"Mom, why are you next to me?!"
Seiya did a carp flip and sprung off the bed.
Megumai was slightly stunned and said as a matter of course: "From when you were small until now, Mom has always slept next to you."
"But I changed rooms last night!" Seiya complained.
Megumai was puzzled but remained unmoved.
She reached out and gently slapped her son's bottom, feigning anger: "And you have the nerve to bring that up! You didn't even tell Mom when you changed rooms. Do you know how worried Mom was last night when I couldn't find you?"
"Tell Mom, why did you change rooms without a word?"
"Because I'm a big boy now! I can't sleep with Mom anymore; I have to be a man!" six-year-old Seiya loudly announced.
Megumai couldn't help but laugh, she rubbed her son's small head, and asked: "Did a Shinobi Academy teacher teach you this again?"
Seiya shook his head: "I thought of it myself!"
He only found out when chatting with his friends that basically no boys who were old enough for the Shinobi Academy still slept with their mothers; only weak girls did.
Could Seiya accept being a weak girl? Of course not. He wanted to be a strong man!
So, he started with a small thing: sleeping alone!
The little guy's face was firm, and his determination was clearly unshakable.
Megumai decided to use gentleness to overcome hardness, and spoke softly:
"From the moment you were born until now, Mom has always slept with you, covering you with the blanket at night, and holding you so you don't roll off the bed."
"Now that you're six, you want to train your independence, and Mom can understand. But, baby... Seiya-kun, if you're not next to me, Mom will be very unaccustomed to it. So, Seiya-kun, why don't you continue sleeping in the same room as Mom for now, but in separate beds. This won't affect you being a strong man, and Mom can still see you."
"Uh..." Seiya blinked, a little hesitant.
Seeing this, Megumai quickly gave an example to strengthen her argument.
"It was the same when Mom weaned you. You were unwilling at first. Later, gradually, you forgot about drinking milk, and we successfully weaned you."
"Really?"
Seiya looked very confused.
He didn't have much memory of his childhood, and in his existing memories, he had never drunk breast milk.
"How could Mom lie to you?" Megumai countered.
"Alright then."
Seiya believed his mother and compromised: "We'll sleep in the same room first, and when Mom gets used to it after a while, I'll move to another room and sleep alone!"
"Mhm."
Megumai smiled gently, stroking Seiya's hair.
She genuinely couldn't bear to be separated from her son. If her son was determined to sleep alone, she probably wouldn't be able to close her eyes at night.
The baby who had slept next to her for six years was leaving just like that.
Who could accept that?
Thinking of this, Megumai's guilt increased.
She should have trained her son to be alone in a strange environment more often before the school year started.
That way, her son wouldn't have been so frightened that he activated the Sharingan yesterday morning.
After breakfast, Seiya refused his mother's escort. Carrying his small backpack, he walked alone to the Shinobi Academy one street away.
After all, as a man, he certainly didn't need his mother to walk him to school. The path to school had to be walked alone!
Megumai stood at the courtyard gate, looking at her son's increasingly blurry back, feeling a sense of loss.
The little baby who used to cling to his mother so much now proclaimed himself a man, gradually breaking away from her protection.
Her son's independence was a process of gradually leaving her wing.
My baby has grown up...
In an instant, Megumai seemed to travel through the river of time and saw that distant afternoon six years ago when she held her newborn son in her arms.
The life at the Shinobi Academy was regular and structured.
Physical Education classes trained the students' physique and taught the use of Shinobi tools.
Ninjutsu classes taught students how to extract chakra, imparted basic theory, and basic Ninjutsu such as the Clone Jutsu.
Cultural classes taught students the basic qualities of a Shinobi, combat principles, fighting techniques, and insights.
Practical classes supervised students in conducting sparring matches within safe limits to internalize knowledge.
History classes informed students about the history of Kumogakure and the Shinobi World.
Interest classes included art, music, and so on.
The packed schedule laid a foundation for the children who had not yet officially become Shinobis.
Seiya had a strong interest in Shinobi combat, so he studied very diligently at the Shinobi Academy, and on weekends, he focused on practicing the Sharingan with his mother.
With the Kekkei Genkai bonus, Seiya performed well in Physical Education, Ninjutsu, Cultural, and Practical classes.
It was foreseeable that his final exam results would be excellent.
The Fourth Raikage was very pleased with Seiya's outstanding performance.
But as the Kage of the village, he was more concerned about Seiya's performance in History class.
To ensure Seiya's perception of Kumogakure was flawless, the Fourth Raikage personally compiled the final exam questions for the first-year history class at the Shinobi Academy:
I. Multiple Choice Questions (10 points each)
1. When the First Five Kage attended the Kage Summit, how many escorts did each person bring?
A. 0 (The Five Kage were very powerful and did not need escorts)
B. 1 (To showcase their village's next successor to the other villages)
C. 2 (The Five Kage were too important; they brought more escorts just in case)
2. During the term of the Second Raikage, were Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who launched a coup d'état during the alliance ceremony between Kumogakure and Konoha, considered rogue Shinobis?
A. Yes
B. No. Kinkaku and Ginkaku were unforgivable great criminals of Kumogakure
4. During the Third Great Shinobi War, who fought alone against ten thousand, bought time for their village comrades, and ultimately died a heroic death?
A. Second Raikage, A
B. Third Raikage, A
C. Fourth Raikage, A
6. Who is the fastest living Shinobi in the Shinobi World?
A. Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze
B. Fourth Raikage, A
C. Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju
D. Shisui the Teleporter, Shisui Uchiha
7. Who was Kumogakure's first Perfect Jinchuriki?
A. Killer B
B. Yugito Nii
C. Blue B
9. Who reformed the Kumogakure Shinobi Hospital, benefiting the general populace and saving countless lives?
A. Megumai
B. Atsui
C. Fourth Raikage, A
II. Fill-in-the-Blank Questions (10 points each)
1. The major contributor to the founding of ____ (fill in the village name) ____ (fill in the Shinobi name), defected from the village due to dissatisfaction, attacked the village with the Nine-Tails, and ultimately died a heroic death.
3. During the term of the Second Hokage of Konoha, the Konoha Military Police Force was established; during the term of the Third Hokage, the Uchiha clan, one of the major founding clans, was relocated to a corner of the village. All this aimed to ____ (exclude/protect) the Uchiha.
III. Brief Answer Questions (10 points each)
1. Briefly summarize the reasons for Konoha's decline from being the most powerful Shinobi village in the Shinobi World to being indistinguishable from the other Four Great Shinobi Villages.
2. Briefly state your opinion of Kumogakure, and whether the village has any areas that need improvement?
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