelong glance at Kurenai before stepping forward toward the stage amid the applause. His stride, however, caught Kawakaze's attention. Something about Kakashi's posture seemed different, unusual. Kawakaze frowned, but before he could analyze further, Kakashi had already reached the stage.

"Ahem..." Kakashi cleared his throat twice, and the applause died down immediately.

"Today, I am honored to be able to speak to you, my younger schoolmates, as the student representative," he began confidently. "I am Kakashi Hatake, from the Commanding Class."

After his brief introduction, Kakashi grew more fluent, his words gaining momentum as he spoke. From the stage, he exuded a calm, assured aura that commanded attention.

Nearby in the audience, Ginji turned to the girl on his left, his voice full of pride. "This is my brother."

The girl's eyes sparkled as she looked at Kakashi. "Really? That's amazing," she said, her admiration evident. She was undoubtedly a young girl with a budding crush.

Before Ginji could bask in the moment further, the boy on his right spoke up. "You're Ginji Hatake, right? I know you."

The boy's pale complexion, dark circles under his eyes, and his light cough as he finished speaking gave him a sickly appearance. Ginji turned to him, confusion flickering across his face.

"And you are?" Ginji asked, his tone cautious. He couldn't help but feel the boy's sudden familiarity was a little too forward. His irritation was clear—he wasn't shy about holding a double standard when it came to people approaching him.

"My name is Hayate Gekkō, and I admire your father's swordsmanship," the boy said, his eyes gleaming with enthusiasm. "My father said that Lord Kawakaze is the best swordsman in the entire Konoha." Hayate's love for Kenjutsu was evident in his expression.

"Nice to meet you." Ginji couldn't help but smile upon hearing the praise for his father.

"I hope to have the opportunity to spar with you in the future," Hayate added, his tone sincere. He wasn't trying to challenge Ginji, but his curiosity about Ginji's Kenjutsu skill was genuine.

"No problem, let's all improve together," Ginji replied with an easygoing demeanor, proving himself approachable.

"And me." A voice piped up from behind Hayate. A purple-haired girl leaned forward, her interest piqued.

"She is Yūgao Uzuki. We grew up together," Hayate explained, taking the initiative when he noticed Ginji looking a bit lost.

"Oh, hello." Ginji gave Yūgao a quick glance, noting that she was quite pretty, though in his mind, not as pretty as Satsuki.

"Hello, I'm Satsuki," a voice interrupted. Satsuki leaned back against Ginji slightly, as if staking her claim. "We grew up together."

As expected, Ginji thought, girls are jealous.

"Hello, my name is Might Kai, and this is Shisui Uchiha," another boy introduced himself energetically.

"And I'm Naruto," chimed in another voice.

The introductions came one after another, so quickly that Hayate and Yūgao looked slightly overwhelmed. Nevertheless, they carefully committed everyone's names to memory.

"Hello, and thank you for your attention," Ginji said after the flurry of introductions had subsided.

On the stage, Kakashi's speech came to an end. "Finally, I hope everyone can have a happy time at the Academy. I'll be waiting for you in the advanced class," he concluded with a bow. The audience responded with enthusiastic applause.

"Awesome," Kurenai said, flashing Kakashi a thumbs-up as he stepped down from the stage.

"Damn you, hurry up and change back, it's so uncomfortable," Kakashi muttered to her as the two of them jogged off together. The entrance ceremony, however, was still ongoing.

"What your senior, Kakashi, said earlier was excellent," Ei Onoda said, resuming his role. "I hope all of you accomplish great things at the Academy. Now, Principal Hatake will deliver the closing speech."

This time, Ei Onoda kept it brief, offering only a few words before returning to his seat. Kawakaze then stood, straightened his clothing, and confidently strode to the front of the stage.

"Hello everyone, I'm the Principal, Kawakaze Hatake," he began, his voice steady and welcoming. "I'm very happy to welcome you to our school today."

...

They were all words of encouragement, and Kawakaze didn't say anything particularly special.

This content is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.

"Dad's talking a lot today."

For the first time, Ginji felt Kawakaze was talking too much. In the past, it had always been Ginji pestering Kawakaze to talk.

"Haha, if you keep talking like that, Uncle Kawakaze is going to beat you up."

Satsuki couldn't help but laugh. Ginji was the type who never knew when to stop and never learned to be careful with his words.

"It's okay, he can't hear me from here," Ginji replied confidently, glancing toward Kawakaze, who was still speaking non-stop on the stage.

"What if I go and tell on you?" Satsuki gave a mischievous grin, trying to scare Ginji.

"Go ahead, I dare you," Ginji shot back, suddenly reaching out to tickle her belly.

"Hahaha! Stop! Haha~!" Satsuki squirmed, laughing uncontrollably.

"I won't tell! I won't tell!" she cried as she twisted in an attempt to escape, disrupting the formation in the process.

"Uncle Kawakaze is looking at you," She muttered, her eyes locked straight ahead, barely moving as she whispered through clenched teeth.

"This is bad. There's no way I'm getting out of this beating," Ginji groaned, straightening up as if all life had been drained from him.

"Told you not to tickle me. You deserve it," Satsuki teased, sticking out her tongue. But then, from the corner of her eye, she caught Orochimaru's hungry, predatory gaze. Her playful demeanor vanished in an instant as she snapped to attention.

"Serves you right," Naruto added, enjoying the moment as he rolled his eyes eyes dramatically.

"In conclusion, I wish you all the best in your studies," Kawakaze said, wrapping up his speech. His gaze briefly flicked to Ginji, already scheming how to discipline him later. This would be the perfect opportunity to add to the punishment he still owed from this morning.

"It's over. Satsuki, you've got to beg for me," Ginji whispered urgently, feeling the weight of impending doom.

"I can't even save myself," Satsuki replied with a wry smile, shooting him a sideways glance. Ginji quickly looked away, his expression tightening as he caught Orochimaru's menacing stare.

"Let's just fend for ourselves," Ginji sighed, resigned to his fate. He could only pray his mother wouldn't show up at noon—a double beating was more than he could handle.