Ninja Academy
The black-haired boy walked down the corridor outside the classroom with a terrifying expression that kept strangers at bay.
Over the past half month, the Uchiha Clan Downfall had completely erupted, causing an enormous uproar throughout Konoha. Uchiha Itachi had immediately been branded an S-rank Rogue Ninja by Konoha.
Any Konoha ninja who encountered him was to kill him without question.
As the sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan Downfall, Second Pillar bore a blood-deep vendetta.
The girls who had always admired him now looked at him with sympathy and pity.
Those looks cast another layer of gloom over Second Pillar's already tormented heart.
"Wow! Sakura, you're amazing!"
"You've already started studying the sixth-year curriculum!"
Before he even entered the classroom, Sasuke heard Ino's astonished voice.
"Doesn't that mean you'll be able to graduate soon?"
"Then I'll probably have a lot fewer chances to see Sakura in the future..."
Hearing Ino's words, Second Pillar stood beside the classroom door and clenched his fists tightly.
Haruno Sakura.
The genius of their class. In front of her, he seemed like nothing more than a clown.
That one-sided "match" half a month ago had left Second Pillar feeling deeply humiliated.
He... had actually lost to a girl in strength...
After lingering beside the classroom door for a long time, Second Pillar left with a dark expression.
He was going to find Iruka. He wanted to skip grades too!
"Don't say that, Ino."
"I can still come pick you up after school."
Sakura flipped through the textbook in her hands and replied to Ino with a light smile.
Yesterday, she had passed the promotion test for fifth grade, and for the first time, she had felt some difficulty.
Not with the academic subjects, but with the physical requirements.
After all, she only had the body of a seven-year-old, while the students taking the promotion test from fifth to sixth grade were supposed to be eleven.
And Chakra was forbidden during the physical test. They had to rely entirely on their bodies. Otherwise, Sakura could have simply gathered Monstrous Strength in her feet and leaped dozens of meters.
She needed some time to let this body grow a little more.
"Huh?"
"How could that work?"
Ino tilted her head and thought for a moment. Amid a crowd of parents, Sakura, who was the same age as her, stood at the school gate with the same elder-like smile as the other parents, waving and calling out to her:
"Ino, over here!"
Eugh~~~
What a weird feeling...
"No, no! Once Sakura graduates, don't come pick me up!"
"Come find me secretly instead!"
The pale-yellow-haired girl wrapped her arms around Sakura's waist and rubbed against her, looking utterly unwilling.
"Hey, hey, hey~~ I'll come pick Ino up secretly."
--
Iruka looked solemnly at the boy before him.
The other party had recently become the center of attention throughout Konoha, and even the entire Shinobi World.
The last Uchiha.
Who could have imagined that such a massive clan with a thousand-year legacy would be destroyed overnight?
"Iruka-sensei, please!"
Second Pillar bowed deeply as he spoke to Iruka.
Iruka carefully chose his words, trying his best not to touch the child's sensitive nerves.
"Sasuke, can you tell me why you want to skip grades?"
Second Pillar straightened up and looked at Iruka with hatred written across his face.
"I want to kill that man!"
Who Second Pillar meant by "that man" was self-evident.
"Sasuke, I think you may have misunderstood something."
Iruka tried his best to make his words less harsh.
"Wanting to skip grades like Sakura is certainly a commendable display of determination."
"But Sakura didn't become stronger because she skipped grades."
"She skipped grades because she became stronger first."
"In class, Sakura only needs to listen for fifteen minutes. For the rest of the lesson, she no longer needs to listen."
"Sasuke, if I condensed an entire lesson into fifteen minutes, would you be able to understand what I was teaching?"
"That's only the academic side. There's also physical ability. I believe you understand that better than anyone, don't you?"
Iruka's words left Second Pillar frozen in place. Unwilling to accept it, he clenched his fists tightly.
"Actually, skipping grades isn't the only way to become stronger."
"At the end of the day, skipping grades is merely a method of promotion."
"And promotion merely gives you a new status. Whether you're strong or weak has nothing to do with that status."
"Sakura chose promotion only because she felt attending class wasted too much of her remaining time."
"If Sasuke can hone himself to the limit during these six years at the Ninja Academy before becoming a ninja, it won't affect your strength at all."
Iruka patiently tried to guide Sasuke. If Sasuke successfully skipped grades and became a ninja with his current temperament, he would definitely die during a mission.
"Iruka-sensei, do you mean I don't need to skip grades? I only need to work hard to become stronger?"
Sasuke's expression shifted slightly. He somewhat agreed with Iruka's words.
"That's right, Sasuke. If there's anything you don't understand in the future, you can come ask me directly."
"Even if I don't know the answer, I'll help you find other ninja who can clear up your doubts."
Iruka's expression softened, and he could not help but feel a trace of pity for Sasuke.
"Yes, I understand. Thank you, Iruka-sensei!"
--
At noon, Sakura left the Ninja Academy directly. The afternoon classes were still academic subjects, so it made no difference whether she attended or not.
What she needed most right now was actually to do nothing and let this body slowly grow. Once she turned eight, she could consider graduating.
But if she waited until she was eight, she would only have one year left to obtain the Yin Seal.
That was already the limit.
One year to obtain the Yin Seal, three years to accumulate Chakra, then she would meet Tsunade at exactly twelve...
Time was so tight...
Sakura sighed, then headed toward the Hokage Building.
Half a month ago, Hiruzen Sarutobi had said she could ask him if there was anything she did not understand about Monstrous Strength.
Naturally, Sakura would not let such an opportunity pass.
Having made her way to the Hokage Building with ease, Sakura was stopped by two Chunin guards at the entrance.
"Little girl, what do you need?"
One of the guards bent down and looked kindly at the little girl before him.
In terms of appearance, Sakura was quite cute. After all, AB had used the word "beauty" to describe Haruno Sakura.
"I want to see the Hokage."
"The Hokage said I could come find him."
Sakura obediently took out the Jutsu scroll for Monstrous Strength and showed it to the two ninja.
Every high-level jutsu had a special code. The two ninja immediately recognized it as genuine.
"I see. Then, little girl, go inside and wait for a moment. I'll notify the Hokage."
No melodramatic nonsense happened. This was the proper way to handle things.
Thanks to Tea and Rice Life for the reward.
Thanks to Fanfiction Addict OTZ and 85445RUIHUA for the monthly tickets.
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