The Second Day of School, I Graduated

"Where leaves fall, fire is reborn..."

At the Ninja Academy's entrance ceremony, the Third Hokage, as expected, gave a speech about the Will of Fire. In essence, it all boiled down to... everything is for the village.

This spiritual inheritance could drive people towards the light, or lure them into darkness.

Unfortunately, the children entering this year had all gone astray... each with their own direction. Take that little veterinarian with paint on her cheeks...

Or the girl with the tear mole who had been staring at Uchiha Itachi since entering the school gates...

And then there was a worried crow... it was concerned about the Third Hokage's speech on the Will of Fire and was communicating new ideas to Itachi via chakra... benevolence and righteousness.

It had to be guarded against... under the Third Hokage's influence, who knew how many hotheads had fallen into the pit of the Will of Fire... it needed to be constantly vigilant.

"The weak, show them benevolence..."

As a ninja, when facing innocent and weak people, one shouldn't just kill them indiscriminately; rather, they should be protected properly, that's the right way, isn't it?

"The strong, act with righteousness..."

Uchiha Itachi murmured, the Sharingan in his eyes constantly spinning. After a long while, his eyes finally settled on the Three Tomoe.

"Beiyuan, thank you..."

"N-no problem?" Beiyuan was a little scared. After all, such a misunderstanding of ideology could be dangerous. It only had a vague understanding of benevolence and righteousness itself... and was now worried about Uchiha Itachi having problems...

Even if he wasn't a dark reflection of the Will of Fire anymore, what if the little boy suddenly changed his style...

For example, if Kaguya Otsutsuki was unsealed and came out to play, Uchiha Itachi would suddenly open his Sharingan: "The moon collapses, and I, Uchiha Itachi, have only my eyes..."

...Stunned O__O ...It seemed like he wouldn't be able to accept that either!

Itachi quietly hid his Sharingan, as if nothing had happened...

The Third Hokage, speaking on stage, couldn't help but show a slight smile... because apart from Uchiha Itachi, there were no other geniuses in the entire Ninja Academy who required special attention.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had observed Uchiha Itachi's abnormality from beginning to end... Hehehe... that middle-aged man clapping in the parents' section looked really annoying!

New student classroom.

A group of problem children sat unevenly inside.

After seeing his father off, Uchiha Itachi came to the classroom to find his seat... Many people turned their gazes to him, and the classroom immediately became lively.

"So... so handsome!"

"Hey, hey, hey, is that kid Uchiha Itachi?"

"Does he still bring his pet to school?"

"Tch!"

"They say he's the most talented Uchiha..."

Uchiha Izumi had noticed Itachi's arrival long ago, but with someone sitting next to her, she could only gaze at him wistfully: "Itachi..."

"Itachi! Beiyuan! Over here!"

Inuzuka Hana waved at them, pointing to the empty seat beside her.

"Thanks..."

"Caw!"

"You're welcome..." Inuzuka Hana took the crow and placed it on the table, muttering, "I'm so jealous you have Beiyuan to accompany you to school. Mom scolded me when I wanted to take Kuromaru out this morning..."

Uchiha Itachi, who often heard her mention the large dog at home, looked at her in confusion: "Huh? I remember the school seemed to allow it, right?"

"Kuromaru is my mom's ninja dog..." Inuzuka Hana's eyes gradually lost their light, and she drooped dejectedly: "I should have been able to adopt a small ninja dog from the clan when I enrolled, but Kuromaru's wife is pregnant..."

"...So (°ー°〃)..."

Inuzuka Hana's expression wasn't good as she thought of her mother's overbearing management style at home: "I'll probably have to wait until she gives birth!"

"..."

The first day at the Ninja Academy, apart from announcing the school curriculum and self-introductions, the teacher only taught the method of chakra refinement... which was meaningless to Itachi...

The boring first day passed like this.

After school, Inuzuka Hana was the first to pack her stationery, slung her beloved medical bag over her shoulder, her eyes unusually bright: "I'm leaving first! Oh? Right, do you want to go around the village together?"

"No, I have to go home early today..." Uchiha Itachi shook his head, grabbed the crow sleeping soundly on the table, and held it in his arms.

"See you tomorrow then!"

The little veterinarian quickly left after saying goodbye. It didn't take much thought to know she was definitely going to look for injured animals...

Uchiha Izumi cautiously walked over: "Itachi, want to go to the training grounds? There's a shuriken and taijutsu basic test tomorrow!"

"...Caw..." The groggy crow opened its mouth and started crying that it was hungry...

Uchiha Itachi quickly whispered to coax it, promising to go home soon, then shook his head at the young girl: "Sorry, I can't today. Beiyuan is too hungry..."

"..."

Did I just get blamed? Beiyuan looked at Uchiha Izumi's dazed face in a daze...

The Ninja Academy was less a place for cultivating ninjas and more a place for cultivating feelings and bonds.

On his first day of school, Itachi didn't make any new friends besides Izumi and Inuzuka Hana. He also didn't know that today would be his last day of school.

After returning home, Uchiha Itachi comforted his younger brother, who was feeling a bit down. Just as he was about to head back to his room, his father stopped him…

Uchiha Fugaku looked at his son with a complex expression. "The Hokage visited me today. He told me, have you really awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan?"

No matter how Hiruzen Sarutobi found out, his mouth… was way too loose!

"...Yes, Dad."

"Itachi, you've truly grown up…" Fugaku managed to say, putting all his effort into the words.

The old man seemed even happier than his own father when Uchiha Itachi awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan…

"Fugaku, spring has arrived, and Konoha's new sprouts will soon grow into towering trees… Itachi has just awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan, and I plan to have him graduate directly…"

"But Hokage-sama, he just started school today… He doesn't even have a clear grasp of basic ninja knowledge…" Uchiha Fugaku's mind was buzzing, unsure whether to be happy or a little ashamed…

I know my son is excellent, but graduating after only attending school for one day…

"A body and chakra capable of wielding the Three Tomoe can meet ninja standards no matter what. Moreover…" the Hokage said, tapping his pipe, "guidance from a Jonin leader will be more beneficial than what's taught at the Ninja Academy."

"Does the Hokage mean to assign Itachi elsewhere?"

By tradition, most graduating ninja from the Uchiha Clan would return to the Police Force for duty, with only a select few choosing to become ninja under the village's jurisdiction.

As the clan head's son, Uchiha Itachi, both in terms of talent and background, should have been assigned to the Police Force. If he were unlucky, he would have to inherit the position of clan head in the future…

"That's right." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked confidently at Fugaku and softly uttered his next words, "Jiraiya has recently returned to the village."

"...Jiraiya-sama, one of the Sannin…"

Hiruzen Sarutobi's intention was very clear: if Uchiha Fugaku agreed, his son would become Jiraiya's disciple and, in another sense, a direct subordinate of the Hokage.

He was openly placing a honey-coated bread in front of Uchiha Fugaku… Did he want a son who was a Hokage candidate?

The test Itachi was to participate in had been changed to his personal graduation assessment, with the examiners being Hiruzen Sarutobi, Uchiha Fugaku, and the white-haired legendary Jiraiya…

That's all for today, see you tomorrow. Please vo