"My name is Sarutobi Shinnosuke, a shinobi from the Sarutobi clan. Although I am the son of the Hokage, I hope everyone won't treat me with any special regard. There is actually no difference between you and me—we are all inheritors of the Will of Fire and the future hope of Konohagakure. My wish is to shine brightly for Konohagakure, and eventually earn everyone's recognition just like my father, to become the Hokage."
Though his words sounded modest, every other sentence managed to reference his Hokage father. Uchiha Chi felt that this was someone who loved to show off, while simultaneously exposing his own inner superficiality. After all, coming from a newly rich family, this was only normal.
Following this, he shared a few of his personal preferences, and amidst enthusiastic applause from the crowd, stepped down from the podium. At this moment, the expressions of the people below were filled with excitement, as if they had been thoroughly stirred up. As for what they were really thinking inside, there was no way of knowing—after all, none of the people here were simple characters.
Take Uchiha Chi, for instance, who was mentally complaining: "Wasn't your dad directly appointed? When did he ever earn everyone's recognition? If you don't believe it, go ask our Uchiha clan—aside from Uchiha Kagami and his son, is there a single person who is convinced?"
Next, a few of Sarutobi Shinnosuke's lackeys followed one after another onto the stage to introduce themselves. Uchiha Chi secretly recorded the circumstances of these individuals in his mind. Just as the student introductions were nearing their end, Uchiha Chi finally stepped up.
To be honest, Uchiha Chi did not particularly care for this kind of self-introduction. He didn't want to tell the truth, and he was unwilling to tell lies, so in the end, he borrowed Kakashi's famous quote, slightly modifying it as he said: "My name is Uchiha Chi. Things I like, I don't want to tell you; things I don't like, I still don't want to tell you; as for my dreams for the future, I likewise don't want to tell you. My hobbies are naturally diverse. That's all."
Then, ignoring the astonished gazes of the crowd, he walked back to his seat on his own. Even the teacher wore a hesitant expression, wanting to say something, but ultimately said nothing at all.
From Sarutobi Shinnosuke's direction, a few remarks like "such arrogance for an Uchiha" even drifted over. Only after they were spoken did Sarutobi Shinnosuke use a glance to stop them. As for Uchiha Chi's reaction, his expression did not change in the slightest—it was something he had anticipated long ago.
Shortly after, Uchiha Chi's two deskmates also took the stage in succession, and he learned their names as well: two cute little girls, Mizutani Hayun and Tachibana Taki. Both hailed from minor shinobi clans—the nearly ruined sort—carrying the final hopes of their families. Their dreams were much the same: to revitalize their clans and become powerful shinobi.
Throughout these self-introductions, the thing Uchiha Chi remembered most vividly was sensing that the relationship between his two deskmates was somewhat unusual. As for what exactly was unusual about it, he couldn't quite tell for a moment.
Aside from the two of them, Uchiha Chi also felt that Yugao Aburame from the Aburame clan and Inuzuka Hui from the Inuzuka clan made a good impression and were worth making friends with. He hadn't found anyone else of note for the time being.
The last person to begin introducing himself was a chubby boy from the Akimichi clan named Akimichi Xiu. Uchiha Chi similarly intended to find some time to interact with him.
At the same time, a brief introduction to the Ninja Academy: The current Konohagakure school was adapted from the original Konoha School. Because it had cultivated a large number of shinobi for the First World War, it was highly valued by Senju Tobirama.
However, Senju Tobirama died before he could strengthen the Ninja Academy, leaving behind only a plan. Yet the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen, who deeply understood the importance of the academy, formulated a series of policies according to that drafted plan, ultimately carrying the school to great prominence and prompting the other four great shinobi villages to emulate it in succession.
The Ninja Academy was divided into six grades, with each grade comprising anywhere from 18 to 23 classes. The exact number of classes was determined purely by the number of students each year, mostly maintaining around 20.
The admission requirements were very simple: one had to be a resident of Konohagakure and possess the qualification to refine chakra.
Each class contained roughly 60 students. At the same time, each grade was set up with 1 Class A and 2 to 3 Class Bs—after all, the major shinobi clans all possessed their own cultivation systems.
Everything else consisted of Class Cs. Both Class A and Class B enrolled those who had refined chakra before the age of six; those with outstanding grades went to Class A, while the rest went to Class B. The number of Class B classes was also influenced by the number of these individuals.
Every year's advancement exams would promote a few people into Class B or Class A. Naturally, there were demotions as well as promotions, so the overall numbers basically remained without major changes.
Normally, the Konoha ninja school provided over 1,000 qualified Genin to Konohagakure every year. Under normal circumstances, after 10 years the survival rate was around two-thirds, and those who managed to advance to Chunin numbered around 200; after 20 years, the survival rate dropped to about half, and those who became Special Jonin would not exceed 20, with wartime situations calculated separately.
As for Jonin, it averaged out to 3 to 5 per graduating class; an Elite Jonin might appear once every 1 to 2 years; and a shinobi capable of reaching Kage level might emerge every 5 to 10 years. This was rather random—there could be fewer, or there could be more.
Of course, children born in the year immediately following the end of the Ninja World War could not be counted. Because their parents were battle-hardened elites who had returned from the front lines, the quality of that generation was extremely high—the Konoha Twelve Guardians were basically all like this.
Added to the fact that the larger shinobi clans all cultivated their own clansmen themselves, the overall number was not lower than this figure either. The most representative among them was the Sarutobi clan; during the Fourth War, they directly dispatched 3,000 Chunin, completely capable of forming an army out of a single clan. Of course, while the Sarutobi clan was quite formidable at this time, they still fell quite a bit short compared to the Uchiha and Hyuga clans.
By observing a leopard through a tube, one could imagine how much better the other three clans could be. It was evident just how severe the blood-sucking exploitation riding on top of Konohagakure truly was, and the assets of the Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki Clans had likely all been swallowed up by them.
On the first day of school, campus life was actually very peaceful, with no fights breaking out. However, Uchiha Chi figured it wouldn't remain peaceful for many days; once everyone grew familiar with one another, friction would naturally occur, and things would escalate into fighting.
Especially by the second year, fighting was practically a required course. After all, this was a place that taught shinobi, and those who excelled at fighting—provided they didn't cause serious lingering consequences—were awarded extra points for it.
Aside from theory classes, the academy required four compulsory courses, one for each grade.
The first year covered the Chakra Extraction Technique and basic chakra knowledge. Naturally, literacy and reading books were the foundation of foundations. As for textbooks, they naturally revolved around the Will of Fire and related subjects, reportedly written personally by Sarutobi Hiruzen;
The second year covered close-quarters Taijutsu and companion combat classes, alongside basic shinobi knowledge (theory and practical classes, including shinobi self-cultivation, shinobi world history, trap placement, and other foundational courses). These were primarily meant to lay the shinobi foundation for the students—a curriculum that Uchiha Chi mentally dubbed "cannon fodder from introductory to burial";
The third year covered Shuriken Jutsu throwing and the application of Explosive Tags. Shuriken Jutsu throwing was divided into three types: Kunai throwing, Shuriken throwing, and Senbon throwing. Students had to learn all three, but only needed to pass in one. In addition, there were classes like wilderness survival.