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Life at the ninja academy was monotonous and dull. A full year had already passed since Uchiha Nian first enrolled.
When he ca to his senses and opened his eyes, he found himself already a second-year student.
When reflecting on the gains of this past year, Nian felt there was one phrase that perfectly captured it:
Barely satisfactory.
Compared to enlightennt, his complaints seed far more nurous.
He had originally thought that entering the academy would allow him to learn so powerful ninjutsu secrets. At the very least, he expected professional skill training under teacher supervision. Yet in the end, what they learned was mostly textbook knowledge. Outdoor practical courses were pitifully few, and proper ninjutsu instruction classes could be counted on one hand.
The first-year final exams assessed students' individual understanding of the "Five Shinobi Disciplines" - taijutsu, ninjutsu, individual skills, team coordination, and tactics. There were five written tests in total, all theoretical, with a perfect score of 50 points, designed to evaluate students' comprehensive definition of what it ans to be a shinobi.
In the Uchiha clan compound, at Nian's ho, the five test papers were casually thrown on the table, each bearing identical scores of "6" - just barely passing marks for every subject.
He was a man of his word. Throughout the sester, he had faithfully followed the path he decided upon during the entrance ceremony - concealing his abilities, maintaining a low profile, and avoiding drawing attention to himself in class, becoming practically invisible.
Perhaps this wasn't particularly difficult for him. After all, his real life wasn't much different from this.
Although his strength had long surpassed what was expected of children his age, apart from Kirigakure and Orochimaru, as well as the "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio who had been beaten to a pulp on the first day of school, no one else knew this fact.
Even if he accidentally got into conflicts with others, he remained unprovoked and unagitated, his emotional stability completely unlike that of a typical Uchiha.
Due to his low-profile behavior, he beca a complete outsider in the class, naturally seated by the window in the back row, with even the teachers having only a vague impression of him.
At the start of the school term, Nian suddenly noticed that a strange boy had appeared in their class.
This guy was obviously skinny, yet insisted on wearing ridiculous green spandex, sporting a shiny bowl-cut hairstyle, and introduced himself with booming enthusiasm—a weirdo who'd run 5 kiloters even during breaks between classes.
According to Kirigakure's account, this person had been held back from their class because he failed the final ninjutsu assessnt and had to repeat the year.
Nian didn't care about any of that. The only things that mattered to him were the secret technique scroll in his arms and... that mysterious man who had gifted him the scroll years ago.
Unfortunately, since their parting two years ago, the three of them had never seen him again.
One day, Nian and Orochimaru were invited to Kirigakure's ho for a visit. The reason was that Kirigakure's sister—Uchiha Naori—had successfully passed the assessnt and beco a mber of the Konoha Military Police Force.
During their cheerful conversation, they inevitably brought up the encounter from two years ago, ntioning that mysterious man. Upon hearing this, Naori imdiately stood up, swiftly locking all doors and windows and drawing the curtains tightly shut.
With a grave expression, she warned them never to let anyone discover their connection to that person.
"Big sister, is he a bad guy?" Kirigakure asked with a frown, while Nian also grew tense, her hands unconsciously twisting together.
Orochimaru remained expressionless.
Good or evil? Right or wrong?
What defines these standards?
rely differences in perspective and ideology.
For him personally, he didn't care about this man's past. At the very least, what he saw was a confident, powerful, principled man shrouded in mystery from head to toe.
"I never said he was a bad person. I'm just warning you not to let the village discover your connection with him," Naori said softly, her luminous eyes flickering with reminiscence. "Right and wrong should be judged with your own eyes.
"The only thing I can say for certain is that he would never harm you."
Ti flew like a fleeting steed, and in the blink of an eye, another year had passed.
Nian also spent two utterly uneventful years at the ninja academy.
Though he remained an insignificant nobody in class, the presence of Kirigakure and Orochimaru added so color to his life. Training with them during the day and researching secret techniques at ho made the days sowhat bearable.
One thing that piqued his interest slightly was discovering that both Kirigakure and Orochimaru—whom he rembered being stronger than himself—weren't actually the top students in their respective classes.
According to them, the fourth-year final assessnt was a "ninja sparring match"—essentially a controlled duel where combatants had to hold back.
The winners advance, while the losers enter the elimination round. The teachers will give their final evaluations based on the strength you demonstrate during the sparring matches, so even if you unfortunately lose, it's not a big deal.
But if you're truly so weak that you can't even perform a single jutsu, then you'll have no choice but to repeat the year.
"Don't tell yet—let guess..." Nian pondered for a mont before speaking to Orochimaru: "The top student in your class—could it be that Tsunade-hi you ntioned before?
"I heard this girl cos from a noble background—not only is she the direct granddaughter of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, but she also carries the bloodline of the Fire Daimyo's family.
"That's not right." Orochimaru shook his head, "The top student in our class doesn't co from a noble clan. It's a boy nad 'Gato Dan' who has exceptional skill in genjutsu. He effortlessly defeated all his opponents using just the most basic 'Hell Viewing Technique'.
"Eh? That sounds impressive." Kirigakure said in surprise, "The top student in our class is nad 'Hatake Sakumo', though he specializes in taijutsu and swordsmanship. His movents are incredibly fast—I'd say his strength surpasses that of an average genin.
"Hatake Sakumo? That young kid with a head full of white hair?" Orochimaru recalled, "I've heard this clan's swordsmanship is extraordinary.
Just then, Nian stretched out both hands from behind and simultaneously patted their shoulders, "Well then, looks like we'll be training with these discouraged seniors today."
"Don't be ridiculous, I don't care about winning or losing," Kirigakure scoffed.
Orochimaru truly didn't care, "Apart from techniques that grant immortality, I have no interest in any other powerful thods."
As usual, the group headed to the training ground for practice, only to discover that their "exclusive" secret base had been invaded by uninvited guests today!
It was a boy with flowing white long hair, frantically throwing shuriken at the target. His movents were decent, and his gaze was focused, but his hit rate was only two or three out of ten—pitifully low.
After exhausting his shuriken in one go, the boy gasped for breath, staring at his "achievents." Suddenly, he knelt on the ground in humiliation, letting out a roar of frustration.
Gaaaaaah!
His hands were already scraped raw, sweat dripping down his face—clearly, he had been practicing alone for a long ti.
Nian frowned as he watched.
"White hair—is this the Hatake Sakumo you ntioned?"
"No, his na is Hiruko, from our class," Orochimaru explained. "His role in the class is just like yours, Nian—unknown and average in strength. The difference is...
"Nian is pretending, while he's genuinely weak," Kirigakure said, crossing his arms.
"Forget it, let's pretend we didn't see anything." Nian suddenly said, "Even the tiniest shred of self-respect deserves protection.
"Fine, we'll do as you say."
Orochimaru tilted his head, "Then what should we do instead?"
Kirigakure rolled his eyes, "Anyone want to go soak in the hot springs?"
...
The three of them imdiately hit it off and dashed toward the bathhouse. As they passed a street corner, they suddenly spotted a white-haired kid crouching by a high wall, his butt sticking up in the air as he peered excitedly through a crack in the wall at sothing.
"White hair... is this the Hatake Sakumo you ntioned?"
"Unfortunately, no." Orochimaru replied expressionlessly. "This is Jiraiya. He's from our class.
"More importantly..." Kirigakure frowned. "Behind that wall... isn't that the outdoor hot spring of the won's bathhouse?"
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