The First Lesson

(Chapter 6: The First Lesson)

Teacher Nakamura nodded and said, "Alright, let's begin our lesson. First, we must discuss ninjas. Do you know what a ninja is?"

"They're really amazing people!"

"They can use ninjutsu!"

"They're heroes who protect the village!"

"..."

All the children began to voice their opinions, most of which were positive, and Teacher Nakamura nodded with a satisfied smile.

"Those are all good answers. Ninjas are required to carry out dangerous and difficult missions that ordinary people cannot complete, which is why they need a very strong physique. At the same time, they must have a strong spirit to endure pain. The reason a ninja is called a ninja is that they endure what others cannot..."

Suddenly, a boy raised his hand and asked, "Teacher, then what rank of ninja are you?"

"I am a Chunin, an elite Chunin, to be exact. Ahem, I am one of the strongest in the entire Ninja Academy," Nakamura Hino said with a proud look on his face.

To his surprise, many students wore expressions of disappointment. "What? So Teacher Nakamura is only a Chunin? I thought he was at least a Jonin!"

Homeroom teacher Nakamura Hino's expression froze upon hearing the student's remark.

"Yeah, I thought the teacher was a Jonin too. I didn't expect him to be so weak," Nakamura Hino felt as if his heart had been pierced by an arrow.

"The teacher is such a disappointment," Nakamura Hino felt his heart being pierced by another arrow.

"..." The students in the class began to whisper among themselves.

Hearing what the students were saying, homeroom teacher Nakamura Hino's face flushed red. Clearly, he had expected the students to admire him, but instead, they were showing contempt, which naturally made him feel embarrassed.

However, hearing these brazen brats go further and further, he couldn't take it anymore and said angrily, "Do you think Jonin grow on trees? The number of Jonin in the entire village is limited. To become a Jonin, one must be one in a hundred among Chunin. You children have no idea what Jonin or the Hokage represent!"

Mirai couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of his homeroom teacher. It was clear that while these children all dreamed of becoming Hokage, they didn't yet understand the reality of being a ninja. Jonin were not so easily attained; what Nakamura Hino said was absolutely correct—a Jonin was a one-in-a-hundred existence among Chunin.

Possessing powerful combat awareness and judgment, a Jonin represents the backbone of the village's combat strength. Whether a ninja village is powerful or not is closely tied to the number of Jonin it possesses.

Every Jonin has combat power that cannot be ignored. The Land of Fire's Konoha Village, as the largest village in the ninja world, has a number of Jonin that is not even in the double digits—well, saying double digits might be an exaggeration; in reality, both publicly and secretly, the number likely doesn't exceed twenty. Of course, that doesn't include members of the major clans; if they were included, the number would be higher, but it would still certainly not exceed double digits.

"Then teacher, what does a Jonin represent?"

"A Jonin is a big shot in Konoha Village, someone very worthy of respect. Furthermore, only Jonin can accept S-rank missions. If you want to become a Hokage that everyone respects, you must first become an elite Jonin. Before becoming an elite Jonin, there are Jonin, Special Jonin, elite Chunin, Chunin, and Genin. But you have only just started school; you aren't even Genin yet, so you are still a long way off. Now you know how amazing your teacher is, right? Study hard!"

"Understood, teacher!" all the students replied in unison, and Nakamura Hino was finally satisfied and nodded.

"Very well, let's continue the lesson. The morning session is for basic subjects, learning fundamental culture and theory, and the afternoon is for practical training. Let's start with the basics. First, we must understand the history of the Ninja Academy. The Ninja Academy was established by the Second Hokage..." Nakamura Hino began his lecture.

Mirai also began to listen carefully and earnestly. After all, this was part of the main quest, and having a super genius sitting right next to him in the same class was truly a lot of pressure.

If the main quest isn't completed, he faces erasure. Mirai didn't have the courage to test whether the system's threat was real, but it was certainly useful to him. He had arrived in this anime world inexplicably, and inexplicably possessed a Mall System. Since the most incredible things had already happened, he wasn't about to risk his life.

It seemed he really had to study hard. He refused to believe that while he wasn't a top student back on Earth, he certainly wasn't a failure either. If he couldn't even outperform these children, that would be too embarrassing.

In the Hokage office building, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, had returned to his office and sat at his desk to continue his work. The Hokage's duties were extremely complex, and now that the ninja world had just begun to stabilize, affairs from all sides needed to be handled.

"Creak!" The door to the Hokage office was pushed wide open, and a slightly elderly man walked in. He was quite old, but his spirit was still good. He held a pipe in his hand, puffing on it from time to time, and wore a conical hat with the character for "Three" written on it. If Mirai had come here and seen this old man, he would certainly have recognized him as the Third Hokage of Konoha—Sarutobi Sasuke.

Seeing the Third Hokage enter, Namikaze Minato quickly stood up and said, "Lord Third!"

The Third Hokage waved his hand and said with a smile, "You are the Hokage now; there is no need to be so formal. What do you think of the students who started school this time?"

Minato smiled and said, "They are all good children who dream of becoming Hokage. Seeing them reminds me of when I was young. They are all good seeds."

"Are there any particularly good ones?"

Namikaze Minato rubbed his chin, thought for a moment, and then said with a smile, "It's hard to know for sure after just the first meeting, and they are all just starting out, not having learned the basics yet. However, I do feel there are a few who stand out. There is a girl from the Hyuga Clan who awakened her Byakugan early, and there are also two boys from the Uchiha Clan. The members of Konoha's two major clans are truly extraordinary." As he spoke, he couldn't help but reveal a smile of admiration.

"Children from the Hyuga and Uchiha clans, eh? Both major clans are very restrictive with their own members; it is almost impossible for them to become part of a new faction," the Third Hokage said with a frown.