Ninja Academy

After leaving his clan, Uchiha Anyo drew on his past experience to quickly obtain a new identity, naming himself Anyo and dropping the Uchiha surname.

Of course, this identity was rather crudely made. Anyone determined to investigate could still uncover his true identity, but that did not matter. The stance he was showing now was that he wanted to cut ties with his clan.

Since this was wartime, orphans were everywhere, so this was not difficult. As for empty houses, there were even more of those.

He casually picked a small house with an open view and opened the door to find that it had all the essentials, though dust and cobwebs covered everything. It seemed no one had lived there for a long time. Anyo quickly began cleaning and tidied up the bed. From now on, this would probably be his home for a long time.

Looking up and around, he saw three exceptionally conspicuous statues on the distant rock face.

One glance was enough for Anyo to understand. It seemed Konoha was currently under the Third Hokage, and Naruto's dad had yet to take office. He was probably still a little brat at this point, perhaps studying at the Ninja Academy, though with his talent, he would likely attract the village's attention soon.

His own destination was also the Ninja Academy. It offered systematic training and learning methods that could help him grow quickly. Especially in wartime, being able to protect himself was very important.

Soon, Anyo arrived at the academy's registration desk with his new identity card. Of course, while his status as an orphan earned him sympathy, it also inevitably brought more questions.

They were only simple questions about Konoha, and he passed smoothly by relying on his memories.

After reaching the classroom, he found a seat by the window and sat down. Soon, a teacher came up to give them a lesson. Unlike in the anime, this teacher taught almost exclusively self-defense techniques and which techniques to use in which situations. The lesson was not long, but his explanations were extremely detailed. At a glance, he was clearly a veteran who had experienced war.

In just one lesson, Anyo felt he had gained a great deal and that coming here had been worthwhile. Even after the bell rang, he was still pondering several combat techniques the teacher had just mentioned.

When he came back to his senses, he found himself surrounded by several little girls. He could not help feeling puzzled. What was going on?

One of the girls, who had pink hair, said shyly, "Hi, you're really good-looking. Can we get to know you?"

After a moment of surprise, Anyo understood. He had not expected the children here to be so precocious, much less that his looks would draw attention. So he smiled faintly and said, "Here's the thing. I don't like chatting with ugly girls. Of course, I don't mean you. I mean everyone here."

The moment he said this, the expressions of the girls surrounding him changed. The pink-haired girl even looked so hurt that she nearly cried. She pointed at him, unable to speak, then turned and went back to her seat.

Ah, nice. Peace and quiet. A few little girls with neither breasts nor butts really weren't enough to interest me.

As Anyo enjoyed his peace, he noticed a pair of clear blue eyes looking at him strangely.

He looked over and found a blond boy with rather delicate features. Wait, that look seemed familiar. Could he be Naruto's dad?

Seeing Anyo looking his way, the blond boy nodded at him, then began reading.

Before long, the bell rang and the next class began. It was an outdoor lesson, and everyone began performing the most basic Three Body Techniques. Unsurprisingly, not a single person failed. After all, this was wartime. Anyone without talent would have long since been advised to leave, so there would be no Dead Last like Naruto. Of course, there were still differences in how long they took to form hand seals. The best at present was that blond boy, who summoned four shadow clones at once and was also quite fast with the other two techniques.

The instructor nodded in satisfaction, then called out, "Now we'll move on to sparring. You'll fight in pairs. Whoever loses will stay after school to clean today."

The teacher began reading out the matchups. As the students were gradually paired off, he said, "Next pair, Minato Namikaze versus Anyo."

Something stirred in Anyo's heart, and he looked toward the blond boy. The boy happened to look over as well, and their eyes met.

It really was him. Naruto's dad, the Fourth Hokage, the man nicknamed the Yellow Flash, who had once been considered the fastest person in the Shinobi World. I hadn't expected to meet him so soon.

The two stood facing each other with wooden kunai in hand. Minato Namikaze moved first, appearing behind Anyo almost instantly and thrusting his kunai toward his neck.

So fast!

That speed-no wonder he would be called the Yellow Flash in the future. Anyo had no time to block at all. Fortunately, he had prepared in advance. His hands rapidly formed seals, and with a Substitution Technique, his entire body turned into a block of wood.

After a moment of surprise, Minato kept moving. Without hesitation, he unleashed Konoha Whirlwind, continuing his attack toward the spot where Anyo appeared.

Anyo crouched, dodging the strike, then raised his leg high to counterattack.

The two traded blows in a dazzling exchange, even using shadow clones.

Just then, Anyo heard discussion from around them. With a slight sweep of his mental power, he discovered that all the other pairs had long since finished their matches. Even the instructor was watching him with surprise, clearly taken aback that he could hold out for so long against Minato, who was known as a genius.

Damn, I got too carried away with the fight.

Realizing things were going badly, Anyo deliberately left an opening, then took a kick from Minato and crashed heavily to the ground, tumbling several times and scattering dust everywhere.

Minato found this very strange. This boy who had only just enrolled had put him under a kind of pressure he had never felt from anyone his own age, so he had taken this match exceptionally seriously. He had never expected to suddenly send Anyo flying with a kick. Realizing he had used too much force, he hurried over with a Body Flicker Technique and helped Anyo up, asking worriedly, "Are you all right?"

Anyo coughed twice and waved a hand. "I'm fine. I'll be all right after a little rest."

At this point, the instructor led the applause, repeatedly praising them. "Very good. That was an excellent match. I imagine that after a while, you'll be able to become Genin."

The other students all cast envious looks their way. Only Anyo knew perfectly well that Genin were cannon fodder on the battlefield. Even Jonin could not necessarily be sure of returning alive.

"That's all for today's classes. Those who lost will stay to clean. Anyo, since you were just injured, you don't have to. Go home early and rest. I look forward to seeing what you learn next."

It was clear that the teacher had high expectations for Anyo, this new student. He was a promising prospect.

Seeing that he would not have to waste time cleaning, Anyo naturally agreed. He nodded to the teacher, then turned and left.

Soon, everyone had left the training area except Minato, who silently watched Anyo's retreating figure. There was no telling what he was thinking.