Off to School

"Katsuki, are you ready? If you keep dawdling, I'm leaving without you!"

Kushina stood by the door, pouting as she complained about Katsuki.

Today, the siblings were going to school together. Back in Uzushio Village, they had both studied under the elders and had never seen this so-called Ninja Academy. At present, however, the Ninja Academy was still a novel little invention found only in Konoha.

In the eyes of the other nations, a Ninja Academy was merely a trick the Second Hokage had cooked up to fool people. Apart from producing heaps of cannon fodder, it was supposedly useless. The ninja world was a world of Bloodline Supremacy; powerful ninjas of commoner birth were simply too rare. Examples like Hanzō and the White Fang were difficult to replicate. Generally speaking, most of the powerful figures in the major ninja villages still came from prestigious clans.

Thus, the other four great ninja villages disdained to establish Ninja Academies. Yet when it came to the ANBU the Second Hokage had created, the Five Great Ninja Villages were quick to imitate it. Kirigakure in particular surpassed its predecessor. They had always been a village that specialized in assassination, so they quickly got the hang of it and developed all sorts of different methods.

Of course, such matters were far too lofty for a seven-year-old girl. They were nowhere near as tempting as a pretty dress.

For today's enrollment, the girl had carefully dressed herself up. She had tied her hair into twin tails for the first time, put on a new beige dress, and paired it with those round little cheeks... She looked just like a tomato.

The moment Katsuki saw her, he snorted and burst into laughter. No wonder people had nicknamed her Tomato. She really did look like one!

"What are you laughing at? Katsuki, doesn't your sister look pretty?" The seven-year-old girl had already developed a love for beauty. Her little brother's reaction made her furious. Her narrowed eyes radiated danger, and her teeth ground together as though she were about to pounce on him and take a hard bite.

"No, no. But I think you'd look prettier with a single ponytail!"

Holding back his laughter, Katsuki hurriedly offered a suggestion.

"Really?"

The little girl looked at her brother skeptically, but in the end, she did not heed his advice. She trusted her own taste more. Wasn't this much cuter?

Konoha's Ninja Academy was not far away, but since it was their first time going there, Hiruzen had thoughtfully arranged for someone to guide them. And it was someone they knew...

"Yo, little ones. We meet again!" Tsunade waved as she appeared at the intersection and strode over.

"Auntie!" Kushina greeted her politely.

"Hey, hey! Didn't I tell you to call me big sister? Calling me that makes me feel old all at once. I haven't even dated anyone yet!" Tsunade frowned in distress, patting Kushina on the head before reaching out to pinch Katsuki's fair, tender cheek.

But her outstretched hand grasped only air.

Katsuki swiftly stepped back, dodging Tsunade's approaching claw. Back at the Senju Clan compound, Tsunade had tormented him plenty of times. She complained that Nawaki had grown up and would no longer let her pinch his cheeks, so she used Katsuki as a substitute... To be honest, that was one of the reasons he had so strongly insisted on moving out of the Senju Clan compound.

"Hm?"

Tsunade glanced at Katsuki in surprise. She knew exactly how fast she had moved just now. A six-year-old child should not have been able to dodge it at all... The corners of her lips curved slightly. What an interesting little fellow. He had only been here for less than half a month, yet his skills were already far better than before.

At present, aside from Hiruzen, Kushina, and a handful of others, no one knew that Katsuki had become Sakumo's disciple. It was not deliberately kept secret; there was simply no need to publicize it. In Konoha, no one besides Hiruzen could accurately keep track of Sakumo's whereabouts, and the master and disciple trained in secluded areas behind Konoha.

Therefore, Tsunade did not know that Katsuki had received training from Konoha's White Fang, even if it had only been basic training so far.

Without dwelling on the minor incident, Tsunade led the two children toward the Ninja Academy with practiced ease. She herself had been among the earliest batches of Ninja Academy students, and her younger brother Nawaki was also attending the academy. Having her guide the siblings was undoubtedly a wise choice.

Ninja Academy.

From the ramshackle operation in the Second Hokage's hands to what it had become under Hiruzen, it had undergone enormous changes.

There were three grades—lower, middle, and upper. All new students began in the lower grade, then advanced through examinations. Those who failed could only remain in the lower grade, resulting in a very obvious divide.

For example, in Tsunade's class, she, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru studied for less than half a year before graduating directly, setting the Ninja Academy's graduation record. Although that record would later be broken by Kakashi, part of the reason was certainly Kakashi's genius, while another part was that the war had been urgent at the time. Those with ability had to graduate early and be sent to the battlefield.

Setting aside Kakashi's rule-breaking case, after what happened with Tsunade and the others, the academy imposed an age limit on graduation. Students had to be at least ten years old before they could graduate. The greatest victim of that rule was the future Fourth Hokage, Lord Yellow Flash.

A genius like him had actually graduated from the Ninja Academy only at the age of ten. Other than the system itself, there was simply no other explanation. Kakashi being able to graduate at five in the future might well have been influenced by this matter.

Kushina and Katsuki were joining this year's lower-grade class.

With a gentle smile, Tsunade spoke warmly to the Ninja Academy teacher and presented the authorization document signed by Hiruzen. It was not that the Ninja Academy was putting on airs and required the Hokage's signature just to insert two students. This was merely one of Hiruzen's little measures to protect Kushina and Katsuki.

With the Hokage's signature on the document and Konoha's princess, Lady Tsunade, delivering it in person, Kushina and Katsuki's identities instantly became mysterious in that teacher's eyes. He silently resolved to take especially good care of the two transfer students.

After giving Kushina and Katsuki several reminders, Tsunade hurried off. As a Konoha jonin, she did not have much leisure time to spare, especially under the current circumstances.

"All right, little ones, follow me to the classroom. Class will begin soon. Prepare to introduce yourselves, and make sure you get along well with your classmates." This ninja teacher, who looked to be in his thirties, was surnamed Takashima. Teacher Takashima spoke in a gentle voice. He had taught for seven or eight years and knew very well how to deal with students.

At those words, Kushina immediately straightened her back. Her round little face tightened, and her eyes darted around as though she were thinking of something. Katsuki did not notice the change in his sister at all. He was eagerly examining the school. Though he had been somewhat reluctant before coming, once he truly entered the academy, he found himself growing curious without realizing it.

Perhaps he had been pretending to be a child for too long, and even his mind had begun to regress?

Without dwelling on such meaningless questions, Katsuki and Kushina followed behind the limping Teacher Takashima toward the classroom they were about to join.