Chapter 3: First day at the Academy

Mizuki stirred awake to the persistent knocking on his door, startled by Iruka's urgent voice outside.

Mizuki groaned, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it? And who's hammering on my door, ruining my sleep?"

Iruka's voice came through the door again. "Mizuki, come on! We're going to be late!"

Realizing the time, Mizuki cursed under his breath. "Not again. I'll be out in five!"

Five minutes later, he burst out of his apartment door, sprinting towards the Academy. Miraculously, he slid into class just as the bell chimed, taking a seat next to Iruka.

"You made it!" Iruka whispered in relief.

"Yeah, somehow," Mizuki replied between breaths, grateful to have avoided being late on his first day.

As the class settled down, a Hyuga Chunin, unfamiliar to Mizuki from the Naruto series, entered and began their lesson on Genjutsu.

Mizuki half-listened to the lecture, his mind already racing with plans to advance to a higher class. "I should work on my chakra control—maybe start with water walking or tree climbing. And I need to find out my elemental affinities."

The Chunin moved on to basics of Genjutsu before announcing, "Time's up! Meet me in the courtyard for taijutsu in five minutes."

The Chunin vanished, leaving the class in awe. Iruka turned to Mizuki, wide-eyed. "Did you see that? Do you think we'll learn to do that too?"

Mizuki nodded knowingly. "That's the Body Flicker technique."

Deciding to ask about learning the technique later, Mizuki joined the training session in the academy courtyard, enduring rigorous exercises before learning basic punches.

At lunch, Mizuki approached the Chunin about learning Body Flicker, but was told they wouldn't cover it for weeks.

"I need to improve faster," Mizuki muttered to himself over lunch, strategizing how to excel despite the slow pace of his current class.

After lunch, ninjutsu class focused solely on hand seals. Mizuki practiced them under the table, determined to stay ahead despite his frustration with the pace.

Convinced his chakra levels were above average, Mizuki resolved to avoid drawing attention until he could move up to the advanced class.

After class, eager to begin his training, Mizuki hurried to find a vendor selling chakra paper. He stocked up on shuriken, kunai, and a short sword, wincing at the dent in his wallet.

Back in his apartment, he tested his elemental affinity with the chakra paper. "Please be something useful," he muttered, watching as half the paper crumbled to dust while the other half burst into flames—a mix of earth and fire.

"Sigh... defensive earth jutsu and delaying fire jutsu," Mizuki mused, disappointed but determined.

Setting aside thoughts of Yin and Yang Release for later, Mizuki buried himself in textbooks and practiced hand seals until they were second nature.

(Hand seals: Rat-Ox-Tiger-Hare-Dragon-Snake-Horse-Ram-Money-Bird-Dog-Boar)