Ninja Academy

Sakumo Hatake had never taught Muzan how to refine chakra before. Now that Muzan's body had grown much stronger, he planned to teach him the Hatake Household's chakra extraction method.

The chakra extraction method taught at the Ninja Academy was only a basic method. Every major clan had its own extraction method.

That was why clan ninjas were generally stronger than civilian ninjas.

After dinner, Sakumo Hatake brought his two children to the Ninja Academy. By then, a huge crowd of students had gathered outside.

Muzan spotted quite a few familiar faces, though of course they were all still little beans.

Asuma, Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, Rin Nohara, Obito...

They were Konoha's future Twelve Strong, after all.

"Lord Sakumo, I didn't expect you to be bringing children here to enroll as well."

Not every child could become a Ninja Academy student, but the White Fang of Konoha's children were certain to become ninjas.

"Yes."

Sakumo Hatake looked at his former subordinate, pushed his two sons forward, and said earnestly:

"I'll leave these two brats in your care for the time being, Nobi Wei."

The entrance exam took an hour, mainly covering physical fitness and basic knowledge. Descendants of ninjas could take the back door into the Ninja Academy.

Based on their test results, the few of them were assigned to the same class.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Shou Yetian. I like takoyaki, and my dream is to become Hokage!"

"Hello, everyone. My name is Hatake Muzan. I like drinking blood, I hate sunlight, and my dream is to become a medical ninja."

The moment Muzan mentioned drinking blood, coupled with his blood-red eyes beneath his black clothes, the children in the front row burst into tears.

"Idiot brother!"

Kakashi covered his head with a book, terrified that anyone would recognize him as Muzan's younger brother.

Even Nobi Wei beside the podium was startled by that answer.

"You actually made Kurenai cry!"

Asuma charged straight over, intending to teach him a lesson. The instant he threw his punch, Kakashi behind him reacted at once, chakra flowing across his body.

Crack!

"What?!"

Muzan caught Asuma's arm with one hand, leaving him unable to advance even an inch. This display froze Kakashi, who had rushed over from behind.

"Since when was my brother so strong?"

"That's enough. This is a classroom, not a place for you to fight. Everyone will copy the Will of Fire ten times!"

Nobi Wei looked at the two children who had started fighting. One was the Hokage's son, and the other was the White Fang of Konoha's son. Neither was someone a mere Chunin like him could afford to provoke.

"Teacher Nobi Wei, Asuma and I were just joking around. There's no need to be so nervous."

After releasing his hand, Muzan returned to his seat beneath the awestruck gazes of the little beans and listened to Nobi Wei speak about his dream.

"Since Hatake Muzan wants to become a medical ninja, he must work several times harder than ordinary people. More importantly, he must possess a kind heart."

Nobi Wei gave him a measured lecture, though he did not take Muzan's dream seriously.

Medical ninjas were support ninjas. Beneath the brilliance of the Hokage and Konoha's heroes, they appeared obscure and unnoticed. If not for Lady Tsunade, many people would think medical ninjas were completely useless.

Besides, Muzan was Sakumo Hatake's son. Under the glory of the White Fang of Konoha, once he grew up, he would understand the honor carried by the words White Fang. He would definitely learn the Hatake Sword Technique.

"Class begins now!"

The first lesson was not about chakra extraction or kunai-throwing techniques, but Konoha's foundation, hailed as the key to the Hokage's legacy.

"The Will of Fire!"

Muzan lay listlessly on his desk. Faced with Konoha's pyramid-scheme brainwashing, he only wanted to ignore everything outside his window and focus solely on his experiments.

As Konoha's spirit of unity, the Will of Fire filled Muzan with extreme disdain.

Perhaps it had been good in the beginning. For Konoha's future, countless people had rushed to the front lines to protect their homes. But by the Third Ninja War, the Will of Fire had changed its flavor.

They had barely become Genin before being sent to the battlefield. Most of those Genin were children.

The warm glow of the Will of Fire could not shine upon Konoha's decay and darkness.

After recounting Konoha's history once more, Nobi Wei explained that aside from the First Hokage and Second Hokage, the most important Third Hokage was Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Asuma, listening below as the teacher spoke of the Hokage's glory, deliberately leaned toward Kurenai and showed off his fist.

"This is my old man!"

"Ahem. Don't forget that you're a student here."

After sharply rapping Asuma on the head with a ruler, Nobi Wei mentioned the White Fang of Konoha, and everyone turned to look at Muzan, shrouded in black.

This guy was Sakumo Hatake's son?

If he had not been born alongside Kakashi, they would have suspected that he was not White Fang's biological son.

Other than Kakashi and Sakumo, no one had seen the face beneath the black clothes.

He was even more taciturn than the Aburame Clan.

Obito Uchiha leaned closer to Kakashi and secretly glanced at Muzan sitting in the corner. Both were Sakumo Hatake's children; one was Konoha's acknowledged genius, possessing five chakra natures like the Hokage, while the other was nothing but trash in their eyes.

"Kakashi, is he really your brother?"

"What do you think?"

Kakashi moved away from him and said with a look of disgust:

"I hate trash."

"Damn it, Kakashi! I challenge you to a duel!"

Kakashi then subdued him in a single move, pinned him to the ground, and gave him a beating.

Watching the children brawl, Nobi Wei regretted retiring from the ninja forces. These children were truly hard to teach.

"Since you're all so energetic, get out to the training ground now. I'll teach you how to throw concealed weapons!"

As they walked, Nobi Wei explained kunai-throwing techniques and repeatedly told them not to underestimate the power of kunai. A ninja's chakra was limited on the battlefield, and kunai could provide support in making limited chakra more effective.

Not to mention the Yellow Flash's Flying Raijin—even if an Explosive Tag was merely tied to a kunai, a careless Jōnin could die in the blast.

"Obito Uchiha! As a member of the Uchiha Clan, your clan is especially skilled at using kunai. Come demonstrate for us!"

"Huh?"

Obito Uchiha took the kunai with both hands and froze. He was indeed from the Uchiha Clan, but he was just an insignificant nobody.

Sure enough, when he threw the kunai, every one of them landed outside the target area.

"Obito really is trash right now."

Muzan said it without thinking, but Nobi Wei was a ninja and heard every word clearly.

Even if he was Lord Sakumo's son, the class had no need for a troublemaker. Nobi Wei handed Muzan a kunai and said:

"Since you say he's trash, then demonstrate the proper kunai-throwing technique."

Expressionless beneath his black robe, Muzan accepted the kunai. Kakashi beside him wanted to stop him—what kind of joke was this? Muzan had never received ninja training before.

"Yes, Teacher."