Enrollment!

The early morning was hazy, with layers of blue mist drifting through the mountains.

Konoha's Ninja Academy stood less than a thousand meters from Kage Rock and barely a hundred meters from the Hokage Building. Uzumaki Mito's home, however, was still some distance from the academy.

Today was the first day of school at the Ninja Academy. With Kushina Uzumaki accompanying him, Uzumaki Kuming arrived early. Since they had come so soon, the school gates were still closed, but a teacher assigned to welcome new students was already waiting at the entrance, registering the children.

"Hello, Class 1-A. Uzumaki Kuming!"

Autumn had arrived, and the weather was gradually cooling. Kuming wore a white short-sleeved shirt under a black long-sleeved jacket. The Uzumaki Clan's spiral crest was emblazoned on its back. A pair of black cropped pants made the five-year-old look rather tall.

"Uzumaki Kuming?" The teacher, who had been looking down at the registration form, looked up in surprise at the name. The little boy before him had delicate features, rosy lips and white teeth, and a slightly round face. His long red hair and the pale blue diamond-shaped mark between his brows gave him an almost otherworldly air.

"So you're Uzumaki Kuming? The only student who made it to the finish line?"

Kuming didn't know the teacher who was registering him, but the man seemed excited to hear his name, as if he'd just met a celebrity.

"Yes, I'm Uzumaki Kuming."

Kuming quickly figured out why the teacher was acting that way. Word about him had spread around the village, and some of the shinobi who knew the details had even started calling him a genius. To the Ninja Academy teachers, a genius like Kuming was undoubtedly a prized catch.

"Very good. Sign here, and once the gates open, you can go to your class. The first-year classrooms are on the first floor."

The teacher gave Kuming a close look, then pulled a sheet of paper from beneath his hand and passed it to him, along with a brush.

"Okay, thank you." Kuming took the brush and signed his name. Since he had studied Fuinjutsu from a young age, he was skilled at drawing seals, and his brushwork was excellent too. When the teacher took back the form, he couldn't help pausing at the sight of Kuming's handwriting.

After signing, Kuming and Kushina went to the side of the entrance to wait for the gates to open.

"Judging by that teacher's reaction, you've already made a bit of a name for yourself at school, huh?" After registering Kuming, Kushina didn't hurry home. She walked with him to the side of the gate and started chatting.

"I'm not trying to brag, big sister, but my strength isn't on the same level as those kids."

"It won't be long before my name as a genius spreads throughout Konoha."

Seeing Kushina tease him, Kuming immediately got cocky.

"Oh? Is that so?"

"Didn't you just rebuild your Yin Seal a few days ago? Have you already stored up enough Chakra?"

"Can you use ninjutsu now?"

"Or do you think a genius can't even use a single technique?"

Unable to stand her little brother's smugness, Kushina couldn't resist taking him down a peg.

"..."

Kushina's words clearly struck a nerve. Kuming had taken a shortcut the first time he constructed the Yin Seal. Uzumaki Mito had helped him with some parts of the seal, allowing him to master it early. He had also left himself a back door, letting him draw out some Chakra without damaging the seal.

But this time was very different. Mito hadn't given him a chance to leave a back door while he constructed the seal. If Kuming used Chakra before he had stored enough to fully activate the Yin Seal, it would collapse outright.

In other words, Kuming couldn't use any Chakra until the Yin Seal was fully activated. There was no telling how long that would take. It might be a year or two, or as many as three. It depended on how quickly Kuming stored Chakra and how stable the Yin Seal was.

"It's no big deal. I'm still young, and this is the perfect time to grow. I can use the opportunity to train my Taijutsu and Shurikenjutsu, and I'm going to practice weapon combat too."

"Besides, studying Fuinjutsu doesn't depend on Chakra. With Taijutsu alone, I can still stand above my peers."

"I can learn techniques once the Yin Seal has fully stabilized in a few years."

Kuming took it all in stride. He had plenty of time to practice ninjutsu later, but building up physical strength couldn't be done overnight. After his fight with that blond youth from Iwagakure, Kuming had come to value Taijutsu and Shurikenjutsu, as well as weapon combat. They were all things he urgently needed to practice.

On the battlefield, a shinobi's reaction time when facing an attack could mean the difference between life and death. Excellent Taijutsu gave him the best chance of surviving. At the very least, if he couldn't win, he could still run, right?

"So you've already figured out what you're going to train in. I was going to give you some pointers, but I guess you don't need them after all?"

Kushina smiled at Kuming and ruffled his hair.

"No need for pointers. You should take care of yourself, big sister. You've been a Genin for a while now. I heard your most common missions are walking clients' dogs, entertaining their cats, and babysitting their kids."

"If you keep doing things like that, you'll never realize your dream of becoming Hokage."

Kuming stretched and casually rested his hands behind his head.

"You little brat, mind your own business!"

"I'm leaving. You can go in by yourself later!"

Kushina seemed to have been hit where it hurt. She punched Kuming on the head, stood up in a huff, and walked away without looking back.

"..."

"There goes my hairstyle."

Watching Kushina walk off, Kuming could only shake his head. He rubbed his scalp lightly, muttered under his breath, and began looking over the other children who had come to register.

The Ninja Academy's gates still hadn't opened, and many students and their parents had gathered outside. In the crowd, Shikaichi Nara spotted Kuming from a distance and waved. Kuming simply nodded in greeting.

There were only two people in the crowd whom Kuming knew. One was Shikaichi Nara, whom he had met once and chatted with briefly. The other was Hizashi Hyuga of the Hyuga Clan.

"There aren't many kids my age. Will they have enough for a class?"

Looking at the children gathered by the entrance, Kuming scratched his head, a little worried. If there were too few students in a class, the Ninja Academy teachers would have plenty of time to "guide" them. But Kuming would rather the teachers not give him so much guidance. He had his own plans and didn't need anyone else to fret over him.

Kuming didn't think the teachers at the academy could teach Taijutsu better than Uzumaki Mito, and he doubted any of them could teach him some amazing ninjutsu. If Mito hadn't insisted, he wouldn't have wanted to go through the motions at the academy at all.

Still, Kuming didn't want to graduate early like Uchiha Itachi. Graduating from the academy meant becoming a Genin, and with war liable to break out at any moment, Kuming didn't want to become cannon fodder so soon.

Having already endured the horrors of the battlefield, Kuming had learned to appreciate peace and quiet.

"Creak..."

The school's iron gates swung open. Kuming stood up, brushed the dust off his backside, and headed inside. The children who had been brought by their parents began saying goodbye to their families, then entered the school with their loved ones' hopes on their shoulders.

For most shinobi, this was where their journey began. As the children stepped inside, a place had already been prepared for them by Konoha's Memorial Stone.