The Bronze Underdogs of the Ninja Academy

Time flew, and in the blink of an eye, it was the 8th year of Konoha.

It remained a stable and peaceful year.

As the bustle of the New Year gradually faded, a different atmosphere than in previous years permeated Konoha Village—

On January 15th, Konoha Year 6, the Ninja Academy held its first enrollment;

On January 15th, Konoha Year 8, the first batch of students graduated.

Because the first enrollment of the Ninja Academy did not strictly limit age, it was mixed with many older students, most of whom were generally twelve or thirteen years old.

Uchiha Chirori approved a batch of students who passed the assessment to graduate early.

Graduating in two years...

In later generations, this would be equivalent to a crash-course diploma.

However, as the first graduates of the Konoha Ninja Academy, the quality of this group was beyond doubt, and many of Konoha's big figures attended the ceremony in person.

Toji was naturally among them.

He specifically took a day off from the Gospel Hospital to accompany Uchiha Chirori to the graduation ceremony.

This was already his third year in Konoha.

Many parents in the crowd were patients he had treated back when he was at the small Gospel clinic. Three years had passed, and they looked much older; upon seeing Toji, they stepped forward one after another to greet him with respect.

One of them even exclaimed in surprise:

"Lord Toji, three years have passed, how do you look even younger?"

People in the Ninja World tended to mature and age early due to chakra.

Yet, after three years, Toji looked even younger than before.

Toji smiled and nodded to each of them in greeting.

Ever since the day he handed the Yin Seal over to Uchiha Chirori, the five hearts originally in his body—aside from the Fire Style heart of that Uchiha Jonin—had all gradually necrotized due to overload.

Toji had taken the opportunity to replace them all with the hearts of Chunin sent by Uchiha Yan.

While the durability increased, it also injected a new vitality into his body.

He was incredibly healthy.

Beyond that.

Accumulated through the weight of many lives, Toji could now summon fifty summoning paper charms at once. The goal of "covering the sacrifice with a hundred paper charms to summon the dead" was drawing ever closer.

The modification of the Yin Seal had also entered a critical stage; the portion for accumulating spiritual energy had been rewritten, and only the final step remained—precisely balancing physical energy and spiritual energy to achieve daily chakra storage.

Nowadays, even if Toji didn't sleep, he wouldn't feel tired even if he got up at four in the morning to watch the Hokage Rock.

Having spent half a year eating the "hundred-clan meals" of the four great clans—Uchiha, Senju, Hyuga, and Sarutobi—Toji had already learned most of the conventional Five Elements escape techniques, and in the process of learning, he had maintained friendly relations with these ninja clans.

He was an honored guest wherever he went.

As for the Cursed Seal, Toji had to admit he lacked the talent for it, and Matsumoto Waka's performance was equally mediocre. He could only hope that Orochimaru would be born soon, so he could work for him under his mother's personal instruction.

As for Uchiha Yan, relying on the intelligence provided by Toji, she had successfully dodged the encirclement and suppression of Uchiha investigation teams five times in a row. Having gained a firm foothold in the Land of Rice Fields, the scale of her Akatsuki Ninja Group had exceeded ten members, making her a big shot in her own right.

This was Toji's year-end summary for himself.

After tidying up.

Toji put on the white haori that had accompanied him for three years, which still looked as clean as new.

After changing into this iconic attire, he set off for the Ninja Academy.

Soon.

Toji met Uchiha Chirori in the principal's office.

Just as she had said, she was a genius; during the New Year, she successfully mastered the Yin Seal, gaining the ability to store chakra and maintain eternal youth.

At this moment, there was a purple diamond-shaped mark on her forehead.

The Yin Seal tested one's ability to precisely manipulate chakra; it had nothing to do with strength, only talent. Even the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, accustomed to a combat style of grand, sweeping movements and brute force, might not be able to achieve such minute chakra manipulation.

After initial attempts and failures, Chirori figured out the method to store Primordial Chakra. She insisted on opening her eyes at a fixed time every day to seal that portion of redundant Primordial Chakra into her forehead, day after day, accumulating bit by bit.

It was just that the process of storing Primordial Chakra was extremely mentally taxing and could not share the same seal as ordinary chakra; the two could not be balanced. Therefore, Chirori's Yin Seal currently only had two functions: storing Primordial Chakra and maintaining a youthful appearance.

According to Toji's calculations, at the current rate of Primordial Chakra accumulation, it would take about a year to save up enough to effectively stimulate the brain.

One year.

It was neither long nor short.

Toji did not know exactly which year the Battle of the Valley of the End would break out, but with the prospect of Senju Hashirama mastering Sage Art, that day was clearly not far off.

And once the curtain fell on the Battle of the Valley of the End, the entire Ninja World would enter the fast lane.

The distribution of Tailed Beasts, the passing of Hashirama, the Great Ninja Wars...

That was a hell for pacifists, but the grandest stage for ambitious men.

Toji only wanted to create a Mangekyo host as soon as possible, so that he could dance to his heart's content upon this turbulent stage.

"Toji-kun, you're here."

Chiru rose to greet him, her eyes filled with tenderness as she looked at Toji.

In her view, Toji was reserved and subtle, not one to express his feelings with words, yet his every action had long since laid bare his concern for her.

Maintaining her youthful appearance, searching for a cure for the Bloodline Disease...

These were his most sincere intentions.

"Mm."

Toji looked around. "Where are the Hokage and the others?"

"They are in the conference room right now. The upcoming matters will be enough to give the Hokage a headache for a while."

Toji was a bit curious. "What went wrong?"

"The assignment of instructors."

Chiru explained, handing the classified graduation list into his hands.

The first batch of students to graduate early numbered exactly thirty, no more, no less.

Toji's gaze swept over the names; they were all familiar.

"Senju Takayuki, Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzo, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura, Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Kenji... Matsumoto Waka."

Konoha's little bronze cockroaches were graduating one after another.

A sense of shifting eras washed over him.

Toji sighed with emotion, "Time flies so fast. They're all graduating now."

"Indeed."

Chiru nodded in deep agreement. "The various clans haven't truly adapted to the ninja village system yet. They've all sent Jonin, scrambling to serve as instructors for this batch of graduates. They're likely still clinging to old habits, wanting to use this opportunity to build connections, or perhaps they're worried their own kin will be led astray by instructors from other clans, so they've proposed that their own Jonin should teach their own juniors."

"The Hokage must have refused, then," Toji remarked.

"Mm, the Hokage did not agree. There are civilian ninjas and ninjas from minor clans among the first batch of graduates. Under such a system, they would have no one to lead them after graduation."

"Lord Hokage wants fairness."

"The rule tentatively decided upon for now is that in any given ninja squad, at most one person can be of the same clan as the instructor."

Chiru's expression was relaxed. "However... none of that has anything to do with me. I am only responsible for teaching them until they are qualified Genin; I won't trouble myself with the subsequent squad assignments and team leading."