Enrollment Ceremony

"Th-this! What is this?!"

Staring at the astonishing sight before him, Yu gaped in stunned silence.

"So... so..."

After standing there dumbfounded for a long while, he finally came to his senses. A delighted expression spread across his face. "I get it!!"

It turned out—

What he had successfully learned wasn't the Rasengan used by the protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki!

It was the Rasengan used by the protagonist's son, Boruto Uzumaki!

Readers of Boruto: Naruto Next Generations knew that Boruto Uzumaki's Rasengan was different from the rest.

Not only could it be thrown as a ranged attack, it also turned invisible halfway through, as if it had disappeared. Even the Byakugan couldn't see it.

"How interesting..."

"I can't believe I learned such a special kind of Rasengan!"

Once he understood what had happened, Yu's chakra was completely depleted. He dropped onto the ground, unable to hide his excitement.

It was the year 44 of Konoha.

The genius ninja Hatake Kakashi had only invented the Chidori when he became a Jonin at the age of twelve.

And the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, who had yet to become the Fourth Hokage, hadn't developed the Rasengan either.

In other words, Yu was now the creator of the two signature techniques used by the main characters: the Chidori and the Rasengan!

"A Rasengan that disappears..."

"That's a mouthful. I'll call it the Vanishing Rasengan instead!"

Exhausted after his training, Yu simply lay down on the grass.

Gazing through the scattered branches overhead at Konoha's clear blue sky, he gave the Rasengan he'd completed a pretty good name.

After all, in the world of Naruto,

there was nothing a Rasengan couldn't solve. And if there was, just make it bigger. (Laughs)

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Outside the large wooden building that housed the Konoha Orphanage, a crowd had gathered.

"I'm so jealous..."

"Yu... you lucky guy..."

Among the children from the Konoha Orphanage,

Urushi, who was usually closest to Yu, cheered him on loudly.

"Make sure you do your best at the Ninja Academy!"

"After all, you're the most talented kid at our orphanage!"

Though he never liked to admit defeat, it was clear that deep down, Urushi both envied and admired Yu's talent and hard work.

"Waaah, I don't want Yu to go!"

Needless to say, Mayuna and Momoka, Yu's two biggest fans, looked especially reluctant to see him leave.

"You guys are being a little dramatic..."

Seeing Urushi, Mayuna, and the others looking so sad, Yu's mouth twitched helplessly. "I'm just going to the Ninja Academy, not leaving for some faraway place. I'll be back tonight."

"Yu, I'm sorry."

"Today is such an important day, but I can't go with you to the enrollment ceremony..."

Just then, Yakushi Nonō, standing nearby, gave him an apologetic look.

Her gentle face showed signs of weariness. Lately, injured ninjas returning from the front lines had been gathering outside the village in large numbers.

As a medical ninja, she had spent much of the recent period treating those wounded ninjas and earning money for the orphanage.

"Don't be silly, Headmistress."

In the face of Yakushi Nonō's apologetic expression, Yu comforted her as if he were the adult and she the child.

"It's just an enrollment ceremony. It's no big deal. I'm off!"

With that, Yu's small figure disappeared into the woods as Yakushi Nonō and Urushi watched him go.

The Ninja Academy

was made up of several buildings with white walls and yellow-tiled roofs.

It stood not far from the Hokage Office Building.

The words "Konoha Ninja Academy" were written on the building.

A banner hung below: "Welcome to the Enrollment Ceremony."

The gates stood open. Two Chunins greeted visitors at the entrance, while the schoolyard was packed with parents and children who had come to enroll.

"There are so many people..."

After walking over to the enrollment desk and handing in his documents and application,

Yu looked around curiously. The vast Ninja Academy grounds were packed with ninja parents and their children.

Every so often, Yu spotted a familiar face among the new students.

"I wonder if that guy will be enrolling today."

His gaze swept across the crowd, but he couldn't find Uchiha Shisui anywhere. Yu couldn't help murmuring to himself.

But as soon as he said that, he spotted a familiar figure walking through the Ninja Academy gates.

"Yu!!"

"I knew it! I knew you'd be here today!"

Uchiha Shisui had spotted Yu's striking white hair in the crowd at a glance.

His eyes lit up, and he pushed his way through the crowd to Yu.

"Are you... here to enroll by yourself today, too?"

Seeing that Uchiha Shisui had indeed shown up, Yu smiled.

But when he noticed that no parent had come with Shisui, he hesitated.

"Ah..."

Noticing Yu's hesitant gaze,

Shisui's eyes dimmed. "Yeah. My grandfather died on the battlefield when my father was very young..."

"And my parents passed away when I was little, too..."

After explaining in a deliberately casual tone, Shisui quickly put on his usual cheerful smile again and looked at Yu. "So my grandmother raised me."

"I'm sorry."

Yu hadn't expected the usually gentle, cheerful Shisui to have such a tragic past. His eyes widened, and he quickly apologized.

Right... how could I forget?

Shisui was Kagami Uchiha's grandson... His family was already gone.

"It's okay."

When Yu apologized, Shisui laughed it off. Then, looking at Yu, who had also come to enroll alone, he asked with a hint of confusion, "Yu, are you here by yourself, too?"

"Uh..." Faced with Shisui's questioning look, Yu paused, then smiled.

"Yeah. I'm an orphan the Konoha Orphanage brought back from the battlefield."

It wasn't a lie. Although he hadn't been an orphan in his previous life,

in this life, he really was a war orphan found on the battlefield and brought back to the Konoha Orphanage.

"I see."

Shisui understood.

Looking at Yu, who was both exceptionally gifted and strikingly handsome, Shisui felt an even stronger kinship with him.

They were both talented young geniuses.

The fact that they shared similarly tragic pasts really did bring them closer.

"Waaah!!!"

"He's so handsome! Looks like there are some cute boys among this year's newcomers!!"

While Yu and Shisui chatted,

the windows of the Ninja Academy building were already crowded with onlookers.

A group of older girls had gone wild at the sight of Yu, so handsome and refined, and Shisui, so sunny and cheerful, standing in the schoolyard.

"The black-haired one has such a cute smile!"

One girl clutched her chest, her eyes dramatically turning into hearts.

"I don't like that guy's dumpling nose..."

"Look at the white-haired one! He's so handsome!!"

A few other girls had very different opinions.

Their cheeks flushed, they looked like they might faint at any moment.

("Shenyin" is a Chinese term with two meanings: "the disappearance of a god, or a god making you disappear," and "being hidden away by spirits or monsters.")