Konoha, Land of Fire, August 1st of Year 012
Time flowed like water, and within the blink of an eye, one week quickly passed by.
It was already August.
While the lives of official Shinobi and other villagers remained the same, for most Ninja Academy students, it was the beginning of their nightmare.
The Ninja Academy was reopening today.
For the Academy students who were enjoying their holidays lazily for the last month, it meant racking their brains in textbooks and breaking their bones during the practical training for a whole semester once again.
This is especially true for the students of the S-class.
If the other academy students were playing on Easy Mode, the S-class students were confronting the Hell-difficulty bosses from the very start.
Fortunately, the generous amount of resources they were receiving and the boost in their combat strength made all those hardships worthwhile.
Otherwise, many of these children would have gone mad and quit the Academy long ago.
After all, Shinobi world or not, children under 10 were still just that—children under 10.
They might mature faster and grow stronger quicker in this cruel world due to the positive influence brought by the supernatural energy, chakra, but they were far from being adults who have seen the true face of the world.
After all, the world is a harsh, cruel place. Weak people can easily be preyed upon and die here.
The children knew this but didn't see it with their own eyes.
Only Otsutsuki Seimei and Uchiha Reina among the class 1-S students saw the ruthless, merciless reality of the world.
It was just that the two of them had faced reality in two completely different ways.
One was completely alone in his past life and had to tread carefully not to be devoured by society.
Meanwhile, the other had literally witnessed the people she loved and cared for die right in front of her eyes.
But the other children had never witnessed something this harsh with their own eyes yet.
However, once they graduate and become official Ninja, they would eventually have to confront this reality.
Whether they can overcome that and still smile or become nothing more than cold killing machines, only time will tell.
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Seimei entered the classroom and searched for a suitable place to sit and chill for a while.
He quickly found an empty seat beside the window, walked over there, and just plopped into the chair without a care in the world.
One whole academic year had passed.
But Seimei didn't particularly make any friends.
Of course, he still talked to everyone with a smile. But they couldn't be counted as friends. At best, they were just acquaintances.
After all, he was a fully grown man, at least mentally.
Before his transmigration, he was already a working adult in his 30s.
That's why he found it quite easy to mingle with most elders in his clan.
However, when it came to interacting with children of his age, he was at a loss.
As an adult (mentally), it was really hard to play children's games.
What? You are asking if it's that tough to pretend to be a child and play their games.
Is this even human speech?
Of course, it's tough. He isn't some world-famous actor with awe-inspiring acting skills.
It was very tough and very exhausting.
So, he just reduced his contact time with the clan children of the same age while he was growing up all these years.
Playing with them?
It would be nothing but pure mental torture.
So, he stopped pretending altogether.
It caused his family and clansmen to think that he was just a child with a bit of a mature mind and great wisdom.
Nothing big.
The only person he regularly talked with was Uchiha Reina.
And that, too, only because she was constantly paired with him during practical sparring sessions.
After all, the abilities of Seimei and Reina far exceeded their peers.
His only regret was constantly getting his ass kicked by her.
He simply couldn't find a way to defeat her.
But he will surely win this semester.
Yes, he must defeat her and show who the boss is.
Just as he began to plan the best way to defeat Reina and think of some cool dialogues he could throw at her after kicking her ass, a familiar voice sounded from his right side.
"Yo, Seimei. Ready to eat dust once again."
Hearing it, Seimei's lips couldn't help but twitch a bit.
If this were anime instead of the real world, a few black lines and blood veins would have instantly popped up on his forehead.
Seimei knew the person who just talked to him very well.
Who could it be other than the sadistic devil—Uchiha Reina?
Speak of the devil, and the devil shall arrive.
He cracked his neck up to look at her and said with a forced smile, "Oh! Isn't this Reina?"
"Do you need something?"
"Now now…don't be so distant. Aren't we friends?" said Reina.
Seimei gazed at her with a blank expression and said, "Friends?"
"Friends, my foot."
"What kind of friend beats their friends so mercilessly every time they spar?"
"Do you perhaps have a different definition of the word, friend?"
You sadistic bastard!
You are saying we are friends?
Doesn't your conscience hurt?
It's one thing that you constantly beat me. I can accept this. After all, you were clearly stronger than me.
But what's with those ridiculous comments during the duels?
No, Seimei. Calm down. You must calm down.
Don't lose your cool. She is just a little girl. You are an adult.
You just need to beat her to submission.
Just you wait, Uchiha Reina.
I have trained with everything I have this holiday.
Today, I will let you know what dust tastes like.
Seimei grumbled inwardly.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Reina put on a cute look and tilted her head slightly with an innocent expression.
"Come on! Don't sweat the small stuff," said Reina with a smile as she sat down at the desk, positioned right behind Seimei's seat.
However, before Seimei could retort further, the door of the classroom slid open again.
Kamishiro Kirito, their homeroom teacher, walked in and arrived at the podium.
He scanned the entire classroom and said with a satisfied expression, "Good morning, my dear students."
Although Kirito greeted the class with a gentle, smiling expression, the students sitting at the desks felt a sense of unease creeping up inside them.
They all thought in unison: This demon! He had the same expression at the beginning of the first year while he was motivating us and cheering for us. But what was the result? Pain! Unbelievable pain! The training regime almost broke our backs!
Kirito, unaware of his students' thoughts, began to talk with the same expression.
Even if he knew, he wouldn't care.
"I hope you didn't slack off during your holidays."
"You didn't, right?"
Although Kamishiro Kirito had the same smiling expression while asking the question, to the students, the smile suddenly felt a bit menacing.
They couldn't help but shudder instinctively.
They quickly said.
"Don't worry, Kirito-sensei. I have trained very hard and learned quite a few new Ninjutsu."
"Same here, sensei."
"I even fought against Chakra Beasts of C+ danger rating. I didn't slack off at all."
"Yes. Yes."
Watching this scene, Kirito's smile grew wider.
He said, "Very well."
"I expected nothing less from my students."
"So, today, except for sharing the study and training plan for the 2nd year, we will have no other theoretical classes."
"Instead, you will have a duel with each other and demonstrate how much you have improved in these past few days."
After hearing about the lack of a theoretical class, most students felt elated.
However, before they could savor their happiness, Kamishiro Kirito poured cold water on their excitement.
"However, if your abilities regress or don't meet my standards, be prepared for extra lessons."
"I will personally supervise your training for the next two weeks and beat you into the right shape," Kirito said with a flat tone.
The students really wanted to cry, but they couldn't.
Do you really have to do that?
Don't you have a personal life?
Are you this free?
Do you get a kick out of our misery?
Wuwuwu….we still have 4 years of suffering ahead.
When will this end?
Most students grumbled mentally, but no one complained.
Even if they wanted to complain, it wouldn't work. On the other hand, complaining would only increase their suffering.
They had no other choice.
They could only grit their teeth and push forward.
And so, the second year of the Central Ninja Academy of class 1-S officially began.
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