Academy

The two had arrived at the academy. A large crowd of children of varying ages chattered among themselves in the courtyard. They were all around Eiji's age, some slightly younger and others older.

Eiji felt his heart flutter. This place was the hub of learning he had dreamed of. Initially, he disliked the idea of going to the academy, but he grew to appreciate its existence after losing his father and realizing the struggle of obtaining learning materials.

'I'm going to milk this place of its resources to my heart's content! These teachers won't have an easy time. Hehe!'

Turning his head towards Itachi, Eiji noticed his cousin also had an excited look on his face. Nudging Itachi, Eiji teased, "I get it; when I was your age, I too was excited when I saw girls. You need to wait until marriage though, young man!"

Itachi's face turned a bright pink, registering his older cousin's words.

'Huh? I got him for once!'

Itachi, known for not showing his emotions or laughing out loud, prompted Eiji to make him more human, a challenge he relished. Surprised at Itachi's flustered response, Eiji realized he might finally be making headway.

Returning to his typical emotionless expression, Itachi walked ahead. Eiji followed, entering the crowd beside his cousin. "When do you think we'll be allowed in?" Eiji asked. Itachi shrugged, signaling his uncertainty.

The longer Eiji stood in line, the more anxious he became. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched from all angles. "You feel it too, don't you?" Itachi remarked. Eiji nodded.

Unable to ignore the obnoxious gazes any longer, Eiji began to scan the crowd, realizing most were from girls, with a few from boys.

"He's so hot," a girl in the crowd exclaimed.

"Yeah, I know right!" another agreed.

"Look at him, he's so full of himself!" a male voice grumbled.

"Those Uchihas will always be scum!" another murmured.

Adrenaline surged through Eiji's body, his fists clenched in rage, and his eyes slowly turned red.

'Those bastards think they can insult my clan!'

"Calm down, Eiji," Itachi said beside him. Although also irritated, Itachi was restraining his anger.

The red glow faded from Eiji's eyes, but he wasn't ready to let it go. He refused to allow disrespect toward his clan. Unlike his cousin, Eiji wore his heart on his sleeve.

"Whoever thinks they can disrespect my clan name, STEP FORWARD!" Eiji roared. The chattering crowd fell silent until someone spoke up. "I think it's quite rude of you to interrupt our conversations," a voice stated.

"Well? What're you going to do about it?" Eiji taunted. The defiant voice also fell silent. Standing tall, chest out, Eiji activated his Sharingan, a two tomoe pattern emerging. "If anyone says anything about the clan, they'll have to face me!" he yelled, making sure his message was heard as he scanned the crowd, locking eyes with several boys.

Deactivating his Sharingan, Eiji turned back to Itachi and grinned. "How was that?" he asked. Itachi facepalmed and shook his head, but then allowed a slight smile. "You're always doing too much," he sighed.

"He's so dreamy!" girls in the crowd whispered.

'This is weird... I wasn't ever handsome in my past life, so this is quite uncomfortable. Not to mention they're all kids...'

"Attention!" a voice at the front of the crowd called out. It was a man in a leaf shinobi uniform, standing beside a short old man.

'I can recognize that face anywhere. That's the one on The Hokage Rock. The Third Hokage.'

It took a moment, but when the children noticed the Third Hokage, the volume in the courtyard steadily decreased. Once it was completely silent, the Third Hokage cleared his throat and began, "Many of you aspire to become great shinobi, and the academy is the first step towards that goal. We have the greatest regimen for the next generation of children to blossom into the astounding genin. Your instructors, like the one beside me, will kindle the fire that exists within each and every one of you. The will of fire."

At the end of the Third Hokage's speech, other shinobi appeared at the front of the crowd. They all wore the same leaf uniform.

"These will be your instructors for this year. Your names will be called out, and you will line up in front of your designated instructor," the Third Hokage continued.

Eiji scratched his head.

'This is an incredibly tedious ceremony... Does he give these every year? It's incredibly uplifting, but I don't know how to feel after they blamed us for that wretched incident a few years ago. They even made us relocate. Humiliating... I don't want to live in a village and have ill feelings for it... I want to know my father didn't give up his life for no reason. Things back home never cease to get worse. The tension just keeps building, and all the adults are unhappy, including Uncle...'

"Eiji Uchiha! Aren't you listening?!" An instructor with a black eyepatch, brown eyes, and spiky brown hair yelled.

"Eiji..." Itachi said, nudging his cousin. Startled, Eiji realized the instructor had been calling his name for a while, and he hurried into line, eliciting laughter from the crowd. He was the second person called up for that specific class because his name began with a U.

"That was pretty cool how you defended our clan," the boy in front of him said.

'Our clan?'

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Tetsuya Uchiha. Nice to meet you," the boy said, extending his hand. Tetsuya had black hair styled in a buzz cut, wore a blue open cross-collar shirt with an Uchiha emblem on the back, and blue pants.

Eiji shook Tetsuya's hand and replied, "I'm Eiji Uchiha, nice to meet you too."

'Looks like it's not just me and Itachi from the clan.'

"Ryuu Uchiha!" The instructor called out.

'Another one??'

Joining the line was a boy with long, straight, black hair that reached his waist. He was dressed in a long-sleeve tight-fit black shirt and wore black cargo pants identical to Eiji's.

"You're the one who stood up for our clan, aren't you? I admire your actions," Ryuu noted.

Eiji put on an awkward smile and replied, "Well, it was nothing much, y'know..."

The instructor continued calling out names as usual, with Ryuu being the last Uchiha called. After 25 names were mentioned, the instructor led the group to the classroom.

'It's finally starting...'

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