Ninja Academy Peace... Damn Peace

Ten steps into the school gate.

"Cough, cough!"

Hearing the feigned cough, Katsuki's lips curled slightly. They've arrived.

"Last night, my old man suddenly did a surprise inspection and made Otome and me spar. The result... I lost." Otome said, his eyes seeming to glisten.

"So, how many planks did you get?"

"Twenty... you bastard, Katsuki, I didn't get any planks!" Otome roared. Seeing Katsuki suddenly dart over ten meters away, he was so furious he could have gnashed his teeth. He rolled up his sleeves and prepared to chase after him to beat the guy up for daring to trick him into talking.

"Cough, cough, hey Otome, let's hurry up, we're still at the school gate!" Minato patted Otome's shoulder sympathetically.

This was precisely when the crowd was largest. A group of students around them stared with wide eyes, looking at Otome as if he were a monkey in a zoo. Even though Otome's clothes were embroidered with the Fire Fan Clan's emblem, the saying "the law does not punish the masses" applied. With a crowd, one felt emboldened. They were just standing there to watch the show. No matter how overbearing the Uchiha were, they couldn't blame them...

"Bastard! That bastard! I'll make him pay this afternoon in PE class."

Even while sitting in the classroom, Otome's face was tense, and he kept muttering, glaring hatefully at Katsuki, who was sitting with Otome. Minato, on the other hand, looked enviously at the second row where Katsuki, Otome, and Kushina were sitting together.

Soon, the bell for class rang. Teacher Takashima, dragging his lame leg, hobbled into the classroom with a solemn expression, devoid of his usual smile.

Standing on the podium, Teacher Takashima scanned the students, his gaze particularly focused on his beloved students like Minato and Katsuki.

It had been over three months since Katsuki and the others entered this class. Like Minato, Katsuki and Kushina had also become Teacher Takashima's favorites through their hard work and talent.

"We will now proceed with the Promotion Exam. Everyone go to the training grounds," Teacher Takashima said in a deep voice, his eyes filled with reluctance. He had thought he could guide Minato, Katsuki, and the others until graduation, but plans never kept up with changes.

As soon as he spoke, there was an uproar.

Where did this Promotion Exam come from all of a sudden? If they calculated the dates, it should have been a while longer.

However, Teacher Takashima didn't give the students a chance to ask questions. Even for ninja academy students, the first thing they learned was obedience. You could sleep through class, but once the teacher gave an order, you absolutely could not disobey.

Only in peacetime, coupled with Naruto's identity, would such blatant truancy occur.

At least in this era, the rules of the ninja academy were extremely strict. Those who didn't follow the rules had long been kicked out.

On the training grounds, it wasn't just Katsuki's class; all the lower-level classes were lined up. The atmosphere was extremely serious. No one dared to make a sound. Even the dullest mind could tell that anyone who dared to cause trouble at this time would not have a good ending.

Teacher Takashima looked at the students lined up in two rows and nodded slightly. Then, he said in a deep voice, "We will now conduct the Promotion Exam. The assessment item is shuriken throwing. For a set of shuriken, hitting three-quarters of them will result in promotion."

All the teachers had similar speeches. Baskets of shuriken had already been moved from the equipment room and were neatly arranged by the training grounds.

This sudden test soon began and proceeded in an orderly fashion. No one questioned, no one asked, they simply obeyed the orders silently.

However, there were always smart people. Thinking back to the war against the Rain Ninja that began more than two months ago, which had lasted for two months, Konoha's ninja had successfully driven the Rain Ninja out of the Land of Fire and counterattacked into the Land of Rain.

Perhaps it was related to this war?

"Tamura, nine out of nine, failed."

Teacher Takashima waved his hand expressionlessly. The student named Tamura, with a tearful face, pulled nine shuriken from the wooden stakes and made way for the next person.

"Next... Minato Namikaze." Teacher Takashima sighed inwardly, looking at Minato, whose smile was as bright as the sun. He gently lowered his hand, signaling him to begin.

The result was, as expected, without any surprise.

"Minato Namikaze, twenty out of twenty, promoted."

"Uzumaki Katsuki, twenty out of twenty, promoted."

"Uchiha Otome, twenty out of twenty, promoted."

The assessment ended quickly. In Katsuki's class, only five people passed the assessment. Among them, Minato, Katsuki, Kushina, Otome, and Otome passed with twenty out of twenty hits.

"Alright, those who passed the assessment, come over here." Three Chunin wearing forehead protectors and green vests stood on the central training ground. The most imposing among them shouted, his loud voice echoing through the training grounds.

Katsuki, Minato, and the others exchanged glances and quickly walked over, forming a small group in front of the three Chunin.

In half a minute, a total of sixty-three people from twelve lower-level classes passed the assessment. Katsuki looked around and saw that a large portion of them were from established clans, such as the Hyuga with their Byakugan, the Inuzuka who brought their dogs, and the physically imposing Akimichi, and so on. It could be said that besides a few people like Minato, the rest had formidable backgrounds. Even Katsuki and Kushina were survivors of the Uzumaki Clan.

More than a dozen training grounds became empty. The teachers of each class led the students who failed the assessment back to the classroom to continue their lessons.

"Alright, little ones." The leading Chunin, with a lion-like nose, wide mouth, and a fierce, bearded face, grinned widely. "I know you all have a lot of questions. Ask whatever you want quickly, and after you're done, we'll start training."

The sixty-three students were all around six or seven years old, with the oldest being about eight.

However, in this world, children matured early, and many were precocious. Especially in times of war, they gave rise to a generation of monsters.

"Are you gathering all the outstanding students from the lower-level classes for a mission?" A young boy with a pineapple-shaped hairstyle raised his hand.

"Clever." The bearded strongman glanced at the pineapple-haired boy. "That's right. We have gained a significant advantage in the war with the Land of Rain. However, because we are operating deep within the Land of Rain, our supply lines have been extended, and we lack personnel to escort supplies. Therefore, the higher-ups have decided to let you little ones experience the atmosphere of war."

Damn it!

They were actually involved in the Second Shinobi War. Katsuki really wanted to curse. Sending a bunch of ninja academy students to the battlefield was like sending them to their deaths! If you were going to bully weaklings like Grass Ninja, that would be one thing, but the fighting style of the Rain Ninja was very similar to that of the Mist Ninja. Although not as ruthless as the Mist Ninja, their combat power was definitely top-notch among the smaller ninja villages.