School Begins

Today.

The weather was clear.

It hadn't snowed.

Though the wind was still chilly, there was sunlight today.

He had just gotten up a little too early and was still sleepy.

"Nagato, on your first day of school, listen to your teacher and study hard, okay~? Don't disappoint Teacher Amang!"

"I know, Mom!" Nagato, carrying a little backpack, yawned lazily as he replied to his smiling mother. "I'll study hard!"

Nagato Uzumaki.

After the Uzumaki Clan came to the Land of Grass, he and his mother had resumed the Uzumaki surname.

Looking at his mother, who smiled more now and had become much prettier, Nagato couldn't help but smile as well.

If it had been two months ago, he might never have imagined that one day he would be able to live in such a peaceful country, without enduring hunger and cold, while his mother no longer had to live so cautiously!

He had friends around him every day and could learn ninjutsu too.

Honestly...

It still felt a little unbelievable.

Everything was so wonderful!

Of course.

It would have been even better if Teacher Amang didn't climb over the wall whenever he came by. The flowers and plants Nagato had deliberately grown were about to be trampled to death.

They could even survive through winter!

Seeing Konan from next door heading out as well, Nagato smiled and nodded at her.

He figured Teacher Amang was probably still asleep at this hour. Though Teacher Amang was incredibly capable, his habit of sleeping in while urging everyone else to work hard was truly quite frustrating.

He had heard that the leader would be giving a speech later. He wondered if Teacher Amang would make it in time!

"Mom, I'm off to school!"

Nagato waved to his mother, hoisted his backpack, and set off toward the school with Konan.

Behind them, Mrs. Fusang, Nagato's mother, stood in her apron and watched the two little ones head to school with a smile. She quietly waved, her face filled with relief and happiness.

Only after their figures had disappeared did she turn to look next door. "Amang probably still hasn't gotten up, has he?"

As he walked down the road, Nagato was still yawning, his little eyes calmly taking in the Land of Grass in the morning.

Compared to the Land of Rain, which had grown desolate because of the war, people gradually came out even on winter mornings in the Land of Grass.

Most were probably going to work, while some children, like him, were heading to school.

He liked the Land of Grass.

At least it was peaceful here. Everyone looked lively, and smiles appeared on their faces from time to time.

Unlike the Land of Rain... everyone kept their doors shut tight, and it rained heavily every day!

Yahiko had said that even though the war had ended, the Land of Rain was still in chaos.

The war across the ninja world had disappeared, but the conflict within the Land of Rain had not stopped.

It was still at war!

After arriving at school.

He found his seat.

They had already learned where they would be sitting yesterday.

"Nagato, Konan, you're here too?" Yahiko, who had arrived early, immediately waved at Nagato and Konan with a grin. "I got here before you!"

"Yahiko!" x2

After Nagato and Konan greeted him with smiles, they sat down in their seats.

The three of them would not only study here; Teacher Amang and Sister Kana also taught them ninjutsu in their spare time.

Yahiko had heard that he would learn Uncle Mujie's family secret technique in the future, while Nagato would study the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Technique whenever he had time.

The Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Technique was incredibly powerful. As for just how powerful it was, he still didn't know.

He had only heard Teacher Amang mention it!

He wanted to become stronger too, so that he would have the ability to protect the people he cared about!

As for Konan, she would also learn some secret techniques from Teacher Amang, ones related to paper folding.

Konan's paper folding had already become very beautiful.

He just didn't know how powerful paper folding could be.

Could Teacher Amang be fooling little girls?~

At that moment.

Yahiko lowered his voice and secretly leaned over. "Let me tell you something~" His expression was strange, and his tone turned eerie. "This school is haunted!"

"?!" x2

Nagato and Konan froze when they heard that.

Seeing that his words had frightened them, Yahiko nodded in satisfaction and continued, "I heard it from the uncles who built the school. They said that beneath the Land of Grass Hope Ninja Academy is actually a mass grave."

"When the Land of Grass was destroyed back then, many people died. No one collected their bodies. Later, there was a good man, an old man. He had lost his wife and son and had grown deeply disgusted with war. When he saw so many corpses left exposed in the wilderness, he couldn't bear it, so he personally gathered all the bodies by himself."

He sighed.

"But because he was alone and already old, he could only dig pits at random and bury them where they lay. After burying the last person, he even dug a pit for himself and buried himself."

"Teacher Amang didn't know about this, so he chose to build the academy here, disturbing the rest of the dead. So..."

His tone gradually became more sinister.

He told it so vividly and convincingly that Nagato and Konan were both left stunned.

Even little Konan began to tremble.

She was a little scared!

There was a mass grave beneath the school?

Was it true?

At that moment.

"Ring-ring-ring~"

The bell rang.

The three little ones stopped discussing it, though the thought that this place was a mass grave still made them a little afraid.

However.

The teacher had already entered.

Red hair!

A middle-aged man!

Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan knew who he was.

Uncle Jiang Yi.

He was a ninja of the Uzumaki Clan!

"Hello, children!"

Jiang Yi Uzumaki walked to the podium, placed the textbooks issued by the Land of Grass on the desk, and looked at the children sitting obediently before him.

His heart was immediately filled with emotion.

Jiang Yi Uzumaki.

One of the Uzumaki Clan's three remaining jonin.

Thinking back to over a month ago.

They had merely been refugees from the Land of Eddies, fleeing across the ninja world, hunted by ninjas from every country, rejected by everyone, living a wandering life without enough to eat or clothes to keep warm.

But now...

After being accepted by the leader, they no longer had to wander or worry about cold and hunger!

He had even become a teacher at this newly built school!

Therefore, they were all deeply grateful to the leader!

Compared to Konoha, their relatives who had once simply ignored them, the Land of Grass was now the true home of the Uzumaki Clan!

Speaking of which...

The Land of Eddies had been too small in the past to have a ninja school. They had relied on family inheritance to train new ninjas.

So, as a teacher for the first time, he was actually a little nervous!

But...

Whenever Jiang Yi Uzumaki recalled what the Third Elder had said a few days ago, his head began to ache.

Jiang Yi, the leader has given us an order to have more children!

Jiang Yi Uzumaki gave a fake cough and continued with a smile. "My name is Jiang Yi Uzumaki, and I will be your homeroom teacher. I believe you all know where I live. If you run into any problems, you can come ask me! You can even come play at my house during holidays!"

As he spoke, he wrote his name on the blackboard.

"Now, starting with the first student in the first row, introduce yourselves!"

As soon as he finished speaking.

The first student in the row stood up nervously.

"I-I... My name is Yue Jin. Actually, that wasn't my original name. I used to be called Da Shi, but Dad said it was to commemorate the rebuilding of the Land of Grass and its rapid development, so he changed my name."

Though he stammered, he still managed to finish his introduction.

One after another.

Until it was Konan's turn.

"My name is Konan. Teacher Amang... the leader brought me back from the Land of Rain. If it hadn't been for Leader Amang, I might have starved to death in the Land of Rain." Konan stood up and gave a sweet smile. "I hope I can repay Teacher Amang. War is terrifying, and I hope there will be no war in the Land of Grass."

"Nagato Uzumaki! Teacher Amang brought me back too. Um~, I'm the same as Konan! I hope I can protect my mother and repay Teacher Amang."

"Yahiko! I'm from the Land of Rain too! I'm a man who will become a powerful ninja!"

After one introduction after another had ended.

Jiang Yi Uzumaki smiled as he looked over the three little ones from the Land of Grass, then thought of the Uzumaki Clan.

The leader truly was an incredible person!

He then picked up the textbook. "There's still time. According to the schedule, we'll begin morning reading now. Let me tell you something~" He winked. "These textbooks were personally compiled by the leader you all admire most, so everyone must study seriously." He opened the book. "I'll read one sentence, and you repeat it after me."

"Repay resentment with kindness—then how will you repay kindness? Repay resentment with fairness, and repay kindness with kindness..."

As soon as he finished speaking.

The children obediently began reading after their teacher, one sentence at a time.

"Repay resentment with kindness—then how will you repay kindness? Repay resentment with fairness, and repay kindness with kindness..."

The sound of their loud reading immediately echoed through the newly built school.

However.

At this moment.

Beneath the academy.

An old man with tubes sticking out of his back slowly raised his twitching face, looking at the grains of sand and gravel falling from above. After a moment of silence, a low, weathered voice rang out from the cave.

"Damn it!!!"

Was this ever going to end?