Chapter 61 - Academy

Gin washed and dressed himself. Running his hand through his short silver hair he yawned. After cracking his neck, Gin reached over and grabbed the dark blue flak jacket.

He gazed at the symbol on the back which was a four leafed white flower.

Gin put it on as it covered his standard jounin attire. Except for the long sleeved black shirt, Gin wore a short sleeved one. His left arm was covered in bandages that went up to his elbow.

On his upper right arm was the forehead protector that all shinobi wore. The symbol carved on it looked like a snowflake.

Looking over, he noticed the time on the wall.

His body blurred as he left the room.

When Gin appeared again, he was on the rooftop of the building next to him.

He reached out his hand as a snowflake landed on his palm.

'Snow… it's always snowing.'

Gin thought to himself as he watched the snowflake melt.

Turning his head to the left, there were three massive ice statues built. Each ice statue showed the Kōrikage, the leader who protected the village shrouded in ice.

He's heard stories of the first Kōrikage and wondered what the man was like. He was kind, thoughtful, and powerful. Always looking towards the future and thinking of those around him.

In a time when wars were constantly being waged, he built this village to bring about peace.

Gin looked up to the first Kōrikage.

Although his death was unexpected and brought saddeness to many, there was someone to take up the mantle after him. The second Kōrikage, Aito.

Aito helped broker peace along with the first Hokage, Hashirama. Although Hashirama died before he saw the world at peace, Aito finished what both the first Kōrikage and first Hokage wanted.

But, peace only lasted so long as after Aito passed the world started up with wars again.

Currently, it was the third Kōrikage who reigned.

Gin knew him well and wished he didn't.

Gin stopped thinking about the history of this village and headed towards the ninja academy. No matter how much he thought about it, he wouldn't be able to live in those times.

Inside the ninja academy, the genin were full of themselves as they were bragging over who was the strongest. Some talked about how they were excited for this moment.

They all knew what today was.

Haruto slouched down in his seat and sighed as he had to listen to the other kids.

"Haruto! Don't you hope we get placed on the same team?"

A girl with red hair asked him.

Haruto looked at her from the corner of his eye but said nothing. He wasn't interested in her, or any of the other kids. Being a shinobi wasn't a game like they were thinking.

His father reminded him of that almost daily.

What he hoped to achieve was simple, he wanted to be respected not due to his family but due to his own strength. Everywhere he went he was compared to by those in the same family as him.

He hated living in their shadows and having all these expectations put on himself, but he couldn't escape. It felt like he was suffocating sometimes, always being expected to go above and beyond his peers.

Haruto hoped that the team he would be assigned to would go on dangerous missions so he could finally show everyone what they've been expecting. The only way to gain respect is to show them he was better than the others.

Seeing that Haruto wasn't responding to her, she rolled her eyes towards him.

"Fine! Ignore me then!"

She pouted.

'I'm doing exactly that.'

Haruto thought to himself.

The classroom door opened and all the genin stopped talking as they took their seats. A female ninja walked in, she seemed to be in her mid twenties.

Facing the class, her long black hair swung to the side.

"You've all been expecting today, and i'm sure many of you are excited. But, don't forget, you might have all passed the exam and are now genin but that doesn't mean you are true shinobi yet. Follow your team leaders advice, and you'll learn a thing or two."

The woman spoke as all the genin nodded their heads.

They didn't want to say a thing as she showed them how ferocious she could be early on when they arrived at the academy.

After she finished speaking, the classroom door opened again as a young man with short silver hair and blue eyes entered. He took a few steps in, but all eyes were focused on him.

"Asagao Haruto, Uzumaki Karin, Chinoike Chibi!"

"Yes!"

Three genin stood up in attention and said in unison.

"I'm the jounin in charge of your squad, Gin Asagao."

With that, Gin turned around and walked out of the classroom door. Behind him, the three genin followed.

"Ah, I wish I was chosen! Not very likely we'll get a member of the Shichibukai as a team leader!"

One genin spoke up as he slumped over his desk.

"We all know Haruto was chosen because they were in the same family, but why'd he pick the other two?"

"Quiet!"

The female ninja in charge of all these genin shouted.

Seeing her gaze, all the genin shut their mouths.