Life at the Ninja Academy was dull and uninteresting. A full year had passed since Uchiha Nen first enrolled.
Opening his eyes in a daze, he was already a second-year student.
Speaking of the gains of the past year, Nen felt that one word could perfectly describe it:
Barely satisfactory.
Compared to insights, his complaints seemed to be more numerous.
He originally thought that as long as he entered the school, he could learn some powerful Ninjutsu mysteries. If not, there would be a Master to guide him in professional skill training. But in the end, he basically learned knowledge from books. The number of outdoor practice courses was pitifully small, and serious Ninjutsu teaching classes were even fewer.
The final exam for the first year assessed the students' personal understanding of the "Ninja Five Items," which were Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Individual, Team, and Tactics. There were a total of 5 test papers, all of which were theoretical exams, with a full score of 50 points, allowing students to comprehensively define what a Ninja is.
At the Uchiha Clan Territory, in Nen's home, the 5 test papers were casually thrown on the table. The scores were all the same "6" points, each subject just barely passing.
He was a man of his word. This semester, he implemented the path he decided on at the entrance ceremony: hiding his strength, remaining silently unknown. Even in the class, he tried not to attract anyone's attention, to be an dispensable, transparent little figure.
Perhaps, this was not a difficult task for him. After all, his real life was no different from this.
Although his strength had already exceeded the level that children of this age should have, no one knew this except for Tong Ren and Orochimaru, as well as the "Ino-Shika-Cho" trio who were beaten into pig heads on the first day of school.
Even if he accidentally had conflicts with others, he appeared calm and uncontentious, his emotions so stable that he didn't seem like an Uchiha at all.
Because of his low-key behavior, he completely became a marginal existence in the class. His seat was naturally in the back row by the window, and even the teachers had a mediocre impression of him.
At the beginning of the school year, Nen suddenly noticed that there was a strange boy in the class.
This guy was obviously very thin, but he insisted on wearing a ridiculous Green Jumpsuit, sporting a shiny Watermelon Head. His self-introduction was also very loud, and he was a weirdo who had to run 5 kilometers after class.
According to Tong Ren, this person had been held back from their class because he failed the final Ninjutsu exam and could only repeat the grade.
Nen didn't care about this. The only thing he cared about was the Secret Technique Scroll in his arms, and... the mysterious man who gave him the Scroll that year.
Unfortunately, since their separation two years ago, the three had never seen him again.
One day, Nen and Orochimaru were invited to Tong Ren's house as guests, because Tong Ren's older sister, Uchiha Chiri, had successfully passed the exam today and became a member of the Hidden Leaf Police Force.
While they were chatting happily, they couldn't help but mention the encounter two years ago, mentioning that mysterious man. After hearing this, Zhi Li immediately got up and quickly locked the doors and windows, and covered the curtains tightly.
She sternly warned them not to let others discover that they had any connection with this person.
"Sister, is he a bad person?" Tong Ren frowned and asked. Nen also became nervous, his hands unconsciously twisting together.
Orochimaru, on the other hand, was expressionless.
Good or bad? Good and evil?
What are the criteria for evaluating these?
It was nothing more than the difference in positions and concepts.
For him personally, he didn't care about the man's past. At least what he saw was a confident, powerful, and principled man, shrouded in a layer of mystery.
"I didn't say he was a bad person. I'm just warning you not to let the village discover that you have contact with him," Zhi Li said softly, a hint of reminiscence flashing across her bright eyes. "The truth of right and wrong depends on your own eyes to judge."
"The only thing I can be sure of is that he will never hurt you."
Time flies, like a white horse passing through a gap, and another year passes quickly.
Nen also spent two uneventful years at the Ninja Academy.
Although he was an insignificant presence in the class, fortunately, the existence of Tong Ren and Orochimaru added some color to his life. He cultivated with them during the day and studied Secret Techniques at home in the evening, so the days weren't too difficult.
One thing that piqued his interest slightly was that Tong Ren and Orochimaru, who he remembered being stronger than himself, were not the top of their respective classes.
According to the two, the final exam in the fourth year was a "Ninja Sparring," which was essentially a friendly match that stopped short of serious injury.
The winner would advance, and the loser would enter a repechage. The Masters would make a final assessment based on the strength you displayed in the sparring, so it didn't matter if you lost.
But if you were really so weak that you couldn't even cast a Ninjutsu, then you could only regretfully repeat the year.
"Don't tell me, let me guess..." Nen pondered for a moment and said to Orochimaru, "Could the top of your class be Princess Tsunade you mentioned?"
He had heard that this girl had a noble status, not only was she the granddaughter of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju, but she also had the bloodline of the Land of Fire's Daimyo's Residence.
"Incorrect." Orochimaru shook his head, "The top of our class is not from a famous clan, but a boy named Kato Dan. His mastery of Genjutsu is very high, and he easily defeated all opponents with just one basic Hell Viewing Technique."
"Eh? Sounds impressive." Tong Ren said in surprise, "The top of our class is called Sakumo Hatake, but he specializes in Taijutsu and swordsmanship. His movements are quite fast, and I estimate his strength is stronger than a normal Genin."
"Sakumo Hatake? Is that the young kid with a head of white hair?" Orochimaru remembered, "I heard that this clan's swordsmanship is very powerful."
At this moment, Nen opened his arms from behind and patted the two on the shoulders at the same time, "Alright, it looks like I'll be training with the disheartened seniors today."
"What are you talking about? I don't care about winning or losing." Tong Ren curled his lips.
Orochimaru really didn't care, "I'm not interested in any means, no matter how strong, except for techniques that can grant Immortality."
The group went to the training ground as usual, but found that their "exclusive" Secret Base had Uninvited Guests today!
It was a boy with flowing white hair, throwing Shuriken at the target like crazy. His movements were good, and his eyes were in the right place, but his hit rate was only two or three out of ten, which was pitifully low.
After throwing all the Shuriken in one breath, the boy panted heavily, looked at his "results," and suddenly knelt on the ground in humiliation, letting out an unwilling roar.
"Aaaaaaaah!"
His hands were already chafed, and his face was covered in sweat, obviously he had been practicing alone for a long time.
Nen frowned.
"White hair, is this the Sakumo Hatake you mentioned?"
"No, his name is Hiruko, he's from our class." Orochimaru explained, "His position in the class is the same as yours, Nen, silent and unremarkable, with mediocre strength, the only difference is..."
"Nen is pretending, but he's really weak." Tong Ren said with his arms crossed.
"Forget it, let's just pretend we didn't see anything." Nen suddenly said, "Even the smallest amount of self-esteem needs to be maintained."
"Alright, we'll listen to you."
Orochimaru tilted his head, "Then what are we going to do?"
Tong Ren rolled his eyes, "Anyone want to go to the Hot Spring?"
...
The three hit it off immediately and sprinted towards the bathhouse. When they passed a street corner, they suddenly found a white-haired kid sticking his butt up and paing on the high wall, looking at something with great interest through the cracks in the wall.
"White hair, is this the Sakumo Hatake you mentioned?"
"Unfortunately, no." Orochimaru said expressionlessly, "He's Jiraiya, from our class."
"More than that..." Tong Ren frowned and said, "Behind that wall, is that the Open-Air Hot Spring of the Women's Bathhouse?"
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