Ninja Academy

Three days later.

Vega arrived at the Ninja Academy alone. After a round of testing, he received a C-rank evaluation and successfully qualified for admission.

Holding his admission notice, Vega felt incredibly excited. However, what concerned him more at the moment was Might Guy, who was retaking the entrance exam on the training field because he had failed the initial test.

Unlike the people around him who were mocking Guy, Vega did not look down on him in the slightest. On the contrary, he deeply admired him.

The future Emperor Kai was the man who had nearly kicked the story to its ending with one blow.

Although the young Might Guy before him still needed to retake an exam just to enter the Ninja Academy, Vega was already considering how to build a good relationship with him.

He had to hold on tight to such a thick thigh.

Among the crowd, Vega also spotted many familiar faces from the future.

Kakashi Hatake with his mask, Rin Nohara, Obito Uchiha, Kurenai Yuhi with her red eyes, Shizune Kato, Asuma Sarutobi, Ebisu, Genma Shiranui, and others.

The testing ended, and Might Guy also passed his retest, allowing him to enter the Ninja Academy.

The next day, the Ninja Academy's opening ceremony was held as usual.

Since Vega had received the village's compensation payment a few days earlier, he bought himself a new outfit: a light-blue half-turtleneck top, knee-length shorts, and a pair of dark-blue ninja shoes. Paired with his eye-catching tousled blue hair, the slightly dressed-up Vega looked quite delicate and adorable.

Nine in the morning, Ninja Academy.

Beneath the temporarily erected stage, all the students, including the new students like Vega, stood neatly in rows.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, also appeared at the podium right on time.

"Today is the day the new students enter the Ninja Academy. First of all, congratulations on passing the entrance test. All of you will become the village's future pillars."

"Wherever leaves dance, fire shall burn. The firelight shall continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout."

Before long, the Third Hokage's speech ended. Having listened to a round of Will of Fire propaganda, Vega found the class listed on his admission notice.

Class 1-3.

After entering the classroom, Vega looked over his classmates, hoping to find a familiar face.

However, Vega was disappointed.

Not a single person who had appeared in the future story was in his class.

Vega immediately understood. The class he was in now was probably a civilian class, while those people he knew, though they were in the same year, came from different backgrounds. Naturally, they would not be studying in the same class as him.

Even Might Guy, who had entered through a retest, had been placed in the so-called elite class because of his father, Might Duy.

Although Might Duy was a perennial Genin in the village, the Eight Gates Formation he practiced was an immensely powerful forbidden technique.

Perhaps others did not know the power of that forbidden technique, but the Third Hokage and the village's higher-ups certainly did.

That was why it was no surprise that Might Guy could enter the elite class.

Not long after Vega found an empty seat in the classroom and sat down, a middle-aged man with an ordinary face yet an air of weathered experience entered with a gentle expression, smiling as he held a booklet.

The somewhat noisy classroom gradually fell quiet at the arrival of this wheat-skinned middle-aged man, as everyone realized that he was probably their teacher.

"Hello, students. My name is Tomohisa Ishikawa, and I am your homeroom teacher. You can call me Teacher Tomohisa."

"Please take care of me from now on."

After studying Tomohisa Ishikawa, Vega joined the other students in replying once he had finished introducing himself, "Teacher Tomohisa, please take care of us."

Tomohisa Ishikawa nodded in satisfaction and continued, "You all passed the Ninja Academy's tests. You are the most talented children selected from the village."

"From here on, I will do everything I can to teach you to become outstanding ninja."

After saying that, Tomohisa Ishikawa opened the booklet in his hand. He lowered his head for a glance, then continued, "Today is your first day of school, so let's get to know one another first. Look at the classmates around you—after graduation, you may very well become teammates."

"Next, each of you will come up and introduce yourselves. Tell us about your hobbies and dreams so that we can get to know one another."

Tomohisa Ishikawa turned toward a chubby-cheeked boy seated at the far left of the first row and said, "Then we'll start with you."

The little boy was not shy at all. He stood up and walked to the podium, facing the entire class as he introduced himself. "My name is Ryuichi Takeda. My hobby is eating takoyaki—octopus balls. My dream is to eat delicious food from all around the world."

"Hahaha..."

After Ryuichi Takeda finished introducing himself, everyone laughed happily, since they had learned from his introduction that he was a foodie.

"Next."

After Ryuichi Takeda returned to his seat, Vega saw Tomohisa Ishikawa make a few marks in the booklet with his pen, likely checking off names on the roster, while motioning for the next person to come up and introduce themselves.

"My name is Renji Inoue. My hobby is..."

"My name is Miko Momokawa. My hobby is..."

"My name is Kota Moriki..."

Soon, it was Vega's turn. Standing on the podium, Vega introduced himself. "My name is Vega Koshima. You can call me Vega. My hobby is fishing, and my dream is to become a powerful ninja, then become Hokage."

After saying that, Vega returned to his seat.

Dreaming of becoming Hokage was the most ordinary dream at the Ninja Academy. No matter what the future held, at the very least, Vega had managed to appear on the surface as someone who loved Konoha.

Before long, after everyone had finished introducing themselves, Tomohisa Ishikawa closed the booklet in his hands.

"Now that everyone knows each other, once you receive your textbooks, we'll begin formal lessons this afternoon."

As noon dismissal approached, Veigar's desk was piled high with textbooks. The first page of every single one contained the same passage: the Will of Fire.

At the same time, Tomohisa Ishikawa told Veigar about the subjects he would be studying at this stage.

Cultural Studies: learning to read and write.

Ethics: the Ninja Code.

History: the history of Konoha and the Land of Fire.

Physical Training: improving physical fitness.

Ninja Studies: Chakra extraction, Hand Seals, Kunai throwing, and so on.

After a busy morning, it was noon. The Ninja Academy dismissed for lunch, with classes to resume in the afternoon.

After lunch, Veigar arrived at the Ninja Academy early. He could hardly wait for class to begin.

Once class started, Veigar was thrilled. He listened intently to every word Tomohisa Ishikawa said, because that afternoon's lesson was the Chakra extraction technique he had been longing for.