Morning at the Ninja Academy

April 1st, Year 60 of Konoha—the Ninja Academy's entrance day.

Senju Shinichi stood at the orphanage entrance and straightened the collar of his student uniform. The clothes had been ironed by the matron yesterday—her ironing skills were about on par with the steam iron from his previous life's company that had leaked steam for ten years. A glaring vertical crease ran right down the middle of his back, as though someone had folded it against a ruler. But he did not complain. Letting the matron iron clothes was already an extremely risky undertaking. This outcome counted as exceptional performance.

"I'm leaving," he called toward the kitchen.

The matron did not come out to see him off. She merely waved through the window. Her flour-covered hand left a pale handprint on the glass. Little Flower poked her head out from the second-floor window, her twin pigtails dangling over the sill, and shouted at him, "Big Brother Shinichi, catch me a rhinoceros beetle when school lets out!"

"There aren't any rhinoceros beetles in March."

"Then catch a butterfly!"

"Sure."

Shinichi walked out through the orphanage gates just as the morning sunlight fell across his face. April in Konoha was the most comfortable season of the year—not cold, not hot. The breeze carried the scent of freshly turned earth and gardenias blooming in someone's yard. The stone faces of the three Hokage on Hokage Rock stood clearly outlined in the morning light. The First Hokage's mouth seemed to curve a little more than usual. Maybe it was just psychological, considering Shinichi still had the training journal personally written by the man tucked in his robes.

The entrance to the Ninja Academy was already packed.

Actually packed. Shinichi had thought entrance day would just mean parents bringing their children to register and collect textbooks, but reality proved him far too naive. The stone road outside the gates, usually wide enough for two ox carts to pass side by side, was crammed full of parents, children, ninja tool bags, and every kind of clan emblem. The Hyuga Clan guards, dressed in their distinctive white robes, stood out sharply among the crowd. A group of branch family members surrounded Hinata, the main family's eldest daughter, beneath the white wall to the left of the school gates. A half-meter-wide ring of empty space had automatically formed around them—not because anyone had drawn a line, but because the Hyuga Clan's aura of "keep strangers away" was simply too strong. Hinata stood beside Hiashi Hyuga, clutching the hem of her clothes with her small hands. Her Byakugan occasionally swept past the crowd, as though she were looking for someone while afraid of being caught looking.

Shinichi made a mental note—Hinata had already shown signs of taking an interest in him on entrance day.

Shikamaru Nara and his father, Shikaku Nara, stood beneath a large tree to the right of the school gates. Shikamaru was already yawning at such a young age, his eyelids drooping as he leaned against his father's leg. He looked more exhausted than his father. Shikaku rested one hand on his head, probably giving him some instructions, but Shikamaru was clearly not listening. His unfocused gaze was fixed on a cloud overhead shaped like a potato. Choji Akimichi stood beside Shikamaru with a bag of chips in hand, crunching away nonstop. Chip crumbs fell at his father Choza Akimichi's feet. Choza glanced down, said nothing, and pulled out a bag of chips himself.

Shinichi made another mental note—the Ino-Shika-Cho trio really had been deliberately raised to work together from the moment they entered school.

Then there was the Uchiha Clan.

Sasuke stood at the very edge of the crowd, with no parents beside him—Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha had died on the night of the clan massacre. He now lived with his older brother Itachi, but Itachi had not come today. Sasuke had come alone, dressed neatly, his head tilted slightly upward. The expression on his face was less pride than tension. A six-year-old child was trying his hardest to play the part of an Uchiha heir who did not need adults at his side. No empty space like the one around the Hyuga Clan had formed around him, but passing parents unconsciously lowered their voices. Several children who wanted to approach and speak to him were pulled back by their own parents.

Shinichi's eyes met Sasuke's briefly amid the crowd. Sasuke looked away first. It was not disdain, but the scrutiny of someone thinking, I'm still not sure whether you're worth my attention. Shinichi did not look at him any longer either, shifting his gaze and continuing to scan the crowd.

Ino from the Yamanaka Clan stood with her father Inoichi, her golden ponytail swaying in the sunlight. She was acting cute with her mother, who held her hand, saying she wanted to buy new hair ties. Her clear voice could carry across the entire street. Shinichi looked at her once before withdrawing his gaze without lingering—Ino did not know him yet, so there was no reason to approach her now.

Shino Aburame and his father Shibi Aburame stood beside the notice board at the school gates. Both father and son wore high-collared coats that covered half their faces, standing so quietly they resembled two human-shaped signs propped against the wall. Kiba Inuzuka was already riding Akamaru—Akamaru was still a tiny puppy, and all four of his legs trembled beneath Kiba's weight. Kiba's older sister was laughing so hard she could not straighten up, while his mother wore the helpless expression of someone thinking, Could you stop embarrassing yourself on entrance day?

Shinichi searched through the crowd for the most familiar figure.

Naruto Uzumaki stood in the most conspicuous spot at the school gates—right in the center of the stone steps before the main entrance. His hands rested on his hips, his forehead protector was tied neatly, and his student uniform, unusually enough, did not have the buttons done up wrong. He stood like a flagpole freshly planted in the ground, chest out and head high, blue eyes opened wide, the corners of his mouth nearly reaching his ears. No one stood within three meters of him. It was not because Naruto gave off any kind of keep-away aura. The other parents were simply steering their children around him. Shinichi personally saw a mother holding her daughter's hand heading for the main entrance. She looked up, spotted Naruto, hesitated, then led her daughter in a wide detour through the side gate. The girl even asked, "Mom, why isn't that blond boy lining up?" Only for her mother to quietly cut her off with, "Don't ask."

Naruto pretended not to hear. Shinichi knew none of it escaped him. A child who had been treated with cold indifference since childhood was most sensitive to other people's avoidance. A turn away, a sidestep, a pretense of lowering one's head to tie a shoelace—he could sense every one of them precisely. But today, he pressed his lips tight and held on, refusing to let that anticipation collapse, because he had been looking forward to this day too much.

So Shinichi walked over, pulled out a copper coin the size of a fist from his pocket, and slapped it into Naruto's hand. "Why are you blocking the entrance? Get inside."

In that instant, Naruto's smile changed from a forced social smile into a genuine one, like a puppy whose fur had just been stroked the right way. He grabbed Shinichi's sleeve and rushed into the school, shouting, "I saved us seats in the first row! I've been waiting for you!"—only to be stopped by Iruka Umino the moment they entered. Iruka stood behind the registration desk with a roll book in hand. Seeing Naruto drag Shinichi in by the sleeve, the corners of his lips rose slightly. He lightly tapped Naruto on the head with the roll book. "First-row seats aren't claimed. They're assigned according to the roll call order." Naruto covered his forehead and protested that the Third Hokage had said he was allowed in early, only to receive another tap from Iruka.

While the two of them argued, Shinichi took the chance to glance around the classroom. The spacious wooden floor had been polished until it shone. Portraits of the previous Hokage hung beside the blackboard, and the Third Hokage's portrait made him look about twenty years younger than he actually was. Quite a few students had already taken their seats—Shikamaru lay sprawled at a window seat in the back row, resting his cheek on his arm with his eyes closed. Choji sat beside him, concentrating intently on his third bag of chips. Ino sat in the middle rows, whispering with several girls. Shino sat quietly in a corner, flipping through an insect encyclopedia. His hand covered most of the cover, but Shinichi recognized the exposed corner as the beetle volume. Hinata curled up at a window seat on the left side of the classroom, her fingers unconsciously tapping against the edge of the desk. When Naruto and Shinichi entered, her gaze swiftly swept over Shinichi before she quickly lowered her head and pretended to read her textbook.

Shinichi noticed a faint flush at the tips of her ears when she lowered her head. He looked away and headed toward his seat.

The entrance ceremony was about to begin. Of Konoha's twelve rookies, Tenten, Rock Lee, and Neji Hyuga were in other classes and had not yet met the rest. The other nine had all taken their seats in this classroom.