Chapter 30: Second Day of School, I Graduated
"...Where leaves dance, fire also burns eternally..."
At the Ninja Academy entrance ceremony, the Third Hokage, unsurprisingly, preached about the Will of Fire. In short... everything is for the village.
This kind of spiritual inheritance can lead people towards the light, but it can also lure them into darkness.
Unfortunately, the children enrolling this year all had their own skewed thoughts... Everyone had their own heart's direction. For example, that little veterinarian with paint on her cheeks...
That girl with the beauty mark under her eye who had been staring at Uchiha Itachi since entering the school gate...
And a worried crow... It was very concerned about the Third Hokage's speech on the Will of Fire and was currently communicating a new line of thought with Itachi using chakra... Benevolence and Righteousness.
One had to be vigilant... Under the Third Hokage's influence, who knew how many reckless youths had plunged into the great pit of the Will of Fire... It had to be constantly on guard.
"To the weak, show benevolence..."
As a ninja, when facing innocent and weak people, not only should one not kill them at will, but protecting them properly should be the correct principle, right?
"The strong, use for righteous deeds..."
Uchiha Itachi murmured, the Sharingan in his eyes constantly spinning. After a long while, his eyes finally stabilized with three tomoe.
"Kitahara, thank you..."
"You're... welcome?" Kitahara was a bit scared. After all, such ideological misunderstandings could easily trap people, and it itself only had a partial understanding of benevolence and righteousness... Now it was a little worried about Uchiha Itachi having problems...
Although it might no longer be the dark side of the Will of Fire, if the little boy suddenly changed to a different style...
For example, if Kaguya Otsutsuki broke free from her seal and started hopping around, and Uchiha Itachi suddenly opened his Sharingan: "The moon collapses, I, Uchiha Itachi, have only my eyes..."
...Dazed O__O ... It seemed unacceptable too!
Itachi quietly concealed his Sharingan, as if nothing had happened...
The Third Hokage, speaking on the stage, suddenly couldn't help but reveal a slight smile... Because apart from Uchiha Itachi, there were no other geniuses in the entire Ninja Academy who needed special attention.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had observed Uchiha Itachi's unusual state from beginning to end... Hehehe... That middle-aged man clapping in the parents' section looked really unsightly!
New student classroom.
Inside, a group of problem children sat haphazardly.
After sending his father off, Uchiha Itachi came to the classroom and looked for his seat... Many people immediately fixed their gazes on him, and the classroom instantly became lively.
"So... so handsome!"
"Hey, hey, is that kid Uchiha Itachi?"
"Does he have to bring a pet to school?"
"Tch!"
"He's said to be the most genius Uchiha..."
Uchiha Izumi had noticed Itachi's arrival early on, but she already had a deskmate and could only gaze at him wistfully, "Itachi..."
"Itachi! Kitahara! Over here!"
Inuzuka Hana waved at them, pointing to the empty seat beside her.
"Thank you..."
"Caw!"
"It's nothing..." Inuzuka Hana took the crow and placed it on the table, muttering, "I really envy you having Kitahara to accompany you to school. This morning, I wanted to bring Kuromaru out, but Mom scolded me..."
Uchiha Itachi often heard her mention the big dog at home and looked at her doubtfully, "Hmm? I remember the school seems to allow it, right?"
"Kuromaru is my mom's ninja dog..." The light in Inuzuka Hana's eyes gradually faded, and she looked dejected, "I should be able to adopt a little ninja puppy from the clan when I enroll, but Kuromaru's wife is pregnant..."
"...So (°ー°〃)..."
Thinking of her mother's authoritarian management style at home, Inuzuka Hana's expression wasn't good, "Probably have to wait until she gives birth!"
"..."
On the first day of Ninja Academy, besides announcing the school curriculum and self-introductions, the teacher only taught the method of refining chakra... which was meaningless to Itachi...
The boring first day passed just like that.
After school, Inuzuka Hana was the first to pack her stationery, slung her beloved medical bag over her shoulder, her eyes shining exceptionally brightly, "I'm leaving first! Eh? By the way, do you want to go around the village together?"
"No, I have to go home early today..." Uchiha Itachi shook his head, picked up the crow sleeping soundly on the table, and held it in his arms.
"See you tomorrow then!"
After saying goodbye, the little veterinarian left quickly. No need to think much; she was definitely going to search for injured animals...
Uchiha Izumi cautiously walked over, "Itachi, let's go to the training grounds together? There's a shuriken and basic taijutsu test tomorrow!"
"...Caw..." The drowsy crow opened its beak and started cawing about being hungry...
Uchiha Itachi quickly whispered to soothe it, saying they'd go home soon, then looked at the little girl and shook his head, "Sorry, probably not today, Kitahara is too hungry..."
"..."
Did I just become the scapegoat? Kitahara looked dazedly at Uchiha Izumi's stunned face...
The Ninja Academy was less a place to train ninjas and more a place to cultivate relationships and bonds.
On his first day of school, Itachi, apart from Izumi and Inuzuka Hana, made no new friends. He also wouldn't know that today would also be his last day of school.
After returning home, Uchiha Itachi soothed his slightly moody younger brother and was about to return to his room when his father stopped him...
Uchiha Fugaku looked at his son with a complicated expression, "Lord Hokage came to see me today. Tell me, did you really awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan?"
No matter how Hiruzen Sarutobi found out, but his mouth... was really too loose!
"...Yes, Dad."
"Itachi, you've really grown up..." Fugaku used all his strength to utter this sentence.
When Uchiha Itachi awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan, the old man looked even happier than he, the father, did...
"Fugaku, spring has arrived. Konoha's new sprouts will soon grow into towering trees... Itachi just awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan. I plan to let him graduate directly..."
"But Lord Hokage, he just enrolled today... He's not even clear on the basic knowledge of ninjas..." Uchiha Fugaku's mind was buzzing; he didn't know whether to be happy or a little ashamed...
I know my son is excellent, but only one day of school... and then graduation...
"A body and chakra capable of supporting the three-tomoe can, in any case, meet the standards of a ninja. Moreover..." When the Hokage said this, he tapped his pipe, "The guidance of a Jonin team leader will teach more knowledge than the Ninja Academy."
"Does Lord Hokage mean to assign Itachi out?"
According to custom, most Uchiha clan ninjas who graduated would return to the Police Force to begin their duties. Only a few would choose to become ninjas under the village's direct command.
As the clan head's son, Uchiha Itachi, whether in terms of talent or background, should be assigned to the Police Force. If luck wasn't on his side, he would have to inherit the position of clan head in the future...
"Correct." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at Fugaku with confidence and softly uttered his next sentence, "Jiraiya has recently returned to the village."
"...Lord Jiraiya, one of the Sannin..."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's meaning was very clear. If Uchiha Fugaku agreed, his son would become Jiraiya's disciple and, in another sense, a direct descendant of the Hokage lineage.
He just openly placed a honey-coated loaf of bread in front of Uchiha Fugaku... Do you want a son who is a Hokage candidate?
The content of the test Uchiha Itachi was to take became his personal graduation assessment. The examiners were Hiruzen Sarutobi, Uchiha Fugaku, and the white-haired gallant Jiraiya...
(End of this chapter)