Fresh Out of the Academy, Already Sentenced to Death

"I will now announce the students who have successfully graduated from the Ninja Academy."

In the classroom, an unremarkable Chunin swept his gaze over the young, childish faces before him. Holding a list in his hand, he began to speak.

The moment those words were spoken, the students below could not help but grow nervous.

Looking around, the only one wearing a different expression from the others was a boy seated in the very front row.

He had short, messy brown hair, a few freckles across his cheeks, and an utterly ordinary face... yet his eyes carried a maturity far beyond his age. While the other students around him held their breath and looked eagerly toward the teacher, Fuma Yue alone remained calm, showing no anticipation for the list in the teacher's hand.

"Yoshitaka."

"Arimura Juya."

"Natsune."

"Keiko."

"..."

As the teacher read out name after name, the youths' expressions shifted from anxiety to joy. Some could no longer suppress their excitement and raised their little fists, crying out.

"Fuma Yue."

The Chunin then called Fuma Yue's name. His gaze fell upon him and deliberately lingered on Yue for several seconds.

Then he continued the roll call.

Fuma Yue gave no outward reaction, because he had already guessed that he would graduate without issue.

If nothing unexpected happened, the entire class would graduate. This was merely a ceremonial process.

At this level... if this were Konoha, probably only a few of them would qualify for a forehead protector. Yue's gaze swept over the faces seated around him, and he sighed inwardly.

He was ten years old and a member of the Fuma Clan.

This was the Ninja World.

Beneath his childish appearance was an old, mature soul.

That was right. He had come from Earth.

Because he knew Naruto well, even though he had not undergone Soul Transmigration into Konoha's environment, Yue could still judge the gap between this group of students and Konoha's Rookie Twelve based on his memories, his efforts to integrate into the village during this time, and his familiarity with ninjas.

Although the story had not yet reached its starting point.

Compared with the talent-rich cradle of the Land of Fire, Kusagakure was lacking by far more than a little.

He had transmigrated to the Land of Grass, a place that survived in the cracks of the Ninja World's map... a place with an extremely chaotic political environment and a pitifully weak village.

"Those above are the students who have successfully graduated. First, congratulations to all of you."

"But don't celebrate too soon. Your advancement examination is still ahead of you. Only after passing it can you receive a forehead protector and officially become a Genin." The teacher at the podium smiled faintly.

Unbeknownst to him, Yue was studying him from below and calculating inwardly, A Chunin like him... if he were in Konoha, he probably wouldn't even measure up to an ordinary Genin...

It was no wonder Yue thought that way.

After all... everyone knew that Konoha's Genin were full of hidden monsters.

Afterward, the Chunin teacher named Masada explained and reminded the students about several matters concerning what came next, then announced the end of class.

The teacher pushed open the door and left, giving the students space to be alone and enjoy this brief, wonderful moment to their hearts' content.

"Great... we're finally going to become Genin. My father will definitely be proud when he finds out."

"The dark days are finally over... From now on, my name, Ninomiya To, will surely resound throughout the ninja world. I'll become a famous powerhouse!"

"Keep bragging... you?"

The atmosphere in the classroom began to heat up. The youths chatted and played freely, and every pair of eyes shone with light... the hope they held for their futures.

"The strongest person in our class is Yue. Even he hasn't said anything, yet you still dare to boast like that." At that moment, a chubby boy spoke up, and everyone's attention immediately focused on Fuma Yue, who sat motionless at his desk without the slightest sign of happiness.

"Yue... why are you... so calm?"

The twin-tailed girl sitting behind Yue asked in surprise.

"With Yue's strength, graduation is guaranteed. Naturally, he doesn't feel as nervous as we do."

Someone guessed.

"There's something going on at home. I'll be leaving first."

Yue ignored his classmates' discussion. After speaking calmly, he put his hands in his pockets, rose to his feet, and left.

"Tch, look at how full of himself he is."

One person watched Yue leave the classroom, clicked his tongue, and looked displeased.

"He's from the Fuma Clan. He's not like us commoners."

Someone else chimed in sarcastically.

"The Fuma Clan only has a bit of a reputation. They're nothing in the ninja world... If their family could have survived in the Land of Rice, why would they have come running to Kusagakure?"

The first person sneered.

"Shh... keep your voice down. Don't let him hear you."

Walking down the corridor outside the classroom, Yue turned a deaf ear to the noise coming from the other side of the wall.

The Fuma Clan could be considered one of the most insignificant clans in Naruto.

Still, generations in the ninja world had known the clan's name.

The Fuma Clan had originally lived in the Land of Rice, and still did... Orochimaru had not yet settled in the Land of Rice and founded Otogakure, so the Fuma Clan had not yet changed. However, Yue's father had come to the Land of Grass years ago for certain reasons and gained the trust of the upper ranks, allowing the family to put down roots in Kusagakure.

This was the sorrow of insignificant clans and ninjas: they had to travel everywhere for survival... The Land of Rice was relatively peaceful internally, which made the Fuma Clan's members scattered and lacking in cohesion. Yet the clan's ambitions were quite great, just like the daimyo of the Land of Rice. Otherwise, they could not possibly have been used by Orochimaru in the future.

"It's at least a bit of a benefit that came with transmigrating... In a world like this, what matters is bloodline and background. Not being born a commoner is already pretty good." As Yue walked, his fingertips brushed across the cold wall, and he smiled faintly.

His tone carried a trace of self-mockery.

"But..."

The next second, his gaze sharpened.

Graduating from the Ninja Academy and becoming a Genin was not a good thing.

His classmates had no idea what was waiting for them...

The Land of Grass's unique location and environment meant that this small nation could not expand. It was trapped in an extremely passive and weak position, forced to watch the expressions of the other great nations... The main reason it had not been annexed was because it could be regarded as a buffer zone for wars between those nations.

When war broke out, the ones injured and destroyed were always Kusagakure...

For Kusagakure to maintain its footing, it did not merely lower its stance enough. Calling it a struggle for survival would not be an exaggeration.

The village's ninjas did the sort of work the other great nations disdained, or participated in gray-market industries.

For example, smuggling intelligence, or selling themselves as grass ninja mercenaries to other villages.

Their specialty... was doing every dirty and exhausting job without turning anyone away.

And that way of survival also doomed grass ninja to grow up in a terrible environment... The village had no orthodox inheritance. Its existing ninjutsu were all low-grade goods "borrowed" from other villages. That was why a clan like the Fuma Clan could be valued by the village.

They were still considered "talent," after all. Even a mosquito was meat.

This also resulted in grass ninja being extremely weak. Without solid strength, their death rate naturally remained high.

And the more people died, the more replacements were needed... after all, it was for the village's development.

As a result, even students like them, who had only just graduated from the Ninja Academy, could not escape the upper ranks' grasp.

According to what Fuma Yue had learned, fewer than ten of the senior students from the previous class who had become Genin were still alive.

So even if this batch of students was utter trash, Yue had already guessed it... they would successfully "graduate."

That included the advancement examination that had not yet begun, the examination for receiving their Genin forehead protectors.

"Yue."

After a while, Yue had been lost in thought, considering how to escape his current predicament. Just as he was about to step out of the school gates, someone called out to him from behind.

He turned around and found that the person who had caught up to him was his teacher.

The Chunin, Masada.

"Teacher Masada." Yue bowed politely.

"Yue... the advancement examination is only a formality for you. I'm planning to personally lead your group, and I've already arranged the members."

"Sorry to trouble you, Teacher."

Yue's eyelid twitched when he heard that, but he responded politely.

"You're the most outstanding student I've ever taught... With me as your teacher, I'll definitely turn you into an excellent ninja! I wouldn't feel at ease letting anyone else take you." Masada patted Yue on the shoulder, speaking with heartfelt sincerity.

Yue nodded. Only after Masada said a few more words did he turn and take his leave.

As Masada watched the boy's receding back, he frowned slightly.

Fuma Yue's reaction made him somewhat displeased.

It seemed the boy was not particularly grateful that Masada would personally lead his team.

"So Jonin don't have time to deal with trivial things like training rookies... This is truly awful."

After leaving the school gates, Yue took a deep breath.

He knew... he had been targeted.

Masada treated him like a child, unaware that Yue had lived two lives and was actually older than him.

"Seriously..."

As Yue walked home, the sun sank toward the horizon.

Looking at the fiery clouds in the distance, Yue smiled bitterly. "It would've been nice if I'd transmigrated to Konoha... Sometimes I can't help thinking that way, but then I consider Konoha's tangled situation. Going there might not have been a good thing either. There are pros and cons... It's the same here."

"At least, as a grass ninja... I'm an insignificant little character. In a sense, that makes me 'relatively safe.'"

News of Konoha White Fang's suicide had spread not long ago.

No matter how tightly Konoha tried to suppress the news, Kusagakure, as a neighboring village skilled at gathering intelligence, had still caught wind of it.

Judging by the timing, there were only a few years left before the Third Shinobi World War broke out.

From the Second Shinobi World War to the Third Shinobi World War, conflicts of every size had never stopped throughout the ninja world. Things had merely eased somewhat compared with the Second Shinobi World War. That did not mean the world had become truly "peaceful."

But for the common people at the bottom of most villages, it was already a rare, brief period of peace.

Compared with the postwar era that Naruto's generation would be born into, Yue's beginning... was undoubtedly far more dangerous.

"Hey, little genius, school's out?"

Along the way, a middle-aged woman standing in the doorway of a shop saw the preoccupied Yue and teased him with a broad smile.

Yue wore the "sour face" others always saw on him. He numbly nodded in acknowledgment without opening his mouth, then continued walking away.

"That little brat... he acts so cocky every time I see him. I wonder who taught him that."

The aunt could not help complaining, but there was no resentment in her tone. If anything, she seemed to like Yue's little temperament even more.