Time passed quickly, and another month went by.
Konoha entered the chapter of Year 49, and the Ninja Academy opened its doors.
Today, Sarutobi Hiruzen personally picked Yagyu up to take him to the Ninja Academy.
"The Ninja Academy was established by Lord Tobirama, the Second Hokage. The purpose is to let the children of the village interact, grow together, and protect this beautiful village together. Yagyu, after you go in, you must get along well with everyone. Do not be awkward with them, and you absolutely must not use the ninjutsu I taught you to attack others, understood?"
On the way, Sarutobi Hiruzen explained the significance of the Ninja Academy's existence to Yagyu and instructed him not to fight with others.
Having watched Yagyu grow with his own eyes, Sarutobi Hiruzen understood Yagyu's current strength.
Even Kakashi at this age was far from being Yagyu's match.
If not for Yagyu's special circumstances requiring him to accept the education of the Will of Fire, the most suitable place for Yagyu would actually be the Anbu.
There, Yagyu's talents could be fully utilized.
However, Sarutobi Hiruzen had his own ideas. He wanted to cultivate Yagyu into a signboard for Konoha, just like the Sannin, placed in the light to deter other villages, rather than hiding him away.
The loss from hiding him would be too great and completely not worth it.
"Yes, I understand."
Yagyu vaguely guessed Sarutobi Hiruzen's thoughts, so he nodded obediently.
"Also, can you make a promise with me?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen patted Yagyu's head and continued, "Promise me that before graduation, you will not expose your Wood Release. Try not to use Water Release and Earth Release either. Just use the most basic Three Body Technique to interact with everyone."
"If you can do this, I will teach you even more powerful ninjutsu during the holidays. How about it?"
"Mhm, mhm..."
Yagyu nodded repeatedly, revealing a look of anticipation.
Even without Sarutobi Hiruzen's reminder, Yagyu didn't intend to bully small children, nor did he intend to expose his Wood Release before the Byakugan Incident ended.
The Ninja Academy in this era was completely in a state of transition between generations.
Currently, the only ones worth noting were Gekkō Hayate, Uzuki Yūgao, and Mitarashi Anko, but they were all senior students.
Uchiha Shisui had graduated even earlier. Wait...
Yagyu's footsteps suddenly paused, attracting the attention of Sarutobi Hiruzen beside him, who looked at him suspiciously. "What's wrong?"
"Grandpa Third, am I a transfer student? Or do I start from the first grade?"
Yagyu looked up at Sarutobi Hiruzen and asked.
"According to the records left behind, your birthday is June 4th."
Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't expect Yagyu to ask this. He couldn't help but smile gently and say, "Although your age is eight years old, you were seven before your birthday, so it's not suitable to transfer. Let's start from the first grade."
"...Oh."
Yagyu nodded silently, the corners of his mouth rising involuntarily.
Interesting!
So, that means I will be in the same year as that monster?
"Lord Hokage."
"Good morning, Lord Hokage."
"..."
On the way to the Ninja Academy, Sarutobi Hiruzen received warm and affectionate greetings from countless villagers.
At the entrance of the Ninja Academy, the atmosphere reached its peak.
The heads of various major clans standing at the entrance led the important children of their clans, or their own children, to greet Sarutobi Hiruzen respectfully.
At the same time, the children standing beside them sized up Yagyu, who was standing next to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Their gazes were full of curiosity.
Not only them, but even their fathers were the same.
They were all very curious about Yagyu's identity.
In recent years, they hadn't heard of the Sarutobi clan having any descendants born.
Who was this child that the Hokage personally escorted to school?
Ignoring the gazes of these adults and children, Yagyu's eyes swept past the stern Uchiha Fugaku and landed on a black-haired child beside him who looked cute and extremely quiet.
Uchiha Itachi.
One of the biggest brother-complexes in the ninja world, one of the culprits who destroyed the Uchiha clan, one of the heroes who turned the tide of the Fourth Great Ninja War... From an S-rank missing-nin to an unsung hero, this legendary ninja with various identities in the future was six years old this year and was preparing to enter the Ninja Academy.
"Hello..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded with a smile.
He did not introduce Yagyu to the heads of these major clans. Before Yagyu matured, Wood Release was temporarily unsuitable for exposure.
Seeing that it was about time, Sarutobi Hiruzen and the parents watched the children enter the Ninja Academy, waiting for the results of the entrance exam.
The Ninja Academy's training curriculum was mainly divided into six parts: Enrollment, Basics, Sparring, Application, Graduation, and Genin.
Children of appropriate age could enter the Ninja Academy.
But to study at the Ninja Academy, one had to pass the entrance exam.
The entrance exam was neither difficult nor easy, as it was used to test whether a child had the aptitude to become a ninja.
In the original story, Might Guy almost failed at the enrollment stage.
However, this kind of test was not worth mentioning for Yagyu and Uchiha Itachi.
He and the children of those major clans became the students who passed the entrance exam the fastest, and there was a high probability they would be assigned to the same class.
Throughout the morning, children came out of the school with emotions ranging from enthusiastic to depressed.
Some held their acceptance letters to show off to their parents, while others threw themselves into their parents' arms and cried.
Taking these two scenes into his eyes, Yagyu saw that Sarutobi Hiruzen was gone. Instead, he found a familiar beautiful figure.
"Yagyu, over here..."
Yūhi Kurenai, wearing a Chunin flak jacket, waved at Yagyu.
"Sister Kurenai."
Yagyu walked up to Yūhi Kurenai and greeted her with a smile.
"How was it? Did you pass?"
Yūhi Kurenai took the notification letter from Yagyu's hand. After glancing at the list and ranking on it, she couldn't help but pat his head. "As expected of Yagyu, first place."
Yagyu smiled without speaking.
"Let's go, we're going home to eat."
Yūhi Kurenai held Yagyu's small hand and headed back home.
In the afternoon, Yagyu came to the school again. After seeing the class assignment list at the entrance, he couldn't help but nod.
Sure enough, he was in the same class as Uchiha Itachi.
Besides him, Yagyu also saw the surnames of the Inuzuka clan and the Aburame clan.
After checking the class list, Yagyu went to his training ground and began his cultivation.