Chakra

"My name is Kushina Uzumaki, and my dream is to become the first female Hokage of Konoha!!!" Kushina stood up, closed her eyes, and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"My name is Uchiha Matsuri, and like most of my classmates, my dream is also to become Hokage." Uchiha Matsuri stood up and said calmly, his face expressionless.

"Wow, so that boy's name is Uchiha Matsuri!" a girl turned to her desk mate and whispered.

"I didn't expect his dream to be becoming Hokage, too."

"Right? But he's actually more likely to become Hokage than any of us!"

"Yeah, I heard he's staying with Lord Jiraiya. Plus, with his Uchiha bloodline, he's bound to be an incredible ninja in the future."

Uchiha Matsuri ignored these comments and turned to look out the window, which meant he failed to notice the strange look Ino Yamanaka was casting his way.

"A brat from the Uchiha Clan, this is getting interesting," Ino Yamanaka said with a playful smirk.

What Uchiha Matsuri did not know was that before the Second Shinobi World War, no student from the Uchiha Clan had ever enrolled in the Ninja Academy. This was naturally due to the Uchiha family's inherent arrogance and conceit, as well as the clan head's insistence on an internal education policy. Consequently, Uchiha Matsuri had become the first member of the Uchiha Clan to ever enroll in the Ninja Academy.

Seeing that everyone had finished their self-introductions, Ino Yamanaka gave a soft huff. He secretly sighed that very few of these brats would ever make it to the rank of Jonin, let alone become Hokage; it was simply overestimating their own capabilities.

However, even if their dreams were unrealistic, having a dream was better than having none at all.

"Hmm, not bad, everyone's dreams are quite wonderful! However..." At this point, Ino Yamanaka's lips curled upward, and he suddenly shouted, "You have one month. In one month, I will hold a test. If you haven't been able to refine chakra by then, you can just get lost. The Ninja Academy isn't a vegetable market where you can come and go as you please or graduate whenever you want!"

The classroom fell deathly silent. Some students who had just been lost in the reverie of their dreams turned ashen-faced; the room was so quiet that one could hear the sound of people swallowing hard. Only a few, such as Uchiha Matsuri, Minato Namikaze, and Kushina Uzumaki, remained composed, staring straight at Ino Yamanaka.

I didn't expect this teacher to try and intimidate these kids the moment he arrived, Uchiha Matsuri thought with a faint scoff.

"Hahaha, are you scared? If you're scared, then get out of here right now! Anyone frightened by a single sentence is not qualified to be a ninja!" Ino Yamanaka slammed his cane hard against the floor.

"Hmph, we aren't scared!"

"That's right! We aren't just going to be ninjas, we're going to be great ninjas!"

The chattering in the classroom seemed to be a release of their dissatisfaction with Ino Yamanaka's disdain.

Very good, I've finally stirred up these little ones' passion and fighting spirit for learning, Ino Yamanaka thought to himself.

"Very well, then I will start by explaining the knowledge regarding chakra." Ino Yamanaka nodded with satisfaction and continued, "Chakra is a form of energy produced by the perfect fusion of the various components of physical and spiritual energy within the human body. It is the source of energy for performing ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, or for creating threads to bind opponents or sever substances composed of chakra."

"Chakra is converted from both physical and spiritual energy. There are seven natures of chakra: Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Yin, and Yang. After extracting chakra, one must use 'hand seals' to perform a 'jutsu'..."

For the rest of the day, Ino Yamanaka only lectured on the basics of chakra and the methods for refining it.

Evening.

Upon returning home, Uchiha Matsuri flicked on the light.

"Lord Jiraiya is indeed not home," Uchiha Matsuri muttered, looking at the empty house.

"Chakra, huh?"

Uchiha Matsuri stared at his hand, slowly closed his eyes, and held his breath. A few seconds later, he felt a warm current darting around inside his body.

"It seems I've already managed to refine chakra," Uchiha Matsuri said to himself. "But the chakra I've refined isn't stable enough yet. It looks like I need to practice more."

At almost the same time, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki were each trying to refine chakra in their own bedrooms, yet neither of them succeeded after two hours of continuous attempts.

Over the next month, Ino Yamanaka spent his time lecturing on the history of Konoha. Uchiha Matsuri would be so bored during the day that he would doze off, while at night, he would focus his mind on refining chakra. As for his desk mate, Kushina Uzumaki, Uchiha Matsuri didn't pay much attention to her; after all, in the original story, this girl grew up to be Minato Namikaze's wife.

One month later, Ino Yamanaka held a test on chakra refinement.

In the test, Uchiha Matsuri passed with the top score, while Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki followed closely behind, taking second and third place. The test reduced the number of students in Uchiha Matsuri's class from 50 to 33.

"To think only 17 were weeded out; these little ones aren't bad at all!" Ino Yamanaka muttered to himself.

Uchiha Matsuri scanned his surroundings. Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, Chōji Dōtō, Akimichi Chōza, Kiba Inuzuka, Yamanaka Inoichi, Shikaku Nara, Nohara Shin... all these familiar names were still in the classroom.

Clearing his throat, Ino Yamanaka said loudly, "I'm gratified to see so many of you left. However, don't get too happy yet. Since the Ninja War is nearing its end, the Third Hokage has decided that starting with your class, everyone must study at the academy for three years before they can graduate."

"Furthermore, at the end of each semester, you will undergo final exams in the form of 'written tests plus practical combat drills.' Additionally, in three years, if you wish to graduate successfully, you must pass the final graduation exam. Those who fail will have their graduation delayed by one year."

After Ino Yamanaka finished speaking, the classroom erupted, just as he had expected.

"What is this! Do we really have to sit here for three years just to graduate?" Nohara Shin, sitting in the back row, couldn't help but complain.

He was an unremarkable-looking boy, but although his test scores weren't great, he was the most active student in the class, which left a deep impression on Uchiha Matsuri.

"Sigh, compared to staying here for three years, I'm even more repulsed by the final exam every semester," Chōji Dōtō said, staring blankly ahead.

"Exactly, and there's the final graduation exam too. It's really a headache," Shikaku Nara complained, looking at Ino Yamanaka with a pout.

Hearing Shikaku Nara's complaint, Uchiha Matsuri instinctively turned and glanced at him.