48 48. Promotion
Later, after the academy,
Yuji waits for the instructor outside his office.
A few minutes later, the instructor arrives in front of his office.
"Kaito Sensei!"
"Oh, Yuji, you are already here. Follow me!"
The instructor signals Yuji and moves forward. Yuji hurriedly follows him. After a few turns,
'This direction! Is he leading me to the principal's office?"
And sure enough, after a few moments, the instructor knocks on the Principal's door.
'Hmm… why is leading me here? I didn't pick any fights with anyone during this time and even avoided conflicts with other students when they were picking up on me. So why?'
Several questions run across Yuji's mind.
"Come in!" After a few seconds, a reply comes from inside.
Creak…
The instructor opens the door and enters. He signals Yuji to enter with him.
Inside the office, a middle-aged man with pointy black hair is sitting in front of a desk. The man has brown eyes and several wrinkles and creases around his eyes and mouth. A scar runs vertically across his left cheek.
"Uchisuke Sensei!"
The instructor respectfully greets the principal. Yuji also hurriedly bows as a greeting.
"Hmm… So, this is the boy you were talking about?"
The principal scrutinizes Yuji. He turns around and picks up a few papers containing Yuji's information.
"Kura Yuji, Six years, five months old, Academy registration number…"
He reads the entire document.
"Hmm… quite impressive! Especially the part where he fought against a genin and won and survived a lethal attack from what we believed to be a Jounin rank shinobi." He nods his head in approval.
"There always have been cases of such geniuses appearing among the students. Take the three kids under Hokage-sama, for example. All three of them were exemplary students. They graduated at the young age of six from the academy. Even various prodigies from shinobi clans graduate two or three years early at the request of their parents. I will approve your request to transfer him to the final year. Whether he can graduate or not depends on his capabilities." The principal approves Yuji's request.
He signs and stamps the transfer document and passes it to Kaito.
Kaito and Yuji exit the principal office. Kaito glances at Yuji and notices the lack of interest in the latter's eyes.
"The principal promoted you to the final year. Aren't you happy?" He pats Yuji's shoulder.
"Now, I won't be able to attend classes with my friends," Yuji complains.
"Well, that's true, I suppose!" Kaito nods and doesn't bother him further.
"I will pass the transfer papers to your new instructor. The instructor of the final year is a Jounin, so be mindful of your behavior." Kaito reminds him. "Thank you, Sensei!"
Yuji thanks him and exits the administration building of the academy. Outside the academy,
"Hey, Yuji! What took you so long?"
Minato and the rest of the group are waiting for him.
"Did the principal scold you for another of your shenanigans?" Inoichi asks him.
"I was pretty low-key and didn't do anything these past few months." Yuji retorts.
"Your low key might not be the same as our low key," Shikaku recalls Yuji's spar with every classmate.
"Well, considering the past year, he sure was low key," Minato mutters.
"Hmm… now that you mention it. Compared to the previous year, he sure is low key." Nawaki adds.
The group burst out in laughter.
"So, why did Kaito-sensei take you to the principal?" Kushina raises the question.
"Ugh… I am promoted to the final year." Yuji answers her.
"Wait! What?" The rest of the group turns to him in surprise.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Choza chomps down a rice cake and speaks.
"It isn't!" Yuji shakes his head.
"Right! It's a pain." Shikaku agrees with him.'
"I also think so." Minato also agrees with him.
"Huh! Why?" Only Nawaki, Kushina, Inoichi, and Choza are left clueless.
"If Yuji transfers to a different class, then he won't be able to study with us. Also, who will help us with arithmetic?" Minato remarks.
"That's bad! If Yuji doesn't help me, then how will I pass the exam?" Nawaki despairs.
"That's not all. Once he transfers classes, the older students might bully and isolate him." Shikaku adds.
"That's indeed a problem." Inoichi nods.
"No, I can bear with that. Since I don't usually talk with anyone. The real problem is that I have to deal with a hoard of angry teenagers competing with me to prove themselves better than me." Yuji has a headache as he thinks of this problem.
"Teenagers are prideful, to begin with. They always compete with people of the same age. Now, if someone informs them that a younger kid is as talented or even more talented than them, then how would they feel? Of course, it will hurt their pride and they will bombard me with challenges. My peaceful academy life will end." Yuji sighs.
"You sound like an old man!" Nawaki jokes.
---------------------------
Next morning at the academy,
Yuji enters the office to find his new instructor.
"Yuji!" Kaito waves at him.
"Kaito Sensei!" Yuji walks towards him.
"Koga-san's office isn't here. He has a separate office near the principal room. Also, pass these transfer papers to him." Kaito hands over the papers to him.
"Thank you, Sensei!"
Yuji finds the directions and soon stands in front of Jounin's office. He knocks on the door.
"Come in!" After a few seconds, someone replies.
Yuji enters the room and notices a shinobi performing maintenance on his gear. He wipes the blade with a cotton ball dipped in oil. After the katana, he maintains another short blade.
Yuji silently observes him as the jounin wipes the freshly sharpened blade with oil. He proceeds to wipe some dust from a stack of scrolls and neatly arranges them in a row.
'Is he maintaining his gear to enter the war?' Yuji looks around and notices the neatly laid blades, shurikens, and kunais.
'That seems to be the case. Since he is a jounin, the village might send him to the battlefield anytime. Seems like he is preparing for such emergencies.'
The jounin sheathes his katana and turns to Yuji.
"An academy kid? What business do you have here?"
"Umm… Koga Sensei!"
"That's me!"
Yuji passes the transfer papers to him.
Hmm…
Koga reads the paper and glances at Yuji.
"A genius transfer, huh! It has been a while since I last saw one. And you seem to be the youngest of them all."
Koga signs the transfer paper and glances at the clock.
"It's almost time for the class! Follow me!"
Yuji follows Koga's lead. They walk past his previous class building and soon enter another building at the back of the academy. There is a training ground right beside the building.
'Hmm… the training ground is right next to the classroom. I heard that most of the final year classes are combat-oriented.'
"When I introduce you, enter the classroom!" Koga's words snap him out of his thoughts.
Mm…
Yuji nods at his instructor's words.
Koga enters the classroom. The clamor within the class dies down after Koga's entry.
Ahem…
Koga clears his throat and stares at the teenagers in front of him.
"We have a new transfer student from the second year today!"
"Second Year!"
Soon, an uproar spreads across the classroom as the students discuss among themselves.
"Heh… We have to babysit a second-year student now!" Some senior students speak in annoyance.
"Why does the academy even approve of such a transfer?" Other student group remarks.
"Silence!" Koga yells to silence them.
"This is the decision of the principal. If you have any problem, go talk with him." He rebukes them and turns towards the entrance of the class.
Yuji enters the class and glances at his classmates. Some student glances at him with curious gazes, other with annoyance, and a few with mocking gazes. Yuji even feels a few hostile gazes locked on him.
He turns in the direction of the hostile gazes and spots a group of youth.
'I am not sure what I did to make them so mad. I didn't have any interaction with them.'
Yuji ignores them and speaks.
"I am Yuji Kura, seven years old. Nice to meet you!" He introduces himself.
"That's it!" The students discuss the brief introduction of Yuji among themselves.
"Interesting!" Koga muses at Yuji's introduction.
Yuji looks around and spots an empty window seat in the back row. He walks towards the seat and sits on it.
"Hey, that's…"
A student attempts to warn him, but someone else cuts him off.
"Good! Since the introduction is over. Let's start with the class."
