Just as Yamata Jumoku and Motoya Tako finished talking, a man walked into the classroom.
He looked to be in his forties, broad-shouldered and heavily built—almost unlike a typical ninja. The moment he entered, the air changed. The fierce aura around him instantly silenced the previously noisy classroom.
He walked to the front, scanned the room, and his gaze quickly landed on Orion's group.
"Team Eleven. Follow me."
His words were brief and to the point.
This man was their assigned instructor.
Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out of the classroom.
Jumoku and Tako were visibly shaken.
"Our teacher looks… terrifying," Jumoku muttered.
Tako nodded uneasily. "We're in trouble, aren't we?"
Orion, however, remained calm.
His presence is heavy… and there's a strong scent of blood on him. He's probably from an elite unit—maybe something like the Anbu, Orion thought.
But that's not necessarily a bad thing. Anyone who makes it into Anbu has to be strong.
Not all Anbu were jōnin—chūnin could join too—but those selected were elites among their ranks.
"Let's go," Orion said. "If we fall behind, we might lose track of him."
After Orion's group left, Naruto let out a breath of relief.
"That was scary… Orion's doomed. His teacher looks like someone you don't want to mess with."
Sakura Haruno, sitting nearby, nodded nervously. "Who even is that guy? He looks like he's killed people before."
Only Sasuke Uchiha remained thoughtful.
"That man… he has the same kind of presence as him. He must have come from Anbu."
Unlike Naruto and Sakura, Sasuke had seen enough to recognize that aura—one similar to what he had felt from Itachi Uchiha.
Orion and the others followed their instructor out of the Academy and toward a training ground.
Konohagakure had many training grounds, the most famous being the Forest of Death—a massive area with a diameter of around twenty kilometers.
The three students stood in front of their instructor.
Jumoku and Tako trembled visibly, but Orion remained still.
The instructor's gaze lingered on Orion.
A moment later, Orion felt a heavy pressure weigh down on him.
It was unpleasant—like an invisible force pressing down on his mind.
He knew what it was.
Killing intent.
The instructor was deliberately projecting killing intent as a test.
Even though Orion felt dizzy for a split second, he didn't falter.
He didn't plan to give in.
The oppressive aura pressed heavily, yet Orion's expression didn't change at all.
He looked completely unaffected.
The instructor's eyes widened slightly.
Interesting kid.
His killing intent hadn't worked on Orion at all. That piqued his interest—after all, Orion was just a fresh Academy graduate.
Even many chūnin would have been shaken by that kind of pressure.
"Hahaha! Kid, you surprised me," the instructor laughed. "I thought I'd been given a bunch of greenhorns, but I didn't expect someone like you."
The killing intent faded.
Jumoku and Tako, who had been on the verge of collapse, could finally breathe again.
Their faces were pale, their bodies shaking. Their minds had nearly blanked out.
After all, their instructor had once been part of Anbu. His killing intent carried the weight of real combat.
Orion looked at the instructor and said calmly:
"Sensei, I don't think using that kind of pressure on new graduates is appropriate."
Even though he had withstood it, it didn't mean he was unaffected.
If not for the boost from the previous night—his body and mental strength increasing several times over—he would have collapsed like the other two.
The instructor paused, then sighed.
"Fine, fine. I knew I wasn't suited to teaching kids."
"If this were the old days, I'd have smacked you for talking back like that."
"Your name's Orion, right? The Academy's report on you wasn't accurate at all. You're not ordinary."
He chuckled.
Without the pressure, Jumoku and Tako slowly recovered. But the fear in their eyes remained.
They had never experienced anything like that before.
Both turned toward Orion in shock. Under that kind of pressure, he had stayed completely composed.
Before this, they had thought Orion was just like them. Now, they realized the gap between them was huge.
They didn't know that the majority of the pressure had been directed specifically at Orion. If they had, they would've been even more stunned.
The instructor clapped his hands lightly.
"Alright. Introductions. My name is Kimoto Doichi. You can call me Doichi-sensei."
"What I did earlier was a small test. You did fine—especially you, Orion."
He looked genuinely pleased.
"Now, introduce yourselves."
Jumoku immediately raised his hand enthusiastically.
"I'm Yamata Jumoku! My favorite food is grilled meat, I hate green peppers, and my dream is to become the strongest ninja in the world—and the greatest Hokage!"
He sounded a lot like Naruto. But dreaming of becoming Hokage wasn't unusual—most kids in the village had the same dream.
Doichi nodded. "Then you'd better work hard. The world is full of strong shinobi. Becoming the strongest will take more effort than you can imagine."
Now that the intimidating aura was gone, Doichi seemed surprisingly friendly.
Next, Tako spoke, her voice trembling slightly.
"I… I'm Motoya Tako… I'm twelve years old…"
Her voice was so soft it was barely audible.
She already had a delicate and beautiful appearance, and her nervousness only made her seem more fragile.
Even Orion found himself briefly struck by her appearance.
Such a beautiful girl… yet I've never seen her before. I wonder if she died early on some mission.
Orion frowned slightly.
Even though they had just met, he already had a good impression of both of them.
I wonder… will my presence change their fate?
Finally, it was Orion's turn.
"My name is Orion. My dream is… to become a good shinobi."
It was a simple answer.
Before gaining the system, he hadn't had any particular dream. Even now, nothing had changed.