It was a sunny, breezy morning in the seventh month of the fifteenth year of Konoha's founding. The summer dawn was cool and pleasant.
Many parents were arriving at the Ninja Academy one after another to watch the graduation assessment, excited to see how their children would perform today.
Back when the Second Hokage founded the Academy, the study period had originally been set at two years. Today marked the graduation exam for the third batch of students.
As the vice principal and head instructor, Arima was obligated to be present for the assessment.
However, at this moment, Arima was still lying in bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, lost in his thoughts.
Last night, Tsunade had once again crawled into his bed.
Now twelve years old, Arima found these shared mornings increasingly awkward.
He sighed silently and tried to redirect his mind by thinking back on the past two years.
A lot had happened in those two years.
Most notably, the military exercises conducted by Kumogakure were becoming more frequent, casting a growing shadow of war over all of Konoha.
More positively, Arima had accumulated a large amount of virtue points over this time.
He earned a small amount daily from his students, and during special missions, such as rescuing civilians or eliminating bandits, he almost always received C-rank rewards, equivalent to 500 virtue points per task.
So far, he had amassed a total of 25,920 points.
Still, he was only a quarter of the way toward the amount needed to exchange for the Mangekyo Sharingan.
His students were also performing impressively. Among all the elite classes, his stood at the top tier.
That's why their group would perform last in the graduation assessment this morning, with each student being publicly evaluated by Chunin examiners personally selected by him.
Thinking about this, Arima couldn't help but grin mischievously.
'Tsunade's going to be in for a big surprise when she sees who's evaluating her today. That little brat has been getting bolder by the day… It's time someone straightened her out.'
He turned to look at Tsunade, still fast asleep with her head resting on his arm.
A chuckle escaped him. 'She's really growing into a beauty… I wonder which poor sap's going to end up marrying her one day.'
Watching her quiet, delicate face, her nostrils faintly fluttering with each breath, he suddenly felt a playful urge. He reached out and gently pinched her dainty little nose.
Half-asleep, Tsunade felt her breathing hindered, but she had stayed up late last night studying medical ninjutsu with Arima.
Still tired, she parted her soft lips slightly, revealing her tiny teeth, and went right back to sleep.
Seeing her innocent, childlike appearance, Arima's thoughts softened.
He recalled how diligently she had studied medical ninjutsu over the past two years, all for the sake of fulfilling a promise she had once made to herself.
He decided to let her sleep a little longer and would wake her only when it was time for her turn in the assessment.
Moving carefully so as not to disturb her, Arima got out of bed, walked to the hallway, and stretched his arms toward the rising sun, as if embracing the whole world.
The morning scenery was refreshing and serene. Watching the drifting clouds, he allowed himself a brief moment of peace.
In recent months, he had been frequently sent out of the village on important missions due to the growing threat of war. Time spent with Tsunade was becoming increasingly scarce.
His senpais hadn't returned to the village in nearly a year. If not for his young age, the Second Hokage might have already sent him to the front lines as well.
After Tsunade's graduation exam, he would also be deployed. According to estimates, full-scale war was expected to break out within the next few months.
After washing up, Arima entered the kitchen and found his mother preparing breakfast with focused attention.
Lately, Naomi often wore a worried expression.
She didn't want her son going to the battlefield, but as a descendant of the Senju clan, she knew there was no room for cowardice.
So, she tried to do as much as she could for him each day, hoping to soothe her own anxiety in the process.
Arima walked up to her and gave her a gentle hug.
Seeing her son awake, Naomi quickly invited him to sit and eat.
She asked why Tsunade hadn't gotten up yet.
With a warm smile, Arima replied, "Let her sleep a little longer.
She's been pushing herself hard lately, she's at a crucial point in her training, so she's really worn out."
After breakfast, Arima said goodbye to his mother, pulled out a specially marked Flying Thunder God kunai, and in a flash, teleported from home to the Academy's office.
He had been learning the Flying Thunder God technique for three years now.
By integrating his own sealing arts, he had combined the Eight Trigrams Seal with Tobirama's published formula to create his own version of the technique.
He now used it with great proficiency.
He could even intercept and redirect a Tailed Beast Bomb mid-air, sending it far away into the ocean within moments.
That was thanks to his massive chakra reserves. Over the past two years, he had been storing his excess chakra in the Yin Seal on his forehead.
Once released, it would provide chakra equivalent to that of a small Tailed Beast, giving him a powerful trump card in future battles.
Arima walked to the window of the office and looked out toward the field where the crowd was already gathering. It was almost time for the assessment to begin.
He straightened his clothes and left the office, heading toward the specially constructed stage for the exam.
Just as he arrived, the Second Hokage also showed up, accompanied by a group of examiners. Arima immediately stepped forward to greet his granduncle.
Tobirama looked especially spirited today, his beloved clan's little princess, Tsunade, was graduating.
His thoughts drifted to the days when he and his brothers had been together.
Back then, his elder brother hadn't even awakened Wood Release yet. Time had flown, and now it was the next generation's turn to shine.
He turned to look at Arima, standing beside him. Arima was his most outstanding disciple and the brightest young talent of the Senju clan today.
Over the past few years, Arima's growth had been impressive. After their last sparring session, Arima had even addressed his previous shortcomings in taijutsu.
Now, his strength ranked among the elite in all of Konoha.
Tobirama turned and asked, "Arima, have you finished arranging everything for today's exam?"
"Yes, Granduncle," Arima replied. "Everything's ready. I'll be personally assessing Tsunade."
Tobirama was a little surprised. "Aren't you worried you'll go easy on her?"
He had watched both children grow up and knew full well how protective Arima was of Tsunade, treating her like delicate glass, too fragile to even hold.
Unsurprisingly, the girl had grown bold and fearless, walking around with the air of someone who always had backup.
Tsunade had even become a regular at various gambling dens.
Every time she racked up gambling debts, Arima would quietly take on more missions to pay them off.
Tobirama couldn't help but smile at the thought. Tsunade had clearly inherited their eldest brother's abysmal luck with gambling.
If it weren't for the awkwardness it might cause with his sister-in-law, he would've considered using the Reanimation Jutsu to summon his brother from the Pure Land just to scold her.
Arima scratched his head, a little sheepish. "You and Grandpa assessed me back then, so I thought I'd carry on that tradition."
Tobirama nodded and said no more. He then brought up the frontlines.
"When do you plan to deploy?"
Arima thought for a moment.
"I want to visit the Shikkotsu Forest first to continue my sage training. That way, I can learn the Sage Art: Gate of the Great God, which is effective against Tailed Beasts."
Tobirama looked pleased and patted Arima's shoulder.
"You're doing well, Arima. Once you master Sage Mode, you might just be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with your grandfather."
Arima froze for a moment. He had never thought of it that way. All the training and preparation he had done was simply to survive the battlefield.
As for matching his grandfather's strength… perhaps it would become possible once he unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan.
After all, his grandfather had been known as the God of Shinobi since the Warring States Era, growing stronger in the face of stronger foes.
The summer morning chill was beginning to fade, and the crowd watching the exams had grown denser. From the stage, one could see a sea of dark heads below.
Then, Arima caught sight of Jiraiya and Orochimaru not far away.
Jiraiya had set up a simple street stall to sell his grilled skewers, and was somehow convincing Orochimaru to help hawk them.
Arima was happy to see the two getting along. Over the past two years, they'd begun to influence each other's personalities and had become nearly inseparable.
Despite the noise, Arima's sharp hearing picked up their conversation.
Jiraiya was calling out loudly, trying to get Orochimaru to help him shout slogans.
Orochimaru, looking utterly unimpressed, said, "You're disgusting, Jiraiya. You look filthy, and your hands are probably covered in bacteria. No one's going to buy your meat skewers."
Jiraiya, clueless about germs and hygiene, asked, "So... sterile means clean?"
Orochimaru, briefly serious now that the topic veered into his field of medical science, replied.
"That's such a dumb question, Jiraiya. Ever since I met you, I've felt an overwhelming sense of intellectual superiority."
Annoyed, Jiraiya shot back, "You damn snake. I just don't bother with pointless stuff like that. So tell me then, what's the difference between sterile and clean?"
Orochimaru paused, a queasy expression suddenly crossing his face. Seeing this, Jiraiya sensed something bad was coming.
"Snake-face, what's wrong with you? Feeling sick? Perfect timing. My skewers are a secret recipe, eat one and you'll be cured for sure."
Unbothered, Orochimaru finally said with a straight face.
"Sterile, huh? Go home, scoop a ladle of toilet water, boil it for a few hours... it'll be sterile for sure. Clean? That's another matter. You should try a sip and find out."
As he spoke, Orochimaru suddenly burst into laughter at whatever terrible image had flashed through his mind.
Jiraiya turned green and clutched his stomach.
"You damn snake. And I thought we were friends. You actually want me to, "
He couldn't even finish the sentence. Just picturing it made him want to vomit everything he'd eaten in the past three days.
Unfazed, Orochimaru said, "Doctors see worse things during dissections. That was nothing."
Then he added with a mocking grin, "I consider you a friend too. Look how dumb you've been for years, yet I still haven't abandoned you."
Jiraiya growled and tossed his entire stall aside, chasing Orochimaru through the crowd.
The scene brought a smile to Arima's face.
He remembered when those two had first joined his class, Jiraiya with his snotty nose, acting fearless and treating everyone like his underlings, while Orochimaru kept to himself with a cold, unapproachable demeanor.
Now, they'd grown close. Arima thought that only in front of Jiraiya could Orochimaru let go of his rigid, serious front.
Glancing at the time, Arima judged it was nearly time to begin. He turned to his granduncle and asked, "Granduncle, it's time. Shall we start the assessment?"
Tobirama nodded, stood up from his chair, and stepped to the front of the stage.
Facing the large crowd, he gave a brief speech, analyzing the current threat of war and urging everyone to remain calm.
At the end, he solemnly declared, "The graduation assessment for the Ninja Academy's third batch officially begins."
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