Chương 27: The Graduates

Enrollment is always a chaotic time. The newly admitted brats require testing, evaluation, and class placement. Meanwhile, students preparing to graduate must undergo exams and attend their graduation ceremony. This overlap only occurs during mass early graduations; in a standard six-year cycle, the ceremony would take place at the end of the previous semester in mid-March, while other classes were on spring break and before the new students enrolled.

Consequently, when these events converged, the faculty found themselves shorthanded. They even had to issue several D-rank missions according to protocol, hiring Genin squads to help maintain order. Despite being in a state of war, nothing was simplified; on the contrary, the proceedings were made more grand. Only through such solemnity could the newly sprouted "leaves" feel a greater sense of mission and ritual, igniting a fervent Will of Fire.

During these war years, the April enrollment day was destined to be a stage for the freshmen and the graduates. As for students like Dongye Zhen, who were in the second year or above and had not applied for early graduation, they were temporarily left to their own devices. Today consisted only of a half-day of morning classes—self-study sessions where they were free to do as they pleased. The classroom was a cacophony of noise.

Some stood in the hallways watching the freshmen's physical tests, critiquing the high-spirited juniors. Others gathered in the room to discuss the classmates who had applied for early graduation. Zhen sat quietly in his seat, gazing at the scenery outside the window. Between the index and middle fingers of his left hand, he held a leaf. The poor leaf was first enveloped in chakra, transforming into a piece of frantically writhing seaweed—supple and resilient, refusing to snap no matter how it was bent.

Then, the color deepened as it became incredibly hard, looking like a piece of black stone carved into the shape of a leaf. Finally, this stone-like leaf was sliced in two by chakra; the falling halves continued to split as they descended until they turned into a pile of microscopic powder, scattering with the wind. This was the result of Zhen's Wind, Water, and Earth nature transformations being trained to an extremely high standard.

The fluidity and resilience of Water, the weight and hardening of Earth, and the cutting sharpness of Wind. As the leaf vanished, Zhen crooked his finger. From a pile of leaves beneath the desk, another flew out gracefully, landing precisely between his two fingers to repeat the process. For him, every moment was training. Even while sitting in a classroom like his peers, seemingly idle, the nature transformation of the chakra in his hands never ceased for a second.

Compared to loud boasts, he was more addicted to cultivation. His increasingly massive chakra reserves supported this habit; an ordinary person wouldn't even know where to begin to imitate him. He was, after all, an adult; he couldn't find common ground with brats who loved to brag or stare at handsome boys. He had done all that in his childhood in his previous life.

Having been granted a second life, only the path to becoming stronger could keep him tirelessly occupied; becoming a shinobi was merely one of many interests along that path. Beside him, Uzuki Yugao kept her head down, struggling with a leaf of her own. At present, she could only manage to split a leaf twice; she couldn't yet shred it into powder like Zhen. Her innate affinity was Wind—only one nature, much like the future Naruto. Gekko Hayate's innate affinities were Wind and Water.

By coincidence, they all possessed Wind; even Shisui had it, possessing three innate affinities: Wind, Fire, and Lightning—plus the Yin release inherent to the Uchiha. The Wind attribute was very common in the Hidden Sand, but there were plenty in the Leaf as well; for instance, all three of Zhen's companions had it. Since they all naturally possessed Wind chakra, Zhen didn't keep his knowledge to himself, frequently sharing his training methods and insights with them.

However, their progress was on an entirely different level. Only Uchiha Shisui fared better, but he was still far from reaching Zhen's current stage. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. This was the standard pace for an ordinary shinobi's nature transformation training. They couldn't utilize Naruto's "thousand-man cheat mode" to compress years into days, nor did they have Zhen's condition of having their bodies refined daily by Natural Energy.

They could only grind it out through time.

"Hey, Zhen-niisan, isn't there a better way? It's been two years, and I can still only do it to this extent. When will I be like you?" Yugao tossed a shredded leaf aside and began her daily complaint.

"Not for now. When I find a way, I'll tell you." Zhen glanced at the empty seats beside them as he spoke.

"It's about time. Let's go to the integrated classroom and see how Hayate and the others are doing."

"Right, right! Let's go greet them." The two left the classroom, followed by many other students who had the same idea. The integrated classroom was a massive lecture hall, typically used for school assemblies, capable of holding hundreds of people. At the moment, the doors were tightly shut; graduation exams were being conducted inside. The content of the exam wasn't difficult, usually selecting any one of the basic Three Body Techniques as the subject.

Since it was wartime, the requirements were higher; they might be tested on all three. On the open ground outside the classroom stood many students, all waiting for the results to see who successfully graduated early and who became a pitiable failure. After a while, the doors opened. The students who had taken the exam walked out in small groups. Unlike when they entered, a brand-new Konoha headband was now tied across their foreheads—though some chose to wear them elsewhere on their bodies.

This was the mark of a formal shinobi. Now, these individuals were no longer students of the Academy, but shinobi. Some frequently stroked their headbands, looks of triumph on their faces. When they looked at the spectating students, they seemed to naturally feel several years older, as if looking at juniors. In reality, the age difference was negligible.

"Whoa, so cool! I want one too," the spectators exclaimed in collective envy. Those recommended for graduation were generally students with good grades; none failed. This gave many peers the illusion that graduating early wasn't that difficult. I could do that too. jpg.

"Hayate-niisan! Shisui! We're over here!" Yugao called out to the crowd. At this time, both Hayate and Shisui simply had their headbands tied across their foreheads; they hadn't yet adopted the style of using a cloth to wrap their entire heads as they would in the future. Hearing her voice, both walked over with smiles. Successfully graduating was indeed a cause for celebration. Zhen's gaze swept past them to the other early graduates of the year. Aside from a few, he didn't recognize most of them.

From his own class, there were seven or eight people including Shisui, Tokuma Hyuga, and Muta Aburame. Most of those who applied for early graduation from other classes were also clan children; commoner shinobi were fewer. Now, the class would have fewer people, but it wasn't a major issue; classes would eventually be merged. Among Hayate's peers, he only saw two familiar faces—the duo who would later become the village's "gatekeepers," Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki.

It turned out they were in the same year as Hayate, but they didn't seem very well-acquainted, likely not in the same class. Another girl followed behind Hayate; the two seemed quite close, but she was only there to greet him and was not a graduate herself. Zhen asked curiously, "Hayate, is this... your classmate?"

"Yeah, she's a classmate. Her name is Tsubaki." Hayate then introduced Tsubaki to his friends, and everyone got to know each other formally. Zhen looked at the girl; her appearance wasn't familiar, as the character designs in reality differed greatly from the anime. But hearing the name, she seemed to be Mizuki's future girlfriend. Checking the time, Zhen made a grand gesture.

"It's almost time for school to let out anyway. Let me treat you all to a meal to celebrate you and Shisui successfully graduating." Shisui and Hayate smiled. They had been hanging out for so long that they felt no awkwardness. Even Shisui had long since relaxed, no longer as reserved or overly polite as when they first met. Tsubaki was a bit embarrassed, but Hayate said, "Come along. This guy Zhen usually has more allowance than us, and he doesn't spend it recklessly. He's saved up quite a bit."

Tsubaki nodded, her face flushing. Yugao grabbed Hayate's arm and poked him with her pinky.

"Hehe, Hayate-niisan, could this be your... tee-hee!"

"Cough, cough, cough!" Hayate coughed several times and gave Yugao the customary light punch to the head.

"You brat, don't talk nonsense." Tsubaki's face turned even redder. Shisui and Zhen shared an amused, knowing smile. The air in the open space outside the classroom was suddenly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.