The next morning, the sun shone brightly in a clear sky.
Having finished breakfast and packed his things, Kōki Itō took a look in the mirror: a youthful, handsome face, a small frame, and clean, tidy clothes. Satisfied that there was nothing wrong with his appearance, Kōki headed for the Ninja Academy.
Today happened to be the first day of school, so many parents could be seen bringing their children to the Ninja Academy gates. Among them were some Kōki recognized, such as the pineapple-haired members of the Nara Clan, the plump members of the Akimichi Clan, and the Yamanaka Clan beside them, as well as the white-eyed Hyūga and the Uchiha Clan, who looked very proud.
Seeing so many familiar shinobi clans, Kōki kept feeling as though characters from a manga had come to life. Of course, in his case, it would be more accurate to say that someone from reality had entered a manga world. It really did give him a sense of crossing dimensions.
"Kōki, why aren't you going inside? What are you standing at the gate looking at?"
A voice suddenly came from behind Kōki. He looked back and saw that Hiruzen Sarutobi had arrived.
He was dressed very formally, wearing the Hokage's hat and ceremonial robes, with a pipe between his lips. He gave off an air of authority with a hint of warmth.
"Lord Hokage, what brings you here today?" Kōki asked in surprise when he saw Old Man Sarutobi.
As far as he knew, Hiruzen Sarutobi was always extremely busy and only had free time in the evenings. How did he have time to wander around the Ninja Academy so early today?
"Have you forgotten that today is the first day at the Ninja Academy? I always come to the school on this day to see you young seedlings among the new students and tell you about Konoha's Will of Fire."
Only after Hiruzen Sarutobi said this did Kōki remember that, in his previous life, he had learned about Hiruzen Sarutobi's fondness for telling children about the Will of Fire. He had not expected him to speak about it at the new students' entrance ceremony too.
At the thought of Hiruzen Sarutobi giving a speech onstage, Kōki's face fell. In his previous life, he had hated nothing more than leaders droning on from a stage. They would claim they only needed a few minutes, then talk for an hour or two.
They also liked making empty promises and brainwashing people. Now that he had transmigrated into the Naruto world and become a child, he still had to listen to someone yammering away, their demonic voice assaulting his ears. Wasn't that just too miserable?
"Lord Hokage, I'm not feeling well. I need to use the bathroom. I'll be right back."
Kōki suddenly put on a pained expression as he spoke, then turned to leave without waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi's reply.
But just as he turned, a hand landed on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw Hiruzen Sarutobi's smiling old face.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave, Kōki. Hold it for a little while. You can go once this old man has finished speaking."
Hiruzen Sarutobi knew Kōki well. He knew that Kōki always acted like a mature little adult in front of him, but he also had a childish side.
Whenever he tried to teach Kōki a lesson, Kōki always looked as though he was listening attentively, but his unfocused eyes seemed to say, You do your talking, and I'll do my thinking. Neither of us will bother the other.
But today was the new students' first day, and he still hoped Kōki would listen properly.
While Kōki and Hiruzen Sarutobi were still talking, the parents at the school gates noticed them as well and began discussing them.
"Hey, do you see the kid next to the Third? Who is he? I don't think I've ever seen him before."
"I haven't seen him either. He doesn't look like he belongs to any of the village's clans."
"But looking at Lord Hokage talking to him, they seem very close."
"Could he be the orphan of a shinobi Lord Hokage knew? Look, it's the new students' first day, but that child's parents are nowhere to be seen."
"That does sound very likely."
While the nearby crowd was still making wild guesses about Kōki's identity,
an Anbu ninja wearing an animal mask appeared before Hiruzen Sarutobi with a whoosh. He knelt on one knee, holding out a scroll in both hands, and spoke to Hiruzen Sarutobi with his head lowered.
"Lord Third, urgent news from the border. There seems to have been a major upheaval within Sunagakure in the Land of Wind. Troops and supplies are being moved very frequently."
"What?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression turned grave. He immediately took the scroll from the Anbu ninja and opened it. The more he read, the deeper his brow furrowed.
"Go notify the council of elders, the heads of all the village's major clans, and every member of the Jonin Commander immediately. Have them assemble in the conference room."
"Yes!" With that, the Anbu ninja immediately vanished.
Hiruzen Sarutobi then spoke to Naoya Inoue.
"An important matter needs my attention. Take all the children straight to their classrooms." With that, he immediately turned and left for the Hokage Building.
"Yes, Lord Hokage."
After hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's instructions, Naoya Inoue addressed the children. "Students and parents, the entrance ceremony is now suspended. Children, please follow me to your classrooms immediately. Parents, please return home and wait."
The parents gathered at the school gates nodded at Naoya Inoue's words and prepared to leave. Some members of the shinobi clans, however, recalled Hiruzen Sarutobi's grave expression as he left and had a bad feeling.
After listening to the exchange between the Anbu ninja and Hiruzen Sarutobi from nearby, Kōki Itō realized that war was about to begin.
Kōki clearly remembered the cause of the Third Shinobi World War.
Sasori had killed the Third Kazekage, causing unrest within Sunagakure. The eruption of internal problems led Sunagakure's leadership to believe that only by redirecting those conflicts could peace be restored to the village.
Konoha occupied fertile land in the Shinobi World, so waging war against it would both divert internal conflicts and allow Sunagakure to select its Fourth Kazekage through the war. It would kill two birds with one stone. If they could tear a chunk of flesh from Konoha during the war, that would make it three birds with one stone.
And once Sunagakure went to war with Konoha, the other shinobi villages would not stand idly by.
More than ten years had passed since the Second Shinobi World War, and every shinobi village had regained the strength to wage war, especially Kumogakure and Iwagakure, which had long coveted the Land of Fire's territory.
Essentially, once Sunagakure and Konoha went to war, it would eventually turn into the other shinobi villages joining forces against Konoha.
For Kōki, the Ninja Academy would no longer be safe once war broke out. After all, in the original story, shinobi villages seemed to have invaded the Land of Fire and even come close to reaching Konoha.
Although Kōki did not remember when that invasion happened, the thought that war was not far away left him unable to stay calm. He had originally planned to take his time finding a reason to graduate early, but now events had outpaced his plans.
He needed to find a reason to graduate as soon as possible, while the war was still in its tense preparation stage and Konoha only had to guard against one enemy, Sunagakure.
Growing stronger at school was too slow. Only through trials of blood and fire could he grow quickly.
Although no one could guarantee they would come through unscathed once they started taking missions, with the power of Wood Release, staying alive should not be difficult if he was a little careful during missions.
But what excuse would be reasonable? He could not just tell Naoya Inoue on the very first day that he wanted to graduate early. Even if he did, Naoya Inoue would not agree.
He was just an unknown little brat. No normal person would believe that he possessed strength above Genin level.
No, I can apply directly to Naoya Inoue for graduation. If he doesn't believe me, I can ask him to have someone from the graduating class test my strength.
The students in the graduating class are basically all close to Genin level. If I can beat them, that will prove my strength, and he'll have no reason to reject my application.
Kōki thought this over, but even if Naoya Inoue agreed, he would not get past Old Man Sarutobi. The war had not yet reached its most desperate stage, and there was no need to use children as troops.
So if he wanted to graduate early, he needed a suitable reason that would persuade Old Man Sarutobi to let him take the exam. Then he would have to pass it fair and square, leaving Old Man Third with nothing to say.