NARUTO FANFIC Chapter 4

Chapter 5: My Will of Fire is Love and Peace

"Follow me."

At the entrance to the stairs leading to the teaching building, another teacher glanced at the enrollment letters of the two and carefully observed them before nodding. Leading them upstairs, they reached the second floor hallway, where war orphans and a few children from ordinary families were waiting.

Moving up to the third floor, most of the students were from ordinary families with fully equipped ninja gear. There were a few from prominent ninja families as well.

Upon reaching the fourth floor, the guiding teacher stopped. Tatsuma looked down the hallway and saw fewer people waiting there. The noticeable ones were descendants of ninja clans and children with proper ninja gear.

Even the other teachers guarding the classroom seemed surprised by Tatsuma and Namikaze's presence. Their ability to be here indicated they had scored an average of nine or more rings in the ninja tool throwing test.

For descendants of ninja clans, this wasn't too challenging. After all, they might have started practicing two or three years earlier. In contrast, Tatsuma and Namikaze had visible traits of war orphans — poverty.

Even if they weren't orphans, they came from impoverished families. Such children rarely had the chance to practice throwing ninja tools. Their presence here was unexpected.

Not just the teachers, even the ninja clan children looked curiously at them. To be honest, these gazes made Tatsuma uncomfortable. He was still an adult who valued dignity and respect, though he was young and hadn't yet reached the point of being unaffected by such scrutiny.

Namikaze, on the other hand, didn't mind. His eagerness for joining the academy might have outweighed everything else.

Tatsuma led Namikaze and stopped at the classroom closest to the stairs. He didn't want to squeeze into the areas where the ninja clan students had gathered. As they hadn't been formally assigned to classes yet, there was no need to join the crowd unnecessarily.

After a while, the teachers by the classroom doors seemed to receive a signal. They simultaneously opened the doors and led the new students inside.

"For this round, we're testing your proficiency in Chakra control. I assume none of you have trouble with basic Chakra control jutsu, right?"

As the new students settled in, the academy teacher half-jokingly said. Namikaze put on a confident smile at first, but a moment later, he glanced worriedly at Tatsuma.

Noticing Namikaze's look, Tatsuma nodded in response. They had received the Chakra control jutsu instruction along with the enrollment letters. Over the past month, he had been practicing continuously. While his efficiency wasn't incredibly high, it was at least decent.

Chakra was the result of combining spiritual and physical energy. Even in this world, individuals who weren't ninja still had chakra and generated it naturally throughout the day.

Chakra control jutsu involved drawing upon the chakra within one's body and supplementing it temporarily. For beginners, this process required hand seals.

However, the hand seals used weren't the twelve basic ones; they were opposite seals.

Opposite seals marked the beginning of practical exercises for academy students. They were used to assist ninja in refining chakra quickly, which was crucial for combat situations.

"If there are no objections, let's begin. Start the timer."

Seeing that there were no protests, the academy teacher pressed a button on the podium's timer. In an instant, all the new students formed opposite hand seals.

For a group of freshly enrolled students, Chakra control wasn't something readily accessible. The academy teacher knew this and after the classroom fell silent, he began to carefully observe each student.

*Exhale~*

After a while, a Sarutobi clan student successfully refined chakra. Seeing this, the teacher's expression turned as if to say "as expected."

The Sarutobi clan student nodded back, understanding the process. Clearly, someone from their family had informed them about it beforehand.

Three minutes passed, and Tatsuma finally found the rhythm. With each breath, an indescribable sensation blended his spiritual and physical energy. A light breeze appeared around him as his wavy hair danced in response to the wind he created.

Tatsuma opened his eyes and looked at the academy teacher. The teacher nodded, smiling. It was only then that Tatsuma noticed the lack of any ninja clan symbols on the teacher's chunin vest and clothes.

Realizing this, Tatsuma understood the meaning behind the teacher's smile and returned it with a bright smile of his own.

A little while later, Namikaze also successfully refined chakra. Seeing Tatsuma waiting with a smile, Namikaze shrugged helplessly.

Fifteen minutes later, all the new students in the classroom had successfully refined chakra. The teacher made notes on their enrollment letters.

"Next is the final test: a written exam!"

With a smile, the academy teacher pulled out a stack of papers from beneath the podium, saying, "Each student gets one sheet. Pass the extras back to your classmates. The last student, please bring the extra sheets to me."

The papers were distributed smoothly, and everyone received their exam

 sheets. The teacher organized the remaining papers and commented, "The test will end in an hour. I trust you won't be foolish enough to cheat on these questions."

Listening to the teacher, Tatsuma glanced at the exam paper. It was quite simple, with basic questions involving text, writing out the twelve basic hand seals, matching hand seals to gestures, and finally, a question that read:

"Centered around the 'Will of Fire,' describe your vision for a ninja's future and write an essay of at least three hundred words."

Reading the final question, Tatsuma smirked. He felt disdainful toward such a topic, but his hands honestly began working on the last question.

Dreams, effort, comrades, bonds, responsibilities, perseverance — he elevated the theme with love and peace at its core. After quickly filling out the essay, Tatsuma glanced at the clock on the podium. He leisurely started answering the preceding questions.

After checking to ensure he had written his name, the alarm rang out. The teacher also stood up and said, "Stop writing. Now, fold your exam papers within your enrollment letters and leave them on your desks. Use your enrollment letters to hold the paper. Tomorrow at 7 AM, the school gates will open. You can come to check your assigned classes. Classes start at 8 AM. Do not be late."

Tatsuma watched the teacher's demonstration and folded his exam paper using his enrollment letter. He left the classroom with Namikaze. He noticed that some other classrooms were still in the middle of the exam, especially on the third and second floors.

Particularly on the second floor, Tatsuma even caught sight of a teacher distributing papers to students. Just as he observed this, Namikaze suddenly asked:

"Are we going to train in the afternoon, Tatsuma?"

Tatsuma snapped out of his thoughts, nodded, and replied, "You're right. Your talent and hard work are impressive. If I slack off, I might just be left behind by you in no time."

"You're saying that again. I'm just really looking forward to the official start of classes tomorrow. I don't know how to pass the time until then."

"Haha, no need to explain. I would've trained even if you hadn't brought it up."

Tatsuma playfully nudged Namikaze's shoulder, and they left the ninja academy, heading straight for the Third Training Ground.

Inside the classroom where the exams were being graded, a teacher saw Tatsuma's exam paper. After carefully reading through it three times, he murmured in amazement, "Is Konoha about to have another genius like Orochimaru-sama? No, it's two geniuses!"