Konoha Calendar — Year 66
The classroom smelled faintly of chalk and old wood.
Sunlight filtered in through wide windows, catching dust motes in the air as the children of Group A filed inside under Iruka-sensei's watchful eye. The room was simple—rows of desks, a blackboard at the front, a weapons rack mounted safely along one wall for later lessons.
Kiyoshi took in the space quietly and chose a seat near the middle. Not the front. Not the back.
Ren slid into the desk beside him with a soft exhale. "Did you see how big this place is?"
Aiko sat just ahead of them, already turning around in her seat. "I thought classrooms would be… smaller."
"They probably want us to feel tiny," Ren said.
"That's dumb," Aiko replied. "We're already small."
Kiyoshi allowed himself a faint huff of breath that might have been a laugh.
The rest of the students settled in quickly—or as quickly as children ever did. Chairs scraped. Bags thumped. Whispers rose and fell.
Then—
"HEY! HEY! IS IT TRUE WE GET HEADBANDS TODAY?!"
Every head snapped toward the sound.
A blond boy stood on his chair near the back, arms thrown wide like he was already addressing an audience. His grin was feral, eyes bright with energy that had nowhere to go.
Iruka-sensei's eyebrow twitched.
"Sit. Down," he said evenly.
The boy ignored him. "Because my grandpa said—"
"DOWN."
The word cracked like a whip.
The blond boy froze, then slowly sat, pouting exaggeratedly as a few kids snickered.
Iruka-sensei pinched the bridge of his nose. "We are starting attendance. Anyone else want to test my patience before that?"
Silence.
Kiyoshi watched carefully. Iruka-sensei's temper wasn't uncontrolled—it was precise, like a lid snapping shut. Authority, not cruelty.
"Good," Iruka-sensei said. "Now."
He picked up his clipboard.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
"HERE!" Naruto shot his hand up, nearly tipping his desk.
Iruka-sensei sighed. "Uchiha Sasuke."
"…Here."
The response was cool, controlled. Sasuke sat straight-backed, eyes forward, already distant from the rest of the room.
"Haruno Sakura."
"Yes, Iruka-sensei!"
She sat two rows ahead, posture attentive, stealing a glance toward Sasuke when she thought no one noticed.
"Nara Shikamaru."
"…Here."
The boy slouched low in his chair, chin propped on his palm, voice stretched lazily as if even speaking was effort.
"Yamanaka Ino."
"Here!"
"Aburame Shino."
"Present."
Quiet. Precise.
"Akimichi Choji."
"Mm—here."
As attendance continued, Kiyoshi listened not just to names, but tones. Confidence. Disinterest. Nervousness. Pride.
"Kiyoshi."
"Here, Iruka-sensei."
Iruka-sensei's eyes flicked up briefly, lingering a fraction longer than on most.
"Ren."
"Here."
"Aiko."
"Yes, Iruka-sensei."
When attendance finished, Iruka-sensei set the clipboard aside and turned fully to the class.
"You're here because you showed potential," he said. "That does not make you shinobi. It makes you students."
Naruto raised his hand. "When do we learn cool jutsu?"
"Put your hand down," Iruka-sensei said. "And sit still."
Naruto slumped dramatically.
"Today," Iruka-sensei continued, "you will learn fundamentals. If you can't grasp these, nothing flashy will save you."
He turned and wrote on the board:
**CHAKRA**
"Chakra," Iruka-sensei said, "is created by combining physical energy and spiritual energy. Physical energy comes from the body—your cells, stamina, strength. Spiritual energy comes from experience, focus, and will."
Kiyoshi's attention sharpened.
"This balance matters," Iruka-sensei continued. "Too much of one without the other leads to instability."
Sasuke's gaze narrowed slightly.
"For now," Iruka-sensei said, "you will learn control before power."
He reached into a basket and began handing out leaves.
"This is the leaf concentration exercise," he explained. "You will focus a steady, precise amount of chakra into the leaf and keep it there. Not more. Not less."
Naruto stared at the leaf in his palm. "That's it?"
"Yes."
"That's boring."
Iruka-sensei's eye twitched again.
The class began.
Some students immediately overdid it. Leaves crumpled. Others dropped theirs entirely. A few stared at their hands like the leaf had betrayed them personally.
Kiyoshi placed the leaf on his forehead and closed his eyes.
Inside, sensation aligned cleanly. Focus narrowed. Not force—direction.
The leaf stuck.
Not trembling. Not fluttering.
Just… there.
He opened his eyes.
Across the room, Iruka-sensei had stopped walking.
He watched Kiyoshi for a long moment, then said nothing and continued his patrol.
By midday, most students could manage the exercise for a few seconds at a time.
Kiyoshi still hadn't lost his leaf.
High above, smoke drifted lazily in the Hokage Tower as Hiruzen Sarutobi listened to Iruka's midday report.
"…mastered it within hours," Iruka-sensei said carefully. "With control that reminded me of—"
Hiruzen smiled faintly.
"Yes," he said. "I thought as much."
Early afternoon brought movement.
The class relocated to the training yard. Wooden practice weapons were distributed—kunai with blunted edges, shuriken carved from light wood.
"Taijutsu basics first," Iruka-sensei said. "Stances. Balance."
Kiyoshi mirrored each motion effortlessly. Not flashy. Not stiff. Just correct.
When weapons were introduced, he adapted just as quickly. Grip adjusted. Wrist aligned. Throws clean and efficient.
Iruka-sensei paused beside him.
"Again," he said.
Kiyoshi complied.
The kunai struck dead center.
Ren whistled softly. Aiko grinned.
Naruto groaned loudly after missing the target completely. "This is hard!"
Shikamaru sighed. "What a drag…"
As the sun dipped lower, Iruka-sensei dismissed the class.
"Tomorrow," he said, "we continue."
The children filed out, buzzing with exhaustion and excitement.
Kiyoshi stepped into the fading light, calm settling over him.
The Academy had begun.
And so had everything else.
---
Morning came quickly.
Kiyoshi arrived at the Academy early, the courtyard still quiet save for a few instructors moving between buildings. The air was cool, carrying the faint scent of dew and packed earth. He paused at the edge of the training yard, letting his breathing settle before class began.
By the time the others arrived, he was already walking slow circles along the perimeter.
A leaf rested against his forehead.
Not fixed rigidly—alive to motion. Each step caused a subtle shift in balance, and each shift demanded correction. He adjusted without conscious strain, the flow steady, even as his pace gradually increased.
When Ren appeared, he nearly tripped.
"…You're doing it again," Ren said, staring.
Kiyoshi glanced sideways. "Doing what?"
"That thing," Ren said. "With the leaf."
Aiko leaned in from behind Ren, squinting. "Wait—are you walking?"
Kiyoshi took another step. Then another.
The leaf didn't fall.
Aiko's mouth opened. "That's not fair."
"It's practice," Kiyoshi said.
"That's what makes it unfair."
Iruka-sensei's voice cut in calmly. "Everyone inside."
The leaf stayed in place until Kiyoshi stepped into the classroom and removed it with two fingers. He folded it once and tucked it away.
---
The lesson began as it had the day before, but the room felt different.
Students were quieter. Focused.
Iruka-sensei moved between desks as the children repeated the leaf concentration exercise. Most managed longer than yesterday. Some still struggled.
Naruto squinted at his leaf like it had personally offended him. "Why won't you just stick?"
"Less force," Iruka-sensei said. "More focus."
"That makes no sense!"
"It will," Iruka-sensei replied evenly.
Kiyoshi placed a second leaf atop the first.
Then a third.
Aiko noticed first. Her eyes widened, and she elbowed Ren without looking. Ren followed her gaze and stiffened.
"Is he allowed to do that?" Ren whispered.
Iruka-sensei stopped walking.
He turned slowly.
Three leaves rested neatly on Kiyoshi's forehead, layered without slipping. Kiyoshi's expression remained neutral, attention split cleanly between balance, breath, and sensation.
Iruka-sensei watched for several seconds.
"Remove two," he said.
Kiyoshi did.
"Now walk."
Kiyoshi stood and moved between the rows of desks, careful not to disturb anyone else's space. The remaining leaf stayed in place even as he turned, slowed, and stopped.
Iruka-sensei nodded once. "Good. Sit."
Naruto stared openly. "How come he gets to break the rules?"
"He isn't," Iruka-sensei said. "He's following them more precisely than you are."
That shut Naruto up—for almost five seconds.
---
Training shifted outside before midday.
Taijutsu drills came first. Stances. Transitions. Partner work.
Kiyoshi was paired with Ren.
Ren lunged. Kiyoshi shifted aside, redirecting the motion without force. Ren stumbled, recovered, and tried again.
This time Kiyoshi met him head-on, forearm intercepting wrist, foot sliding back just enough to bleed momentum. Ren's eyes widened as he felt his balance vanish.
They separated.
"That was different," Ren said quietly.
Kiyoshi tilted his head. "You leaned too far."
Ren frowned. "That's it?"
"Yes."
Across the yard, Iruka-sensei watched without intervening.
Sasuke moved through the drills with sharp precision, each strike controlled, efficient. Sakura struggled with strength but compensated with timing. Shikamaru performed only what was required—and nothing more.
Naruto charged like every exchange was a personal challenge and was thrown more often than not.
When shuriken practice began, wooden targets were set at varying distances.
Kiyoshi took his place with the others.
His first throw struck cleanly.
The second followed immediately, striking the shaft of the first and redirecting its path slightly—intentional, controlled. The third adjusted mid-flight after impact, altering angle enough to embed beside the first two.
Iruka-sensei's pen stopped moving.
"Again," he said.
Kiyoshi complied.
This time, he altered the order. A light throw first. A heavier one second. The contact shifted both trajectories, resulting in a tight grouping near the center.
Aiko clapped before she could stop herself.
Iruka-sensei glanced back at the class. "Observe."
He pointed to the target. "This is not power. This is control and awareness of interaction."
Naruto squinted. "So you're supposed to miss?"
"No," Iruka-sensei said. "You're supposed to understand why you hit."
As the afternoon wore on, exhaustion crept into the yard.
Kiyoshi felt it too—but his movements remained clean. No wasted effort. No rush.
By dismissal, most students were dragging their feet.
Ren stretched his arms with a groan. "I'm going to sleep the moment I get home."
Aiko nodded vigorously. "Same. My arms feel like they're not mine anymore."
Kiyoshi looked back at the training posts once before turning to leave.
Tomorrow would come just as quickly.
And he would be ready.
Author's thought...
so I'm not going to continue this 💩...trying to correct the ai every mistake is just well troublesome...not sure when I will write my own story but when I do it will have the same concept but none of this hiding BS like how minato genius was shown but soo much more OP that if danzo even breathes in my direction hiruzen will suppress him...anyways till next time on Dragon B- *CRASH*......of course I'll use the ai as an editor for grammar and punctuation and join a writing club for help to make the story feel......✌