The next morning, Uchiha Ling woke up early. Today was the first day of school, and she expected to hear the Third Hokage's endless ramblings about the fire will.
But she couldn't send a Shadow Clone; if it were discovered, it would ruin her reputation.
As usual, she sent two Shadow Clones to cultivate while she walked towards the Ninja Academy.
As Ling tossed the bread and milk wrappers into the trash, she saw Shisui standing under a street lamp.
Perhaps due to activating his Sharingan, Shisui's Chakra had greatly increased, almost reaching half of Ling's.
"Ling, good morning." The moment Uchiha Shisui saw Ling, his expression, which had been blank, became lively.
"Good morning, Shisui. You're always so early. How do you manage to wake up?"
Ling was a difficult person to wake up. Although she always managed to get up on time, it was thanks to setting multiple alarms in advance.
Only at the last moment of the alarm ringing could Ling break free from the covers, send out Shadow Clones to pack Ninja tools and prepare toiletries.
This was how she managed to arrive on time and not be late. Fortunately, Ling didn't need to do things like makeup or styling her hair like other girls, or she definitely wouldn't have enough time.
"I'm used to it. Aren't you also not late, Ling? I just arrived early."
Shisui's smile was gentle. Although the girl was bare-faced and dressed neutrally, her natural beauty was undeniable. Her cool, clear face was like a bright moon, making him occasionally space out.
Arriving at the Ninja Academy, Ling saw many students and parents gathered around the notice board, bustling with excitement.
Apparently, the results of yesterday's entrance exam were posted. There were too many people, so Ling and Shisui had to wait on the side.
"You're Uchiha Ling and Uchiha Shisui, right? My name is Gekkō Hayate, nice to meet you."
A pale-faced boy carrying a Ninjato walked over. From his face, it was clear this was a young Gekkō Hayate.
"Hello, I'm Uchiha Ling, and this is Shisui."
Ling carefully observed Gekkō Hayate's premature aging. Even though Gekkō Hayate wasn't practicing the Haze Clone Jutsu yet, he still had a congenital lung deficiency.
Ling was somewhat impressed. With such physical conditions, he could still become a Ninja, and a well-known one at that, which showed his talent was not bad.
Although he later died at the hands of Hidden Sand Village's Elite Jonin Baki, his ability to contend with Baki in swordsmanship alone demonstrated his strength. If not for his physical limitations, he might not have died.
Noticing Uchiha Ling staring at him, Gekkō Hayate felt a bit shy. "Um, is there something on my face?"
Gekkō Hayate became self-conscious because of Ling. Faced with such a beautiful girl's prolonged gaze, he didn't dare to look into Ling's eyes.
"Ling, what's wrong?" Shisui, for some reason, felt a little uncomfortable seeing Ling stare at Gekkō Hayate, so he gently touched Ling's shoulder.
"Nothing, I just noticed Gekkō Hayate's body isn't very good; he likely has a congenital lung deficiency."
Ling casually made up an excuse. She couldn't very well say she was thinking of the widowed Yūgao Uzuki, could she? Your wife, I will raise her. But it's not really widowhood, as they weren't married.
"Uh, well, my body isn't very good; I was a premature baby."
Gekkō Hayate awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. Having his poor health pointed out so directly, especially by a girl, was extremely embarrassing.
"Then do you know Yūgao Uzuki?" Ling looked at Yūgao Uzuki leaning against a tree and asked Gekkō Hayate.
"I know her, but she doesn't know me. However, she got fifth place in this test."
Gekkō Hayate compared Yūgao Uzuki and Uchiha Ling and found Ling to be much prettier, even though both were cool-type girls.
Yūgao Uzuki was like a purple ice flower, while Uchiha Ling was a high-hanging bright moon.
"Oh? You've already seen the results?" Ling didn't expect Gekkō Hayate to arrive so early and already seen the entrance exam results.
"Of course! You're first, Uchiha Shisui is second, Anko Mitarashi is third, I'm fourth, Yūgao Uzuki is fifth, Kotetsu Hagane is sixth, Izumo Kamizuki is seventh."
Gekkō Hayate rattled off a string of familiar names and their rankings, making Ling somewhat impressed. Indeed, people with names and surnames performed much better than extras.
However, Ling didn't expect that with just a slight effort, she was already at the peak of this level. It was still that old saying: that year, I walked with my hands in my pockets, unaware of any opponent.
"Ling is truly a genius." Shisui rarely interjected, interrupting Ling and Gekkō Hayate's conversation.
"So we should all be in Class A, right? Who's the homeroom teacher?"
Ling knew Konoha's class division rules: the best were in Class A, followed by Class B, and then the slightly worse Class C.
"Yes, all in Class A. The homeroom teacher is named Tamura Hirohiko. I heard he's an Elite Chunin who retired from Anbu."
Ling hadn't heard that name before, but since he was from Anbu, he was clearly arranged by the Third Hokage.
"Are you planning to graduate early, Ling?" Shisui knew that his and Ling's skill levels far exceeded those of ordinary Genin, and they could even participate in the Chunin Exams.
"Isn't it nice to have a few years of leisure? Being too much of a genius can lead to ostracism. War is about to break out, and we won't have many years of peace anyway, so why not enjoy this time?"
Ling didn't say the rest of her thought: "enjoy the few remaining years of life," as saying that might not be conducive to unity.
"Is that so? Then I'll graduate with you, Ling, even though Ninja Academy life can be a bit boring."
Although Shisui didn't know the proverb about the tallest tree in the forest being the first to be cut down, he did know that the Uchiha Clan's ostracism was due to the arrogance brought by their talent, which far surpassed others.
"Are you stupid? You can use Shadow Clones for class! You should still train and improve however you normally would."
Go to school? To listen to the fire will that made one's head spin? Ling, in any case, thought it was nonsense.
The fire will said that the leaves burn to illuminate the new sprouts. Nonsense. In the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars, the Third Hokage's large roots weren't seen burning; instead, it was the new sprouts that were burning.
And there were also those two old geezers, Utatane Koharu and Homura Mitokado, who had great power but were incompetent and never participated in the Great Shinobi War.
As the crowd around the notice board dispersed, Ling, Shisui, and Yūgao Uzuki also went to check.
It felt more authentic to see these things for themselves; otherwise, it would feel a bit off.
The purple-haired loli Yūgao Uzuki was indeed somewhat cool and aloof. It seemed she was likely an orphan. She and Gekkō Hayate probably became each other's salvation later on.
"Hello, my name is Uchiha Ling. You're Yūgao Uzuki, right? Nice to meet you."
Ling greeted her, which made Yūgao Uzuki a bit surprised, as everyone else had been driven away by her cold demeanor.
"Hello." Yūgao Uzuki merely replied faintly, then prepared to leave. This was only because Ling was a girl.
Because the opening ceremony was in the afternoon, where they would have to listen to the Third Hokage's long speech, many little kids were very excited.