Chapter 4: Ninja Academy
"Wherever leaves flutter, fire will burn. The shadow of the fire will shine upon the Village, and once again, new leaves will sprout..."
At the Ninja Academy's entrance ceremony, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was eloquently preaching the Will of Fire. Below the stage, parents nodded and applauded from time to time, creating a very enthusiastic atmosphere.
There was no other way; everyone was making a living under his leadership, so who would dare not show support? What if they were given a hard time later? According to a certain mysterious individual with bandages wrapped around his face, the Third Hokage is actually quite petty!
"Set fire to the mountains, and you'll sit in jail until it rots." Hyuga Tatsumi stood bored among a group of children, silently complaining in his heart.
The children around him couldn't understand the Third Hokage-sama's long-winded speech either, but that didn't stop their admiration for the Hokage. For instance, Might Guy, with his green outfit and bowl cut, didn't have any of the Aura of Konoha's future Blue Beast. At this moment, he was moved to tears because the Hokage had specially allowed him to enroll, looking as if he wanted to bow down to the Third Hokage on the spot.
"Tatsumi, Hokage-sama is so amazing! He's been talking for so long and isn't tired at all. This is truly youth!" Guy excitedly grabbed Hyuga Tatsumi's hand and said with teary eyes, "My youth is burning! How about we run 500 laps around the playground together after school?"
"No thanks!"
Hyuga Tatsumi shook off Guy's hand with a look of disgust. He had just seen Guy wipe his snot with that hand.
Besides, what kind of youth does that old man Third Hokage have? He's practically got one foot in the grave!
"Ah, my best friend, are you going to abandon our youth? Waaaah..." Guy suddenly wailed, placing one hand on his hip and tilting his head back as if afraid his tears would fall, looking just like a forsaken young wife.
"Pfft!"
Hyuga Yue couldn't help but burst into laughter in the crowd, triggering a wave of chuckles from other parents. Even the Third Hokage paused his speech and laughed along.
Hyuga Yo's face was covered in dark lines, wondering if the first friend his son made at the Ninja Academy had some sort of intellectual issue.
Hyuga Tatsumi was so embarrassed he could have died. He suddenly regretted yesterday's enrollment; he shouldn't have been swept up by Guy's passion and impulsively run around the playground with him.
Nearby, the white-haired boy with a mask and dead-fish eyes—Kakashi Hatake—felt very fortunate. Yesterday, he had almost been dragged by Hyuga Tatsumi to run with Guy, but luckily he found an excuse to decline.
Then there was Uchiha Obito, who was half an hour late because he was helping an old lady cross the street. If he hadn't met his destined goddess yesterday, he would have wanted to join the run too.
However, the idea of running wasn't bad. Could he perhaps invite his goddess to join him?
The proud Uchiha acted as soon as he thought of it. He slowly shuffled over to a brown-haired girl and said bashfully, "My name is Uchiha Obito. Classmate, what's your name?"
"Rin Nohara."
"Rin, how about we go for a run together after school?"
"Hehe!" Rin Nohara gave Obito an embarrassed but polite smile, her feet unconsciously shifting toward Kakashi. She thought to herself that this Uchiha with goggles seemed a bit silly, but the Uchiha weren't as scary as the legends said.
Also, this white-haired little boy is so handsome!
The goddess smiled at me!
Obito was ecstatic inside, already planning how many tables to set for their wedding in his head.
"Childish!"
A young boy with a cigarette... er, a lollipop in his mouth walked coolly over to a red-eyed little beauty. He held the lollipop between two fingers, blew a "smoke ring," and said dashingly, "Ahem... let's get acquainted. My name is Asuma Sarutobi, the 'Sarutobi' from the Hokage's family."
"I know, the second son of Hokage-sama."
The little beauty, Kurenai Yuhi, wrinkled her cute nose, not very interested in paying attention to Asuma. Her father was also considered mid-to-high level in Konoha; how could she not know the son of the big leader?
Besides, her family training included information gathering. How could she not know what kind of person Asuma was?
Smoking and drinking at such a young age—watch out for impotence, boy!
Seeing the little beauty ignore him, Asuma became even more enthusiastic. The goddess was indeed different from those other flashy girls; once those women knew he was the Hokage's son, which of them didn't kiss and hug him, trying to please him in every way?
"Are there any normal people in this Academy?" For the first time, Hyuga Tatsumi doubted his choice to join. If he were the parent, he'd be worried about becoming a grandfather by next year!
But compared to a certain filial son who went to the battlefield at four, jumped off a cliff at seven, and killed his whole family at fourteen, puppy love didn't seem so unacceptable. Anyway, they were still kids and couldn't do much.
"...I declare that from this moment on, you are honorable students of the Konoha Ninja Academy." With the end of Hiruzen Sarutobi's speech, Hyuga Tatsumi's Academy life began.
This year, the Second Great Ninja War was drawing to a close. The tense situation at the borders was gradually easing, and large-scale battles had ceased, though small skirmishes continued. The outcome of the war was clear; the losers had no chance of a comeback.
Amegakure, led by the demigod Hanzou, had gone to war simultaneously with Konoha, Sunagakure, and the Land of Iron. In the battle against the Land of Iron, Hanzou defeated the samurai Mifune single-handedly. This act made Mifune realize the horror of war, and thereafter, under his advocacy, the Land of Iron no longer participated in any wars, maintaining a principle of neutrality.
In the battle against Sunagakure, Hanzou faced Lady Chiyo. As a result, Chiyo not only neutralized his poison but also saw through the secret of the Salamander. Because of Chiyo's resistance, Hanzou's offensive against the Sand Ninja gained no advantage.
Against Konoha, Hanzou's poison once caused heavy losses. Only Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya persisted to the end. Hanzou admired their strength and thus bestowed upon them the title of 'konoha three sannin'.
Hanzou might have had the strength for more combat, but unfortunately, the war potential of a small nation was simply too low. The Land of Rain could not hold out any longer; years of continuous warfare had turned the entire country into scorched earth. If the fighting continued, Amegakure would be gone.
With the Land of Rain resolved, Konoha deployed more troops to the Land of Wind battlefield, even invading their territory at one point. The Land of Wind suffered heavy losses and was forced to surrender.
As soon as the Land of Wind surrendered, the Land of Earth, which could no longer profit from the war, also simply admitted defeat. However, their losses were not great, and they still possessed significant war potential.
The Land of Lightning had mobilized its forces to invade the Land of Earth, intending to make a big move, but then the Land of Earth surrendered. They did technically win the war, but too many supplies had been committed to the front lines, and a vast amount of resources had gone down the drain. Whether they could make the Land of Earth pay for it would depend on the skill at the negotiating table.
The Land of Fire returned victorious, seemingly basked in glory, but in reality, its Origin Qi was greatly damaged.
Konoha lost Tsunade, a new Kage-level Ninja with powerful Medical Ninjutsu. Due to the deaths of her brother and boyfriend, she developed Hemophobia, effectively ending her Ninja career. Furthermore, out of resentment toward the high-ranking officials, she resolutely left the Village. Konoha's medical system faced collapse just as it had been established, and the Senju Clan subsequently faded from the stage of history.
During the negotiation phase, another shocking piece of news reached Konoha: Konoha's White Fang, Sakumo Hatake, had abandoned a mission's intelligence to save his comrades, causing incalculable losses to the Village!