Six months later, Yugakure.
Yugakure Year 8, Golden Autumn of October.
Thirteen-year-old Shangguan Mo left his home and walked towards the Ninja Academy. Over the past six months, he had gradually adapted to life in the ninja world. Unlike the "Will of Fire" he knew from Konoha, Yugakure was a village that had forgotten war. The ninja here longed for peace and were not constantly targeted by the great nations.
After demonstrating his "affinity for ninja beasts" and presenting his legitimate identity as a survivor from Clear River Village, he was scouted by a Yugakure ninja and enrolled in their academy as an older transfer student. The village had even arranged a two-bedroom apartment for him, treating him very well. And with that, Shangguan Mo finally had a new identity: Academy Student! Albeit, a slightly older one...
At thirteen, he was placed in the third year of the six-year academy system. It was now October, the second semester. His classmates were mostly ten-year-old children...
Yugakure wasn't large, but it was home to many ordinary villagers. As he walked, Shangguan Mo wore a gentle smile, not stingy with his kindness towards the honest folk he passed. At 8 AM, the autumn air was cool. The number of kids on the street began to increase, most of them a full head shorter than him. At thirteen, his body was in the middle of a growth spurt, and thanks to the 500 ryo living stipend the village gave him each month, he ate well.
He blended in with the crowd and entered the Ninja Academy. The entrance was as lively as a market, with parents bending down to give their children last-minute instructions. Shangguan Mo watched this with interest, feeling a sense of nostalgia for his past life. With his mental age, he didn't feel any sense of loss; after all, he was old enough to be a father before he transmigrated.
The Land of Hot Water was an insignificant nation in the ninja world. Correspondingly, its academy wasn't large, and there weren't many students. The people here valued peace and hadn't felt the cruelty of war for many years. Even the Second Great Ninja War, which had affected almost the entire ninja world, had somehow skipped over them. Without war, there was less reason for people to want their children to become ninja, a high-risk profession.
So, in the Yugakure Ninja Academy, each grade only had one class, with about thirty to fifty students. This meant that Yugakure only produced thirty to fifty new Genin each year. From this, one could guess that the village's overall strength was not very high.
Shangguan Mo skillfully found his third-year classroom and sat in his usual spot in the back row. The classroom had tiered seating, and a classmate was already at his desk. To his left, by the window, sat a quiet, chestnut-haired girl of about ten. She was resting her chin on her hands, gazing out the window, showing only her delicate profile. He followed her gaze but saw only a desolate grove of trees.
"You're early again, Li!"
The girl turned her head, a surprised look on her slightly chubby face, which then bloomed into a smile. "Good morning, Mo-kun!"
Shangguan Mo smiled helplessly. "Good morning..." He had to go through this every morning. At first, he felt incredibly embarrassed, but now he was mostly numb to it.
He looked at the textbooks on his desk. There wasn't much they needed to learn; these books were mostly just for broadening their horizons. For him, the only truly useful thing was what the teacher taught personally, like... the Chakra Molding Technique!
The History of the Ninja World, The Origin of the Hidden Villages, The History of Yugakure, War and Peace... He had placed War and Peace on top of the pile, to show his longing for peace. This was mainly to fit his persona. His official story was that he had come to Yugakure after his village was attacked by Jashinists and his parents were killed. As a traumatized orphan, it was only natural for him to yearn for a peaceful life.
He was staring blankly at the book when a soft voice brought him back. "Mo-kun, are you spacing out...?"
"What?" He looked to his left. The gentle Li was speaking to him. "What did you say? Sorry, I was distracted. I didn't hear."
"...I was just asking if you were okay. You didn't look very well just now..." she said hesitantly.
Shangguan Mo was taken aback. "Did I? Uh... maybe I was just thinking about something unpleasant." He smiled, telling a lie.
Before long, a Yugakure ninja in his forties walked into the classroom. This was their third-year instructor, Inoshita Rino. His forehead protector bore the Yugakure symbol, which looked like three diagonal lines over a horizontal one, simple as a child's doodle. He scanned the room, counted the students, and nodded slightly. Looking at these vibrant children, he felt a mix of relief and worry. The Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water had been putting pressure on the village recently, and they were severely short-handed. These children might have to be sent out to face those cruel monsters...
The Land of Hot Water had not been peaceful lately. Those evil followers of Jashin, after disappearing for a while, had started their horrific village massacres again. His gaze shifted to the right, to the boy who was a head taller than the others. "That child is so pitiful. His parents were killed by those damned Jashinists, his village wiped out. He must be in constant pain..."
Sighing, he cleared his throat to begin the day's lesson. "Today, we will be covering the topic of shurikenjutsu..."
"Sensei!" Just then, another voice rang out. As the instructor was writing on the blackboard, Shangguan Mo stood up, his hand raised, his face full of a thirst for knowledge.
"Shangguan Mo? Is there something you need?" The instructor turned, looking at him with confusion. The other students also turned to look.
"Sensei, I want to know, is it really possible to throw a shuriken eight hundred li?" (Note: a li is an ancient unit of distance, about 500 meters. The question is a reference to a Chinese meme/trope and is intentionally absurd.)
The instructor's face was covered in black lines. He wanted to smack the mischievous kid. "What do you think you are, Kakuzu?" he retorted irritably.
"Hahahahahaha..." The entire class burst out laughing.
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