The sky was clear and bright, it was a perfect day.
At the Konoha Ninja Academy, the opening ceremony was about to begin.
Rihito Sato had gotten up early, washed up carefully, combed his hair into a neat style, and changed into clean clothes. Standing under the morning sun, his whole body seemed wrapped in a faint halo, and with the boundless vitality of youth, he was practically unbeatable.
Checking himself once more in the mirror and finding no flaw in his appearance, Rihito skipped out the door. Having just gained the ability to use chakra, the thrill of leaping four or five meters in a single bound made him feel like he was flying.
His house wasn't far from the school. Vaulting across rooftops and running along the eaves, Rihito soon landed beneath the big tree at the school gate. Dropping onto the swing hanging from its branches, he began swinging back and forth on his own.
It was a little past seven, still early, yet people were already arriving. Some children came alone. Spotting Rihito on the swing, they wandered over and quickly formed small clusters. Others were led by parents, one hand clutching a child's palm, the other waving as they chatted with familiar adults.
Observing carefully, Rihito noticed a pattern: children who came alone were mostly from civilian families, with no clan symbols on their clothes. Those escorted by parents, however, were mostly from clans, the Uchiha, Hyūga, Sarutobi, and so on.
The two groups, civilian-born and clan-born, remained distinct, forming circles of their own that rarely overlapped. Yet the courtyard buzzed with noise like a lively market fair. The strange atmosphere made Rihito click his tongue in disbelief.
By eight o'clock, the crowd had swelled to a dense mass in front of the school gates. Finally, the academy doors opened. Children clutching admission letters filed inside, while their parents gradually dispersed.
On the playground stood a simple stage. Hundreds of students lined up in orderly formations according to height. At the front, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, delivered the address, flanked on either side by three young shinobi.
Rihito knew who they were, Tobirama's six disciples. Their fates were well-known: one would die, one would vanish, two would become village advisors, one would inherit the Hokage's seat, and another would rise to become a shadowy leader. Together, they would shape forty years of Konoha's history.
Tobirama's face was as cold as ever. He was not a man known for warmth, and he hardly ever smiled. Even when facing children, his voice was icy, as he solemnly preached the Will of Fire inherited from the First Hokage.
The Will of Fire, everyone knew the script. Praise Hashirama for ending the age of chaos, stoke admiration in impressionable children, blur clan lines by calling everyone "family," emphasize collectivism, and finally, inspire them to fight for the village.
Though not kind, Tobirama carried the aura of a true master. His words carried a conviction that drew belief almost unwillingly from his audience.
Of course, leadership speeches are never short. Half an hour for a few lines, two or three hours if he got going. Rihito nearly dozed off, legs aching from standing, his spirit sagging. At last, Tobirama finished.
Snapping to, Rihito instinctively clapped, an ingrained reflex from his past corporate life. The other students hesitated, then joined in. Scattered claps soon merged into a thunderous applause echoing across the playground. Tobirama cast Rihito a brief glance before dismissing it. Sarutobi Hiruzen, however, lingered on him with a thoughtful gaze.
When the speech ended, teachers began calling out names. The classes had been decided long ago during qualification tests, but they went through the motions.
Rihito was placed in Class 1-A and followed the others into Classroom 101.
The room was built like a lecture hall, lower at the front, higher at the back, each desk seating three with textbooks already stacked neatly.
Rihito made his way straight to the back and sat near the window in the second-to-last row. The view was good, the corner quiet yet not isolated, perfect for surveying the entire class.
As the saying goes: "Back row by the window, the king's rightful home." Rihito relished that feeling of watching everything from above, as though all were within his grasp.
At that moment, a blonde girl strode into the room. She carried herself with radiant confidence, her pretty features glowing as she drew every eye. Murmurs rippled through the class.
"Who's that? She's gorgeous!"
"Never seen her before."
The chatter filled the room, but the girl paid no mind. Her gaze swept the classroom and immediately settled on the same spot Rihito had chosen: back row, window seat, good light, quiet yet commanding view.
She walked straight toward him. Along the way, classmates greeted her warmly, but she merely smiled and nodded, clearly used to the attention.
Without hesitation, she pulled out the chair and sat beside him, her small ninja pouch tossed casually onto the desk. Her movements were clean, natural, as if the seat had always been hers.
Rihito spoke first.
"Hello. My name is Rihito Sato. Let's get along during our time as desk mates."
The girl tilted her head, her lovely face flickering with surprise. A civilian-born boy, and he dared approach her without fear?
Her brown eyes met his. She found no trace of the timidness she usually saw in children of humble birth. Instead, he looked back calmly, and she smiled.
"Hello, Rihito. My name is Tsunade. Nice to meet you."
So it was her, Princess Tsunade, the legendary big prize sheep.
Rihito raised his brow, slightly taken aback. He had half-expected her to be a Yamanaka girl, but fate had seated him beside this one. After exchanging introductions, silence fell between them. They sat together in the awkward pause of two new acquaintances with nothing else to say.
As they waited for the teacher, Rihito let his eyes wander. Among the students below, he thought he spotted a pale-skinned child who might be Orochimaru. But Jiraiya, the boy with the spiky white hair, was nowhere to be seen.
The Sannin were supposed to be in the same year… so why weren't they in the same class?
<150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter>