Ninja Academy

The system, which had not appeared in ages, suddenly popped up and gave Meihui a jolt.

[Ding! Congratulations, host. You have successfully obtained all-attribute chakra.]

"Huh? All-attribute chakra? Now that's something good."

And so, the brothers Naruto and Meihui decided to escort the little princess Hinata home.

Neither of them spoke. They simply followed behind Hinata, leaving her feeling a little embarrassed.

Once they reached her home, Hinata thanked them again. Neither brother cared much about such formalities. Knowing they were unwelcome there, they had the sense to leave.

After all, most people in the village hated Naruto and Meihui. The Nine-Tails' Rampage had left far too deep a scar, shattering countless families and separating loved ones forever through death.

With Danzo stirring up trouble and Hiruzen allowing it, there was no way the villagers would let go of their prejudices anytime soon.

The two slowly made their way home on their short little legs. Along the way, Naruto asked Meihui innocently:

"Big brother, did we do a good deed today?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

Meihui did not offer Naruto much more of an answer. In Konoha, it was hard to say who was right or wrong in matters like these. With different positions and different views, judgments about right and wrong were not something to make lightly.

If Naruto decided that doing good deeds would make everyone happy and foolishly ran off to help the villagers, they might well beat him to death.

After Meihui brought Naruto home, they tidied up a little. A bowl of noodles with a bit of salt was their dinner for the day.

Who would have thought that the children of the esteemed Fourth Hokage would be reduced to eating food like this? Even now, someone was watching the two children's every move.

After they finished eating, Meihui took Naruto out to exercise. With such a powerful bloodline, it would be a real waste not to make good use of it.

Of course, Hiruzen Sarutobi knew the two exercised every day. Though he said nothing, he seemed to tacitly approve of the brothers' behavior. From time to time, he even had Rei Sarutobi bring them some daily necessities.

The plain clothes and food might not have amounted to much, and the food was not especially nutritious, but at least the two no longer went hungry or lacked decent clothing. That was already far better than what the original Naruto had endured.

Simple movements, simple exercises, repeated over and over.

Doing simple things repeatedly could produce unexpected results. (Source-a certain bald guy.)

The two little boys worked up a sweat in the winter cold, and before long, their clothes were soaked through. Still, they did not stop. Meihui knew he did not have much time left. The Shinobi World would not stay peaceful in the future. Early on, jonin were few and far between; later, overpowered cheats would be a dime a dozen.

Shaking his head, Meihui continued exercising.

"No, thinking about the future just makes me angrier. Keep training."

Only when they were utterly exhausted did the two return inside. After washing up, they quickly drifted off to sleep.

Time flew. In the blink of an eye, the day came for Naruto and Meihui to start school.

Hiruzen Sarutobi even came to notify them in person. After training for so long, their physiques had changed considerably. With their Uzumaki bloodline boosting them further, they were becoming downright freakish.

For some reason, Meihui's system had not triggered any ninjutsu-related rewards in a long time. As a result, he could not practice ninjutsu at all and could only exercise every day to strengthen his body.

Today, they could finally go to the Ninja Academy and learn those things. The brothers headed to school, marking the beginning of six long years of study.

Once they arrived, sure enough, they saw Hiruzen Sarutobi standing on the podium, beginning his speech about his so-called Will of Fire.

"Wherever leaves dance, fire will burn. The fire's light shines upon the village, and new leaves will sprout. Only when a ninja wishes to protect those they cherish will their true strength emerge."

Listening to Hiruzen Sarutobi's brainwashing speech, quite a few people were already flushed with excitement, eager to strive toward the goals they had in mind.

But Meihui would not buy any of it. Hiruzen Sarutobi was far too hypocritical. Words like these were nothing more than a way to claim the moral high ground and guilt others into doing his bidding.

After years of Meihui's cynical life lessons, Naruto had also learned to see through Hiruzen Sarutobi's empty promises without calling them out. He was no longer like the original Naruto, who had heard about the Will of Fire and believed in it without question.

The rambling went on for so long that both brothers nearly fell asleep. Finally, just as Meihui's eyelids began to droop, the speech ended.

Next came the simple process of assigning classes.

When the two entered their classroom, they found, unsurprisingly, that they had been placed with the familiar young standouts: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuga, and the others.

Just as expected, their homeroom teacher was still Iruka.