Seats

With the start time drawing near, a big shot finally arrived: the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He had a blond boy and a blond girl with him. The two stayed by the Third Hokage's side, like a pair of golden children.

It was obvious he had come especially to see Naruto Uzumaki and Senju Kotoha off to school.

A politician like Hiruzen Sarutobi wouldn't pass up a small gesture like this, one that could bring him closer to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. After all, it cost him nothing. All it took was a little company, and he could easily earn the trust and gratitude of an innocent child.

With the Third Hokage there beside him, Naruto Uzumaki was incredibly excited and grateful. Senju Kotoha, on the other hand, was unmoved, remaining calm and indifferent.

In the original story, even after the Third Hokage died and the truth was finally revealed, Naruto still held on to the gratitude and affection he'd felt as a child. He fought with all his might to protect the Konoha Hidden Village and fulfill his dream of becoming Hokage.

As far as the outcome went, the Third Hokage's approach had undoubtedly worked. By playing on people's emotions, he had kept the powerful Nine-Tails under his control while also making Naruto deeply attached to him and to the Hokage.

But using schemes to put someone in a bind, then rescuing them so they'd feel grateful—using that kind of manipulation on a child was despicable.

The crowd parted of its own accord when the Hokage appeared, allowing him to walk to the very front.

The Third Hokage seemed extremely approachable, greeting the people around him one after another. You'd never guess he was one of the people responsible for Hizashi's death.

With the Hokage there to lend his support, the crowd stopped bringing up Naruto's identity as the Nine-Tailed Fox, and stopped talking about Senju Kotoha's background, too.

This made Naruto admire the Third Hokage even more. In his simple way of thinking, if he became Hokage, no one would ever call him a "Nine-Tails brat" again. Then everyone would accept him.

With the Hokage's arrival, the Ninja Academy entrance ceremony began.

The ceremony was very simple. Students found their previous team leaders, then lined up together to watch it on the school grounds.

After that, the Third Hokage stepped onto the stage and gave a speech about the so-called Will of Fire.

Many of the children listening below were fired up. They seemed ready to give their lives for the village on the spot.

Listening to the Third Hokage's speech, Ito Makoto felt that something was terribly off. Was the Third Hokage serious?

"Wherever the leaves dance, the fire burns. Its light will illuminate the next generation."

It sounded convincing enough, with its message of sacrificing oneself for the sake of children.

But under the Third Hokage's rule, the reality was exactly the opposite.

The age at which students graduated from the Ninja Academy had always been low. The normal graduation age was twelve. Yet Taijutsu-only Might Guy graduated at seven, while Uchiha Obito, supposedly the dead last, graduated at nine. Ordinary students who weren't dead last surely graduated by nine at the latest.

These children were sent to the battlefield at such a young age. Their chances of survival were easy to imagine.

As a result, the average lifespan of a ninja was extremely short—less than forty years.

Yet the Third Hokage's generation, including Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, and Mitokado Homura, were all known for reaching unusually old ages, rare in the Ninja World. The Third Hokage was now over sixty.

It was extremely rare across the entire Ninja World for so many village leaders to survive to such an advanced age.

And the price of that achievement was the sacrifice of countless young people and children.

And he still talked about caring for the next generation and sacrificing for children? It was practically a joke. The children were the ones sacrificing themselves to protect the old.

Watching the Third Hokage speak without so much as blushing, Ito Makoto silently gave him a thumbs-up. He really was a politician, with a face as thick as a wall.

After that, the entrance ceremony ended, and the students were led to their classrooms.

Under their teacher's guidance, the students began choosing their own seats.

The chairs in the classroom were arranged in three columns: left, middle, and right. Each column had three rows, with three chairs in each row. That made exactly twenty-seven seats for the students.

Ito Makoto picked a seat in the back by the window. As the saying went, the back row by the window was the king's hometown.

Sakura followed Ito Makoto to the back and sat right beside him.

"Sakura, why did you come over here?" Ito Makoto asked, puzzled. Shouldn't Sakura have gone to see Sasuke? In the story, she'd always been infatuated with him.

It wasn't that he was being coy. He really did think of Sakura as a little sister, with no other intentions.

Back in his previous life, when he watched anime, he'd often joked about things like "lolis are the best." But in real life, he didn't like little girls.

After all, how old was a three-year-old girl? In his previous life, she might have only just stopped wearing diapers and still struggled to speak clearly. Who would have those kinds of thoughts about a child that age? Even in this world, where children matured physically and mentally at a younger age, a three-year-old was still just a little kid.

Ito Makoto's soul belonged to an adult. Even though his body had become smaller, his tastes still ran to older women. Even though Sakura was the heroine and would grow into a beauty, he still saw her as his little sister.

"What, is that not okay? A-Cheng, do you hate me or something?" Sakura tilted her head and challenged him.

Seeing the dangerous glint in Sakura's eyes, Ito Makoto gave an awkward smile.

"N-no, of course not."

After Sakura gained chakra, her punches got stronger by the day. It was almost as if she grew stronger every twenty-four hours.

If she got angry and punched him, even his Senju body, combined with all his Taijutsu training, couldn't take it. It hurt like hell.

And since his talent had already been noted by Mika, she always let Sakura's occasional outbursts slide. If he complained, his mother might even accuse him of being petty.

Besides, the restraint of his adult soul kept him from arguing with Sakura, whom he saw as his little sister.

Ito Makoto and Sakura chose their seats first, and the others began taking theirs one by one.

In the original story, Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto sat in the same row. Now that Sakura wasn't there, Yamanaka Ino, who was captivated by Sasuke's good looks, naturally wanted to sit beside him.

But just as she was about to pull her friend along, as if by fate, Naruto snatched a seat and sat down beside Sasuke first. There was only one seat left in the row of three.

But Ino couldn't leave her friend behind, so Yamanaka Masami dragged her away, and they sat elsewhere. Hinata claimed the remaining seat.

Senju Kotoha walked to the back row and sat beside Sakura. Ueda Shin, who had originally wanted to claim the seat next to Sakura, was pushed out and had to find somewhere else to sit.

Why had Senju Kotoha come over here? Ito Makoto grew suspicious. Could she have guessed that he was a Transmigrator?

Ito Makoto thought back over his actions. He hadn't revealed anything that might give away that he was a Transmigrator. He hadn't used any special powers, either. His Sharingan and Rinnegan were hidden behind his sunglasses, so outsiders couldn't see them.

There shouldn't have been any telltale signs. He fell into thought.

Once the students had all found their seats, Iruka stood at the podium and said with a smile,

"Students, I'm your homeroom teacher, Umino Iruka. I'll be here with you over the next few years as you go through your studies at the Ninja Academy. If you run into any trouble or need anything, you can come straight to me."

"Can I come to you if I want Ichiraku Ramen, too?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"You can," Iruka said, looking a little awkward. "But a teacher's salary isn't much, so don't empty my wallet, all right?"

"What an idiot. Don't make trouble for the teacher," Sasuke said, glancing at Naruto.

"Hey! Who are you calling an idiot?" Naruto instantly bristled, glaring at Sasuke as if they'd been natural enemies from the start.