Going to School

"Yeah! Mirai, hurry down here, let's play ninja games together!" There were several boys and girls waiting below. Mirai was a bit puzzled as to why he was so popular with the children, but since he had nothing better to do, he decided to join them.

Mirai shouted back, "Coming right down!" He stood up, leaped from the upper floor several times in succession, and landed steadily on the ground.

The children couldn't help but clap in amazement, "That's so cool! Mirai, you can actually jump down from such a height without a scratch!"

Not knowing if he was being influenced by his current physical age, Mirai felt a surge of pride at the children's admiration. He rubbed his nose and said, "It's nothing! Don't all ninjas leap over roofs and vault over walls? You'll all be able to do this easily soon enough."

Ever since he arrived in this world and acquired the Mall System, Mirai had no intention of just drifting through life. In this place, death could descend at any moment; if he didn't protect himself properly, he might end up as one of the thousands of transmigrators who get killed off, which would be far too embarrassing. Countless predecessors had lived legendary lives, and with a cheat system at his disposal, he couldn't afford to tarnish the reputation of transmigrators.

Therefore, once Mirai realized which world he was in, he began to train. The physical fitness of people in this world was generally excellent. After half a year of training, Mirai had reached his current level, which was considered quite average, but it was something he never would have had the courage to attempt in his previous life.

"Right! I'm going to work as hard as Mirai and become a great ninja in the future!" a boy declared.

"I'm going to become a great female ninja just like Lady Tsunade!" Hyuga Hiben said, refusing to be outdone. Princess Tsunade was the idol of every aspiring female ninja. Mirai hadn't met her in person yet, but her name was already very familiar to him.

"I'm going to be the Hokage!" "Me too!" "..."

The children began to talk about their future goals. Mirai just smiled from the sidelines. The profession of a ninja represented power. Perhaps due to the education system, all the children yearned to become ninjas, much like how children on Earth would dream of becoming rich or high-ranking officials when asked about their future.

However, Mirai knew deep down that without extraordinary talent, a powerful Kekkei Genkai, or sufficient aptitude, becoming the Hokage was nothing more than a fantasy.

If Mirai were truly a child, he might have dreamed of becoming a high-ranking official, or perhaps, given his background, he would have aspired to be a ninja of the village just like the others.

"Mirai, what are we training today?" Mirai had once told these children that becoming a ninja required rigorous training, so they incorporated ninja drills into their games. Mirai would occasionally display his wisdom, and he had naturally become the leader of this group of children.

Mirai touched his chin, pondered for a moment, and said, "Today, we'll practice shurikenjutsu." Shuriken, the plum-blossom-shaped throwing weapons with holes in the center, and kunai were essential skills for every ninja to master.

The mastery of shuriken and kunai was a technique that even Nagato, with his Rinnegan, could not overlook when it came to Uchiha Itachi. While they might not be the most lethal weapons, they required no hand seals and were a mandatory course for every ninja.

Mirai and the children began their training in the woods. A circular target was fixed to a tree, and the children held shuriken, throwing them toward the center of the target.

Adults in the village felt proud of their children becoming ninjas, so whenever the kids showed interest in shuriken, they would naturally buy them for their children.

When the throwing practice ended, all the children were exhausted and sat on the ground. Mirai was the same; he wasn't naturally a particularly diligent person, and if it weren't for the sake of surviving in this world, he wouldn't have trained so hard.

"Mirai, we're starting at the Ninja Academy tomorrow. You only become a genin after graduating from the Ninja Academy. You're going too, right?" the young girl Hyuga Hiben asked him. At this time, children could apply to the Ninja Academy at the age of four.

"Of course! Only by studying at the Ninja Academy can one become stronger," Mirai nodded.

"I'm going to the Ninja Academy to study too!" the other children chimed in.

"I'm not old enough yet, I'll have to wait until next year," some of the younger ones said with regret.

"Don't worry, time flies. It'll be your turn to go to school before you know it."

By evening, all the children had returned to their homes. Mirai also returned to his own house—a solitary dwelling with no one else inside.

Although the house was empty and a bit cold, he actually quite enjoyed the feeling. School starts tomorrow, he wondered what he would learn.

He closed his eyes, and the night passed in the blink of an eye. Mirai prepared his gear: dark athletic shorts and a black T-shirt with the Uchiha Clan's 'fan' crest on the back. With his short black hair and fair face, he was quite the handsome young man, and his aptitude was decent.

After finishing breakfast and tidying up, Mirai headed toward the Ninja Academy. Along the way, many parents were rushing toward the school with their children.

For the villagers of Konoha, becoming a ninja was a great honor. Every time the Ninja Academy opened for enrollment, parents would bring their age-appropriate children to the school.

There were a few others like Mirai who came alone. The ninja world was barely stable now, but there were still many children who had lost both parents. These orphans would receive a normal education to become ninjas. As a member of the Uchiha Clan, he should have been taken in by relatives, but Mirai had refused. He wanted to live a longer life, and it was better to have less contact with a clan destined to be purged in a future rebellion.