The Sannin's Daily Life at Ninja Academy

Time passed steadily amid plans and the clatter of bricks and tiles.

Konoha, a machine once slowed by war, had finally begun to hum in orderly motion between its gears under the fuel of Nangō Kumoi's new ideas.

The South District construction site was currently its noisiest heartbeat.

Hiruzen Sarutobi often appeared there. He was not merely supervising; he was more like a steady coordinator,

using his experience and prestige to ensure the Earth Release ninja worked efficiently while the ordinary craftsmen's processes connected smoothly.

Yet the one who ensured every material and every worker appeared exactly where needed was the Nara Clan Leader, who carried out almost artistic, exquisitely precise dispatching from behind the scenes with his clan's gifts.

The foundations of neat rows of houses were quickly tamped down, their frames rose, and blueprints rapidly became real homes where people could live in peace.

At the same time, another kind of "construction," quieter yet potentially far more far-reaching, was quietly unfolding in Ninja Academy classrooms.

"...Therefore, the First Hokage's original purpose in founding the village was not merely to win wars."

At the podium, a middle-aged teacher was doing his best to make his voice compelling.

The textbook spread before him was not a traditional ninjutsu scroll, but a brand-new reader titled Heart of Konoha: Legacy and Future.

"Gathering every clan beneath the green leaves was meant to end the fate of children constantly being sent to the battlefield.

It was meant to ensure that everyone, whether they bore the Uchiha name, the Hyuga name, or no surname at all, could find a sense of belonging as 'a member of Konoha.'

Together, they would build a home where everyone could live without fear..."

This class, simply called "ideology class" by the higher-ups, was a tentative step in Nangō Kumoi's education reform.

In the middle rows of the classroom, the future Sannin were still merely somewhat immature six-year-old children, and their reactions to this new lesson were entirely different.

Tsunade rested her cheek on one hand while absentmindedly spinning a pen with the other.

As the First Hokage's granddaughter, she had long since heard these grand declarations of the Will of Fire so often that she had become somewhat numb to them.

Rather than all this, she was more concerned with whether she should find Uncle Kumoi after school to try out the hand seals for the medical ninjutsu she had just learned, or... figure out how to win some pocket money from Jiraiya.

Sunlight spilled through the window onto the tips of her golden hair, making them gleam, but it could not shine into the heart that held little interest in the lesson.

Jiraiya beside her was even more direct, his head bobbing until it nearly struck the desk.

Last night, he had once again failed in his attempt to sneak into the bathhouse to "gather material." A patrolling ninja had caught him red-handed, and he had been punished with writing a self-criticism. He was terribly sleepy now.

The teacher's words about "building" and "belonging" drifted into his ears as nothing more than a vague lullaby.

He forced his eyelids open and glanced at Tsunade's profile, perking up for half a second before the crushing drowsiness dragged him back into a haze. All he wanted was for the bell to ring soon so he could go loosen up at the training grounds.

Only Orochimaru, seated by the window, listened with unusual concentration.

There was little expression on his pale face, but his snake-like golden slit pupils closely followed the teacher's lecture. Occasionally, he lowered his head and swiftly wrote down a few keywords in his notes.

"End the fate of children going to war," "find belonging as a member of Konoha," "build a home where everyone can live in peace"...

These concepts formed a strange contrast with the coldness and confusion he had felt after his parents died in battle and he became an orphan.

He did not wholly accept them. Instead, he analyzed and considered them with an almost dissecting calm.

The ideas promoted by this new Hokage differed from his former understanding that "the village is a tool that exists to complete missions and win wars."

Where did they differ? Why did they differ? What practical considerations lay behind them? Countless questions circled beneath his quiet exterior.

The teacher took in the students' varied reactions, smiling bitterly inside yet unable to do much about it.

At the start of a reform, one could not expect immediate results. He cleared his throat and continued:

"...Therefore, protecting Konoha does not merely mean protecting this land and these buildings. It also means protecting the possibility of 'living together and building together.'

That protection can be reflected in many ways..."

Tsunade let out a small yawn.

Jiraiya gave a faint snore. A classmate in the back secretly poked him, and he jolted awake, looking around in confusion.

Orochimaru's pen paused. Beneath the words "possibility," he lightly drew a line.

The sunlight outside was just right. Konoha was being built, and the future was quietly nurturing entirely different seeds within this somewhat noisy, somewhat sleepy classroom filled with strange thoughts.

The crisp dismissal bell sliced through the classroom's slightly stifling air, as though releasing everyone from a binding spell.

The children instantly came alive, and the noisy calls of friends gathering together quickly drowned out the lingering echoes of "building and protecting."

Jiraiya gave a start and completely broke free of his half-dreaming state. Like an exuberant Monkey, he sprang from his seat and darted to Orochimaru's desk in a few steps, propping an elbow on it.

"Hey, Orochimaru! What do you think the teacher will teach in ninjutsu class next? Something new?

It can't be reviewing the Clone Technique again, right? I could do that with my eyes closed..."

He had meant to boast, but suddenly remembered the crooked, lopsided clone he had made last time, which had looked as though it might fall apart at any moment. His momentum immediately weakened by half.

Tsunade had also packed up her stationery and walked over with slightly reserved steps. Hearing Jiraiya's words, she rolled her eyes at him without mercy.

"You white-haired idiot, Orochimaru and I mastered these basic Three-Body Techniques ages ago.

You're the only one still struggling between 'can do it' and 'can't do it.'"

Her words were sharp, but anyone who knew her could hear that there was more teasing than genuine contempt in them.

"Who are you calling an idiot?! I was... I just hadn't shown my real strength yet!"

Jiraiya was, as expected, instantly provoked and argued with his neck stiffly raised.

The two traded barbs, clearly about to slip into their usual squabbling routine.

Just then, Orochimaru, who had been quietly looking out the window, suddenly cut in with his distinctive, slightly low and calm voice:

"I think today's class may not simply be practice with the Three-Body Technique."

"Hm?"

Tsunade and Jiraiya stopped arguing at the same time and looked at him in confusion.

Orochimaru did not explain directly. He merely gestured with his eyes toward the window.

Following his gaze, the two saw several Chunin instructors busily setting up winding passageways, wooden stumps, low nets, and plum blossom stakes in the training field outside the school building. Stacks of ordinary clay cups had also been piled at the edge of the field.

"What... is that for?"

Jiraiya scratched his head, utterly baffled.

Orochimaru withdrew his gaze, and a trace of understanding flashed through his golden slit pupils.

"It is the Chakra Control Test.

One of the trials in the Hokage's Basic Ability Quantification Assessment.

You have to balance a cup of water on your head and pass every obstacle without spilling it, quantifying the precision of your most basic control over your own energy."

"Huh? Balance a cup of water on your head while going through all that?"

Jiraiya's eyes widened.

"What kind of ninjutsu class is that?!"

Then, as if something suddenly occurred to him, he looked at Orochimaru in surprise.

"Wait, how do you know so much? You even know what it's called and why they're doing it?"

Orochimaru looked at him, his tone calm and even.

"The newly compiled teaching plan guide mentioned it as a pilot program. Last week's ideology class and morning assembly mentioned it too. Weren't you listening?"

"Huh? Did they?"

Jiraiya froze. A trace of embarrassment flashed over his face, but he immediately forced himself to wave it off and stubbornly said:

"W-Well, maybe they did... It was too long ago, so I forgot!"

"Pfft."

Tsunade could not hold it in. She ruthlessly exposed him.

"Idiot, the teacher emphasized it at morning assembly yesterday!

Right after you got called out for sneaking breakfast dumplings!

If you weren't listening, you weren't listening. What excuses are you making?"

"Yesterday?! I..."

Jiraiya's face instantly turned red. Just as he was about to jump up and continue arguing with Tsunade to salvage a bit of dignity—

"Ding ding ding—!"