Konohagakure — Ninja Academy
"Hm?"
"That direction… the academy?"
Inside the crystal ball, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the image of Yashiro Sarutobi walking through the village streets with several household attendants in tow. After a moment, realization struck him.
They were heading straight for the Ninja Academy.
By all rights, Yashiro should have enrolled last year, when he was nine. And yet, not once—not a single day—had he ever shown up. For an entire year, the academy had never seen his shadow.
And now?
Now the sun must truly be rising in the west.
That little brat was actually going to school.
The realization filled Hiruzen with a rare flicker of delight. In his eyes, Yashiro had always been frighteningly mature for his age. Given time—just a little discipline—he could undoubtedly grow into a powerhouse of the ninja world.
The problem was that the boy had never trained. Not even once.
"Well, well… he's going to the academy of his own accord," Hiruzen murmured, a smile tugging at his lips."It's been quite a few days since I last visited myself. I suppose I'll take a look while I'm at it."
With that thought, he reached for the Hokage hat beside him and rose to his feet, heading toward the academy.
At the entrance of the Ninja Academy…
"Which class am I in again?"
Yashiro frowned slightly as he surveyed the unfamiliar school grounds. Before he could think further, one of the attendants quickly fetched a teacher—a perfectly ordinary-looking chūnin instructor.
His name was Kuraji Taro.
The moment Kuraji laid eyes on Yashiro, his expression changed instantly. He hurried over with a flattering smile plastered across his face.
"Young Master Yashiro, please follow me," he said warmly."You haven't attended the academy for over a year now. What brings you here today?"
As he led the way, curiosity gnawed at Kuraji's mind. A whole year of complete absence—and now he suddenly shows up? If this were any other student, they'd have been expelled long ago.
Of course, such thoughts were strictly for internal use only.
Yashiro shot him a sideways glance.
"What?""You expect me to notify you in advance before I decide to show up?"
The words were spoken casually, almost lazily—but to Kuraji, they sounded like a death sentence.
Cold sweat poured down his back.
In an instant, he bent deeply at the waist, posture rigid, fear flashing through his eyes. Combined with the rumors he'd heard about Yashiro's notoriously vile temperament, Kuraji panicked.
"Y-Young Master Yashiro, please forgive me!""I'm dull-witted—my mouth ran ahead of my brain!""What status do I have? How would I ever dare ask Young Master Yashiro to send word in advance?""Please show mercy!"
Yashiro said nothing.
He simply stood there, staring at him.
Seconds passed. Then minutes.
Kuraji remained frozen in a perfect ninety-degree bow, not daring to move an inch. His clothes were already soaked through with sweat.
Soon, the academy's class break ended. Teachers and students alike began to notice the strange scene unfolding at the entrance.
"Isn't that Instructor Kuraji?""It is!""Why does he look like he's suffering…? Why is he bowing like that?""Tch, are you blind? That's Yashiro Sarutobi—the Third Hokage's grandson."
Whispers spread rapidly. Dozens of eyes turned toward Yashiro.
Not far away, Iruka, who had just exited his classroom, noticed the commotion. His brow furrowed, and he strode straight over.
At the same time, a familiar sound echoed in Yashiro's mind.
[Ding! Publicly humiliating a teacher at the academy][Fusion Rate +0.01]
As the notification faded, Yashiro lost interest. Without sparing Kuraji another glance, he walked past him and entered his assigned classroom.
Only then did Kuraji finally release a shaky breath, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
Iruka rushed to his side and helped him straighten up.
"That personality of his is absolutely disgusting," Iruka said angrily."I'm going to report this to the Hokage!"
Kuraji, however, quickly shook his head and forced an awkward smile.
"No, no—there's no need to trouble the Hokage over something like this," he said hastily."As teachers, we should be the ones to handle student issues, shouldn't we?"
With that, he hurried off toward the classroom, leaving Iruka behind, deep in thought.
Inside the classroom, the atmosphere was tense.
Having witnessed what happened outside, every student sat bolt upright, afraid that Yashiro might single them out next.
Yashiro scanned the room and quickly lost interest.
Not a single familiar face from the original storyline.
Hyūga Neji and the others were likely in the neighboring class, while the future Twelve Genin hadn't even enrolled yet—they would only enter this year.
Just as Yashiro was about to leave, Kuraji entered the room.
"Everyone, assemble at the training field!" he announced."You are now second-year students, starting today!""We'll be conducting the annual assessment!"
The class erupted in relief, students pouring out of the room as if granted a pardon.
Yashiro paused.
"An assessment, huh…"
"Alright. Let's take a look."
Soon, everyone gathered at the training field.
But they weren't the only ones present.
"Look!! It's the Hokage!!!""Ahhh! It really is the Third Hokage!""He came to watch us?!""Bullshit—he's obviously here for Young Master Yashiro!"
The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared, the field exploded with excitement. Kuraji immediately rushed over, bowing respectfully.
"Hehehe, don't mind me," Hiruzen said kindly."I'm just here to observe this class's aptitude.""Go ahead. Begin."
With the Hokage's approval, Kuraji wasted no time organizing the test.
And the first student called up—
Naturally—
Was Yashiro Sarutobi.
"Yashiro, you'll go first," Kuraji announced."Simply throw a kunai and hit the target accurately."
All eyes locked onto Yashiro.
Hiruzen's gaze burned especially brightly.
"Tch. Boring."
Yashiro flicked his wrist.
The kunai shot forward like a cannon round.
BANG!
The wooden target shattered instantly.
As for the kunai itself—it vanished somewhere beyond the field.
Stunned silence fell over the crowd.
Even Hiruzen's face lit up with unmistakable delight.
Still, power alone wasn't accuracy. The target was destroyed, but the hit wasn't clean.
Kuraji swallowed and announced the score.
"Yashiro Sarutobi… 8 points."
Neither outstanding nor terrible—but far from the scores of true prodigies.
Next came the rest of the class.
And the results were… bizarre.
Under Yashiro's gaze, it was as if each student felt something staring straight through their back.
"Shiraki Hyakushaku, 6 points!""Morita Kojiro, 6 points!""Inoue Nohana, 6.5 points!"
One student after another fell short.
By the end, not a single student—even the usual top performers—had broken seven points.
The result was clear.
Against all expectations—
Yashiro Sarutobi ranked first in the class.
Kuraji glanced nervously at Hiruzen, whose face had darkened like the bottom of a burnt pot. Still, he steeled himself and announced the final result.
"First place in this assessment… Yashiro Sarutobi!!!"
Hiruzen said nothing.
He turned and walked away, his back straight, his steps heavy—as if he had finally made up his mind about something.