Enrollment

On April 1, the Ninja Academy officially opened for the new school year.

But Higashino Makoto didn't let that interrupt his usual early-morning training.

Higashino Megumi had taken the day off. After her son returned from training and finished breakfast, she took him to the academy.

The academy's Training Ground was packed with people. Adults and children jostled together, while acquaintances chatted with one another.

Most children had one parent with them. Some had come alone, clearly orphans.

Few had both parents present. It was wartime, and Konoha, in the Land of Fire, was a military base.

Higashino Megumi took her son to register. After they filled out the forms and received a number, she stood off to the side chatting with Uzuki Sakura.

"Looks like there are a lot more people than in previous years," Uzuki Sakura remarked, gazing at the crowd.

"Probably because of the war. They're expanding enrollment."

Uzuki Sakura looked at her daughter Yugao and Higashino Makoto, her gaze growing unfocused. "I hope the war ends soon. Otherwise, they might be forced to go to the battlefield themselves someday."

Higashino Megumi could only sigh. "Maybe that's the fate of being a ninja."

Uzuki Yuwa and Higashino Jiro had always been in the same squad. This time was no different. They had headed toward the Land of Grass to face Iwagakure.

Just then, one of the academy teachers began shouting something through a megaphone.

Uzuki Yugao had grown quite a bit and was already beginning to look like a beautiful young woman. She eyed the number tag in Higashino Makoto's hand. "Hey, Makoto, what number did you get?"

Higashino Makoto showed her his number. "We're in different exam venues."

"Hmph! Seriously, why did they have to split us up?"

"Don't worry. Just do your best. With your skills, we'll end up in the same class anyway."

Once she heard they wouldn't be separated after all, Uzuki Yugao stopped pouting and smiled again.

They said goodbye to their mothers and headed toward different classrooms.

There was a written exam for enrollment. The questions covered a wide range of topics, but none were difficult. It was just a short test to check the students' basic knowledge and help with class assignments later.

The test ended in less than an hour. Then, led by their respective teachers, the students returned to the Training Ground and began running laps. Staff members on the sidelines recorded their results based on the numbers on their uniforms.

The academy would use the average of their written and physical test scores to assign them to different classes.

After all, people couldn't be lumped together as if they were all the same. Their abilities varied widely even before enrollment. There was no way to put poor performers and top students in the same class. The top students would lack competition, while the weaker students would be crushed until they doubted themselves. Neither was good for a child's development.

The fitness test was a breeze for Higashino Makoto and Uzuki Yugao. Along with Uchiha Shisui, the three ran side by side at the front, breathing steadily and chatting as they went.

Shisui did most of the talking. He wasn't a chatterbox, but after turning five, he'd often been kept inside the clan compound for intensive training, with few chances to go out. Now that he'd met the few friends he had, he seemed to have endless things to talk about.

One important piece of information caught Higashino Makoto's attention.

Last June, their clan head, Fugaku Uchiha, had celebrated the birth of a son named Itachi.

In his previous life, the Naruto World's timeline had been a complete mess. There were at least three different chronologies, each with its own sources. Since coming to this world, Higashino Makoto had also noticed that although everyone knew how many years had passed since Konoha's founding and talked about what had happened in a given year, there was no official Konoha calendar. Each country, especially the Five Great Nations, had its own unique cultural holidays and official calendar.

But above all that, the world did have a universally recognized standard calendar: the Shinobi Calendar, with years denoted as "Shinobi Calendar XXX."

Because the Shinobi World's history had so many gaps, almost no one knew where this calendar had originated.

Higashino Makoto suspected it began with the Sage of Six Paths founding the Ninjutsu Sect.

Unfortunately, people in the Shinobi World now believed the Sage of Six Paths was merely a legend, a figure from mythology. No one could provide conclusive proof that he had ever existed.

The ages of many famous ninjas before the end of the Third Shinobi War were also unclear and widely disputed. But at least one person's age was certain: Itachi Uchiha.

During the Nine-Tails' Rampage, he was five years old.

That alone let Higashino Makoto deduce a great many things.

For instance, the most intense period of this war would probably last only three or four years, after which it would gradually die down. After the Nine-Tails' Rampage in Konoha, tensions would flare up again: clashes between Konoha and Kumogakure would intensify, while Kirigakure would keep stirring up trouble in the east. But it wouldn't escalate into another Shinobi World War.

For instance, he was originally five years older than Itachi, and Itachi would be five years older than the future Konoha Twelve. That meant Higashino Makoto was ten years older than them.

He could infer plenty of other things, but Higashino Makoto didn't really care.

What he needed to do now was keep getting stronger and survive this war.

His goal had never changed: to live an eventful life. Training to become stronger was what would secure that goal. As for changing the world, that depended on his mood—and how far he could rise.

The fitness test continued. After more than ten laps, the once-disordered group stretched into a long line as the students' individual abilities became clear. It wound around the academy's Training Ground like a snake.

Higashino Makoto, Yugao, and Shisui were among those at the front. They kept running with ease. Some students behind them tried to overtake them, only to find the gap stayed the same. Whenever they sped up, the three in front seemed to sense it immediately and sped up too.

Uzuki Yugao was starting to struggle, but she gritted her teeth and kept going, determined to end up in the same class as Higashino Makoto and Shisui.

Most of those behind them were children from minor clans. Many could be identified by their clothes or other distinctive traits. Those without any obvious signs might be clan children or Commoner Ninjas who had been trained by their families in advance, like Higashino Makoto.

Those who hadn't trained beforehand, and hadn't even managed to refine Chakra, had all fallen to the back. Some were already panting and couldn't keep going.

Gradually, the whole group split into three sections: a small cluster at the front, another at the back, and a large mass in the middle.

Ninja efficiency was high. Not long after the fitness test ended, the Class Assignment List was posted on the bulletin board.

As it turned out, Higashino Makoto had guessed right. His name appeared in the same class as Uzuki Yugao's, along with Uchiha Shisui's. They were all on the first list.

In plain terms, it was an Elite Class.

He also spotted two somewhat familiar names in the class: Hyuga Tokuma and Aburame Muta. He vaguely remembered them.

As for the others—even if their surnames were renowned, he couldn't recognize them.

But as he quickly scanned the other class lists, he spotted an extremely familiar name in one of the classes near the bottom. This person would one day change—or even save—the Shinobi World.

One saying summed him up perfectly: every ninja in the entire Shinobi World owed him a bow.

That person was Umino Iruka.

So he was the same age as Higashino Makoto.

Thinking of him reminded Higashino Makoto of someone else: Mizuki. But that guy was actually two years older than Iruka and hadn't graduated yet.

When the Class Assignment Lists went up, the children who saw their names cheered with joy. But some stood outside the crowd with sorrowful expressions, and quite a few burst into tears.

Their parents tried to comfort them.

These were the students who hadn't made it in. They hadn't done well in either the written or physical tests. Not everyone could become a ninja.

Even if they were admitted, there was no telling whether they'd graduate after six years. And even if they did, they'd barely be able to use Chakra. Throwing them into battle between ninjas would be pointless; they'd only get themselves killed.

Soon, the children who had been accepted lined up on the Training Ground, with their parents standing behind them.

A simple podium had been set up at the front. Before long, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, arrived in his iconic Kage Attire and began the customary speech.

Everyone knew the Third Hokage was a little short. Without a platform for him to stand on, it would undermine the old man's dignity.

The speech wasn't long. This was the Shinobi World, not some government meeting.

As usual, it was about the Will of Fire.

Higashino Makoto listened with an expressionless face. On his left, Uzuki Yugao seemed a little confused. On his right, Uchiha Shisui was fired up, as if he'd just heard the guiding principles of his life.

As everyone applauded at the end of the speech, Shisui asked curiously, "Makoto, you should understand the Hokage's message deeply, shouldn't you? Don't you have any thoughts about it?"

"My thoughts?" Higashino Makoto turned to look at him. "My thought is, let Kunai fly for a few years."

Uchiha Shisui and Uzuki Yugao: "???"