Naruto: From Novice to Grave

On April 1st, the Ninja Academy officially opened.

However, Higashino Makoto did not stop his early morning training because of this.

Keigo Higashino took the day off. After her son returned from training and had breakfast, she took him to school.

The training grounds of the ninja academy were packed with people, adults and children huddled together, chatting amongst themselves.

Most of them are a parent with a child, and some are simply all alone, obviously orphans.

Few parents were present, as it was wartime and this was Konoha Village, a military base of the Land of Fire.

Higashino Megumi and her son lined up to register. After filling out the complete information and receiving a number, they stood aside and chatted.

"There are significantly more people than in previous years," Sakura Uzuki remarked, looking at the sea of ​​people.

"It must be because of the war that they expanded enrollment."

Uzuki Sakura looked at her daughter Yugao and Higashino Makoto, her eyes somewhat unfocused: "I hope the war will end soon, otherwise, they might be forced to go to the battlefield in the future."

Higashino Megumi sighed helplessly, "Perhaps this is the fate of a ninja."

Uzuki Yuwa and Higashino Jiro have always been in the same squadron, and this time is no exception. They went to the direction of the Land of Grass to face Iwagakure directly.

At that moment, a teacher in the school was shouting something through a megaphone.

Having grown taller and already showing signs of becoming a beautiful young woman, Uzuki Yugao stared at the number plate in Higashino Makoto's hand: "Hey, Makoto-nii, what number are you?"

Higashino showed him the number: "We're not in the same exam room."

"Hmph, honestly, why did we have to separate?"

"Don't worry, just focus. With your abilities, we'll end up in the same class."

Upon hearing that they wouldn't be separated in the future, Uzuki Yugao finally put away her chubby face and smiled again.

The two parted ways with their mother and headed towards their respective classrooms.

There is a written test for admission. The questions are varied but not difficult. It's just a small test to check the students' basic knowledge so that they can be assigned to classes later.

The test ended in less than an hour, and everyone, led by their respective teachers, began running laps quickly on the training field. Recorders recorded the students' scores based on the numbers on their clothes.

The school will combine their average scores from written tests and physical fitness tests to divide them into different classes.

After all, people cannot be generalized, and their abilities before entering school vary greatly. It is impossible to put poor students and good students in the same class. That would leave the good students without a competitive environment, and the poor students would be discouraged and doubt their life. Neither of these is conducive to the growth of children.

This physical fitness test was naturally a breeze for Higashino Makoto and Uzuki Yugao. With Uchiha Shisui joining them, the three of them ran side by side ahead, their breathing steady, chatting and laughing as they ran.

Zhishui was the most talkative. He wasn't a chatterbox, but because he was often confined to his family for special training after the age of 5, he rarely had the chance to come out. Now that he had met his only friends, it seemed like they had endless topics to discuss.

Makoto Higashino gleaned an important piece of information from his words.

Last June, their clan leader, Fugaku Uchiha, was blessed with a son, whom he named Itachi.

In his previous life, the chronology of the Naruto world was actually quite chaotic, with at least three timelines, each with its own source. Since coming to this world, Higashino Makoto has also discovered that although everyone knows how many years Konoha has been established and often talks about what happened in Konoha in a certain number of years, there is no legally recognized Konoha chronology. Each country, especially the Five Great Nations, has its own unique cultural festivals and official chronology.

However, there is indeed a universally recognized standard dating system in the world, known as the Ninja Era XXX Year.

Due to severe gaps in the history of the ninja world, almost no one knows where this ninja era originated.

Higashino Makoto speculates that it should be counted from when the Sage of Six Paths established the Ninja Cult.

Unfortunately, people in the ninja world now believe that the Sage of Six Paths is just a legend, a figure from mythology, and no one can provide conclusive evidence that he ever actually existed.

The ages of many famous ninjas before the end of the Third Shinobi World War were also vague and highly controversial, but at least one person is certain, and that is Uchiha Itachi.

He was 5 years old when the Nine-Tails attacked.

From this point, Higashino Makoto can deduce many things.

For example, the high-intensity period of this great war lasted only about 3-4 years, after which it gradually subsided. After the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha, there was a rebound, with increased friction between Konoha and Kumogakure, and Kirigakure making constant small moves in the east, but ultimately it did not escalate into another Shinobi World War.

For example, he was originally 5 years older than Itachi, and Itachi would be 5 years older than the 9 future kids, which means that Higashino was really 10 years older than these people.

Many similar things could be inferred, but Higashino Makoto didn't really care much.

What he should do now is continue to grow stronger and survive this war.

His goal has never changed: to live a wonderful life. Cultivating and becoming stronger is the guarantee for this goal. As for changing the world, that depends on his mood and how high he can stand.

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The physical fitness test continued. The originally chaotic line stretched into a long line after running more than ten laps, due to the individual differences among the students. The line snaked around the school's training field.

Runners like Higashino Makoto, Yugao, and Shisui, who are always in the lead, are always in complete control. When someone tries to overtake them, they find that the distance between them is always constant. When they speed up, the three in front seem to notice immediately and speed up as well.

Although Uzuki Yugao was struggling, she gritted her teeth and persevered in order to be in the same class as Higashino Makoto and Shisui.

The children behind were mostly from large and small families. Many of them could be identified by their clothing and certain characteristics. As for those without any distinguishing features, they might be members of ninja clans or commoner ninjas who had received prior training from their families, like Higashino Makoto.

Those who hadn't trained beforehand, or even refined their chakra, were all left at the back, some already panting and unable to continue.

Gradually, the entire group was divided into three sections: a small group in front, a small group at the back, and a large group in the middle.

The ninjas were very efficient; shortly after the physical fitness test, the class assignments were posted on the bulletin board.

As it turned out, Higashino Makoto was right. His name and Uzuki Yugao's name appeared in the same class, along with Uchiha Shisui, who was on the first list.

To put it simply, this is an elite class.

Besides that, he also saw two somewhat familiar names in this class: Hyuga Tokuma and Aburame Muta. He had a vague recollection of these two people.

Even with other surnames that are very well-known, he simply couldn't recognize the person.

However, while quickly browsing through the other class assignments, he saw an extremely familiar name in the list of classes further down the list. This person would change or even save the ninja world in the future.

There's a saying that perfectly encapsulates him: every ninja in the entire ninja world should bow down to him.

He is Iruka Umino.

It turns out he's the same age as Makoto Higashino.

Mentioning him, Higashino Makoto thought of another person, Mizuki, but that guy was actually two years older than Iruka and hadn't graduated yet.

After the class assignment list was released, the children who saw their names on it cheered with joy, but some stood outside the crowd, looking sad, and many even cried.

Their parents were comforting them.

These are the students who were eliminated. They are kids who lack basic knowledge and also failed the physical fitness test. Not everyone can become a ninja.

Even if we let them enroll, it's hard to say whether they can graduate in six years. Even if they do graduate, they'll only be able to barely use chakra. Intervening in battles between ninjas would be pointless except for sending them to their deaths.

Soon, the children who had successfully enrolled lined up on the training field, with their parents standing behind them.

A simple stage had been set up ahead, and soon the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, dressed in his iconic Kage suit, arrived and began his routine speech.

As everyone knows, the Third Hokage's height is somewhat disappointing; it would be beneath his dignity if a platform wasn't built for him to stand on.

The speech was short; this was the ninja world, not some kind of government meeting.

The content is also the usual Will of Fire.

Higashino Makoto listened expressionlessly from below the stage. Uzuki Yugao on his left seemed somewhat confused, while Uchiha Shisui on his right looked excited, as if he had heard a profound life lesson that would guide him.

As the group applauded at the end of the speech, Shisui asked curiously, "Shin, if it were you, you should be able to deeply understand what the Hokage was trying to convey, right? Don't you have any thoughts?"

"What are your thoughts?" Higashino Makoto turned to look at him. "My thoughts are that I'll let Kunashi fly for a few years."

Uchiha Shisui and Uzuki Yugan: "???"