With the minor incident of Itachi and Izumi's relationship being unexpectedly exposed now behind them, the group accompanying Naruto and Sasuke to register at the Ninja Academy had gained a new member—Uchiha Izumi, practically already confirmed to be their future daughter-in-law.
After inviting Izumi inside to share breakfast together, the timing couldn't have been more perfect—it was just about time to head to the academy. Once they had all tidied up a bit, brushing off the rough edges left from the earlier interrogation, the six of them departed from the Uchiha Clan's territory and set off, grandly, down the main road toward the Ninja Academy.
"Whoa... there's a lot of people signing up today..."
Originally slouching along with both hands behind his head, Naruto straightened up when he turned the corner and saw the densely packed crowd stretching like a colony of ants marching in perfect order. Eyes darting left and right with curiosity like a caveman seeing the world for the first time, he scratched his golden hair and muttered in genuine awe.
Although Naruto had already seen the packed crowds of parents outside the Ninja Academy in the original story—those waiting to pick up their children after class—and although he'd heard from the Third Hokage and others that this was the only official school in the village that could award the rank of Genin, making it the only path to becoming a ninja... he still underestimated just how powerful the word only was in a place like the Hidden Leaf Village.
Just like how Sasuke and Naruto, despite already being strong enough to surpass most Genin—and even qualified to take the Chūnin Exams immediately—had still been persuaded by Fugaku and the others to enroll.
The prestigious name of the Ninja Academy remained the golden gateway for all newcomers, the universally accepted launchpad to future greatness.
For the villagers of the Hidden Leaf, in this world where the ninja profession dominated society—especially during this unique postwar period—if one hoped for their child to rise above others, then grooming them for the path of a ninja was undoubtedly the first choice on everyone's mind.
And graduating from the Ninja Academy was, without a doubt, the most recognized and fastest way to achieve that. Students who made it into the Academy might face repeating a grade due to poor performance, but very few were ever expelled.
As long as they endured until graduation, they would officially become Genin qualified to take on missions.
Of course, that didn't mean someone who never graduated from the Academy could never become a ninja. As long as their strength was enough to pass the official exams, they could still earn the title—just like in Naruto's previous life, where self-study and passing standardized tests could still lead to an academic diploma.
But compared to the formal path of graduating from the Academy, that route was much more grueling and came at the cost of missing out on a great many things...
Take, for example, the children of large clans. They often possessed secret arts passed down through generations, along with talent and power far beyond the average.
Add to that a trove of resources and personalized one-on-one training tailored to the clan's strengths, and naturally, they progressed far more rapidly than those stuck learning basic techniques like Transformation Jutsu or Clone Jutsu at the Academy.
And yet, regardless of whether they came from humble families or elite clans, every child of the right age in the Hidden Leaf still ended up enrolling without exception.
Were they all crazy? Willingly sabotaging their children's development and wasting their precious formative years?
Not at all. This was entirely voluntary.
Beyond the obvious benefit of the Academy being the fastest path to Genin rank, the deeper reason those clans all made the same decision wasn't so simple. What they valued most wasn't just the diploma or title...
It was the true hidden purpose of the Ninja Academy: to forge lasting bonds. Over the course of shared study and training, strangers would gradually become comrades—people who would one day risk their lives for each other in the heat of battle.
Just like in Naruto's past life, where sending kids to school wasn't just about learning—it was about growing up, forming connections, and building social circles.
The Academy gathered children from every walk of life. From the moment they entered, they were classmates. And from there—whether through shared personality, long-term familiarity, or mutual trust—they could become best friends, ride-or-die allies, the kind who'd leap into danger without hesitation for one another.
That deep, unbreakable bond of school friendship, one that might last a lifetime, was the true treasure hidden in the Academy's walls. And it was one of the biggest reasons parents fought to get their kids enrolled.
In Naruto's previous world, even a small third-tier city had dozens of schools, and despite appearances, those schools were inevitably ranked—by grades, by reputation—sorting kids into tiers the moment they enrolled.
But in the Hidden Leaf, the only Ninja Academy held a government-mandated monopoly. There was no quiet status divide, no sorting by scores or prestige. On the contrary, this singular status magnified the value of those bonds many times over.
Whether rich or poor, once you were in, you received equal instruction. And in this world where strength was everything, equality was real: those with talent were admired, those who worked hard gained recognition, and those who slacked off were ignored. Everyone's outcome depended on their effort—it was fair.
Even more, it created a strange but effective system: ordinary families could use their kids' friendships to form ties with powerful clans, while the clans could select promising young talent to train and absorb. Slowly, the gap between them would shrink, and the village would become more unified, cooperative, and balanced.
Maybe this was the true reason the Academy's monopoly had been enshrined in the first place.
'Hmm... maybe school life won't be as boring as I thought...'
As the thought raced through his mind, Naruto looked around at the enormous turnout. His previous scorn for the Academy faded, replaced by genuine curiosity and anticipation.
'In terms of raw power, I'm no longer at the bottom of the class. Sasuke's not some edgy kid yelling about killing Itachi every five minutes either...'
'With things diverging this much from the original story, I really wonder what's going to happen next... I'm actually looking forward to this.'