Jiraiya Investigates Menma's Past

The morning sun filtered through the lush branches and leaves beside Konoha's Ninja Academy training grounds, scattering dappled, dancing spots of light.

A breeze carrying the scent of grass and earth drifted past, dispelling some of the early-summer heat.

On the broad training field, dozens of first-year students, all only about six years old, were undergoing basic physical training under the guidance of a young chunin with a horizontal scar across his nose and face and a gentle expression.

"Good! Hold that posture! Squat all the way down, and don't let your knees go past your toes! Feel the power in your thigh muscles!" Umino Iruka clapped his hands, his clear voice echoing across the field.

He moved among the children, correcting one child's faulty posture from time to time, patting another on the shoulder in encouragement, always wearing a patient, gentle smile.

Sweat mixed with dust on those young faces, but most of their eyes were serious. Even when some children grimaced through the exercises, they still worked hard to endure.

This was their first step into the world of ninja: dull, but necessary, basic training.

"All right, rest for ten minutes! You can drink water, but don't run too far!" Iruka checked the time, then clapped his hands and announced it.

The children immediately let out a small cheer and scattered in twos and threes. Some rushed toward the water bottles by the edge of the field, while others simply collapsed onto the grass beneath the shade of the trees and began chattering and laughing.

Iruka wiped the thin sheen of sweat from his forehead and walked to the edge of the training field, beneath a large tree thick with branches and leaves, then sat down on an old but sturdy wooden bench.

He picked up his own