Farewell to the Orphanage and Class Advancement (Please Vote, Follow, and Recommend)

The bell rang, and the school exams came to an end. The students filed out of the examination rooms one after another. Like every exam, some were happy while others were dejected. Taiichi, who was about to return to the classroom, happened to run into his friends leaving the exam room and happily went up to greet them.

"How did everyone do?" Taiichi asked Shizune, who was walking at the front.

"We did pretty well, but..." Shizune covered her mouth and giggled softly, then turned to look at Obito, who was hanging his head in despair behind them.

"What's wrong? It isn't the first time you haven't done well. Why do you look like you're about to die?" Taiichi was a little puzzled. Obito had done poorly before, but he had never left an exam looking this devastated.

"Obito got caught cheating. The teacher said he was going to make a home visit! He's afraid his grandma will find out," Rin said from beside them.

"Ahhh! How could this happen?" Obito looked as though the sky were falling, radiating a heavy gloom.

"Obito, don't give up! How can youth give up so easily? Here, I'll go beg Teacher Yamada with you later and ask him to let you off this once." Guy encouraged Obito from the side, hoping to reignite his fighting spirit.

"By the way, Taiichi, how did your assessment go? Did you pass?" Shizune asked.

"Yeah, everything went smoothly. I can come to school tomorrow for class assignments."

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

While Taiichi was exchanging pleasantries with his friends, Sarutobi Matsuya was reporting the results of the assessment in the Hokage's Office.

"Oh? He defeated Nagashima Hikaru in one minute?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Although Chunin Nagashima underestimated him, Taichi Matsushita's strength has indeed far surpassed that of an ordinary Genin." Recalling Taiichi's exquisite ninjutsu and fierce swordsmanship, Sarutobi Matsuya reported truthfully.

It seems I underestimated him. Konoha's saplings, grow quickly. The Ninja World looks like it is about to become unsettled again. Hiruzen Sarutobi thought to himself.

"All right, you may leave now."

"Yes."

After Sarutobi Matsuya left the office, Hiruzen Sarutobi rose and walked onto the Balcony. He lit the pipe already packed with tobacco and puffed away, gazing at Konoha before him through the hazy smoke. Thinking of the younger generation—Hatake Kakashi and Taichi Matsushita—the young adults—Minato Namikaze—and the prime generation—the Sannin and Hatake Sakumo—Konoha's talents were endless, easing much of his concern over the coming war.

After saying goodbye to his friends, Taiichi arrived at the Orphanage. The moment he pushed open the courtyard gate, seven or eight children sprang out from beneath the shade of the trees like popping popcorn, their mud-stained little hands scrambling to tug at his pant legs.

"Big Brother Taiichi!" Yami, with her crooked pigtails, was the first to pounce on him. Her candy-sticky cheek rubbed an oily mark onto his clothes. "You said you'd teach me how to throw Shuriken last time!"

"Watch me first!" Jiangtai eagerly pulled out a wooden Kunai, only to trip over himself. The children's laughter startled the sparrows beneath the eaves into flight. Taiichi casually hoisted the smallest boy onto his shoulders, and three or four warm little bodies immediately pressed against his sweaty back like tiny furnaces.

The scent of caramel drifted from the kitchen. When Nonō came out wearing a faded floral apron, she saw Taiichi being piled beneath the old locust tree by the children. He deliberately let out exaggerated cries of misery, making the children giggle. Blades of grass clung to his hair, glinting in the sunlight.

"Come eat, all of you!" Nonō called loudly.

The children crowded around Taiichi as they headed into the dining room. The sound of more than twenty pairs of chopsticks tapping against bowl rims was like a flock of woodpeckers holding a meeting. When he took out the Three-Color Dango wrapped in oiled paper, Jiangtai nearly squeezed over his wooden stool. Nonō quietly watched Taiichi distribute the snacks while surrounded by the children.

"This one's filled with red bean paste!" "I want the matcha one!" Amid the children's clamor, Taiichi suddenly looked up and smiled at her, the curve of his eyes still carrying childish innocence. Nonō tightened her grip on the ladle, and ripples spread across the steaming miso soup in the bowl.

By the time the moon had climbed above the treetops, the children had all been sent off to bathe. Only the sheets on the clothesline swayed gently in the evening breeze. Taiichi sat cross-legged beneath the eaves, wiping his Ninja Tool Pouch. The clink of metal clasps startled Nonō, who was gathering medicinal herbs.

"Tomorrow, you'll become a real ninja?" She shook the dirt from the herb roots, her voice lighter than falling honeysuckle petals.

"Haha, so you already knew." Taiichi, who had been sharpening his blade, scratched his head awkwardly. He had never told Nonō that he planned to graduate early.

"You're only seven." Nonō suddenly interrupted him. The sun-warmed bamboo tray struck the edge of the stone mortar with a crisp sound. From the drying yard came the splashing of Jiangtai's bare feet stomping through puddles, mixed with Yami's furious pursuit, like noise from another world.

The whetstone rasped softly in the night. Taiichi lowered his head. "Director, do you remember the day I first came to the Orphanage? I was a three-year-old child curled up and trembling inside a wardrobe, thinking no one in the world would ever want me again..."

Nonō's palm suddenly rested atop his head, the fresh scent of herbs covering the smell of rust. Her fingertips still carried melted beeswax from drying in the sun, warm as they seeped into the boy's sweat-dampened temples. "That little bean who used to hide beneath the blankets and cry is going to become a hero for the children now?"

"Yes. You used to protect us, Sister. From now on, I'll protect you too, along with everyone else."

The children's pattering footsteps drew closer. Jiangtai charged over like a cannonball with dripping wet hair, cold droplets splashing onto Taiichi's neck. Nonō watched him get dragged into the moonlight by the children tugging at his clothes, his deliberately straightened back gradually overlapping with the image of the boy curled up in the rainy night from her memories.

After tucking the last child into bed, Taiichi quietly closed the door.

At the entrance of the Orphanage, Taiichi, ready to say goodbye, did not forget to say, "Sister Nonō, I'm a ninja now, and the Orphanage doesn't have financial problems anymore. Take fewer missions and protect yourself."

"Brat, you're lecturing your sister now? If I hadn't asked, you wouldn't have told me about this..."

"Go on, get out of here!"

Gazing at Nonō, Taiichi suddenly stepped forward and gave her a tight hug before resolutely turning around and disappearing into the darkness ahead.

The next day, Ninja Academy, graduating students' classroom.

Taiichi followed the instructions and came here to report in. The moment he entered, he drew everyone's attention.

"Who is that? I don't know him!"

"Did he go to the wrong classroom?"

"Don't tell me he's a graduate too? He's way too young!"

The chatter continued without pause, but Taiichi ignored it and walked straight to an empty seat.

"You guys are seriously behind on the news. Don't you remember that person everyone was talking about before? The one who applied for early graduation."

"That's him? He doesn't even look eight yet."

At that moment, a Chunin teacher entered the classroom. He stepped onto the podium and began speaking. "Quiet. Since you are here, it means you have passed the assessment and are about to become official ninjas. Don't go around chattering like birds without any discipline."

"First, let me introduce myself. My name is Miyamoto Den, and I am responsible for your graduation and class assignments."

"Next, when I call your name, come up to receive your Headband and Ninja ID."

"Yusuke Inada." Someone from the back walked forward. The teacher handed him his Headband and Ninja ID, not forgetting to encourage him. "Work hard!"

"Itsu Murayama."

"Taichi Matsushita."

Hearing his name, Taiichi immediately stood up and walked forward excitedly. Finally, I'm about to change classes. Sure enough, the moment he received his Headband and Ninja ID, prompts began appearing nonstop on his panel. After returning to his seat, Taiichi immediately focused his attention on them.

[Your Genin class has reached Lv10, the maximum level. Class advancement requirements: 1. Strength 15 points, 2. Agility 15 points, 3. Three Body Technique Lv6, 4. Master at least one ninjutsu, 5. Remain at the Ninja Academy for at least two years. All five requirements have been met. Beginning class advancement.]

[Class advancement successful. Relevant experience converted. Class: Genin Lv1 (45/100)]

[Constitution +1, Strength +1, Agility +1, Spirit +1]

[Obtained Talent: Potent]

[Potent: The power of all ninjutsu you cast is increased by 50%.]

[Attribute Points +1, Skill Points +1]

After reading the new panel notifications and feeling the sudden surge of power within him, Taiichi could not help but rejoice inwardly. Once the rising power settled down, he focused on the teacher again, only to find that all his classmates had already received their Headbands and Ninja IDs.

Teacher Miyamoto looked at the newly promoted Genin below after they had calmed down and began his speech. "First of all, congratulations, everyone. From today onward, you are true ninjas."

After saying that, he took the lead in applauding, and everyone below followed suit.

When the applause gradually died down, Teacher Miyamoto gestured for everyone to quiet down. "I'm sure your teachers have already told you that you did not come here today merely to receive your Headbands and Ninja IDs. You are also here to be assigned to classes."

"Class assignment means dividing you into teams of three, each led by an experienced Jonin to carry out missions together. From now on, you will be each other's closest companions and most trusted comrades-in-arms."