Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, it was the eighth year of Konoha. It was still a safe and peaceful year. The hustle and bustle of the New Year gradually faded, but a different atmosphere than in past years permeated Konoha. On January 15th of the sixth year of Konoha, the Ninja Academy held its first enrollment.
On January 15th of the eighth year of Konoha, the first batch of students graduated. Since the academy's inaugural enrollment did not strictly limit age, many older students were mixed in, generally reaching twelve or thirteen years old. Uchiha Chiri approved a batch of students who passed the examinations to graduate early. Graduating in two years... Put in later generations, it was equivalent to a crash course diploma. However, as the first batch of graduates from the Konoha Ninja Academy, the gold content of these people was beyond doubt, and many big figures in Konoha personally came to witness the ceremony. Toji was naturally among them. He deliberately asked for a day off from Gospel Hospital to accompany Uchiha Chiri to the graduation ceremony. This was already his third year coming to Konoha. Many parents in the crowd were patients he had treated back at the Gospel Clinic. Three years had passed, and they looked much older. Seeing Toji, they respectfully stepped forward to greet him. Some of them even exclaimed in surprise: "Lord Toji, three years have passed, why do you look even younger instead?" Because of chakra, people in the Shinobi World generally matured and aged early. Yet after three years, Toji actually looked younger. Toji smiled and nodded in greeting to each of them. Ever since the day he handed the Yin Seal over to Uchiha Chiri, the original five hearts in his body—except for the Fire Release heart belonging to the Uchiha jōnin—had all gradually withered and died due to excessive burden. Toji had smoothly replaced them all with the hearts of Chunin sent by Uchiha Yan. While durability increased accordingly, it also injected a new vitality into his body. He was ridiculously healthy. Besides that. Under the accumulation of heavy human lives, Toji could already summon fifty Summoning Talisman Papers at once. The goal of "a hundred sheets of talisman paper covering the sacrifice to summon the dead" was getting closer and closer. The modification of the Yin Seal also entered a critical stage; the spiritual energy accumulation part had been rewritten, and with just the final step of precisely blending physical and spiritual energy, he could achieve daily chakra accumulation. Today's Toji, even without sleeping, waking up at four in the morning to look at the Kage Rock giant heads would not feel tired. Having eaten the free meals of the four major clans—Uchiha, Senju, Hyuga, and Sarutobi—for half a year, Toji had already learned most of the conventional five-element ninjutsu, and in the process of learning, maintained friendly relations with these shinobi clans. He was an honored guest wherever he went. As for the Curse Mark, Toji had to admit he lacked this talent, and Matsumoto Kazuka's performance was also mediocre. He could only hope that Orochinaru would be born soon and work for him under his mother's personal tutelage. As for Uchiha Yan, relying on the intelligence provided by Toji, she successfully evaded the encirclement and suppression of the Uchiha investigation team five times. She gained a firm foothold in the Land of Rice Fields, and the scale of the Akatsuki Ninja Corps under her command broke through ten people, which could also be considered a regional boss. This was the year-end summary Toji gave himself. ... After tidying himself up, Toji put on the white haori that had accompanied him for three years and was still as clean as new. After changing into this iconic attire, he set off for the Ninja Academy. Soon, Toji met Uchiha Chiri in the principal's office. Just as she herself had said, she was a genius; during the New Year period, she successfully mastered the Yin Seal, gaining the ability to accumulate chakra and retain eternal youth. At this moment, there was a purple diamond-shaped mark on the center of her forehead. The Yin Seal tested precise chakra manipulation skills the most, which had nothing to do with strength and depended purely on talent. Even the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, accustomed to the combat style of grand gestures and overwhelming force, might not be able to achieve such micro-level chakra manipulation. After initial trials and failures, Chiri figured out a way to store Primordial Chakra. She insisted on regularly opening her eyes at fixed times every day, sealing that portion of redundant Primordial Chakra between her eyebrows. Day after day, it accumulated into a large amount. Only, the process of storing Primordial Chakra was extremely mentally taxing and could not share the same seal with ordinary chakra; the two could not be balanced simultaneously. Therefore, Chiri's Yin Seal now had only two functions: storing Primordial Chakra and maintaining youthful looks. Under Toji's calculations, at the current rate of Primordial Chakra accumulation, it would probably take about a year to save enough to effectively stimulate the brain. A year. Not too long, not too short. Toji was not clear on which exact year the Battle of the Valley of the End would break out, but with the prospect of Hashirama Senju mastering Senjutsu, that day was clearly not far away. And once the curtain fell on the Battle of the Valley of the End, the progress of the entire Shinobi World would drive into the fast lane. Distribution of the Tailed Beasts, Hashirama's passing, World Wars...
That was a pacifist's hell, yet it was the grandest stage for ambitious schemers.
Toji only wanted to cultivate a Mangekyō Sharingan parasite as soon as possible, so that he could dance to his heart's content upon this tumultuous stage.
"Toji-kun, you're here."
Chiri stood up to welcome him, the gaze she directed toward Toji brimming with tenderness.
In her eyes, Toji was reserved and implicit, not one to use words to lay bare his feelings, yet every single action of his had long since laid bare that care for her without reservation.
Maintaining youthful looks, exploring a cure for the Bloodline Disease...
This was precisely his most heartfelt sentiment.
"Yeah."
Toji glanced around. "Where are the Hokage and the others?"
"They're in the conference room right now. What comes next will give the Hokage a headache for a while."
Toji felt somewhat curious. "What sort of problem happened?"
"The assignment of instructors."
Chiri explained, handing the classified graduation roster into his hands.
The first batch of students to graduate early—neither too many nor too few—amounted to precisely thirty people.
Toji's gaze swept over them; they were all familiar names.
"Takayuki Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Shimura Danzō, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, Kagami Uchiha, Kenji Uchiha... Matsumoto Kazuka."
Konoha's bronze little roaches were graduating one after another.
The sensation of generational turnover rushed toward him.
Toji remarked with emotion, "Time really flies. They're all graduating."
"Yes."
Chiri profoundly agreed. "The various clans haven't truly adapted to the shinobi village system yet, dispatching Jōnin one after another, fighting over who gets to serve as the instructors for this batch of graduates. They're probably still carrying past habits, wanting to take the opportunity to pull in connections, or else worrying that their own kin might be led astray by an outsider instructor, proposing that their own clan's Jōnin teach their own descendants."
"The Hokage must have refused." Toji spoke up.
"Mhm, the Hokage didn't agree. In the first batch of graduates, there are commoner shinobi and small-clan shinobi. Following that kind of system, they wouldn't have anyone to lead them after graduating."
"Lord Hokage wants fairness."
"The rule tentatively settled on for now is that within a single shinobi team, at most only one person can share the same clan as the instructor."
Chiri's expression was relaxed. "However... these things have nothing to do with me anymore. I'm only responsible for teaching them into qualified Genin; as for the subsequent matters of squad assignment and leading teams, I won't tax my mind over it."
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