[MC POV]
One and a half years flew by, filled with both routine and turmoil. The most notable event was what everyone now calls the "Uchiha Small Massacre." The protagonist of this event, None other than Itachi Uchiha.
Of course, it wasn't as devastating as in the original timeline, with only about 70 Uchihas being killed. You're probably wondering why so many—well, some of them were stoking the flames from the shadows. Fortunately, Sasuke's parents survived this time. Thank god for that. But Itachi still showed Sasuke the slaughter, forcing him to watch, and gave him the same hateful speech from the timeline where neither I nor these monsters existed. Sasuke now loathes his brother with the same fervor as before.
Konoha was left in a gloomy state afterward, but the majority of the Uchiha survived. As a result, the fear Itachi instilled allowed Sandaime and the council to finally integrate the clan into the village rather than keeping them isolated on the outskirts. This farce wasn't lost on me, but at least it's the first decision of Sandaime's I actually agree with.
In our third-year graduation exams, my team passed with flying colors. For our electives, I took Fuinjutsu and Genjutsu, and I forced Chikako to take Encryption. Convincing him to start something new is always a battle, and honestly, a pain in the ass. When all other forms of persuasion failed, I had to resort to the ultimate weapon: Okako-san, Chikako's mother. I know it's a dirty move, but I had no choice. I need to find new ways to blackmail—sorry, I mean *convince*—Chikako in the future. Hinari took Tracking and Iryo Ninjutsu. That was another tough sell, but she had already been practicing chakra control daily with the chakra screw exercise, so she passed the basic Iryo Ninjutsu requirements easily. I wanted at least one person on our team with decent medical skills, and she fit the bill.
As for me, once I got the hang of Genjutsu, I also qualified for basic Iryo Ninjutsu. Fuinjutsu? Hah! With my background as a coder, I got the basics down in a month. I learned how to make paper bombs and storage seals, which is all I need for now. At least I can pull stuff from my ring without any trouble—that's one headache out of the way.
Training as a team has been... fruitful. We've done basic team exercises, but we've never faced real opposition. That said, if we go all out with Taijutsu alone, we can take down most Chunin. If we throw in our other skills, we can hold our own against Jonin for a time. The only thing limiting us is our chakra levels. If I use my sword? A regular Jonin would be in serious trouble.
*Bonk.*
Hinari: "You said something inappropriate, didn't you?"
"I really need to work on my poker face."
Chikako: "Yeah, when you lie, you're terrible at hiding it."
"Anyway, are you two ready for graduation?"
Hinari | Chikako: "What?"
"We're already halfway through the fourth year. It's time, don't you think? Unless you object, we can make it happen."
Hinari: "I thought you'd never ask."
"Yesterday, I heard news that 15 villagers near the border were killed by monsters. I don't want to wait anymore."
Chikako: "I heard about that too. But isn't it happening a bit faster than we expected?"
"Yeah, by six months. But who cares about the timeline? Things are moving faster than I anticipated. Konoha had to deploy a Chunin team to deal with that wolf monster, and even then, one of the Chunins died. The monster is nearing Jonin-level strength. It's time the world learned about `Orca`."
Hinari: "Ugh, you and that stupid name."
Chikako: "Let's bring this up with Daikoku-sensei tomorrow."
"Good enough. Since we're all on board, let your families know tonight. If there's any pushback, talk to the other two of us, and we'll sort it out."
Chikako | Hinari: "Got it."
"Don't make me out to be the boss here. Let's celebrate at my house after graduation. Disperse."
They both used the Body Flicker technique and vanished. Teaching them that was one of my better decisions.
---
The next day, after the theoretical class ended, the three of us stayed behind. Daikoku-sensei, seeing us linger, knew something was up, so he dismissed the rest of the students. Once the room was empty, he spoke.
Daikoku: "What is it, Ikki?"
"We want to graduate from the academy."
Daikoku: "About time."
"Ehhh?"
Daikoku: "You three are already as strong as veteran Genin. Some of your Taijutsu is even on par with certain Chunins. You've taken your training seriously, so it's about time you graduated. I'll leave the class practicals to Iruka and report this to Hokage-sama."
"Thanks, Sensei. And make sure no one but Hokage-sama knows about our graduation. Oh, and tell him I apologize in advance for the trouble I'm going to cause."
At that last line, Daikoku-sensei stumbled a bit.
Daikoku: [Devastated] "I have to apologize on your behalf?"
"Of course, you're our sensei."
Crying, he left the classroom. We made our way to our usual training ground, knowing that the real journey was just beginning.