Chapter – 27: Academy

[Rei POV]

'So, it begins tomorrow, ha?' I think, 'Let's see what Hiruzen has in store for me…'

** time skip to next day morning **

As an orphan, I walk leisurely towards the Ninja Academy by myself. Today I was here just to register, and after taking care of all the formalities, the ninja in charge told me to come back three days later for the initiation ceremony which will begin with the Third Hokage's speech followed by tests to sort us into different classes.

There will be three tests. One each for Strength, Endurance, and Chakra. He also said that usually, students from major clans were exempt from the tests for the first two, but everyone should take the test for Chakra as that will determine one's talent and help the academy sort us to different classes.

It only took me about ten to fifteen minutes to finish up all the formalities for the registration and soon after I returned home to continue with my daily routine.

** time skip to three days later **

Today is the day of the initiation ceremony. After getting ready, I leave for the academy. When I get there, I could see many parents had come to drop off their children. Today is a big day for them after all, it's their children's first day at school. Smiling I turn towards the familiar building that I have seen too many times in the anime. It is not much different than what I remember, just bigger, a lot bigger.

In just a few minutes I reach the playground. On the day of the registration, I was told to come here early as the Third will be coming to bore us about that will of fire shit. To me, this is just the way for the village to brainwash these young and gullible children to give up their lives for the village, for the greater good, so convenient.

Hiding my disdain with a soft smile, I look around. I could spot many familiar figures in the mob, like Hatake Kakashi, Maito Guy, Nohara Rin, Sarutobi Asuma, Yuhi Kurenai, etc. I also saw some civilians dreaming to become great shinobi, orphans looking enviously at the group of happy children with families, etc. Looking at so many different kinds of people with different dreams and aspirations brings back a kind of nostalgic feeling from the bottom of my heart. If someone were to look into my eyes right now, they would notice an expression and wisdom that shouldn't appear in a child of my age.

Shrugging myself, I wait along with everyone for the fabled Professor, God of Shinobi, the current Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen to appear. I haven't seen him personally ever since I came to this world, I am kind of curious about him.

We didn't have to wait for long, soon the area started to get noisy with shouts like "Third Hokage is here!" "Wow! It's really the third Hokage!" "Long live the Hokage!" etc.

The Third Hokage was really looked up to in Konoha. Although I have no respect for the man himself, I truly have to respect his power and knowledge. Why don't I have any respect for him? Mmm, let's see where do I begin.

As a Teacher: let's take his students, Tsunade left, Jiraiya left, and Orochimaru not only left, even defected. Finally, he was even killed because of his student. So, Failure!

As a Parent: He never understood his own children, Asuma even hated him. Failure!

As a Guardian: He let Naruto suffer so much without even realizing it, even though he had promised Minato to keep him safe. So, Failure!

As a Friend: He let his friend Danzo off without even doing anything even when he crossed the line multiple times. If he had stopped him in time, Danzo might have been still alive instead of dying by Sasuke's hands. So Failure!

As a Hokage: His mistakes as a Hokage were the worst. He left his allies to be slaughtered by the other villages, he repeatedly forgave the other villages for their transgressions with some stupid peace treaties that didn't even work as exposed by the fact that during his time as the Hokage, Konoha went through two massive wars. He set up the Konoha council, which became a group of corrupt old men who refused to let go of power and did everything they could think of to enrich themselves. And the list goes on and on… So, Failure as Hokage too.

[AN: Sorry for any Hiruzen fans out there, but I truly think he is a failure.]

You could say, he was a failure at everything he did or became. So, I have no respect for the man at all. Still, he is someone who is a really talented shinobi, with high proficiency in all 5 elements. And with the Monkey King summon, Enma, along with his great knowledge and experience, became the best shinobi alive in Konoha without a Kekkei Genkai, nicknamed as the Professor or the God of Shinobi.

We got off topic again! Back to the academy,

Hiruzen stands on the high stage and begins his speech, "When the tree leaves dance, one shall find flames. The fire's shadow will illuminate the village, and once again, tree leaves shall bud anew!"

…

The speech continued for a long time, I could see many children getting emotional by it which I found odd as the only feeling I am having now is boredom! Still, I couldn't show it on my face, I had to blend in too, showing a similar zealous expression, to give my life for the village and to ensure the will of fire still burns.

After a long, way too long, speech Hiruzen left with his entourage not before giving us an encouraging smile. Soon, the director of the academy took over the dais and announced that the tests to classify students will begin shortly and for us to head over to our respective test locations. As a student from a major clan, I along with some other clan students head towards the test location for assessing Chakra.