Chapter 2 Academy

Land of Water.

Ninja Academy.

The never-ending battles came to an end after the warring states period.

During the warring states period, even children as young as five years old were forced to fight in the barbaric war.

But it all came to an end with the formation of five great nations.

Children as young as six years old are still sent to the battlefield, as they were during the first great Ninja World War, which ended two years ago, but only during the war.

However, in the absence of war, the children here learn how to defend themselves in the perilous Ninja World.

Creak...

Aokiji pushed open the door and walked to his usual seat, much to the chagrin of the entire class.

"Do you really want to graduate, Aokiji? My uncle informed me that the missions are too dangerous."

A kid around Aokiji's age sat beside him, with green hair, black eyes, and a cute face.

Takuro Karatachi is the only person who gets along with Aokiji. He is a member of a small clan in the village.

The Ninja Academy requires a minimum age of four years to join. Aokiji joined the academy two years ago and has consistently been the top student in his class during that time.

Aokiji understood that in order to live freely in a village-like Mist where strength was respected, he needed to demonstrate some power.

He would have kept a low profile and remained hidden if he had been a member of any other village.

Perhaps his memories of Kuzan affected him; Aokiji is a slacker who would struggle to get along with all the noisy kids around him.

Because of his strength that made other kids afraid of him and also due to his 20 year old mind, he had no friends except Takuro, the nephew of the fishermen who he will sell the fish.

Takuro was an orphan who lived in the village with his uncle, an ordinary person, and a fisherman.

"Of course, there's nothing else for me to learn at the academy."

Aokiji responded while looking out the window, as he has dedicated himself entirely to growing stronger over the last two years.

During this era, the minimum age to graduate was 6, and the maximum age was 8, so Aokiji decided to graduate early rather than wasting time here.

Mist isn't known as the blood mist yet, but according to Aokiji, the cruel graduation exam began during the reign of the Third Mizukage.

Even if he was a slacker with no big dreams, Aokiji understood that strength was required to live a normal life.

It's been two years since the end of World War I, and Aokiji knows the next twenty years will be filled with small-scale wars between small nations.

He must gain strength and fortify himself in order to survive the Second Great Ninja World War.

Speaking of the future, things have already started to move towards the plot that Aokiji has in his mind.

The God of Shinobi Hashirama died unexpectedly five years ago, and his younger brother Tobirama was appointed as the second Hokage.

The Territory of Land of Fire was the most fertile, and with the death of a powerhouse like Hashirama, greedy villages wanted a large portion of this land.

This resulted in the first Ninja World War, which Konoha was able to win despite being attacked from all sides, but Konoha also suffered a significant loss.

Two years ago, the second Hokage was killed by the Kinkaku squad of Cloud, and during his death, Tobirama appointed Sarutobi Hiruzen the Third Hokage.

"Aokiji Yuki, come with me."

As Aokiji was lost in his thoughts, he was startled to see his homeroom teacher waiting for him.

Aokiji quickly stood up and followed the teacher, eventually arriving at the school's basement, which was forbidden to students.

Aokiji frowned as he entered the basement and smelled the scent of blood in the air, but he didn't think much about it and simply followed the teacher.

Following the teacher, Aokiji came to a stop in front of a door, which the teacher quickly opened, revealing an expansive room with blood stains on the floor and walls.

Aokiji looked around the room and saw three people bound with chains, blood oozing from all over their bodies, and a blood-covered face that looked terrifying.

He noticed four more people: two were homeroom teachers from other classes, and two were children around Aokiji's age.

The first was a boy with black hair and slightly longer teeth, holding a sword, and the second was a girl with grey hair and a cold expression on her cute face.

When Aokiji noticed the slightly protruding bones from the girl's palm, he realized she was a member of the Kaguya Clan.

"Just three?"

One of the homeroom teachers expressed his displeasure.

"You know, without a war, kids these days are becoming more and more tender."

Nearly all the older generation have spent their whole life-fighting enemies, so to them these peaceful days only wasted their talent.

"Pay attention; to become a Genin, you only need to complete one task."

"These three in front of you are Chunin captured from other villages by us."

"You'll have a fight with one of them, and the rules for graduation are straightforward."

"Kill or be Killed."

The homeroom teacher had a cruel look in his eyes as he told Aokiji and the other two kids the harsh rules.

As the teacher began the exam, Aokiji and the other two nodded, and the boy with black hair was the first to fight.