Enrollment

More than five hundred children aged five or six gathered on the Ninja Academy playground. The Third Hokage stood on the platform, passionately preaching the "Will of Fire."

Don't call the Will of Fire childish. Though this philosophy was hollow, and though the higher-ups promoting it were the first to act recklessly, the Will of Fire suited the current reality of the Land of Fire and Konoha.

Any spiritual theory had to fit its audience and adapt to the social environment. Getting one step ahead was impractical.

The Vajra Sect and Zen Sect of Buddhism were the best examples. The Vajra Sect's core scripture, the Diamond Sutra, fully explained Buddhist spirit and theoretical logic, but it was popular only among the upper classes.

Zen Sect, meanwhile, rose through the illiterate Sixth Patriarch. He proposed that chanting the Buddha's name was cultivation—that simply reciting "Amitabha Buddha" once every day completed one's practice. Thus, Zen Sect became popular among the common people and ultimately forced its way upward.

Aburame Tetsumaru would not look down on the Will of Fire, but neither would he believe in it.

He was a man who had systematically studied dragon-slaying arts. After being repeatedly battered by society and finally thoroughly understanding those arts, he could see flaws in any religious theory when he looked back, much less the crude Will of Fire.

In contrast, the uneducated civilians of the Land of Fire and the battle-focused Konoha Ninja were perfectly suited to the Will of Fire. Its perfectly measured encouragement and simple, understandable logic were among the important reasons Konoha surpassed the other Four Great Ninja Villages.

"Wherever leaves dance, fire will burn. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village and make new leaves sprout." The Third Hokage concluded his impassioned speech.

The new students and ninja answered with thunderous applause, and the opening ceremony came to an end.

Next, they found their respective classes according to the list. In Konoha Year 27, there were two elite classes, A and B, and fourteen ordinary numbered classes, enrolling a total of 559 new students.

That was more than double the planned number.

A few days earlier, after the entrance examinations ended, the Third Hokage had suddenly announced an increase in Ninja Academy enrollment, expanding it in one go to four hundred students. This caused dissatisfaction among the ninja clans.

Since the Second Hokage named the Ninja Academy, more than a hundred civilian ninja had graduated every year. Although civilian ninja suffered higher casualty rates—especially in the previous war, when they had nearly been wiped out—Konoha had now accumulated more than a thousand civilian ninja. Among them had emerged Elite Jonin with limitless potential, such as Orochimaru and Jiraiya.

Besides civilian ninja, Ninja Academy students also included second-generation civilian ninja and children from small ninja clans. They were also supporters of the Third Hokage, numbering close to three thousand in total and accounting for thirty percent of Konoha's active ninja.

Ninja educated at the Ninja Academy had close relationships with one another and better organization and obedience. This was how the Third Hokage overwhelmed the ninja clans, as well as the increasingly disobedient Danzo.

Everyone knew how important the Ninja Academy was to the Hokage. If enrollment expanded to four hundred students every year, then in at most ten years, Konoha would become the Hokage's personal domain, with the ninja clans powerless to resist.

No one could oppose the expansion decision. The ninja clans were not fools; if they could not oppose it, they would join it. They instead pushed for the Ninja Academy to expand further and increase the number of ninja clan children admitted.

The result was an unprecedentedly large class of new students.

The Aburame Family alone had nine additional children, all five years old. If Aburame Shibi had not been too young, he would likewise have enrolled early.

A few months later, news that Konoha's Ninja Academy had enrolled over five hundred students spread out. The Four Great Ninja Villages were also dumbfounded. After the Four Kage expressed their envy, jealousy, and hatred with colorful spit, they gritted their teeth, squeezed out a little of their family resources, and expanded enrollment as well.

But that was none of Aburame Tetsumaru's concern. He paid up, collected his teaching materials and textbooks, found his class, then used his privilege as the top scorer to unceremoniously claim the window seat in the last row. Then he began sizing up his classmates.

Uchiha Fūka, Hyuga Tokuma, and Yamanaka Yu were the three who had left a deep impression on him.

Yamanaka Yu sat on the other side of the last row. Beside her were a pineapple-haired boy and a fat boy, presumably this year's Ino-Shika-Cho combination, though he did not know their names.

Ah, Inuzuka Tsuyoshi was just ahead and to the right. He turned back, puffing out his cheeks as he stared at him. He could say hello.

"Good morning."

Inuzuka Tsuyoshi clearly had not expected Aburame Tetsumaru to greet him first, and immediately became flustered.

"Ah, uh, ah..."

A fluffy little head burrowed out from Inuzuka Tsuyoshi's arms and gave a "Woof."

Aburame Tetsumaru laughed. "Hello to you too, little one."

"What's her name?"

"This is my partner, Fang Kong. She's a girl, so you should address her properly."

"Oh, hello, Kong."

"Woof woof."

"Fang Kong says she forgives you. She also asks what that stuff is on you. Is it tasty?"

"These are the insects I raise. You can't eat them. They're expensive."

The two began chatting back and forth, while several ninja clan children quietly exchanged words in the classroom.

"That's the top-scoring freak from the Aburame Family. He looks pretty cheerful."

"I heard before that he was an oddball from the Aburame Family. Even his own clan members don't associate with him."

"But those insects on him are pretty."

"What are they good for?"

"No idea."

"But they're pretty."

Aburame Tetsumaru was in an exceptionally good mood today. Ever since transmigrating, insecurity had driven him to work relentlessly. At last, he had successfully enrolled as the top scorer and obtained sufficient security.

As a transmigrator, Aburame Tetsumaru was deeply conflicted. On one hand, he possessed a lofty sense of superiority, considered himself born to privilege, and had absolute confidence in the future.

On the other hand, he keenly felt his own vulnerability and suffered from a severe lack of security. He looked at everyone as if they were all plotting against him.

That was why Aburame Tetsumaru had clung tightly to Elder Aburame Shihui's leg. Only after gaining the attention of an elder with real power in the family and receiving the family's protection did he dare reveal Ant Sugar and begin the meridian adjustment plan.

But the Aburame Family's leg was not thick enough. Otherwise, Root could not have recruited so many Aburame clansmen. Even Elite Jonin like Aburame Torune and Aburame Ryoma had been brought under its command, only to be casually discarded by Shimura Danzō.

That was why he had performed so conspicuously in the entrance examination, seized first place, and become a genius student who drew attention.

This way, Aburame Tetsumaru gained the attention of the Hokage, which was especially suitable for restraining Shimura Danzō, the greatest source of danger within the village.

Aburame Tetsumaru looked out the window. Bright sunlight bathed the campus.

His thoughts soared freely: I want to know the origin of Chakra, know the limits of ninjutsu, put meridian alteration into practice at its ultimate level, connect the microscopic and macroscopic worlds, and understand the mysteries of life.

I also want to glimpse the source of the supernatural. In this Chakra-permeated Shinobi World, power belongs to the individual, and ninjutsu can reverse life and death. Anything is possible.

Why can't I transcend life and death and enjoy perfect freedom? Such a marvelous new life truly makes one look forward to the future.

What he did not notice was that many girls in the class kept sneaking glances at him, then another glance, all staring at the Slime crawling around on his head.

Once the classroom was full, a burly ninja carrying a stack of booklets walked in.

"I'm your teacher, Domoto Daibutsu." The ninja swiftly wrote his name on the blackboard, then turned around and said, "I like obedient children and dislike undisciplined bad children. I specialize in Taijutsu and Earth Release. I'll be teaching everyone Taijutsu, and I'm also in charge of Class A."

"Now, according to the list, everyone come up and introduce yourselves. First, Aburame Tetsumaru."

Domoto Daibutsu's roll call interrupted Aburame Tetsumaru's wandering thoughts and brought him back down to earth. So they were not going by seating order, but by grades? What a waste of effort hiding in the back row.

Aburame Tetsumaru did not waste words. He stood up, walked to the front beside the teacher, and said:

"My name is Aburame Tetsumaru. I'm from the Aburame Family. I like collecting insects most. There's nothing I particularly dislike. That's all."

Domoto Daibutsu asked another question. "What is your dream, Tetsumaru?"

His dream was definitely to live well, but telling the truth was impossible. Otherwise, by tomorrow, rumors that he was a lunatic would spread through the whole village.

I'll just make something up.

"I haven't thought about my dream. If I had to name one, becoming the strongest in the Shinobi World."

Domoto Daibutsu: ()

"Dream on! The strongest in the Shinobi World is us Uchiha!"

"Idiot! The strongest in the Shinobi World is the Hokage. Tetsumaru wants to become Hokage too."

Damn it, this bastard is planting a flag for me. You're not even the protagonist, and you dare dream of becoming Hokage? I'll beat you to death.

"Impressive."

"I want to become the strongest in the Shinobi World too."

Aburame Tetsumaru calmly ignored his classmates' discussion, especially Uchiha Fūka's noisy shouting. He turned to Domoto Daibutsu and asked, "Teacher, may I go back now?"

"You may. Go on."

Second-ranked Hyuga Tokuma introduced himself next, but the power of example was immense, especially among children.

"My dream is to become the strongest Fire Release ninja."

"I'm going to become Hokage!"

"I'm going to become the first female Hokage!"

"My dream is to become the most, most amazing ninja, even stronger than Lord Hokage. You'll all have to bow to me."

"..."

Ignoring those unreliable dreams, Aburame Tetsumaru silently memorized every classmate's name and basic information.

Half the class consisted of ninja clan children. Of the rest, most had at least one ninja parent. Among the three groups, there were only two students who were purely civilians.

In Aburame Tetsumaru's memories, among the civilian ninja of his generation, only Namikaze Minato would ultimately stand out. Minato, who was the same age as Shibi, should enroll next year.

Considering that war would break out around graduation, Aburame Tetsumaru cared most about his classmates from major clans. Friends who spent four years together could forge deep bonds, but if they all died within days of graduation, who could bear that?

Aburame Tetsumaru drew his social circle with extreme pragmatism: Yamanaka Yu, Nara Kaya, Akimichi Daito, Inuzuka Tsuyoshi, Uchiha Fūka, and Hyuga Tokuma would need further observation.

The Uchiha Clan was rather strange. It was normal for clan members without ninja talent, but those with ninja talent were all obsessive—either boundlessly loving or fiercely unruly.

Uchiha Fūka belonged to the fiercely unruly type, which was good. He was especially suitable for friendship. As long as this kind of Uchiha was beaten into submission, he could become a good friend. Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sasuke among Uchiha's Four Laughing Heroes were both people who would take a blade for their friends.

The other two among Uchiha's Four Laughing Heroes, Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi, were far too frightening. They looked harmless no matter how one looked at them ordinarily, making it impossible to stay wary of them. Then they would suddenly turn hostile and wipe out entire families.

To befriend Uchiha Fūka, he first needed to find chances to beat him up a few times. Once he was beaten into submission, becoming good brothers would happen naturally. There was no rush.

Uchiha with boundless love should be treated with respect from afar and avoided at all costs, because one never knew when they would go dark, and they especially hurt those closest to them.

Uchiha Shisui, who committed suicide, was still manageable. Ones like Obito and Itachi, who killed their teachers and exterminated their clans, were utter disasters.

Hyuga Tokuma's problem was that he was from the Branch Family. The tragic fate of the Caged Bird could destroy a person's humanity. There was no way to predict what his personality would become after receiving the mark, so he could only wait and see.