Kiseki began training his chakra control with his father, excitedly throwing himself into it throughout the entire week of vacation. At first, he thought it would be relatively simple, but he quickly discovered that having a large amount of chakra didn't necessarily mean having good control over it. Despite being only five years old, Kiseki's chakra reserves were quite abundant for someone his age, and on top of that, his chakra was especially reactive because of its distinctive nature.
For the first four days, Kizashi had him practice walking up walls. If Kiseki sent too much chakra to his feet, he would be pushed away from the surface; if he used too little, he would simply lose his grip and fall. It wasn't until the fourth day that he finally managed to reach the top without falling.
The last three days of vacation were dedicated to walking on water. That turned out to be even more annoying because, unlike a wall, the surface was constantly moving. Kiseki ended up falling into the water over and over again, but by the end of the seventh day, he could finally remain standing as long as there weren't too many waves and he focused almost all of his attention on maintaining his chakra.
Kizashi watched him from the shore while Kiseki struggled not to lose his balance.
"Much better, but you still have a long way to go."
Kiseki looked at his father with concern.
"Then you're still not going to teach me the Shadow Clone Jutsu?"
"One more week," Kizashi replied. "You return to the Academy tomorrow, so during this week we'll keep training after you get home. If, by the end of it, you can maintain stable control even when the water is moving, I'll teach you the jutsu."
Kiseki became a little discouraged, but he knew his father was right. He could barely stay on top of the water while concentrating completely, so he couldn't exactly claim that he had mastered the exercise yet.
"Alright..."
And just like that, his week of vacation came to an end. The next day, Kiseki returned to the Academy, which meant that from then on, he would attend classes during the day and continue training his chakra control with Kizashi after returning home.
When Kiseki entered the classroom again, the first thing he noticed was something strange.
His class was full again.
Kiseki stopped at the entrance for a few seconds.
"...What?"
After the Kyūbi attack, nearly half of his classmates had died. For a while, the classroom had looked strangely empty, with many desks left unused.
Now those seats were occupied again.
There were children Kiseki had never seen before.
He slowly looked around, trying to understand what had happened, until his eyes stopped on someone who immediately made him uncomfortable.
Uchiha Itachi.
"..."
Kiseki blinked.
"What the hell is Itachi doing in my class?"
Before he could continue processing it, the teacher entered and began speaking.
"Due to the losses caused by the Kyūbi attack and the current war against Kumogakure, the Academy has decided to merge two classes."
That explained why the classroom was full again.
The teacher continued with a proud expression.
"So I ask all of you to properly welcome your new classmates. In addition, any students who believe they are ready may request a special exam to graduate early and become true shinobi."
Several children immediately began showing excitement.
The teacher smiled even more.
"Konoha needs everyone willing to protect the great Will of Fire."
His words had exactly the effect he wanted. Many of the children immediately began talking excitedly among themselves, and some already seemed to be seriously considering taking the exam.
Everyone except Kiseki.
"..."
As he listened to the teacher speak with so much pride, several pieces suddenly began fitting together inside his head.
"Now I get it."
The Kyūbi attack had caused an enormous number of casualties.
Then the war against Kumo had begun.
Most of the adult shinobi available were now being used on the front lines or in duties directly related to defending the village.
That meant Konoha was running short on low-ranking ninja to complete the countless D-rank and C-rank missions that continued to pile up.
Kiseki narrowed his eyes.
"That's why they're trying to speed up graduation."
But Hiruzen couldn't simply repeat exactly what had happened during the Third Shinobi World War.
If he started forcing children onto the battlefield in large numbers, especially after all the losses caused by the Kyūbi, the reaction inside the village could become disastrous.
So the solution was much more elegant.
Don't force them.
Make them want to do it themselves.
Kiseki immediately remembered the recent changes to the Academy curriculum.
Seventy-five percent theory classes.
More teachings related to the Will of Fire.
Less practical training.
Now everything made sense.
"...So they increase the Will of Fire classes, constantly talk to them about sacrificing themselves for the village, and then voluntarily offer them an exam to graduate early."
Kiseki had to admit it was clever.
Instead of taking children and forcing them to become soldiers early, they made the children themselves raise their hands and say they wanted to do it.
And the worst part was that it worked.
All Kiseki had to do was look around.
Several of his classmates were already excited by the idea.
Kiseki almost felt that his conclusion fit together too perfectly.
And without knowing it, he had gotten almost everything right.
That was indeed part of Hiruzen's plan.
Konoha had an enormous number of D-rank and C-rank missions piling up, but fewer and fewer shinobi available to complete them because of the effort being made to hold back Kumogakure.
They needed new genin.
And they needed them quickly.
Kiseki rested his cheek against one hand.
"Without a doubt, this Konoha disgusts me more and more..."
He paused inside his thoughts.
"No. More accurately, Hiruzen Sarutobi disgusts me more and more."
After finishing that thought, Kiseki turned his attention back toward the teacher and began listening to yet another one of those shitty Will of Fire classes.
Not because he was interested.
Much less because he believed in it.
He was simply being careful.
After all, who knew if that old monkey was using his crystal ball to watch the children at the Academy?
If Hiruzen ever saw Kiseki looking completely uninterested every time the Will of Fire came up, Kiseki had no desire to find out what conclusions the old man might draw from that.
Who knew?
Maybe one day he would mysteriously end up inside Root.
So Kiseki adjusted his posture, put on his best expression of an interested child, and continued listening to that shitty Will of Fire lesson while thinking the exact opposite inside his head.