The Academy's academic year was divided into two semesters by winter and summer vacations.
As it was currently the second semester, the opening ceremony was not particularly grand.
In the damp central training grounds, a small high platform had been temporarily erected.
Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen stood on it, delivering a passionate speech without being affected by the weather.
"In the place where leaves fly, there will be fire burning. The flames will illuminate the village, and new leaves will sprout again..."
Konoha's secret ultimate Genjutsu — Will of Fire was activated!
Natsuhiko could even see the students on the training grounds continuously receiving the prompt "Will of Fire +1" on top of their heads.
He didn't really have any objections to the Will of Fire. In the original work, when the Third-Hokage sacrificed himself to embody the Will of Fire, it moved him.
However, after spending so many years in the Ninja World and witnessing many dark aspects of it, Natsuhiko's idealism had long been worn away.
The Will of Fire emphasised caring for comrades, sacrificing oneself, and the spirit of selfless dedication to enlighten others.
All these were very "correct" thoughts.
Unfortunately, no matter how loudly the slogans were shouted, they could not hide the fact that ninjas were essentially mercenaries who did things for money.
Even in the 25th article of the ninja code, it explicitly stated that the mission always took precedence.
This meant that comrades could be abandoned when necessary.
Obviously, this conflicted fundamentally with the ideas conveyed by the Will of Fire, but no one dared to voice dissent.
Recently, Konoha's White Fang gave up a mission to save his comrades, but in the end, public opinion forced him to commit suicide, which was the biggest irony to the current Will of Fire.
When the First Hokage established the village, his original intention was to keep children off the battlefield, but now the graduation age and requirements for ninja schools were decreasing year by year.
In the end, the Will of Fire was just a defence, and the ultimate interpretation lay in the hands of the Hokage.
Now, Third Hokage was on the stage tirelessly repeating those cliché words, which was the best proof of his lack of confidence in this theory.
Natsuhiko lightly sighed and decided not to dwell on it.
After all, he had no intention of becoming Hokage; he would leave the task of reforming Konoha to the future Fourth Hokage.
Following Umino Ikkaku, Natsuhiko walked towards the sensei team next to the high platform.
Along the way, he took the opportunity to glance at the students on the training grounds, trying to find familiar faces.
He found quite a few:
In the third-grade team, Ebisu, one of Konoha's Eight Colours, was sneakily reading a book without a cover, occasionally showing a lecherous smile.
Genma Shiranui, who was often asked by transmigrators if he had a younger sister, was standing and dozing off, making people worry that he might swallow the senbon in his mouth in his sleep.
In the second-year team, Asuma from the Ryo unit was chatting with the gaming expert Kurenai Yuhi, completely ignoring the father who was giving a speech on stage.
In the first-grade team, Konoha's Green Beast of Prey, Might Guy, was attentively listening to the Third-Kage's speech. However, he was also doing squats with his blood boiling, causing the students around him to sweat.
Chakra specialist Hatake Kakashi had a gloomy expression, both eyes vacant. Obviously, he hadn't recovered from the shadow of White Fang's suicide and would soon graduate from the academy.
As for Uchiha Obito, who respected the old and cherished the young, Natsuhiko didn't see his silhouette. He probably got tempted by some old lady again and was late on the first day.
Before long, Natsuhiko arrived at the sensei team with Umino Ikkaku.
At the forefront of the team was a middle-aged woman with a serious expression.
She was tilting her head, completely focused on Third Hokage's speech on the stage.
When she heard footsteps approaching, she turned her gaze, eyebrows slightly furrowed, and gave Natsuhiko a meaningful look.
Her eyes carried some welcome, some inquiry, and a bit of dissatisfaction, as if saying, "You're late again!"
Natsuhiko scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.
Seeing that she was still stern, Natsuhiko quickly restrained his smile and obediently found a place to stand.
This lady must not be offended. After all, she was the wife of the Third-Kage old fogey currently giving a speech on stage and also the Vice Principal of the Academy — Sarutobi Biwako.
Although Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen was the nominal principal, he usually had no time to manage the trivial matters of the Academy. So, the actual person in charge of the Academy was Sarutobi Biwako.
As the saying goes, it's better to have a local official than a distant one, so it's best not to attract her attention.
Natsuhiko decided to minimise his presence as much as possible.
However, a man as charismatic as him was destined to attract the attention of those around him.
His lazy gaze, naturally curly silver hair, and handsome face quickly caught the attention of the students below. Many students began to whisper.
"The person standing next to Director Umino, is he the new sensei? He looks very handsome!"
"By the way, who is he replacing?"
"Don't you know? The Sealing Jutsu sensei, Sanjo, had an accident making Explosive Tags at home a few days ago and blew himself up."
"What? Hasn't Sealing Jutsu had two senseis replaced this year already? When did the Sealing Jutsu sensei position become so disposable?"
"Could it be the curse of the legendary Sealing Jutsu class?"
"I wonder how long this sensei can last. It's a pity; obviously, he's still so young. Let's start a betting pool and see how long this sensei can hold out."
...
Apparently, these students underestimated the true capabilities of a ninja. They thought their whispered conversations were subtle, but the senseis in front of them heard everything perfectly.
Natsuhiko naturally heard the loud conspiracy of these brats. When he heard them starting to bet on his life, his expression became somewhat strange.
The surrounding sensei's all had a professional demeanour, not showing any signs of amusement unless they couldn't help it.
Natsuhiko nudged Umino Ikkaku with his elbow and asked in a barely audible voice, "What is the curse of the Sealing Jutsu class? I don't know about it."
"Did you come here without knowing anything? Who said information is a ninja's life?" Umino Ikkaku raised an eyebrow.
"Is this position really cursed?" Natsuhiko asked in surprise.
"It's not really." Umino Ikkaku shook his head and sighed, "It's just that Sealing Jutsu sensei's have been changed frequently recently, and strange rumours are circulating among the students."
"So the previous Sealing Jutsu sensei was actually fine?"
"Well, you can't exactly say they were fine." Umino Ikkaku rubbed his chin, recalling. "The previous one, Sanjo sensei, blew himself up making Explosive Tags a few days ago. You just heard about it."
Natsuhiko nodded.
"The one before him, Todo sensei, I remember, made a mistake a few months ago while creating a sealing scroll and accidentally sealed his own head in it."
Black lines appeared on Natsuhiko's forehead.
"And before that was Yosizawa sensei, who had been teaching Sealing Jutsu since it started. Well, he was quite old, and during the New Year, he choked on mochi while eating alone at home..."
Natsuhiko's face turned increasingly dark, and he couldn't help but complain, "And you call that nothing?! Didn't the entire teaching staff suffer casualties?"
He finally understood why his appointment letter came so quickly after submitting the application. It turned out to be a huge pit!
Is it too late to resign now?
"Don't worry too much. The Security Department investigated thoroughly and confirmed that all of them were accidents. It just happened that they all occurred with Sealing Jutsu senseis," Umino Ikkaku reassured and then couldn't help but remind Natsuhiko, "After all, those of you studying Sealing Jutsu are prone to various accidents. Just be careful."
Natsuhiko couldn't argue and could only nod slowly.
Indeed, the risks of researching Sealing Jutsu were much higher than other Ninjutsu systems.
Suddenly, Umino Ikkaku remembered something and facepalmed.
"I thought you knew about these things when you applied. I even praised you in front of other senseis for stepping up in a crisis and sharing the burden for our alma mater."
"Okay, let's stick to this script then," Natsuhiko said without hesitation.
"...," Umino Ikkaku was speechless.
This shameless character is exactly the same as before!
The two were about to say something else, but then they noticed Vice Principal Sarutobi Biwako giving them a death stare. They had no choice but to close their mouths and pretend to listen to Third Hokage's teachings.
(End of this chapter)
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