The Ninja Academy's First Day

April had come, and winter had given way to spring. For the people of Konoha, the newest and most interesting event of the month was the Ninja Academy, which was about to open its doors for the first time.

Regardless of birth or gender, anyone with talent could become a student at this school and receive training to become a ninja. This might not have meant much to the ninja clans, but for ordinary civilians, it was thrilling news.

In this world, where bloodline and background mattered so much, ninja did not enjoy particularly high status. In the eyes of nobles and the Daimyō, they were useful but unreliable tools, nowhere near as trustworthy as monks or samurai. To civilians, however, being a ninja was already a highly impressive profession.

Granted, the alarmingly high death rate and bloody nature of a ninja's work frightened civilians and made them hesitate. Yet amid the constant warfare, civilian mortality was far higher than that of ninja who regularly undertook dangerous missions. Against the rampant bandits, marauders, and wandering ninja, civilians had no means of fighting back.

What, exactly, were civilians to the shinobi world?

They were laborers and providers of wealth, but they were also lambs awaiting slaughter, the lowest rung of society, exploited at every level. To change their circumstances, they had to gain power. To gain power, they had to master chakra. Yet the methods of obtaining chakra were monopolized by ninja, shrine maidens, monks, and even samurai.

The path for civilians to become powerful had been blocked from the very beginning. But the shinobi world had always been a place where the strong preyed on the weak. In a world without fairness or justice, lacking chakra was itself an original sin.

Yet starting today, that indestructible boulder blocking their path would begin to shift. The Ninja Academy was the first glimmer of dawn seen by civilians who had spent countless years being trampled and bullied at the whims of the powerful and the nobility.

A dense crowd gathered outside the Ninja Academy. Almost everyone in Konoha had come. Beneath an enormous Konoha emblem, a posted notice listed the academy's first class of students.

The Ninja Academy's first class was not large, but nearly all its students were well-known prodigies. The fewer than thirty names on the list carried considerable weight. Aside from the two great clans, the Senju and the Uchiha, and a few unfamiliar civilian children, smaller clans such as the Hyūga, Sarutobi, Shimura, and Ino-Shika-Cho were represented as well.

The crowd whispered among themselves, pointing at the names on the list and the children gathered by the entrance. Their clan crests and distinctive appearances made it easy to tell which families they belonged to.

The Uchiha youngsters stood out in their black, high-collared clan clothes, red-and-white fans embroidered on their backs. Though young, every one of them already possessed the Uchiha's signature aloof pride. Their pretty faces all warned strangers to keep away, so the crowd quietly stepped back, sensibly giving them space.

What the crowd did not know was that the Uchiha youngsters were currently as frantic as ants on a hot pan. School was about to begin, but of the six Uchiha on the list, only four were present!

Being late on the very first day would be mortifying. Uchiha Miki, the youngsters' leader, paced anxiously. Eyes wide, she tried to spot the last missing Uchiha in the passing crowd. There were monkeys, Byakugan users, and even blockheads from the Senju Clan, but not a single one of their Uchiha red-eyes.

And at this critical moment, every adult had gone off to a clan meeting. They could not even find someone to help! So furious she nearly awakened her Sharingan, Miki turned to glare at the youngster beside her and demanded with murderous intensity:

"Where is Lady Shingetsu?"

"Big sister, I don't know! I've been with you this whole time."

Miki's younger sister, Uchiha Inari, hurriedly shook her head innocently, then quietly glanced at the next youngster, Uchiha Kazuma. The unlucky boy had just swallowed a piece of candy. Caught off guard when everyone suddenly stared at him, he choked as it lodged in his throat.

"Cough, cough... h-help... cough!"

After a bout of agonizing coughing, Kazuma, whose eyes were already rolling back, finally swallowed the deadly piece of candy. Once he caught his breath, he snapped irritably:

"What are you looking at me for? I haven't seen her either!"

"Then where's Kagami? Wasn't he just here? Why's he gone too?"

Anxious and angry, Miki counted them again. There had been five Uchiha youngsters just a moment ago, but now only four remained. And this time, the missing one was Uchiha Kagami, the oldest and most reliable of them all!

"I know! He went to find Lady Shingetsu!"

Uchiha Kaen raised his hand. All four Uchiha youngsters looked in the direction he pointed, hope rekindling in their hearts. At that moment, they prayed sincerely for him.

Kagami, you have to bring Lady Shingetsu here!

Inside the Uchiha Clan Compound, Uchiha Kagami, on whom the youngsters had pinned their hopes, was sprinting toward Hōkaku's house. He leaped onto the second-floor balcony and burst into Shingetsu's room with practiced ease.

Inside, Shingetsu was sleeping soundly, nestled comfortably beneath her covers with a black cat plush in her arms. Sensing someone approach, she merely cracked her eyes open. After vaguely recognizing her visitor, she slipped peacefully back into sleep.

"Shingetsu!"

Kagami shouted in frustration, trying to combat sleepiness with noise. He grabbed Shingetsu's shoulders and shook her relentlessly until he finally roused her from her deep slumber. She opened her eyes again, glanced at him, and grumbled unhappily:

"Kagami, stop making so much noise..."

"Shingetsu, stop sleeping! We're going to be late!"

In response to Kagami's stern protest, Shingetsu pulled the covers over her head. Her indistinct voice drifted, muffled, from within the barrier formed by her blankets:

"I only just fell asleep. Five more minutes, really. I'm not lying..."

Shingetsu's inability to get up was mostly Madara Uchiha's fault.

Half a month earlier, news that Shingetsu had awakened her Sharingan had shaken the entire clan. Having awakened it at only five years old, she was also the youngest person ever to do so. Her reputation as a prodigy was now firmly established.

Before this, many clan members had objected to their clan leader taking Hōkaku's daughter, whose origins were unclear, as his student. Shingetsu was certainly talented, but there was no shortage of prodigies among the younger generation. Uchiha Kagami and Uchiha Miki, for example, were both exceptionally gifted and came from respectable backgrounds. Wasn't either of them a better choice than Hōkaku's illegitimate daughter?

For the Uchiha Clan, which placed enormous importance on emotional bonds, having a child without getting married was truly horrifying. Even Uchiha Hōkaku's position as an elder did not stop them from viciously criticizing him behind his back. But in the face of the Sharingan, they could abandon their principles without the slightest guilt. Now everyone who saw them offered praise about the clan leader's excellent judgment or what a wonderful daughter Elder Hōkaku had.

Aside from Hōkaku, who spent all day boasting to everyone, no one was happier about this than Madara Uchiha.

The more talent Shingetsu displayed, the more likely she was to obtain the power of all creation. Her unusual Sharingan, in particular, already possessed tremendous power despite being only at the most basic one-tomoe stage.

It was this power that convinced Madara Uchiha that the path toward peace and his ideals truly existed.

Whether out of his longing for peace or simply his duty as a teacher, Madara Uchiha desperately wanted Shingetsu to grow stronger. And so, the intensity of her training increased to an unprecedented level.

As it happened, Madara Uchiha had been extremely busy these past few days and could find no time to train Shingetsu during the day. He and Hashirama spent all day at the newly built Ninja Academy, making preparations for its opening.

Shingetsu was overjoyed. Yet her smug relief at supposedly escaping disaster did not last long. That very night, Madara Uchiha hauled her out of bed. If there was no time during the day, she would come out and train hard at night. The word "rest" did not exist in Madara Uchiha's dictionary.

This hellish life continued right up until the academy opened. Yes, Madara Uchiha really was that much of a demon. Having trained until dawn, Shingetsu lay buried in her blankets, utterly unable to get up. No amount of calling from Uchiha Kagami worked. In the end, he had no choice but to invoke Madara Uchiha's name to scare her.

"Shingetsu, Lord Madara is coming to the academy today too. If he doesn't see you there..."

The effect was immediate. Shingetsu, who had been half-dead with exhaustion a moment earlier, instantly opened her eyes, grabbed her clothes, and dashed into the bathroom.

On the other side of Konoha, inside the newly built school building, the man who had spent his entire life targeting the Uchiha stepped up to the lectern.

Tobirama Senju's crimson eyes swept across the classroom, inspecting each student in turn. He picked up a roster from the lectern. Though he did not believe anyone would be late, taking attendance and matching names to faces was still essential.

"I'll begin taking attendance now. Hiruzen Sarutobi."

"Here, teacher!"

Upon hearing his name, Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately sprang out of his seat and greeted Tobirama with a grin, as though afraid he might go unnoticed. Seeing his student so full of energy, Tobirama Senju's lips tightened almost imperceptibly.

"Next, Shimura Danzō."

"Here!"

"Good. Next."

Attendance proceeded in an orderly fashion. This was their first day of class, after all, and even the most mischievous children lacked the courage to cause trouble.

"Uchiha Shingetsu."

As his gaze reached the next name on the roster, Tobirama Senju's eyes shifted slightly. At last, the main event had arrived.

This was Madara Uchiha's student, the child his older brother Hashirama praised endlessly. According to Hashirama, she had been the one to propose founding the Ninja Academy.

Tobirama raised his head, his gaze sharpening in that instant. He had to use this opportunity to see for himself exactly what kind of person she was.

"..."

But as the seconds ticked by, no one in the classroom answered. An awkward silence hung in the air. The children exchanged looks, their breathing rising and falling.

Tobirama Senju's eyes widened slightly in disbelief. He had just thought no one would be late, and now someone had proved him wrong.

"Uchiha Shingetsu. Uchiha Shingetsu. Where is she?"

"..."

We're doomed.

Uchiha Miki covered her face and collapsed onto her desk in despair. The other three Uchiha youngsters exchanged glances, seeing their own helpless confusion reflected in one another's eyes.

Now they really were going to make a name for themselves at school.

Late on the very first day the academy opened-just how brazen could someone be?

The children, who had been too intimidated by Tobirama's presence to speak moments before, now leaned toward one another, whispering excitedly. Their naturally lively, mischievous spirits had been unleashed, and the situation quickly spiraled out of control. The previously quiet classroom became as noisy as a marketplace.

"...Quiet!"

A vein bulged on Tobirama Senju's forehead. One glare from his red eyes frightened every little brat into silence. He lowered his head and looked at Uchiha Shingetsu's name again, so angry he nearly let out a cold laugh on the spot.

An Uchiha brat, daring to arrive late on the very first day. Good. Such admirable courage.