The Start of School

A few days later.

The establishment of the Ninja Academy had already spread throughout Konoha Village, known to everyone.

The commoners in the village learned of this and felt extremely excited.

They understood that with the founding of the Ninja Academy, their children would have a chance to become ninjas, thus achieving class mobility and changing their lives.

As for the ninja clans, their reactions varied—some were shocked, some puzzled, and others dismissive...

The Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had already issued a notice: once the Ninja Academy opened, all village children of appropriate age could go there to study.

The birth of the Ninja Academy could quickly train a batch of Genin and Chunin for the village in a short time, and the Senju brothers took this very seriously.

Of course, there were certain thresholds...

First, the age usually had to be six or seven; being a bit older was fine too.

Second, one needed to possess Chakra talent—this was the most important point; without ninja talent, everything else was useless.

Additionally, they required sound mind and body, a deep love for the village, and a willingness to give for it.

Today was the opening day of the Ninja Academy.

Tobirama Senju had left home before dawn to prepare for the opening ceremonies.

Renye, dressed in a black outfit, reluctantly headed to the Ninja Academy.

Usually at this time, he would still be training on the practice field.

"Damn it, I really didn't think I'd have to go to school."

If it weren't for that bastard Tobirama Senju acting on his own, he wouldn't have to drag himself out of bed early for school.

The thought that he, with an adult soul, had to go to school and study with a bunch of little brats made him extremely irritated.

The only silver lining was that kids in the ninja world were usually more mature, so it might be a bit better.

Renye spent a long time psyching himself up, barely managing to calm down.

But as he walked, the more he thought about it, the more annoyed he got. He stopped, turned around, and headed back home.

"School is the worst. I'd rather go home and train."

Clearly, Renye had already developed a hatred for school before even starting.

Konoha Village was bustling with activity.

Members of the major clans, dressed in ornate attire, were all converging toward the Ninja Academy.

Even if they felt the Academy's teaching quality couldn't match their clans', they still brought their children to register.

This was the Hokage's order; they couldn't afford to snub him...

Especially since this Hokage was the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju!

Only the big clans thought this way—clans like the Uchiha and the Hyuga.

As for the smaller clans, they were quite willing to let their children study at the Ninja Academy.

After all, their own teaching quality might not even be as good as the Academy's.

A large crowd of parents with children had gathered at the Ninja Academy's entrance.

The clan heads of the various families had also come to show support, signaling their allegiance to Konoha.

The Uchiha, Senju, Hyuga, Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi—clans big and small—had all arrived.

Thus, the school entrance was packed to the brim.

Everyone present was waiting for the school gates to open.

In the early days of Konoha's founding, clan ninjas made up the vast majority, accounting for over ninety percent of all ninjas, with less than ten percent being commoner ninjas.

On the school rooftop.

Tobirama Senju stood with his arms crossed, looking down at the crowd below and nodding in satisfaction.

"Tobirama, can we open the gates now?" Hashirama Senju asked.

"Elder Brother, we can," Tobirama Senju said.

The reason he hadn't opened the gates immediately was to observe whether any clans hadn't shown up.

If a clan was absent, it meant they were disrespecting the Hokage.

That would give him grounds to suspect their motives...

He didn't know exactly which clans had come, but he knew perfectly well which ones hadn't.

From the looks of it, though, almost all the major clans in the village had arrived.

Tobirama Senju was quite satisfied with this.

Only when the clans and the village were united could Konoha develop.

"I wonder if that little brat showed up?"

Tobirama Senju scanned the crowd but didn't spot Renye.

Recalling how Renye had looked when he first learned he had to go to school—that reluctant expression.

A strange look crossed his face as he muttered to himself:

"That little brat wouldn't skip school, would he?"

Tobirama Senju had a feeling Renye was exactly the type to do something like that.

With that thought, his form flickered, and he vanished from where he stood.

Tobirama Senju Residence.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"

Renye was practicing ninjutsu in the training ground.

Suddenly, he felt a chill behind him and instinctively turned to look.

There stood Tobirama Senju, arms crossed, staring at him with a dark expression.

Renye's body stiffened. He rubbed his nose awkwardly and tried to change the subject. "Uncle, you're back pretty early. It's not even mealtime yet."

He made no mention of the Ninja Academy starting.

"Brat, why aren't you at school?" Tobirama's voice was ice-cold.

"School? What school?" Renye played dumb.

He wanted to stall for more excuses, but the other man wasn't giving him the chance.

"Heh."

Tobirama let out a cold laugh, grabbed Renye, and vanished from the spot.

Ninja Academy.

"Everyone in Konoha!" Hashirama Senju's voice echoed across the campus. "Today, we hold the opening ceremony of the Ninja Academy."

"This is not only the starting point for our children to learn knowledge, but also a crucial moment to pass on the Will of Fire!"

Renye had just been dragged over when he heard Hashirama starting to preach the ideals of the Will of Fire.

He was already annoyed about going to school, and now he had to listen to this brainwashing about willpower.

He curled his lip in disdain. "So this is the Will of Fire?"

The core of the Will of Fire was protection, inheritance, and sacrifice.

Renye wasn't impressed. In his view, might made right.

It was only because Hashirama Senju had the strength that everyone was here listening to his speech. If it were anyone else, would anyone even bother to show up?

Renye hadn't expected Hashirama to drone on for so long—a full hour-plus.

When Hashirama finally finished, thunderous applause erupted from the crowd.

"Damn, he's finally done!" Renye was so moved he nearly wept tears of joy, clapping frantically.

Heaven knows how agonizing that hour had been!

Just then, Hashirama on the stage noticed the look on Renye's face and froze for a moment.

He thought Renye had been deeply moved by the Will of Fire he had preached, and he looked toward Renye with a gratified expression.

Little Renye really was a good kid!

Renye caught Hashirama's gratified look and was completely baffled, a giant question mark appearing over his head.

Why was Hashirama Senju looking at him like that?

Could it be... that he had heard what Renye just said?!

"Danzo, did you see that? The Hokage-sama is looking at me with such approval!"

"Hiruzen, stop flattering yourself. The Hokage-sama is clearly looking at me!"

Hearing the conversation beside him, Renye turned his head in surprise.

Standing next to him were two kids, about eight or nine years old, bickering with each other.

So these two were the future Third Hokage and the 5.5th Pot Hokage!

Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura were set at age nine—don't sweat the small details.