Hayate Gekko Graduates

Time slipped by quietly amid the war.

The Third Shinobi World War had completely entered its most chaotic phase, with every nation trapped in the dire situation of fighting multiple enemies at once.

Interests mingled with old and new grudges, and the ninja had killed until their eyes turned red. No one was willing to take even a single step back.

If they retreated now, wouldn't all those relatives and friends who had fallen on the battlefield have died for nothing?

War was first ignited by all manner of conflicts, contradictions, and calculations of interest. Then, it was swept out of control by the hatred of the ninja masses. By this point, it would not end until enough blood had been spilled.

It was a vortex that would swallow everything, until everyone involved felt pain too great to bear, grew weary of it, and chose to break away.

Before he knew it, another year had passed. Counting from the founding of Konoha, it should now be Konoha Year 49.

Unlike last time, when they could still be rotated back for rest and recuperation, the stalemate in the war and the ever-rising casualty count had left Konoha facing a shortage of troops.

The bad news was that Higashino Jiro had remained on the frontline and had not returned to the village for a long time. This was the most critical period, and the village simply did not dare reduce its frontline forces.

The good news was that at least he was still alive.

Although the Higashino Family was still considered a commoner ninja family, it had accumulated some foundations over several generations. Higashino Jiro was quite capable, stronger than at least the vast majority of elite Chunin and Special Jonin.

A few days after Higashino Makoto's birthday on April 1, the Ninja Academy reopened, and he advanced to his third year.

After breakfast that morning, Higashino Makoto adjusted the Ninja Tool Bag on his body and headed out for school.

It was not a Shadow Clone today. At the start of a school term, he would generally attend in person.

Higashino Megumi had gone to work at the hospital early in the morning.

During the War Period, the number of injured at the hospital had surged, making it extremely busy. They were all people who had suffered severe injuries on the frontline, received basic treatment, and were sent back at intervals.

After all, battlefield medical conditions on the frontline were far more rudimentary. Some injured needed long-term treatment and recuperation, something only the village could provide.

Once they recovered, they would return to the battlefield. As for ninja with disabled limbs, those poisoned by deadly toxins, or those whose foundations had been damaged by prolonged Chakra depletion, retirement was their only outcome.

That was already considered fortunate. Many more simply died on the frontline without ever having a chance to be saved.

In addition, medical ninja with outstanding Medical Ninjutsu like Higashino Megumi also had to develop universal antidotes and First Aid Kits based on the various poisons appearing on the frontline.

Konoha Hospital was not only a large comprehensive hospital that treated and saved people; it was also a factory producing all kinds of Medical Supplies.

Because many medical ninja had been transferred to the battlefield, the hospital was severely understaffed. Even Higashino Makoto often went over at night to help out, gaining practical experience while working overtime alongside his mother.

The only fortunate thing was that Higashino Megumi was one of the hospital's key personnel. Her role in the rear was greater, so she had not been sent to the frontline for the time being.

But if the situation worsened any further, that might not remain the case.

Compared to when Higashino Makoto had reincarnated, Konoha had not changed much. Time seemed to have temporarily come to a standstill here.

Yet as Higashino Makoto walked toward school, he could still see the immense impact the war had had on the village.

The once-lively streets were now much quieter. Because of the war, and to deny spies every possible opening, Konoha had raised its scrutiny of outsiders entering the village by several levels.

During the war, ordinary commissioned missions had been temporarily suspended, so no clients came to the village either.

With a large number of ninja transferred to the frontline, the village population had also dropped sharply. Business had declined and consumer spending had weakened. When many shop owners opened their doors in the morning, they looked utterly unmotivated.

Higashino Makoto walked on, taking in the familiar sights around him.

There were still only three faces on Hokage Rock in the distance, but he knew that in less than two years, another young face would be added.

Unfortunately, they were only stone statues and could not show hair color. Otherwise, Hokage Rock would definitely look better than it did now. After all, the four Hokage had three different hair colors.

Black, white, and yellow.

The black and white could not be seen on Hokage Rock, but they frequently entered Higashino Makoto's sight along the way.

Quite a few households in the village had hung black-and-white funeral banners.

That meant someone in the family had died recently. Black and white were the ceremonial colors used for funerals in this world.

Members of the Uchiha Police Force could occasionally be seen patrolling the streets, and quite a few villagers looked at them with dissatisfaction.

They were always boasting that the Uchiha were the strongest clan in the shinobi world, yet now they were hiding in the village, with barely any of them going to the battlefield.

Unfortunately, how could those villagers know that unless absolutely necessary, the High Level did not dare send that pack of Battle Maniacs to war?

A clan that grew stronger through battle—what would the village use to deal with it if someone as powerful as Madara appeared by accident?

The highly anticipated Hashirama Cells experiments had produced absolutely nothing besides killing a pile of willing and unwilling Test Subjects.

There was one exception, though. Danzo had secretly concealed it, and for now, no one besides him knew.

Judging by his age, that surviving Test Subject was about the same age as Higashino Makoto.

After arriving at school, Higashino Makoto saw that the Training Ground in front of the Teaching Building was gathered with quite a few people as usual, though fewer than when he had first enrolled.

There might not have been fewer new students, but fewer parents had come.

It was another year of new student enrollment. The six-year-old kids were excited. At this moment, they only felt that they were about to take the first step onto their ninja path, that a grand legendary tale was about to begin.

Their hearts were filled with dreams of becoming Hokage. The cruelty of war spread throughout the Streets and Alleys could not frighten them at all.

That was what ninja were like. Only after experiencing the cruelty of slaughter would they naturally yearn for peace—or become psychopaths who took pure pleasure in killing.

Standing in a second-floor classroom, Higashino watched the lively bustle of the new students below, just like when he had enrolled a few years ago.

Now, he was already in Third Grade, a senior student to the two classes below him.

"Hey, Makoto, it's so lively. Just like when we enrolled."

The one speaking was Uzuki Yugao. Like Higashino Makoto, she was now eight years old, though by nominal age; she would not officially turn eight until after her birthday in November.

Compared to her former Little Radish Head appearance, she had grown much taller, slender and poised, already possessing the sharp aura of a beauty. After all, she practiced swordsmanship.

Her shoulder-length purple hair was beautiful, but no matter what, she was only eight—a little girl still. Yet her thoughts had become far more mature than before.

Higashino Makoto smiled at her. "A little liveliness is good. The war has made the village too desolate. It's rare to see such a cheerful scene."

"The war..." Uzuki Yugao fell silent for several seconds before saying, "I hope these junior students can avoid it. Ah, no—that's not right. It'd be best if we didn't have to go either."

"That may be difficult. Hayate is graduating today, isn't he?"

"Yeah. The Graduation Exam will be held this morning. Let me think... it should start around nine."

Just as they had guessed when they first enrolled, the academy had cut down on general cultural classes and increased training time, making the improvement of students' combat power its foremost requirement.

Now, due to wartime casualties, Konoha had begun to feel the shortage of manpower. It urgently needed fresh combat strength, and allowing Ninja Academy students to graduate early was an unavoidable measure.

Starting in Fourth Grade, teachers encouraged students to graduate unless their grades were truly terrible.

The six-year education system had effectively become a four-year one. It had actually begun several years ago. Kakashi graduating at five had been an exception, but most of his classmates—such as Might Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, Obito, and Rin—had graduated at nine.

Second and Third Grade students could also be recommended, but it was not mandatory, leaving more room for personal choice.

But children were still children. When they heard there was a chance to graduate early, none of them would want to miss it.

Higashino Makoto was an exception. He had turned down Teacher Inoue Kuroiwa's recommendation, and at his request, Uzuki Yugao had not applied for early graduation either.

But Uchiha Shisui might have made a different choice, because he still had not shown up in class.

And he was not the only one. Several classmates had not appeared either.