Chapter 3

Today was the Ninja Academy's opening day. The day before, Grandma Uchiha Kaori had told Saitama that more than ten children from the clan would be enrolling this year, including Uchiha Shisui.

After bidding Grandma Kaori farewell that morning, Saitama headed toward the academy with light steps. Along the way, whenever he met fellow clan members he knew, they came forward to greet him; those unfamiliar with him simply nodded in acknowledgment. The clan had long grown accustomed to his maturity beyond his years.

Not long after leaving the Uchiha compound, a familiar shout came from the end of the street.

"Saitama! Saitama!"

Without turning around, Saitama knew it was Shisui. He raised a hand in greeting. "Yo, Shisui!" Then he bowed to Shisui's mother, Uchiha Orange, who was walking with him. "Hello, Auntie."

Orange smiled gently. "Morning, Saitama." After spending several days together, she had grown quite fond of this precocious child.

"Come with us." Orange did not mention that Saitama had registered by himself. Shisui immediately chimed in, "We can keep each other company!"

The closer they got to the Ninja Academy, the denser the crowd became. The spectacle before the school gates made Saitama feel as though he had returned to the first day of school in his previous life—parents from different worlds apparently all loved personally seeing their children off to school.

The Konoha Ninja Academy was open to all children of eligible age, but only those who passed the graduation assessment could obtain the rank of genin. With the Uchiha Clan name behind them, Saitama and Shisui quickly completed the registration process.

(Uchiha Orange waited outside the school gates like any ordinary mother. Upon entering, they found a vast ** before them, where several hundred new students had already gathered.

The moment the two entered the **, they drew many gazes. Saitama looked around and found that although the children were young, they had already vaguely formed their own circles.

Over here were members of the Inuzuka Clan, holding puppies in their arms with colorful markings painted across their faces; over there stood members of the Hyuga Clan, their Byakugan especially conspicuous; nearby were silent members of the Aburame Clan in sunglasses; and around Saitama gathered Uchiha clansmen with black hair and black eyes, dressed in high-collared black clothing.

The civilian students were all crowded together on the other side, the divide clearly drawn.

Saitama and Shisui followed their clansmen and stood among the Uchiha group.

"What are they doing?" Shisui asked in confusion.

He had always asked whenever he did not understand something.

"Probably a bunch of brats defending their clan's honor," Saitama answered in a lowered voice.

He could not say something like that too loudly. He had no desire to invite trouble.

As they chatted, registration finally ended. The entire area was packed, and Saitama estimated there were at least five hundred students. The noisy voices turned the Ninja Academy into a marketplace as children from different clans began cautiously testing the waters with one another.

"Hi, are you from the Uchiha Clan?" a dark-skinned boy took the initiative to strike up a conversation.

"I'm Uchiha Saitama." Saitama found the other boy somewhat familiar.

"I'm Umino Iruka. Nice to meet you!" The boy beamed brightly.

So this was Naruto's future teacher.

"Uchiha Shisui." Shisui introduced himself politely.

"I heard there'll be an entrance exam later, and we'll be assigned to classes too!" Iruka said excitedly.

"Oh?" Saitama was a little surprised that he knew that.

"I overheard it when I passed the teachers' area earlier," Iruka explained.

At that moment, a voice infused with chakra rang out across the entire grounds. "Quiet!"

The clamorous grounds instantly fell silent. The teachers stood atop a raised platform, and a bald middle-aged man at the front said, "I am the dean of students. Welcome to the academy. Next, we will conduct the entrance examination. Please cooperate with the teachers." With that, the teachers descended from the platform one after another.

There were too many new students, so the academy divided everyone into several groups and took them to different locations for the entrance tests.

Saitama, Shisui, and the newly acquainted Iruka remained where they were.

"The rules are simple," announced a nameless teacher wearing a Konoha forehead protector around his neck. "Run ten laps around the grounds. This is a dual test of physical fitness and perseverance. Based on your performance, you will be assigned to different classes. Anyone who cannot continue may raise their hand and withdraw. Understood?"

The moment he finished speaking, several miserable wails came from a corner. Turning to look, Saitama saw several chubby children with mournful faces. He could not help smiling knowingly—an assessment like this really was rough on the Akimichi Clan.

But it was no pressure at all for Saitama. No one knew the talent of this body better than he did.

(Among children his age, this physique was practically monstrous. Whenever he practiced swordsmanship with Shisui, Shisui would collapse from exhaustion while Saitama only needed a brief rest to recover his energy. Even a genius like Shisui was far inferior to him physically. Perhaps only that "crown prince" from their year could compete with him.

The whistle blew, and everyone began sprinting. Saitama shot ahead like an arrow loosed from a bow—only outstanding results would get him into an elite class. Shisui followed close behind. Surprisingly, the seemingly ordinary Iruka easily held onto the second pack as well.

Could this guy have a system too? Saitama muttered inwardly.

By the end of the first lap, Saitama's sustained sprinting speed had drawn repeated glances from the proctors. Shisui and Iruka remained glued close behind him. As the laps increased, people continually tried to overtake them, but the three would always suddenly accelerate whenever anyone drew close.

By the eighth lap, Iruka was already showing signs of fatigue. Shisui was still holding on, but sweat poured down his face. Only Saitama remained at ease, and the vanguard group of three had left the main pack far behind.

Though fine beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead, Saitama was still completely at ease.

Looking around, he saw that more than half the students had long since collapsed beside the track—nearly six hundred meters per lap was indeed daunting.

"Keep your rhythm."

Saitama adjusted his pace and led the panting Shisui and Iruka through the final two laps.

"Are you a monster or something?!"

The instant Shisui crossed the finish line, he collapsed into a limp heap.

Iruka braced his hands on his knees and panted heavily. "My father is a special jonin... I train every day... and yet you..."

Saitama merely waved a hand, signaling for them to regulate their breathing.

That performance should be enough to get him into an elite class, right? Especially with the Uchiha name over his head. Thinking of those nameless background students from the original story, he suddenly found his earlier effort rather pointless.

In the end, fewer than twenty people passed the assessment. The chunin teacher on the platform was not surprised in the least. Lazily shaking open a scroll, he said, "Now we will announce the class assignments."

The result held no suspense.

Class One's roster was packed with surnames from the major clans, with a few children of ninja families like Iruka scattered among them. Almost all civilian students had been assigned to other classes.

"We're in the same class!" Iruka excitedly bumped Shisui's shoulder.

As the crowd dispersed like a receding tide, Saitama leisurely headed toward the school building. Sunlight stretched the three boys' shadows long—an Uchiha boy with his hands in his pockets walked in front, followed by two newly recruited lackeys with their arms slung over each other's shoulders. Students along the way stepped aside, whispers mixed with words like "genius" and "Uchiha."

The metal class plaque for Year One, Class One gleamed under the sunlight.

Besides, they were from the Uchiha Clan. No one dared provoke them!

Saitama entered the classroom without issue and found that quite a few students were already seated inside. Looking at those youthful faces, a surge of ambition rose within him.

Conquering Konoha would begin from this moment!

With talent at the very top, how could he continue to remain unknown?

With his two lackeys in tow, Saitama headed straight for the back row.

A boss naturally sat in the back!

"Saitama, why did you come all the way to the back?"

Iruka, who had been told before enrollment to study seriously, looked utterly confused. In his view, sitting close to the teacher meant being able to ask questions at any time.

"The back row is better for concentrating on studying, Iruka! Look at those guys in the front row, all so flashy. If you sit up front, isn't that ** distracting?"

"So the back row is the best choice, right?"

Iruka and Shisui glanced at the students in the front row—who looked completely ordinary and had nothing at all to do with being "flashy." Still, the two nodded as though they half understood and obediently followed Saitama to the last row. (?????)

Not long after they sat down, more people gradually entered the classroom, and the noise slowly rose. Some struck up conversations with each other, while others chatted with old friends, turning the entire classroom noisy.

At that moment, a stern-faced middle-aged man in a ninja flak jacket walked in with a book tucked under his arm. The classroom quickly quieted at his appearance—children this age generally held some awe toward teachers, even those from major clans.

"Hello, everyone!" the teacher began introducing himself.

"I am Kitahara Daio. For the next few years, I will serve as your homeroom teacher and instructor."

"First of all, welcome..."

What followed was a long opening speech, and Saitama grew drowsy in the back row.

"Saitama! Saitama!"

Shisui nudged Saitama, who was seated to his left, with an elbow.

"What?" Saitama raised his head sleepily.

"It's your turn to introduce yourself!"

"Oh, how unoriginal..." Saitama muttered softly.

Looking at the smiling teacher on the platform—Was his name Daio or something?—he casually nodded, rose to his feet, and said:

"I am Uchiha Saitama, the strongest man of the future!"

His chuunibyou soul suddenly ignited, and he made the solemn declaration in the tone of a hot-blooded anime protagonist. After saying it, he even swept his gaze across the room.

"Wow—" a big-eyed girl exclaimed in admiration.

"Hmph. Uchiha people really are annoying," a young Hyuga boy said coldly.

"..."

Before his words had even faded, the classroom erupted like a pot of boiling water.

Shisui and Iruka both looked at Saitama with admiration.

They had not expected Saitama to harbor such ambitions!

Shisui mused inwardly.

"Mm, this student has great aspirations. Just as expected of a child of the Uchiha Clan. Please take your seat. Next."

Kitahara Daio had initially been quite interested in the boy who had run ten laps without changing expression during the entrance examination, but after hearing that self-introduction, he realized the boy was simply naive.

So the rumors that the Uchiha Clan thought differently from ordinary people were true after all!

Saitama calmly sat down, ignoring the whispers around the classroom and maintaining the same cool expression as before.

Next was Shisui!

"My name is Uchiha Shisui, and I am destined to become the second strongest man in the world!"

After saying that, Shisui sat down and gave Saitama a playful wink.

⊙ω⊙

Are you expecting me to praise you or something?

Saitama was utterly baffled.

"My turn? I'm Iruka. I'm going to become Hokage! I'll protect the Konoha I love with my life!"

Iruka rose on his own initiative, speaking with a face full of pride and longing.

The moment he finished, the classroom first fell into brief silence before bursting into uproarious laughter.

Though they were all young, they understood just how lofty the position of Hokage was.

What did Hokage mean?

Not only the village's leader, but also the pinnacle of combat power!

How could just anyone become one?

"An excellent aspiration! But you'll have to work hard to achieve it."

Teacher Daio gave him rare encouragement.

Now that was proper Konoha thinking.

What were those first two supposed to be?

Daio was now completely speechless about the Uchiha Clan's way of thinking.

"Now that everyone knows one another, I hope you will get along peacefully from now on."

"Does anyone know what subjects our academy teaches?"

Teacher Daio asked the class in a gentle tone.

"We learn ninjutsu! Eliminate enemies! Protect Konoha!"

A random student in the front row stood and answered.

Saitama curled his lip and glanced at the tactical goggles on the boy's forehead.

Neither a protagonist nor a villain—was he wearing that thing because he wanted to make an early exit?

"Yes, but not entirely."

Teacher Daio gestured for the student to sit down.

He picked up his pointer, swept his gaze around the classroom, and paced a few steps in front of the podium.

"The Ninja Academy does not merely teach ninjutsu. It also teaches other subjects."

"A qualified ninja cannot only know how to fight. You must fully grasp theoretical knowledge as well."

"And I am your theory instructor!"

"I hope you will all study diligently, graduate successfully, and become pillars of Konoha."

Kitahara Daio glanced at the clock, which had already reached noon.

Registration, testing, and the new students' introductions had taken up the entire morning.

"Welcome to the Ninja Academy. See you this afternoon."

According to school rules, lunch had to be eaten at the academy, but on the first day of school, everyone was free to make their own arrangements.