Over five hundred children, all five or six years old, were gathered on the Ninja Academy playground. Standing on a podium, the Third Hokage delivered a passionate, sweeping speech about the "Will of Fire."
Some might call the Will of Fire "childish" or "hollow," especially given that the very high-ups preaching it were often the first to break its tenets. However, the reality was that the Will of Fire was perfectly suited for the current Land of Fire and Konoha.
Any ideological theory needs to resonate with its audience and adapt to its social environment; being too far ahead of its time is simply impractical.
Take the Buddhist schools of Vajrayana and Zen as examples. The Diamond Sutra provides a comprehensive explanation of Buddhist philosophy and logic, but it remained popular only among the social elite. Zen, however, flourished starting from the illiterate Sixth Patriarch. He proposed that simply chanting the Buddha's name was a form of cultivation—if you said "Amitabha" once a day, you were practicing. Consequently, Zen exploded in popularity among the lower classes, eventually forcing the elite to follow suit.
Tetsumaru didn't look down on the Will of Fire, but he didn't believe in it either.
He was a man who had systematically studied the "Dragon Slaying Arts"—the high-level social and political theories of a modern world. After being beaten down by society and finally understanding those theories, any religious or semi-religious ideology looked full of holes to him, let alone the relatively crude Will of Fire.
Conversely, for the civilians of the Land of Fire who had zero education, or the Konoha ninjas who focused solely on combat, the Will of Fire was perfect. Its simple logic and timely encouragement were key factors in why Konoha remained superior to the other four Great Shinobi Villages.
"Wherever leaves fly, fire burns. The shadow of the fire shines upon the village, and once again, new leaves shall bud," the Third Hokage concluded with a surge of passion.
The freshmen and ninjas responded with thunderous applause. The opening ceremony was over.
Next came the process of finding their respective classes. In Konoha Year 27, they had established two elite classes, Class A and Class B, along with fourteen numbered regular classes. In total, 559 new students were enrolled.
It was double the planned number.
After the entrance exams concluded a few days ago, the Third Hokage had suddenly announced an increase in recruitment, expanding the civilian intake to four hundred students. This had caused quite a stir among the clans.
Since the Second Hokage founded the Academy, over a hundred civilian ninjas had graduated annually. Although civilian ninjas had a higher mortality rate—especially during the last war, where they were nearly wiped out—Konoha had already accumulated over a thousand civilian-born shinobi. Among them, elites with infinite potential like Orochimaru and Jiraiya had already emerged.
The Academy students included pure civilians, second-generation civilian ninjas, and children from minor clans—all of whom were Hiruzen Sarutobi's primary supporters. Together, they made up nearly three thousand people, or thirty percent of Konoha's active roster.
Ninjas educated at the Academy shared close bonds and displayed better organization and obedience. This was how Hiruzen suppressed the clans and kept an increasingly rebellious Danzo in check.
Everyone knew how vital the Academy was to the Hokage. By expanding recruitment to four hundred a year, it would take a decade at most before the Hokage's faction became the sole power in the village, leaving the clans with zero room to resist.
No one could openly oppose the decision, and the clans weren't stupid. If they couldn't stop it, they would join it. They turned around and pushed for even further expansion, demanding more slots for clan children.
The result was this unprecedentedly massive freshman class.
The Aburame clan's intake increased by nine—all five-year-olds. If Aburame Shibi hadn't been so young, he likely would have been enrolled early as well.
Months later, when the intelligence that Konoha had recruited over five hundred students reached the other four Great Villages, they were stunned. After the four Kage finished cursing Konoha with every colorful word in their vocabularies, they gritted their teeth, squeezed their meager budgets, and followed suit with their own expansions.
None of that concerned Tetsumaru. He paid his fees, collected his supplies and textbooks, and found his classroom. Utilizing his privilege as the top-ranked student, he unceremoniously claimed the ultimate prize: the back-row seat by the window.
Once settled, he began to survey his classmates.
Uchiha Fueka, Hyuga Tokuma, and Yamanaka Ame were the ones who left a deep impression.
Ame was sitting on the other side of the back row, flanked by a "pineapple-head" and a chubby kid. They were clearly this generation's Ino-Shika-Cho trio, though he didn't know their names yet.
Further up, to his front-right, was Inuzuka Takeshi. The boy was currently puffing out his cheeks and staring at him. Tetsumaru decided to break the ice.
"Good morning."
Takeshi clearly hadn't expected the "Top Dog" to initiate a conversation. He fumbled for words. "Ah... Uh... Abababa..."
A furry little head poked out from Takeshi's shirt and let out a small "Woof!"
Tetsumaru chuckled. "Hello to you too, little guy."
"What's her name?"
"This is my partner, Ryogaku Sora," Takeshi said, regaining his composure. "She's a girl, so show some respect."
"Ah, hello there, Sora."
"Woof! Woof!"
"Sora says she forgives you," Takeshi translated. "She also wants to know what that thing on your head is. Is it edible?"
"This is a bug I bred. It's not for eating—it's very expensive."
As the two chatted, the other clan children in the room whispered among themselves.
"That's the freak from the Aburame. He seems pretty cheerful." "I heard he was an outcast in his own clan—that even his relatives don't talk to him." "That bug on his head looks kind of cool, though." "What does it do?" "No idea. But it looks nice."
Tetsumaru was in a great mood. Ever since he transmigrated, he had been driven by a relentless sense of insecurity. Finally, by securing the top spot in the entrance exam, he had gained enough social standing to feel safe.
Tetsumaru was a walking contradiction. On one hand, he felt superior—a man of "high status" from a modern era with absolute confidence in the future. On the other hand, he felt incredibly fragile, constantly looking over his shoulder as if everyone was out to get him.
That was why he had clung so tightly to Elder Shiki—to get the protection of a high-ranking clan member before he dared to reveal the Ant Sugar or start his meridian experiments.
But the Aburame clan's "thigh" wasn't thick enough. Otherwise, Root wouldn't have been able to absorb so many Aburame, including elites like Torune and Ryoma, only for Danzo to discard them whenever he pleased.
Hence, his high-profile performance in the entrance exam. By becoming the "star student," he had drawn the attention of the Hokage—the perfect deterrent against the village's greatest threat, Danzo Shimura.
Tetsumaru looked out the window at the sunny campus.
His thoughts began to soar: I want to know the source of chakra. I want to see the limits of Ninjutsu. I want to push meridian modification to the extreme. I want to bridge the gap between the microscopic and macroscopic worlds and unlock the mysteries of life.
I want to peek at the root of the supernatural. In this chakra-saturated world, where power belongs to the individual and Ninjutsu can reverse life and death... everything is possible.
Why shouldn't I transcend death? Why shouldn't I enjoy true freedom? This new life is going to be fascinating.
He didn't notice that many of the girls in the class were stealing glances at him—or rather, at the new Slime crawling around on his head.
Once the classroom was full, a burly ninja walked in holding a stack of files.
"I am your teacher, Domoto Oomono," he said, scrawling his name on the chalkboard. "I like obedient children and I hate troublemakers. I specialize in Taijutsu and Earth Style. I'll be teaching you physical combat, and I'm in charge of Class A."
"Now, following the list, everyone come up and introduce yourselves. First: Aburame Tetsumaru."
The name-call snapped Tetsumaru out of his daydreaming. Damn, so they're calling us by rank instead of seating order? My plan to hide in the back was useless.
Tetsumaru didn't waste time. He stood up and walked to the front.
"I am Aburame Tetsumaru, from the Aburame Clan. I like collecting insects. There's nothing I particularly dislike. That's all."
Domoto raised an eyebrow. "And what is your dream, Tetsumaru?"
My 'dream' is to live a long, healthy life, but I can't say that out loud, Tetsumaru thought. If I do, the rumor that I'm a nutcase will spread through the village by tomorrow. Time to make something up.
"I haven't thought much about a dream. But if I have to say something... I suppose it's to become the strongest in the Shinobi World."
Domoto: ( ° ▽ ° )
"Keep dreaming! The Uchiha will be the strongest!" someone shouted. "Idiot, the 'strongest' means being Hokage! Tetsumaru wants to be the Hokage!"
Pah! You little brat! Tetsumaru cursed internally. Don't put a target on my back! I'm not a protagonist, I don't want to 'think' about being Hokage. That's a death flag!
"Impressive!" "I want to be the strongest too!"
Tetsumaru calmly ignored the chatter, especially Fueka's shouting. He turned to Domoto. "Teacher, may I sit down now?"
"Yes. Go ahead."
Hyuga Tokuma, the runner-up, went next. But the power of a "trendsetter" was immense, especially among children.
"My dream is to become the strongest Fire Style user!" "I'm going to be the Hokage!" "I'll be the first female Hokage!" "My dream is to be the most amazing ninja ever, even better than the Hokage! You'll all have to bow to me!"
Ignoring the unrealistic dreams, Tetsumaru silently memorized every classmate's name and basic info.
Half the class were clan children. Of the rest, most had at least one parent who was a ninja. There were only two students who were purely third-generation civilians.
In his memory, only Minato Namikaze truly stood out from the civilian pool of this generation. Minato, being the same age as Shibi, would likely enroll next year.
Given that a war would break out around the time of their graduation, Tetsumaru was most concerned with his classmates from the Great Clans. Who could handle having a deep bond with a classmate for four years, only to have them die a few days after graduation?
Tetsumaru pragmatically mapped out his social circle: Yamanaka Ame, Nara Mao, Akimichi Daidou, and Inuzuka Takeshi. As for Uchiha Fueka and Hyuga Tokuma... he'd wait and see.
The Uchiha were a strange lot. Clan members without ninja talent were normal, but those with talent were invariably "stubborn." They were either driven by "Universal Love" or were incredibly arrogant and defiant.
Fueka fell into the arrogant camp. This was actually great for friendship. If you could beat an Uchiha of this type into submission, they became incredibly loyal friends—look at Madara and Sasuke, both "Laughing Quartet" members who would do anything for their friends.
The other two members of that quartet—Obito and Itachi—were the terrifying ones. They looked harmless and gentle until they suddenly flipped and murdered their entire families.
Befriending Fueka would require a few more thrashings to "beat the friendship into him." No rush there.
As for the "Universal Love" type of Uchiha, Tetsumaru planned to stay as far away as possible. You never knew when they would "darken," and when they did, they always hurt those closest to them. People like Shisui who just offed themselves were one thing; people like Itachi and Obito were an absolute nightmare.
The trouble with Hyuga Tokuma was that he was from a Branch House. The "Caged Bird" seal was a tragedy that could break anyone's personality. Until he saw how the seal affected the boy's character, Tetsumaru would keep his distance.