Chapter 3: The Aftermath
A/N: Rewritten on 12/15/2023
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Ayame, the current Academy's Vice-Principal just stared at the forty freshmen, lying in the blood and bodies of children just a few years older than them. Undisturbed by any of this, she just walks around, as if to make sure that everyone in the room were either dead or unconscious.
Just outside the room, the chunin instructors were standing upright not even flinching upon hearing the sounds of bodies falling, the smell of blood, or the screams of children. They knew what was going on, after all, they were the perpetrators themselves.
Breaking the heavy silence, Ayame spoke roughly, addressing the chunins, "Drag them to the barracks. Today's class is over."
The chunin immediately shot up and replied, "Yes, ma'am." A tinge of fear in their voice.
Within minutes all the fouty freshmen were cleared out, some were dragged through the ground while others were carried like a sand bad over their soon-to-be instructor's shoulders. Chakra had toughened up these orphans' skin to handle these 'minor' inconveniences.
After seeing the chunins complete their task, Ayame turned her attention back to the heaps of lifeless bodies. Emotionlessly conjuring hand signs she fired a torrent of flames through her mouth, incarnating all the body before her.
{Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique}
After the fire died down, she made sure that no bodies remained before speaking out to the now-empty room.
"Call the janitors; they will clean up the remaining mess,"
Then without waiting for a reply, she simply flickered away, a thin mist replacing her figure.
{Mist Body Flicker}
"Yes, ma'am."
****
At the edge of a large training ground, cushioned by dull green grass, and covered in a thick layer of mist, there was a large seven-story tall cylindrical-shaped building painted in pure grey with a red roof adorning the top of the building. The dull building had a staircase spiring up to the top, with a door and two windows present for each floor in a typical Kiri-fashion.
This was the barracks assigned to batch-019 of the Kiri Ninja Academy.
The ground was encompassed by a dense array of tall Red Maple trees, intersected by numerous stone-paved paths branching in various directions. Today, one particular path bustled with activity as approximately eight chunins maneuvered the bodies of five newly admitted students who had completed their first day at school. Some chunins employed water whips to drag the kids, while others, showing more consideration, carried them either on their shoulders or within a water bubble. Leading the procession of eight chunins was Masaru Hoshigaki, once again vexed by the assignment thrust upon him.
Why the hell am I assigned to be a homeroom teacher again this year? Fuck, I came here cuz there was almost no high-level mission due to the war. I really hope that father can convince the Mizukage to join the war after the seal transfer, I'm already tired from playing nanny.
Sighing at his own misery, Masaru silently promised to make his student's life even more miserable. Looking back he instructed the chunins,
"Just throw these kids to the ground. No need to dirty the sheets this early."
****
(MC POV)
"Ughh…!"
Opening my eyes, emerging from what felt like a nightmarish abyss, I was greeted by the chills emanating from the damp, concrete floor beneath me. Wet, chunky, and globby substances clung to my exposed skin, adding to the surreal aftermath of what I had just experienced.
A lot had happened today, too much had occurred too fast for me to process. Although my body felt relatively fine, my mind was in complete disarray.
Fuck!! what the hell was that?
The image of dead children and that horrifying sight still refused to leave my mind.
Is that the aftermath of this year's graduation?
Taking a deep breath I tried calming by trembeling nerves. Tears were threatening to spill out my eyes once more.
Scary… this world is too scary. I never thought I would have to experience so much gore outside the internet… I wasn't prepared for that at all.
Not feeling like getting up from the ground, I closed my eyes, to tired to get up.
But… why did I faint so suddenly? I only saw that shit for like a couple seconds before fainting…. Was that due to the pressure that woman excluded? Or well... let's be honest I'm not exactly the manliest of the man. Maybe I just fainted because I was too scared.
Curling my lips, I re-opened my eyes, this time focusing on the scene directly above me. I could feel the cool wind of the mist brushing across my body. With mist covering most of my visibility, I could barely make out the white clouds floating across the sky.
If it was due to that woman then maybe they just don't want us to be severely traumatized? Making us used to blood and gore maybe?
I could hear a few groaning and crying sounds around me, but I tried my best to ignore them. In any other situation, I might have comforted them, but I knew—I knew that at least half of them would be dead by the end of these five years. And I would be directly responsible for at least one of their deaths, if not more. And I really didn't want to think about that right now.
This is the most depressing shit ever!
I could hear deliberate footsteps approaching me, triggering a sense of déjà vu. Tilting my head forward, I recognized the Hoshigaki instructor who had escorted me from the infirmary to the hall. I hadn't formed a clear opinion about him yet, or anyone else I'd encountered since arriving here. It seemed too easy to harbor resentment, but I was well aware of the harsh realities of this world. If I managed to endure for a few more years, I could envision finding myself in their shoes—as a cog in the relentless cycle of hatred.
Trying to not show any fear this time, I looked straight into the man's eyes. Looking unimpressed, he baldly stated, pointing in front towards the large cylindrical building that I failed to notice beforehand.
"That—is the barracks; you will be living there for the next five years." He continued, a grin slowly replacing his stoic demeanor. "Class A; I will be your homeroom teacher. The class will start the day after tomorrow. My name, Masaru Hoshigaki. What's your name, kid?"
A familiar pressure invaded my body as he called me out. This forced me to stand up and respond immediately. Scrambled before the man once again, for the second time this day, I responded with a bit of resentment in my voice.
"Ryota Chinoike, Sir!"
I doubt anyone remembers the clan name. It's been inactive since the Warring States era. If someone does then… who cares? It's not like the surname was trademarked or anything and the clan originated on the other side of the fucking ocean. Also, fuck this guy for doing that shit again.
I could hear the big-sharky replying to me in a snarky tone.
"Chinoike? Did you swim to the mainland or something? Never heard of that last name."
But I had to maintain a polite and subservient outlook. I wanted to live long… at least that's the plan for now.
"No, sir! I'm an orphan."
Not reacting to the news, he just nodded and responded, his tone already getting on my nerves.
"We usually hook up freshmen with a bed and a desk, but..." He paused for a bit, scanning my body, he continued," Man, you stink. And since you still don't know any ninjutsus, cleaning up is not an option. So, sorry, no beds for you and most of your 'buddies' until you pick up some of the academy's water skillls or find a way to scrub up without trashing our stuff. You guys can crash in the auditorium till then, it's pretty cozy in there."
Fuck, after all this, we aren't allowed to even rest properly? If you are not letting us in then why even drag us here?
Although I was cursing inwardly, I still gritted my and responded.
"Yes, sir!"
Nodding to me, the monster moved on to other kids. I could see a few kids, after listening to our conversation frown, but most just nodded as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.
So spending my night sleeping on the floor? I hope the carpet there isn't too uncomfortable.
Looking around I could see the other instructors talking individually with all forty kids as the students woke up one by one. Right ahead of me was a tall building, cylindrical and seven stories tall. Looking around, I could see the large training ground spanning out about two football fields, with a lot of children still on the ground and a few who had just woken up.
Most of the kids with open eyes seem to be just crying or staring blankly at the sky. At least the sleeping kids seem to be doing better as no one was crying or having nightmares.
So we must have intentionally fainted. Or the kids should be having nightmares.
Unwilling to witness such a cruel scene, I slowly turned back, walking away from the training ground. From the original body's memory, I should be able to find the auditorium soon enough.
****
(Third POV, Principal's Office)
Looking through the window of his office, Shigaki Hozuki watched the children as they began waking up one by one, some sobbing while most stared blankly at the sky. Most were unable to snap out until an instructor made their way toward them. Shigaki's face showed no emotion as he looked at the scene, he was already used to this, too used to in fact.
The ground was cleared after about an hour, but Shigaki remained there, standing, and blankly staring at the ground for a couple more minutes before shaking his head and slowly turning back to his office.
The office itself was nothing fancy. Just wider than most, with multiple chairs spread across the room. Right before the window was another chair with a desk in front of it. At the edge of the room, there were multiple bookshelves filled with books—mostly regarding chakra theories while a few of them contained some relatively common techniques of the village.
Moving forward, he stood in front of his desk and slowly pulled one of the drawers. There— laid a black mask, devoid of features save for two empty eye holes. Grabbing it, he silently flickered out of the room, a thin mist replacing his figure.
{Mist Body Flicker}
====>Chapter 3: Aftermath<====< p>
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