Early Graduation!

War was a sudden clap of thunder in the midst of tranquility. Its force and aftershocks rippled through the surrounding area, leaving cracks and bloodshed in their wake.

After the war erupted in full, the village's ninjas suffered heavy casualties. The school began selecting outstanding students for early graduation to make up for the losses at the front.

"Kusama Shigeo, Xia Linchuandoyu, Narita Hiten..." Nagai-sensei read out several names in class. When he reached the last one, his brow suddenly furrowed. He checked the class register for a long while before sighing and calling out—

"And Uchiha Akatsuki!"

Nagai announced loudly, "The principal has agreed to let you take the Genin exam early!"

The moment my name was called, the whole class erupted. Almost every eye turned toward me. Aoi's reaction was the strongest. Her face had gone deathly pale, and she fumbled for my hand. Her fingers were ice-cold.

Nagai snapped the class register shut. The students whose names hadn't been called let out a wave of dismayed groans, followed by doubts about me.

"Did I hear that right? Uchiha Akatsuki?"

"What? He's so young. Is he even six?"

"Are you kidding? Why does he get to graduate early?"

"What is this, special treatment for the Uchiha?"

Of course, there were plenty who looked at me with admiration and respect, too.

"Don't be jealous, you bunch of losers!"

"Exactly! None of you could beat Akatsuki in the last Taijutsu training session!"

"You're just picking a fight for no reason! If you're so capable, graduate early yourselves!"

They soon descended into a noisy argument, while I, the center of all the attention, couldn't say a word.

For these children, who had never been to a battlefield, war's first associations were military honors and glory. But Aoi was different. Her mother had died on the battlefield, and her father was away fighting for most of the year. She knew better than anyone how terrifying that place was.

I gently patted her hand to comfort her.

Even though I'd expected this day to come, hearing the news still left me feeling uneasy.

Whatever else it was, that was still a battlefield!

When Mother found out I'd be taking the Genin exam, she was both happy and worried. She stayed up all night making me two ninja tool pouches, along with a shoulder harness for carrying Murasame.

Speaking of Murasame, the sword was certainly easy to handle, but it didn't have any special abilities. Falling Thunder, riding the wind, controlling fire—I couldn't do any of them. I was starting to wonder if the whole thing had been a dream!

What kind of divine weapon was that? It was just a lousy little sword!

After a while, I started using it like an ordinary longsword.

"You lousy little sword, you may be useless, but I don't hold it against you! You have to stick with me and do your best. Don't lose heart!"

For a moment, the blade glimmered, as if it were answering me.

I stroked Murasame's edge, feeling its smooth grain, then flicked it with a finger and listened to its intoxicating hum spread through the air...

What a fine sword.

The graduation exam was to be held at the base beneath Kage Rock. I got up early on exam day, but Aoi was up even earlier. When I opened the door, fully dressed, I saw her waving to me beneath the stars.

"Aoi? What are you doing here?"

In the less than a year I'd been at school, I'd grown quite a bit thanks to a balanced diet. Standing beside Aoi again, I realized I was almost as tall as she was.

Haha, the latecomer had overtaken her!

"We haven't gone to school together in ages, not since you got so busy." Aoi's eyes sparkled with starlight. "After your morning run, how about we get breakfast together?" She came closer and took my hand as she always did.

"Sure." I happily took her hand, and we set off.

The two children walked quietly beneath the moonlight, bringing a touch of warmth to the cold, desolate night.

Before the morning run was over, Aoi was so exhausted she could barely stay upright. I had to stop again and again to wait for her, and each time, afraid of holding me back, she forced herself to catch up.

I sighed, unable to understand why she insisted on running with me. I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.

When Aoi once again sank to the ground, too tired to go on, I stepped over and helped her up. "We'll stop running. Come on."

She couldn't stand, so I went in front of her and crouched down. Looking back over my shoulder, I said, "I'm strong enough. I'll carry you."

Uchiha Aoi settled on the boy's back, her heart beating so fast she felt dizzy. She said nothing, only wrapped her arms tightly around Akatsuki's neck.

She wished this road would go a little slower, and then a little slower still, so they could just keep walking like this forever.

We went to Ichiraku for breakfast. I added char siu as usual, while Aoi, still suffering from the aftereffects of her strenuous exercise, couldn't eat a thing and simply watched me.

My hair had grown long. Damp with sweat, it clung sticky against my forehead and neck, which felt awful.

Aoi noticed how uncomfortable I was. She took something from her pocket, gently told me to stay still, and deftly tied up my hair.

Her hands threaded through my black hair, gentle and practiced. I relaxed in comfort. When I came to, only two locks remained at my forehead, framing my face, while the hair beside my ears had been tied back. The loose strands at the back fell naturally.

I reached up to touch it, moved for a moment and filled with nostalgia.

A half-up ponytail—my long-standing hairstyle in my previous life. Easy to tie up or let down, neat and practical. By some strange coincidence, I'd been reunited with it in this life.

"Do you like it?" Aoi giggled, turning back into that mischievous little girl. "I often tie my hair like this at home." She put the other hair tie on her wrist. An orange-yellow sunflower adorned it.

"This hair tie matches mine. It's for you!"

I grinned, too. It seemed the one on my head was the star.

I gazed at Aoi. Her face, once so round when we'd first met, had lengthened a little, taking on the outline of a young girl's. I reached out and brushed the hair from her forehead behind her ear. "You look even prettier like this."

Aoi's face turned bright red. She leaned toward me, too, and whispered, "Akatsuki looks good, too."

Since this was a specially approved early graduation, and everyone taking the Genin exam was an outstanding candidate, the proctors included not only jonin but also the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, and Konoha's two advisors, Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura. They sat far away, but I recognized them at a glance.

Good grief, what a lineup!

The moment I stepped into the examination hall, I drew most of the eyes in the room.

I was dressed differently from how I dressed at school. I wore my usual training clothes.

A black, mesh-patterned undershirt stretched from my neck to my waist, with a black, round-necked T-shirt embroidered with a Gunbai over it. Murasame was tucked into the leather sheath Mother had made for me and strapped diagonally across my back. Ninja tool pouches were tied to my legs, and I wore black pants and leg wraps.

Everything was streamlined and practical, with no unnecessary frills. Every detail was geared toward combat.

I looked insanely cool!

Meeting the crowd's various gazes, I kept my eyes straight ahead and walked right in.

As I entered the spacious grounds and stood among the others, I suddenly felt like I'd been here before.

It was just like when I'd trained underground with the Uchiha Clan two years ago. Everyone here was taller than me, too. If I wanted to talk to them, I'd have to tilt my head back and look up.

I hopped up and down angrily—damn it, I had to start all over again!

"Is that Uchiha Fugaku's eldest son, Uchiha Akatsuki?" Shimura Danzō's gaze shifted to the boy walking into the crowd. He watched in silence.

"He has the style of an Anbu member."

The Genin exam began twenty minutes later. It was meant to select people to send to the battlefield, yet every candidate showed up. No one dropped out.

I looked at the expressions around me. Some were nervous, some serious, and some full of anticipation. They were going to the front lines, yet none of them seemed afraid or ready to back down.

The Will of Fire really did burn on without end.

"Uchiha Akatsuki."

I didn't know how long I'd been waiting when I finally heard my name. Following the instructions, I left the crowd and headed to the actual examination room.

I walked down a corridor and pushed open the exam room doors. An even larger space came into view! Training dummies, the kind commonly found on practice grounds, were scattered densely across the floor. Some were tall, some short, and some were even moving.

I realized at once that they were simulating a battlefield!

Since the exam was preparing us for war, were they testing our marksmanship? This Genin exam really was different.

The examiner glanced at me indifferently, wrote my name on the form, then solemnly announced the test—

"Listen carefully. Your task is to knock down every target by any means necessary. You have ten minutes!"

"Begin!"

The moment he finished speaking, I pulled out dozens of Shuriken, leaped onto the wall, and hurled them all toward the targets! The Shuriken collided with one another, their steel wires tangling through the air until they ensnared every target!

"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Technique!" Up on the ceiling, I formed Hand Seals with both hands. Chakra gathered in my chest before bursting out of my mouth!

In an instant, several fire dragons roared along the steel wires from my hands and mouth, sweeping down toward the ground! Flames engulfed every target, and the exam room became an inferno!

I leaped through the air amid the blazing flames, keeping an eye out for anything I'd missed in the blind spots. I sent Kunai flying to cut down the last few moving targets, then landed lightly beside the examiner and declared, "I'm done!"

"You..."

He still seemed unable to react. Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been watching the room through the monitors, was already smiling.

"Under a minute. A well-deserved first place." He held his pipe, his eyes filled with pride and hope, along with a worry he hadn't even noticed himself.

"This child... he'll surely achieve great things."

Danzō's expression remained impassive. One eye fixed on the child amid the flames, and he said in a low voice, "The Uchiha Clan has produced another genius."

"Another?" Utatane Koharu picked up the thread. "You mean..."

Danzō replied, "Yes. There's also a gifted young man named Uchiha Shisui."

"The Uchiha Clan has been rather active lately, too," Mitokado Homura added, as if he knew what Danzō was thinking.

"The appearance of these two children will certainly give them more confidence."

"The Uchiha Clan's influence seems to be growing again in recent years, and the Police Force keeps getting larger... Have you considered keeping them in check, Third Hokage?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a cloud of smoke. His eyes were murky and unreadable behind the haze.

"We're here to watch the children's exams today. Let's not discuss politics."

"..."

As I left the examination room with my Forehead Protector and first-place score sheet, I walked along, running my fingers over the Konoha symbol on the protector. I couldn't help feeling happy.

The moment I put it on, a sense of honor welled up inside me.

From today onward, I was a ninja of Konoha! (Fist pump!)