Chapter 7: The Academy

Year 27 Konoha Calendar

(One day before the Academy starts)

Sitting quietly in the training hall, Raito focused his gaze on his hands, where a swirling blue chakra could be seen.

Compressing the chakra into a Rasengan while maintaining its intense rotation was no easy feat. It was unfortunate that he couldn't practice the Shadow Clone jutsu yet, even though he knew its hand signs. If he attempted a jutsu created by the Second Hokage that he hadn't witnessed, he would surely attract unwanted attention. Sighing, he realized that the Shadow Clone would greatly accelerate his training speed. He needed to figure out a discreet way to learn it.

Concluding his Rasengan training, Raito began reflecting on his accomplishments.

Under Chiyo's guidance, he had achieved a decent mastery of the mystical palm technique, earning him a recommendation to train at the Sunagakure hospital in a few months. Being an Iryo-nin was a rare and valuable resource for the village. His calligraphy training had also made significant progress, elevating him to the status of an advanced calligrapher in the village. Once he reached mastery, Chiyo promised to arrange for him to learn from a fuinjutsu expert. Over the past few months, Chiyo had introduced poison training to him. While keeping it a secret from his mother, Raito had been injected with basic, less-harmful poisons to enhance his poison resistance and expand his knowledge of poisons. His understanding of poison concoction and antidote preparation was steadily improving.

'Not that I will refuse any opportunity to get stronger.'

According to Shamon, Raito had already attained the level of a Genin in kenjutsu, taijutsu, and shurikenjutsu. His physical strength and endurance were developing nicely, despite Shamon's refusal to grant his request for weights on his arms and legs. Raito was on track to achieve Genin-level endurance and strength. His father had promised to provide him with weights when he turned five, considering his bone strength and muscle density.

Shamon affirmed Raito's high-Genin level chakra capacity. Raito concluded that while it may not be as monstrous as Naruto's, his' chakra capacity was exceptional due to his lineage. However, Raito's greatest accomplishment remained his chakra control. With his basic mastery of the mystical palm technique, he had reached a level of chakra mastery comparable to high-Chunin. Once his Rasengan training was complete, his control would elevate to the Jonin level.

Moving on to ninjutsu, Raito had successfully reduced all the hand seals of his chosen E-rank jutsus into a single seal. With this achievement, he had begun training in D-rank ninjutsu.

For his lightning release, he had developed the ability to withstand a 15 mA electric shock. His mother explained that reaching the threshold of 20 mA would qualify him for C-rank lightning jutsus. He had selected three D-rank lightning techniques to focus on: Raiton: Lightning Bolt Technique, Raiton: Lightning Magnet, and Raiton: Electron Technique. Electron Technique represented a more advanced application of Lightning Bolt, allowing him to project the electricity gathered in his hand. Furthermore, Raito hoped to combine his Magnet Release with the principle behind Lightning Magnet to generate a greater magnetic force in the future.

His wind release training was progressing well. Having mastered cutting-leaf exercise, he was now attempting to slice through a thicker cardboard box. He had chosen three D-rank wind techniques to refine: Futon: Slashing Wind Technique, Futon: Smoke Dome Technique, and Futon: Wind Explosion Technique. Slashing Wind could be incorporated with his kenjutsu for maximum damage, Wind Explosion is a pure wind attacking technique, while Smoke Dome formed a defensive smoke cloud with the strength of reinforced steel at the Jonin level. 

Finally, Raito had successfully formed a clay ball with a diameter of over 50 cm. To qualify for C-rank techniques, he needed to reach a diameter of 1 meter. His chosen D-rank earth techniques were: Doton: Earth Tremor Sense Technique, Doton: Inner Decapitation Technique, and Doton: Earth Mound Creation. All three were supporting techniques. Earth Tremor would enhance his sensory abilities, Inner Decapitation allowed him to move beneath the surface, and Earth Mound Creation was particularly effective in water battles.

In addition to elemental techniques, Raito had also begun training in the non-elemental D-rank Body Flicker Technique. This technique would compensate for his speed weaknesses and add a touch of ninja flair. Chuckling to himself, he envisioned the feeling of being a true ninja with its instantaneous movement.

Satisfied with his progress, Raito felt prepared for the start of the Academy tomorrow.

…

Waking up early, Raito performed a series of yoga stretches before freshening up. The aroma of his mother's specially made breakfast wafted through the air as he stepped out of his room.

"Are you ready, Raito?" Shamon smiled. "We'll accompany you to school today."

"I don't think it's necessary for you to take me to school. I know where it is," Raito tried to refuse.

"It's actually a tradition, and your father will be giving the school opening speech today," Chibi retorted.

"Sigh, I give up. What a drag..."

...

True enough, the walk to school was filled with constant greetings from the villagers.

"Good morning, Lord Second, Lady Chibi, and Raito-sama!"

"I see it's your first day of school. Good luck, Raito-sama!"

"Look, it's Lord Second and his family! Oh my, look at Suna's prince! He's quite adorable~"

Raito's face turned bright red. In his previous life of fifty years, he had never been complimented on his looks. However, as a four-year-old, Raito stood as tall as the average six-year-old. Like his father, he had a tall stature and fair skin. But, resembling his mother, his eyes shone a bright blue, and his hair was silver-gray. Unlike the numerous nameless mobs with brown hair in the world of Naruto, he possessed the appearance of a protagonist.

Upon arriving at the school grounds, Raito was taken aback by the sea of people. Lord First had successfully united the desert clans of the Land of Wind to form Sunagakure. According to recent surveys, Sunagakure housed approximately 50,000 people, a smaller number compared to Konohagakure's 80,000-strong population. Raito estimated around 1,500 students participating in the Academy entrance exam, accounting for approximately three percent of the total population.

'I was expecting around 500 people, which would be one percent of Suna's population. It's good to see that the people in this village take population growth seriously.'

However, this population growth would also become the catalyst that would drive Sunagakure into war in the future. If his knowledge of the canon was accurate, the first Shinobi World War, fought among the major villages for resources, was approaching. The war was set to occur a couple of years after Tobirama became Hokage, and due to its limited food resources, Sunagakure would be among the first candidates to seek war in order to sustain its people.

…