Chapter 169: Chapter 171: I, Hanabi, Mana Ouma—desu
"Mendel University? Never heard of it. Is it not from any particular anime—just an ordinary university in some parallel world?"
Hanabi tilted her head.
She didn’t have any particular objection to being admitted straight into an undergraduate program. Biology was directly relevant for the Naruto world. No issues there.
As for Mendel University itself—the name did bring to mind the very famous Mendel’s Laws of Heredity from the history of biology.
Mendel’s pea hybridization experiments and all that.
There were real European universities named after Mendel too. Was she really about to end up in some version of Europe?
"Having an ordinary university experience wouldn’t be the worst thing."
What was most distinctive about this "university course" wasn’t that it took real time or ran for thirty hours—it was that the course itself was renewable.
Thirty session-hours covered one semester, but she could keep studying as long as her grades held up. She could even stay through graduation if she wanted.
I wonder if, after finishing the degree, they assess you again and you can go for a doctorate or something.
"But my current body is twelve years old—is that going to be a problem? And would Shadow Clones even work there?"
Hanabi tilted her head again.
"Stage, can I use my jutsu at the university?"
[The training grounds do not support that energy system]
"Right, got it. But since the two timelines don’t stay synced when I leave—can I maintain a Shadow Clone on this side while I’m over there?"
[No issue]
"And the Fool’s Mask’s transformation ability?"
[Usable—but use discretion. Being discovered will result in expulsion.]
Understood. As long as she wasn’t caught.
Not that she was planning anything. She was here to study.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Since Shadow Clones could still operate on this side, Hanabi deployed one before stepping through. Then she entered the space.
After pushing the door open, Hanabi found herself in a single-occupancy dormitory room.
Small—a bed, a desk, a bathroom, no kitchen. The view outside the window was unclear.
[Please fill out your enrollment form]
On the desk sat a document.
She walked over and found it was in English.
"Lucky my English didn’t rust."
Over ten years in the Naruto world—luckily Hanabi’s previous self had always had a talent for languages. A little rusty, but functional.
"Name... photo... hmm..."
As expected. Twelve years old was just too young.
Jutsu didn’t work here—Hanabi could feel the Chakra sitting inert, inaccessible.
But the Fool’s Mask still worked.
"Then let’s shift to a slightly older form."
What form to use?
"Ara—got one~"
She still had a Reincarnation Card, and the character was Inori Yuzuriha—who was a manufactured artificial being. And Inori’s original template was...
"Mana Ouma."
Hanabi wrote the name on the form. Then she shifted her appearance—older, more mature.
Well. "More mature" was relative. More like a pretty girl of about fifteen or sixteen.
"Mmm, that works~"
[Form submitted]
[Textbooks deposited to dormitory desk]
[Please exit the dormitory and proceed to the classroom to begin your studies]
Hanabi opened the drawer.
Packed inside were biology textbooks. She skimmed through them—dense, technical content. Quite difficult to self-study.
Though it was just biology class, the material covered was different each session. Overall it looked foundational, but none of it was light.
"Ara."
When she opened the door and stepped out, the world felt like it had re-initialized.
The campus was immaculate—new, like it had been built only a few years ago.
And the gravity felt off, somehow. Her body felt lighter. The source of it wasn’t pure gravitational pull—it had the quality of centrifugal force.
"How futuristic," she murmured.
After leaving the dormitory, Hanabi followed the directional markers toward the academic building.
"...Ah. That explains it."
It wasn’t until she stepped outside the dormitory complex that she understood what had been giving her a sense of wrongness.
The sky here was curved.
Between that and the landscape she’d glimpsed, plus what the student handbook said—
"No question. This isn’t Earth. It’s space."
Yes.
Mendel University wasn’t a ground-based institution. It existed somewhere in space—most likely inside a space colony.
More than that.
Once inside the academic building, Hanabi found a seat.
"She’s beautiful."
"So pretty—and so young."
"Is she a Coordinator?"
Mana Ouma was beautiful—and because she was Hanabi wearing Mana’s face, she was slightly more beautiful than the original.
This wasn’t the Stage. This was a training session. But Hanabi was still composed and elegant, without even trying.
A true performer is always performing. No matter the time, no matter the place.
A true performer—her life is a reality show.
The question of being the most radiant person in the room?
Please. This isn’t the lay-low-and-survive school.
Hanabi stood exactly where the light fell.
And her presence—evidently—had set off a round of murmuring through the room.
"Coordinator?"
Space city—or rather, colony satellite. Then the word "Coordinator." Those three pieces together pointed at one thing.
A mecha franchise.
Specifically—Hanabi was fairly sure the space this university occupied was from Mobile Suit Gundam SEED.
A mecha anime that had once revitalized the genre—but had since faded from relevance.
"Studying biology here is actually quite fitting."
The world of Gundam SEED was built around the tension between genetically engineered Coordinators and unmodified Naturals. A central thread of the story.
Mendel University wasn’t a name she recognized from canon, but the series did have a Mendel Colony.
And Mendel University was located right on it.
This Mendel Colony was also, as it happened, the birthplace of the male lead—Kira Yamato. Or rather: Kira Hibiki.
It was a dated franchise—but this wasn’t a film set.
This is where I come to improve myself.
No joking around. Right now she was going to become a learning machine devoid of all emotion.
A pity she couldn’t use Shadow Clones here. If she could, she’d turn these thirty session-hours into three hundred.
The murmuring died down quickly as the professor reached the front of the room and began the lecture.
And then—a young couple rushed in through the door, slightly out of breath, and took the seats beside Hanabi. They gave her a polite nod and settled in to listen...(SEED reference materials—desu)
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