Teacher Hōkaku's lecture time

"Shingetsu, how could you think that!"

Kagami Uchiha was shocked speechless by her outrageous remarks. He knew a rebellious, willful heart lurked beneath Shingetsu's seemingly obedient exterior, but he had never imagined she would go this far.

Faced with Kagami's accusation, Shingetsu casually wiped the mocking smile off her face. A moment later, only innocent bewilderment remained, as though none of it had happened.

"Don't get so worked up, Kagami. I was only joking."

Kagami couldn't imagine what would happen if anyone else in the village heard those words. He gripped Shingetsu's shoulders hard, his usually gentle, delicate face twisted with fear and lingering shock, and snapped:

"That's a terrifying joke! You must never say anything like that in front of anyone else!"

"Relax, Kagami. I won't tell anyone else. I'm not that stupid."

Shingetsu discreetly freed herself from his grip. She pointed at their classmates, who had left the two of them behind, then pulled the still-dazed Kagami along at a jog to catch up with the group.

"Let's hurry, or we'll be late again."

Once Shingetsu and Kagami disappeared around the corner, Hashirama Senju suddenly appeared where they had been standing, wearing his Hokage Robe. He removed the Hokage Hat that symbolized his office, Shingetsu's mocking question replaying endlessly in his mind.

Just as his faith in and passion for the Will of Fire and Konoha reached their peak, Shingetsu's words had swept over him like a river of biting ice, extinguishing all his fervor and leaving only a chill that reached deep into his spine.

Shinobi who had lived through the chaos of the Warring States era often possessed an extraordinary understanding of human frailty and the darkness of reality. Those were truths they had learned amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Hashirama Senju could not deny the almost prophetic possibility in Shingetsu's words. His reason had even begun to agree with her, but emotionally, he could not accept it at all.

Could the village Madara and I built with our own hands really come to that?

"Shingetsu really is an extraordinary child."

"That brat is born evil, just like Madara Uchiha. Don't let that child's face fool you, brother."

Leaning against the corner of a wall, Tobirama Senju spoke with icy severity. He had thought Uchiha Shingetsu was merely a willful, difficult brat, never imagining she would be so rebellious and self-willed. And that violated the greatest taboo of being a Shinobi.

Shinobi were tools that would use any means necessary to complete their missions. Individuality and emotion were precisely what tools needed least.

"The village matters most. The village is what counts. Any price is acceptable if it means protecting the village..."

"Enough!"

Unable to bear another word, Hashirama Senju shouted Tobirama down. An astonishing pressure burst from him, and anger blazed in his eyes.

He had not founded the village for this!

Shingetsu's accusation of putting the cart before the horse stung him as nothing ever had. Hashirama suddenly realized that such absurdity was nowhere near as distant as he had believed, but he would never allow it to happen.

Picking up the hat that had fallen to the ground, Hashirama resolved to change the village as it was. Before leaving, he looked at his younger brother, who stood frowning in thought, and warned him:

"Don't lay a hand on Shingetsu, Tobirama. You don't want to face both my anger and Madara's at once."

When Shingetsu and Kagami followed the rest of their classmates back into the classroom, someone was already standing at the front, waiting for them.

The instant the Uchiha children recognized the person at the front of the classroom, their pale little faces turned sickly green.

Shingetsu's expression was particularly spectacular. Embarrassment, surprise, and a touch of amusement seemed to mingle on her face until it almost twisted out of shape.

Dressed in everyday clothes, Uchiha Hōkaku first glared at the Uchiha brats collectively pretending not to see him, then glanced at the little brats from their old rivals, the Senju Clan. Only then did he introduce himself to the students watching him curiously.

"Uchiha Hōkaku. I'll be teaching you Taijutsu."

He opened the lesson plan he had prepared and picked up a piece of chalk to write his name on the blackboard. Once all the students had found their seats, he adopted the aloof, arrogant expression unique to the Uchiha Clan. His cold gaze swept across the children's faces one by one before settling firmly on Shingetsu.

Shingetsu's heart sank. Great. Looks like he knows all about what I did today.

"Now that you're here, let's begin. But there's one thing you need to understand: I will not tolerate anyone slacking off or cutting corners in my class."

Like most introductory courses, the Ninja Academy's first lesson involved nothing difficult or obscure. It covered only the absolute basics.

For Shinobi, the most basic of those basics was throwing kunai and shuriken.

Children from Shinobi Clans began training their physical skills and throwing techniques at a very young age. Roughly ninety percent of the students sitting in this classroom already had respectable shuriken skills, but not one dared take Uchiha Hōkaku's lesson lightly. Instead, they listened with intense concentration, trying to integrate his teaching with what they already knew.

The reason was simple: aside from the Sharingan, the Uchiha Clan was most renowned for its shuriken techniques and Fire Release.

Chalk whispered across the blackboard, and time slipped quietly by amid Hōkaku's lecture. Soon, the entire theory lesson was over. Once he finished explaining, Uchiha Hōkaku, a firm believer that results came from practical experience, herded the students toward the training grounds like a sheepdog driving its flock.

Teaching for the first time, Hōkaku could hardly wait to test the results of his lesson. Unsurprisingly, Shingetsu was the first person he called on.

"Shin-Uchiha Shingetsu, you're first."

"Yes, Fa-uh, Teacher Hōkaku."

Shingetsu picked up the academy's specially made kunai. Unlike the real iron kunai she normally trained with, these were carved from wood, with even the sharpest points shaved down. They would not injure anyone they hit, much less kill them.

After roughly gauging how much force she needed, she flung all the kunai in her hand. A series of thunks followed as every wooden kunai struck squarely inside the red circle at the center of the target.

Hōkaku nodded in satisfaction, but Shingetsu was rather unimpressed. After all, under Madara Uchiha's instruction, she had been made to throw kunai from eight hundred li away, with no meals allowed unless she hit birds in the sky and fish in the river.

Next, Kagami Uchiha was called forward, and naturally, all his kunai struck the bull's-eye as well. Misaki, Inari, and the other Uchiha children followed close behind, each earning a perfect score.

The Uchiha Clan excelled at this skill, so such results were only natural for them. The Senju children were hardly poor performers either: three of the five hit the bull's-eye with every throw.

After a full round, everyone had taken a turn. Aside from a handful of civilian students with no experience whatsoever, most of those from prominent clans achieved quite respectable results.

This was the gap between clan ninja and civilian ninja. Children from ninja clans had access to far too many resources that civilians could never obtain. Ninjutsu, secret techniques, even the most ordinary, fundamental training methods and medicinal diets-things clan ninja possessed from birth might elude civilian ninja for their entire lives.

"You're applying force incorrectly with your wrist. You should do it like this."

Noticing that Yakushi Chinatsu had landed only a few kunai on the target and stood with her head lowered in dejection, Shingetsu took her hand and guided her through the throw. This time, propelled by their combined strength, the kunai struck squarely in the center of the target.

"Huh... oh, so that's how!"

Chinatsu was startled when her hand was suddenly grabbed, but she quickly recovered, feeling how Shingetsu moved and applied force and committing it all to memory.

This time, she threw a kunai on her own. It traced a straight line through the air and lodged firmly in the bull's-eye.

"I did it!"

Chinatsu gazed in delighted surprise at the kunai in the bull's-eye, then hugged the thoughtful Shingetsu beside her with a happy cheer. Shingetsu, who had just been reflecting that people named Yakushi really did have a knack for things, was caught completely off guard. Her expression went blank for a moment. Having spent all her time among the Uchiha Clan's hordes of prickly people who hid their affection, she really didn't know how to handle someone this enthusiastic.

"Thank you, Shingetsu! I'll bring you a present next time."

"Uh, ah, well, you're welcome..."

Chinatsu gave her a warm, sunny smile like an older sister, and Shingetsu found herself utterly defenseless. Worse, she distinctly saw those two little brats, Inari and Kazuma, staring at her and snickering. She scurried back to the little Uchiha group and raised her fists, ready to settle the score.

Time ticked by as the children continued their kunai practice in an orderly fashion, until an uninvited guest suddenly arrived.

"Tobirama... Sensei, the children are in class. What are you doing here?"

The moment he saw Tobirama Senju, Uchiha Hōkaku's mood and expression soured dramatically. He glanced at the sky. This was clearly still his class time. What's Tobirama Senju doing here? Trying to wreck my lesson?

"These children aren't as weak as you think, Teacher Hōkaku. Rather than wasting time making them train from scratch, we should arrange a real sparring match so they can see exactly where the gap lies."

Ignoring Hōkaku's murderous glare, he walked over to the bewildered students. His gaze, cold and sharp as a blade, swept across them one by one before finally settling on just two.

"Hiruzen Sarutobi."

"Here, Sensei!"

The instant Tobirama called his name, Hiruzen Sarutobi rushed out of the crowd. Grinning broadly, he waved eagerly at his teacher.

"Uchiha Shingetsu."

"Here."

The moment Tobirama called her name, Shingetsu knew nothing good was going to come of this. With an inward sigh, she slowly stepped forward.

"Good."

As he looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi and Uchiha Shingetsu standing beside him-one his own student, the other his sworn enemy's-Tobirama Senju's expression remained utterly unreadable.

"You two are the strongest students in this class. Have a proper sparring match, and let the others see just how wide the gap between you and them really is."