Iruka's Guidance

Ninja Academy

The black-haired boy walked down the hallway outside the classroom with a terrifying expression that warned others to keep their distance.

The Uchiha Clan Downfall had fully fermented over the past half month, stirring up a massive uproar in Konoha. Uchiha Itachi had been immediately branded an S-rank Rogue Ninja by the village.

Any Konoha ninja who encountered him was to kill on sight, no questions asked.

And Uchiha Sasuke, as the sole survivor of the Uchiha Clan Downfall, now bore a blood-soaked grudge.

The girls who had once adored him now looked at him every day with sympathy and pity.

That gaze only added another layer of gloom to Sasuke's already tormented and agonized heart.

"Wow! Sakura, you're amazing!"

"You're already studying sixth-grade material!"

Before he even entered the classroom, Sasuke heard Ino's surprised voice.

"Doesn't that mean you'll graduate soon?"

"Then I guess I'll get to see you a lot less from now on..."

Hearing Ino's words, Uchiha Sasuke stood by the classroom door and clenched his fists tightly.

Haruno Sakura.

The genius of this year's class. In front of her, he felt like a clown.

The humiliating "match" half a month ago, where the gap in strength had been so vast, filled Sasuke with deep shame.

He... couldn't even overpower a girl in strength...

After lingering by the classroom door for a long time, Uchiha Sasuke walked away with a dark expression.

He was going to find Iruka. He wanted to skip grades too!

"Don't say that, Ino."

"I can still pick you up from school later, you know."

Sakura flipped through the textbook in her hands and replied to Ino with a light laugh.

Yesterday, she had passed the fifth-grade advancement exam, and for the first time, she felt the strain.

Not in academics—it was her physical ability that was struggling.

After all, she was still in a seven-year-old body, and the fifth-to-sixth-grade advancement was meant for eleven-year-old students.

Plus, the physical test didn't allow the use of Chakra; it had to be done purely with raw physical strength. Otherwise, Sakura could have just gathered Monstrous Strength in her feet and leaped dozens of meters in one go.

She needed to take some time to let this body grow a little more.

"Eh?"

"How can you do that?"

Ino tilted her head and imagined it: among a crowd of parents, a girl her own age—Sakura—standing at the school gate with the same warm, elder-like smile as the other parents, waving and calling out:

"Ino! Over here!"

Ew~~~

That felt so weird...

"No, no, no! When you graduate, don't come pick me up!"

"Come find me secretly!"

The girl with light yellow hair wrapped her arms around Sakura's waist, nuzzling against her with a face full of reluctance.

"Yes, yes, yes~~ I'll come find Ino secretly from now on."

--

Iruka looked at the boy in front of him with a grave expression.

This kid was also the center of attention across all of Konoha—and even the entire ninja world—these days.

The last Uchiha.

Who could have imagined that a clan with a thousand-year legacy would be wiped out in a single night?

"Please, Iruka-sensei!"

Uchiha Sasuke bowed deeply and spoke to Iruka.

Iruka carefully weighed his words, trying not to touch the child's sensitive nerves.

"Sasuke, can you tell me why you want to skip grades?"

Uchiha Sasuke straightened up, his face twisted with hatred as he looked at Iruka and said:

"I'm going to kill that bastard!"

Who "that bastard" was, went without saying.

"Sasuke, I think you might be misunderstanding something."

Iruka tried to make his words not too harsh.

"Wanting to skip grades like Sakura—that spirit of hard work is certainly commendable."

"But Sakura didn't get stronger because she skipped grades."

"She skipped grades because she got stronger first."

"In class, Sakura only needs to listen for fifteen minutes. After that, she doesn't need to hear the rest."

"Sasuke, if I condensed a lesson into fifteen minutes, could you understand what I'm teaching?"

"That's just the academic side. As for physical ability, I'm sure you're the one who can relate most."

Iruka's words left Uchiha Sasuke frozen in place. He clenched his fists unwillingly.

"Actually, wanting to get stronger doesn't necessarily mean skipping grades."

"At the end of the day, skipping grades is just a method of promotion."

"And promotion only gives you a new title. Whether you're strong or not has nothing to do with that title."

"Sakura only chose to promote because she felt class wasted her remaining time."

"If you can polish yourself to the limit during these six years at the Ninja Academy and then become a ninja, that won't affect your strength, Sasuke."

Iruka earnestly guided Sasuke. If Sasuke skipped grades and became a ninja with his current temperament, he would definitely die on a mission.

"Does Iruka-sensei mean I don't need to skip grades—I just need to work hard to get stronger?"

Sasuke's expression shifted slightly. Iruka's words resonated with him.

"That's right, Sasuke. From now on, if there's anything you don't understand, you can come directly to me."

"Even if I don't know, I'll find other ninja to help you."

Iruka's expression softened, and a trace of pity crept into his eyes as he looked at Sasuke.

"Yes, I know. Thank you, Iruka-sensei!"

--

At noon, Sakura left the Ninja Academy directly. The afternoon was still academic subjects—it made no difference whether she went or not.

What she needed most right now was actually to do nothing, to let this body grow slowly. When she turned eight, she could consider graduating.

But if she had to wait until she was eight, she'd only have one year left to obtain the Yin Seal.

That was already the limit.

One year to get the Yin Seal, three years to accumulate chakra, and by age twelve she'd meet Tsunade...

Time is so tight...

Sakura sighed, then headed toward the Hokage Building.

Half a month ago, Hiruzen Sarutobi said she could come to him if she had any questions about Monstrous Strength.

So naturally, Sakura wouldn't pass up this opportunity.

Familiar with the route, Sakura arrived at the Hokage Building and was stopped by two Chunin guards at the entrance.

"Little girl, is there something you need?"

The guard ninja 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 "beautiful" to describe Haruno Sakura.

"I want to see the Hokage."

"The Hokage said I could come find him."

Sakura wisely pulled out the Monstrous Strength jutsu scroll and showed it to the two ninja.

Every high-level jutsu had a special code. The two ninja recognized at a glance that it was genuine.

"I see. Then wait inside for a moment, little girl. I'll go inform the Hokage."

No cliché drama happened. This was just normal procedure.

Thanks to Chafan Life for the tip.

Thanks to Doujin Addict OTZ and 85445RUIHUA for the monthly votes.