Chapter 2
"Yamada Saito," called out a man seated behind a desk, dressed in the same pastel green vest that everyone in the place wore. "Here," he said, handing a scroll to the man.
"What's this?" Saito asked, examining the scroll with anticipation.
"Lord Hokage has entrusted you with the important task of preparing the orphaned candidates from Home-B32 for the academy exam," he explained with indifference and boredom, causing Saito's excitement and anticipation to fade as quickly as they came, releasing a resigned sigh. The big-nosed man had expected something more thrilling, something more befitting a Chunin like himself, but now he had to be a babysitter for some children.
"Hey, it could be worse," a ninja next to Saito chimed in, with two shadows extending beneath his eyes like maps drawn by exhaustion. "At least you don't have to deal with the backlog of paperwork at the academy." He sighed. "I haven't slept for over a week." The man gave Saito a pat on the back and left, leaving everyone who saw him with a small bead of sweat.
"Well... the scroll contains the test through which you must guide the recruits," Saito nodded and left.
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The dining hall was brimming with energy; the children, their eyes shining with enthusiasm, darted in all directions, forming small groups as they whispered excitedly.
"Look, it's a real ninja!" exclaimed one with enthusiasm in their voice, gazing at the ninja with illuminated eyes.
"Fool, look closely," said a cleverer child, giving their friend a nudge on the shoulder. "It's not just an ordinary Ninja, it's a Chunin," they explained with a tone of pride. "They sent a Chunin to train us as future ninjas."
The other children began to tremble with excitement as they grasped their friend's words, imagining their magnificent future filled with adventures. Unfortunately, most of them were likely to struggle with even the first test in the academy entrance exam.
Meanwhile, Nana engaged in a calm conversation with the ninja, providing insights about the children.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Nana recalled, retrieving the scroll Kenji had left her the previous night. "Take this," she said, handing a scroll to Saito.
"I see," Saito commented, inspecting the scroll and noticing a signature beneath the name Kenji Ito, a medical ninja. "Who is the boy?" he inquired, observing as Nana looked towards Eiji and Yumi, noting how Eiji's chakra seemed to vibrate with a subtly different intensity from the other children around him at first glance.
"He's Satoru Eiji," Nana explained with a slight smile, her eyes reflecting a special fondness for the child. "He's quite shy, but a good kid. I hope you two can get along," she concluded, receiving a slight nod from Saito.
«Interesting», Saito thought, stealing a glance at Eiji from the corner of his eye. «Perhaps it won't be a waste of time», he reflected with a small smile on his face as he listened to Nana speak to the children.
---
The garden was full. About 30 children, aged five to six, stood in two rows divided between the younger ones and the older ones. In each row, the children's excitement for the training Saito would provide could be felt; some struck poses imitating ninjutsu, just as they would during playtime.
"Alright, everyone calm down," Saito ordered, appearing in front of the children with a Shunshin. "I see that there are many of you," he noted, receiving a childlike nod along with a few proud smiles.
"Listen to me attentively!" he said, looking at all the children before adopting a serious expression, causing them to audibly swallow their saliva. "Contrary to what you might have thought, this won't be easy! In fact, it's likely that half of you won't complete the training, and the other half won't pass the first entrance exam test for the academy," he explained, letting silence spread across the garden, allowing the children to process Saito's words.
Some felt their dreams being crushed, causing their motivation to wane; others were excited by Saito's words, giving him an idea of which children might be worth investing in. Nevertheless, he needed everyone to give their all in the training, so he gave them a softer look and a confident smile.
"It wouldn't be honest or useful to downplay what lies ahead; but it's crucial to understand that the path you've chosen will be filled with obstacles. Yet, it's precisely that toughness that can shape true diamonds out of us," he exclaimed, causing the children to lift their heads with pride, setting aside doubt and embracing confidence. "This training will challenge not only your physical abilities but also your mental resilience."
"So, anyone who feels confident, give me 15 laps around the orphanage. I won't expect anything less from future ninjas," he ordered, prompting the children to start running behind Saito, who took the lead, inspiring them.
Sadly, not all were cut out for such intense training. In less than 5 minutes, half of the children had fallen due to exhaustion, with some even vomiting, while the other half kept running purely out of willpower. Because it had been a short time since they awakened their Chakra, their bodies hadn't yet adapted to the energy, which deprived them of the physical boost that Chakra should provide. This was why an instructor was sent to the orphanages once a year to train the academy hopefuls.
"Just six more laps!" Saito shouted, trying to encourage those still running by his side, but a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as he saw everyone still running on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion. Even Eiji was running more from sheer determination before falling to the ground with the others, unable to complete the 15 laps, only managing six.
Only one of the children, Kato, managed to complete the 15 laps, ending up unconscious with vomit on his mouth but wearing a silly smile on his face. This caused everyone, including Eiji, to furrow their brows as they saw Kato being carried to his room.
"Guys!" Yumi shouted, capturing the attention of all the children who, with tired looks and forced breaths, turned in Yumi's direction. She, along with some of the children who had chosen not to train, carried pitchers of water and cups, receiving grateful looks as they snatched cups from their hands and drank the water as if it were nectar from the gods.
"Eiji-nee," called Mari, a small 5-year-old blonde girl, a year younger than Eiji, with an innocent gaze but an inability to use Chakra. "Take this," she said, handing Eiji a cup of water, which he drank in one gulp, choking along the way, causing Mari to laugh at him.
"Hey, don't laugh," Eiji requested, unintentionally pouting at the little girl. But before she could respond, Saito appeared once again in front of everyone, equally impressing the children, as if it were the first time. «Some things never go out of style», Saito thought with a smile, his gaze filled with pride as he observed the children's expressions.
Eiji sent Mari over to Yumi and the others who were tending to the garden, leaving the children with Saito once again.
"For the first day, you've all done well," Saito congratulated, trying to boost the children's morale as they looked downhearted, gazing at the ground.
"Don't worry about not completing the 15 laps. You all proved yourselves worthy of my training," he reassured them. "Tomorrow will be a bit easier, but don't get too comfortable. If you don't give it your all, you'll stop receiving training," he explained with seriousness.
"For now, rest for the remainder of the day. We'll continue tomorrow," he said, causing many of the children to sigh in relief, while others looked surprised at Saito, taken aback that this was the extent of the day's exercise, until one of them mustered the courage to ask.
"Was that all?" one of the boys asked.
"That's right," Saito replied. "That was just a test, and I highly doubt any of you will be able to continue," he said, leaving the boys with more uncertainties. "Don't worry, everything in due time. Right now, your bodies are still adapting to your Chakra, which makes you weaker than you should be. Once your bodies adjust, running 15 laps around the orphanage will be as easy as playing hide and seek. For now, tomorrow we'll begin the real training."
This explanation dispelled the doubts in everyone's minds, just like Saito did as he vanished after a couple of seconds. The children, still sore from training, got up and went straight to the dining area in search of something to eat.
Following the others, Eiji, who now had some time to think since waking up a few hours ago, tried to understand what had happened. Even now, he remembered very little.
He couldn't recall his former name or the faces of his family or friends. He knew he had them, but it was all too hazy for him. The only things he could remember were insignificant details that for some reason still remained, like his favorite books, comics, and manga, some movies, and his education.
Why could he only remember these trivial things? Were his family and friends so unimportant to him? Why in the world of Naruto? Those were the questions he asked himself. He felt like an ungrateful fool for forgetting his mother's face, if he ever had one, or that of his girlfriend, if he ever had one.
But now only one thing whispered in his mind as he tapped his fingers on the dining table slowly. «I have to overcome this, I have no other choice. I have to become strong if I want to survive in this world», he thought resignedly, trying to convince himself about his new life before feeling a tap on his back.
"Hey, don't worry, Eiji," Kato said, pulling Eiji out of his thoughts, that almost permanent absent-minded look on his face, a childish smile of pride spreading. "Maybe next time, you'll catch up," he exclaimed playfully, laughing audibly, earning displeased and envious looks from the boys who participated in the training.
"Maybe next time, you won't throw up on yourself," Eiji responded with a playful smile, making the boys beside him laugh at Kato, who blushed and scratched his head in embarrassment, walking to an empty seat and beginning to eat as if the food would run away from his plate.
"Eiji-nee, next time you'll leave Kato eating your dust," Mari exclaimed, trying to console Eiji, who involuntarily smiled with determination, feeling a bit better. «Maybe this isn't so bad», he told himself as he gently ruffled Mari's hair, receiving a pout from her since she didn't like that.
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What do you all think of this chapter? To add more realism and coherence to the world and Konoha, I decided to include some parts that aren't shown in the manga or the Naruto Wiki but are important in my view. Like how Chakra works and how people's bodies adapt to it, or how Konoha utilizes its orphanages and orphans, as they wouldn't miss the chance to recruit new ninjas from them.
If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments. Don't forget to vote for this fanfic so that we can reach more people. Thank you very much for reading!