School Days, Part Two

Sure enough, history is a little girl that can be dressed up however you like. Konoha hasn't even been established for fifty years, and it's already like this. Later, when this clan is destroyed, I'm afraid they'll completely vanish from the memories of future generations.

Fortunately, Higashino Makoto didn't transmigrate into the Uchiha Clan like his Seniors did, or else he'd be tearing his hair out by now.

He wondered what Shisui thought of all this, combined with the clan's teachings.

Higashino Makoto glanced over. Yeah, no thoughts at all—he was already deeply immersed in the book on the Will of Fire, spontaneously combining the teacher's explanations and making reading notes in his notebook.

In the morning, general knowledge was compressed into two classes, and the remaining two were dedicated to explanations of Chakra and basic ninjutsu.

By the afternoon, everyone was dragged to the Training Ground, immediately starting practical combat learning.

Higashino Makoto looked around. All the newly enrolled students this year had been pulled out, with each class occupying a practice area.

His eyesight was good, and he could see that every class had a scattering of clan Disciples. Their skills weren't bad, but they weren't all crammed into one class; instead, they were spread out.

Was this the result of negotiations between the clans and the village? Letting the children build connections with their Comrades in the village from a young age.

Ordinary Commoner Ninja were, after all, the main force of the Ninja Army, able to make up for the clan ninjas' tendency to produce Masters but lack in numbers.

It wasn't just the High Level who used Commoner Ninja to balance the power of the Ninja Clans; the clans themselves also spontaneously built influence among Commoner Ninja early on.

Actually, it was pretty good. It was a process of integration.

It was just that the number of Disciples from big clans like the Uchiha and Hyuga wasn't that large. It seemed not all children of the right age were sent to the school, then registered in official records after graduation.

The practical combat courses were mainly divided into ninja tool usage and sparring matches.

On the Training Ground, rows of students stood in front of fixed targets, throwing Shuriken and Kunai at the targets, producing a dense series of "thud, thud" sounds.

The students in the top two Advanced Classes had solid basic skills. Most had already started training early, and their ninja tool throwing power and accuracy were commendable, making the teachers' jobs much easier.

Even if a few weren't skilled, the teacher could arrange for outstanding students to teach them one-on-one. Not only did it save the teacher trouble, but it also deepened the bonds between Classmates, killing two birds with one stone.

The classes further back had more beginners. The responsible teachers usually explained first, then demonstrated personally, teaching patiently. Naturally, their progress lagged behind the Advanced Classes.

Among ninjas, those with massive Chakra reserves were always the minority. The vast majority couldn't rely on ninjutsu as their main means of fighting. Ninja tools like Shuriken, Kunai, and Explosive Tags were what they used most often.

After the Ninja Tools Class ended, there was a short break, and then Combat Training began. The students immediately got excited, especially the boys, looking eager to try.

After all, they were still first-graders. Their understanding of what a ninja was was shallow. In their eyes, what was the point of those cultural classes? A ninja was about fighting, and winning proved you were strong, right?

The Opponents were arranged by Teacher Inoue based on entrance exam scores. There were no fixed Opponents; they would be swapped later based on score changes, letting students face different Opponents and gain richer combat experience.

But there were exceptions.

Soon, after their Opponents were confirmed, the sparring began.

Although the Advanced Class students had decent foundations, they were still young. Not many had learned ninjutsu, and even if they had, they couldn't use it. It was purely Taijutsu combat.

Ninja fights were fast. There was no such thing as a drawn-out battle of dozens of rounds. Hashirama and Madara were exceptions—they couldn't even be considered ninjas anymore.

On the Training Ground, the sparring Classmates moved swiftly, pairs stepping up to fight and then settling victories.

Before Higashino Makoto had refined his Chakra, he might have thought their fights were exciting. But after two years of training, his standards were extremely high. Now, these Classmates' battles looked like child's play to him.

Maybe this was how Kakashi felt when he was in school, which was why he graduated after only half a year—because it was ultimately meaningless.

Soon, it was Higashino Makoto's turn to step up. His Opponent was an acquaintance, Hyuga Tokuma, a Disciple of the Hyuga Clan. But he had a headband wrapped around his head, so it was impossible to tell if he was from the Main Family or a branch. It was more likely he was from a branch.

The situation of the Hyuga Clan's Main Family was classified. Only a few High Level in the village knew about it; outsiders had no idea. Compared to the Uchiha Clan, who often interacted with Villagers, the Hyuga Clan was more traditional, conservative, and mysterious.

After the two formed the Opposing Seal, Hyuga Tokuma immediately assumed a stance. It looked like the starting posture of the Gentle Fist.

But the Meridians around his eyes weren't open, so it seemed he hadn't awakened his Byakugan yet.

The Gentle Fist was still very strong in a ninja's early stages, especially during the student phase. Unfortunately, it lacked staying power and rarely produced top-tier Strong Persons.

But that didn't affect the Hyuga Clan's status in Konoha or even the Shinobi World. The Byakugan's strategic value was too great. On the battlefield, it was like having a wallhack—ordinary traps and ambushes were basically useless.

Seeing that Higashino Makoto wasn't moving, Hyuga Tokuma tested him. "Judging by your results yesterday, you're not just fast, are you, Makoto? If that's all, you won't beat me."

"I'm not just fast."

"Oh? Do you have some special move?"

"Yeah... I can run even faster."

"..."

Hyuga Tokuma felt he was being messed with. He stopped testing and lunged at Higashino Makoto in one stride, striking out repeatedly with both Hands. His Gentle Fist was quite impressive, much better than the Classmates who had fought before.

The Gentle Fist's characteristic was precisely injecting condensed special Chakra into the Opponent's acupoints, aiming to kill or control them.

But this required the Byakugan's cooperation. A living person wasn't a wooden post—they moved. Without the Byakugan's observation to assist, it was hard to land hits.

Hyuga Tokuma's Byakugan hadn't awakened yet, and since this was a spar between Classmates, he wasn't gathering Chakra in his Hands. Higashino Makoto blocked in front with both Hands, deflecting the Opponent's attacks one by one, but his body didn't move, not taking a single step back.

"Are you just going to defend? Where's your offense?"

Still just a kid, Hyuga Tokuma, unable to break through after a long assault, got a bit carried away. He turned his right Hand from a palm into a fist, abandoning the Gentle Fist's techniques, and threw a heavy punch straight at Higashino Makoto's face.

Higashino Makoto flashed behind Hyuga Tokuma in an instant. Except for Teacher Inoue and a few others like Shisui, none of the remaining Classmates could clearly see his movement.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"Makoto is so Handsome!"

"Dammit, we all just enrolled—why is this guy so strong? Did he grow up eating Chakra?"

Hyuga Tokuma listened to the gasps of the surrounding Classmates and knew from the direction of their gazes that his Opponent was behind him. He immediately turned to attack again—he was from Konoha's prestigious Hyuga Clan, after all; he wouldn't give up so easily.

But he found Higashino Makoto had already extended his right hand, ready to form the reconciliation seal with him.

"So this is what you meant by faster speed? But I haven't lost yet."

Higashino Makoto raised his Left Hand and tapped his own neck, signaling. "Oh, is that so? Feel it."

Hyuga Tokuma, confused, instinctively touched his neck. His fingertips came away stained with a bit of ink.

Clearly, while moving, Higashino Makoto had also pulled out a pen and drawn a mark on his neck. If it had been a Kunai, he'd be dead now.

The victor was decided.

Hyuga Tokuma felt a bit deflated—he hadn't expected the gap between them to be so wide—but he quickly pulled himself together and formed the reconciliation seal with Higashino Makoto.

"Makoto, I didn't know you were this strong. But I'll keep working hard. Next time, next time I definitely won't lose to you."

"Good. I look forward to it."

Inoue Kuroiwa gave this outstanding student a serious look and made a note in his notebook.

It wasn't just Higashino Makoto and Hyuga Tokuma—he would record every student's abilities in detail. That was a teacher's duty.

Next, Shisui and Yugao also won their matches easily.

The three frontrunners of the entrance test were clearly a cut above the other Classmates.

When Uzuki Yugao came off the field, she bounced over to Higashino Makoto's side, shoving aside the female classmates who crowded in, and put on a look of seeking praise. "Makoto, I was amazing, right!"

"Not bad. Looks like you've improved quite a bit."

"Hmph!"

Shisui looked at Higashino Makoto seriously. "Makoto, I didn't expect you to have already reached this level of strength. I really want to spar with you."

"You will, Shisui. There'll be a chance. I think Teacher Inoue thinks so too—maybe he'll arrange for us to be Opponents soon."

After a while, when all the matches were over, the day's lessons came to an end.

That was the daily routine at the Ninja Academy.

Higashino Makoto had already mastered the knowledge taught at the school before he turned four, and the gap between him and his classmates had grown enormous.

That's just how we Cheating Players roll.

Finally, after staying well-behaved for half a month, Higashino Makoto launched his evil plan to skip class.

So Shadow Clone really is a great jutsu.

Did I skip class? My clone is sitting right in the classroom. No evidence means no truancy!