The Ninja Academy has six academic years. Each year starts in April and ends in March of the following year.
The year is divided into three semesters: the first semester runs from early April to mid-July; the second semester from early September to late December; and the third semester from early January to the end of March.
In this era, the stipulated enrollment age for the Academy is five to six years old.
In the 28th year of Konoha, the younger brother of the Fire Country's Princess and the grandson of the First Hokage, five-year-old Nawaki, stepped into the Ninja Academy founded by the Second Hokage. The true "Crown Prince" had officially enrolled.
...
Konoha Year 30, July 18th.
Today was the last day of the first semester for all grades in the Ninja Academy.
Students from the third to sixth grades, who had already undergone the second and third stages of training, had been taking academic exams, combat classes, and the Three Body Technique final exams since the morning.
In contrast, for the first and second grades, where students were still using stones instead of shuriken for throwing practice, the assessment with the most weight—and the only one where injuries might occur—was the Taijutsu duel.
This assessment was saved for last.
In the afternoon, on the school playground, in the area designated for Class 1, Grade 1.
Male and female students were standing or sitting in a circle, watching a battle that was incredibly intense for their age group.
In the center of the circle, two young boys with different hair colors were freely displaying their talents.
While their peers, and even older students in higher grades, still only knew how to use brute force output, these two were different.
They not only utilized Chakra to integrate speed into their combat but also relied on a precocious psychological quality to predict their opponent's next move using their eyes and brains, either dodging or feinting attacks.
This visual feast, rarely seen even in higher grades, not only left the classmates dumbfounded but even the Chunin teacher acting as the referee looked shocked.
When he was young, he didn't understand why he wasn't as good as those geniuses.
Now, as a mature bystander, he realized just how large the gap was between his student self and these geniuses.
The two boys before him were undoubtedly the kind of geniuses who had left their peers far behind!
Unlike other fights that ended quickly due to unbearable pain or overwhelming strength, the battle between these two boys lasted for a considerable amount of time.
It wasn't until the blond boy showed signs of exhaustion, with his reaction time and speed dropping severely, that the white-haired boy opposite him—whose condition was slightly better—gained the upper hand. He created an opportunity, sidestepped to dodge a straight punch, seized the chance to grab the opponent's arm, executed a shoulder throw to slam him to the ground, and finally used grappling techniques to subdue him.
Seeing this scene, the Chunin teacher immediately announced the result: "The battle is over. The winner is Gojo Yoru. Form the Seal of Reconciliation."
As the teacher's voice fell, the students who had been staring with eyes as wide as bells finally snapped back to reality.
Then, the scene erupted into an uproar.
"So... so amazing!"
"Is this the true strength of Minato and Gojo? They've actually been hiding their abilities!"
"It doesn't seem like they were hiding their strength, but rather that none of us forced them to go all out. If they hadn't been matched against each other this time, we wouldn't have known they were this formidable!"
"It's a pity for Minato. If he hadn't been less physically developed than that guy Gojo, maybe he would have won in the end."
"Hey, hey, keep your voice down. Don't stand next to me; I don't want to be targeted by Gojo."
"Oh no, he didn't hear that, did he?!"
"..."
"Minato-kun and Yoru-kun are both so handsome. I didn't know who to support just now."
"Yoru-kun is better. That cold look is so cool, and he's strong. He beat up a senior right after enrolling. He gives off such a sense of security."
"I think Minato-kun is easier to get along with."
"..."
Amidst the students' discussions, the two boys, who had a height difference of about half a head, completed the Seal of Reconciliation.
"Thanks for the guidance, Yoru-san. Your strength is really amazing," Namikaze Minato said sincerely with a gentle smile.
"You're not bad either."
Looking at Namikaze Minato, whose face had a few bruises, Gojo Yoru, who was also bruised, had a flash of complexity in his eyes.
There was no joy of victory in his heart, only a sense of pressure.
Because only he knew that he was not a genius at all.
Although they were both "otherworldly little supermen" with 130 trillion cells, no one knew that inside Gojo Yoru's body resided the soul of a man in his twenties.
An adult had spent so much time only to narrowly defeat a true six-year-old child; what was there to be happy about?
On the contrary, this battle allowed Gojo Yoru to witness the most perfect ninja potential. That terrifying reaction speed—no wonder the opponent would become the second existence in Konoha to master the Flying Thunder God Technique.
This was only the first semester!
At this rate, wouldn't he soon be left behind?
Thinking of this, Gojo Yoru's mood sank again.
On the surface, however, he returned to his seat expressionlessly.
Because of his "aloof" and "school tyrant" persona, neither the boys nor the girls dared to come up and disturb Gojo Yoru.
This scene formed a sharp contrast with Namikaze Minato, who was immediately surrounded and comforted by male and female classmates upon returning to the line.
The exams continued. As the Taijutsu duels concluded one by one, the first semester officially ended.
After the teacher announced the break, Gojo Yoru was the first to leave school and return home.
Gojo Yoru's home was a three-story western-style house with a small courtyard, located on the central street of Konoha. Both in terms of location and value, it was second only to the clan compounds.
This showed that Gojo Yoru's family conditions were very good.
Changing his shoes at the entrance, Gojo Yoru walked through the living room straight to the bathroom, passing a shrine with two portraits along the way.
Warm water sprayed from the showerhead, raising a mist in the bathroom.
Gojo Yoru tilted his head back to endure the beating of the water, combing his white hair back with both hands. The white eyebrows that had been furrowed all the way home finally relaxed slowly.
Standing under the shower, thinking about unknown things, Gojo Yoru didn't open his eyes for a long time.
When he did, revealed were a pair of blue eyes, just like Namikaze Minato's.
However, unlike Namikaze Minato's ocean blue, Gojo Yoru's eyes were an icy blue mixed with white. Paired with his expressionless face, he gave off a very cold feeling.
After simply rinsing his body, Gojo Yoru came out wearing a bathrobe.
Standing in front of the mirror wiping his hair, Gojo Yoru looked at the boy in the reflection and couldn't help but mock himself in the language of his hometown: "Heh... We share the same surname, and our hair color, eye color, and appearance are so similar. So why don't I have that awesome cheat? If I could possess invincible strength and live freely for a few decades, it would be worth it even if my body ended up cut in two in the future."
After drying the water droplets from his hair, Gojo Yoru checked the time. Instead of making dinner to fill his empty stomach, he went to the utility room on the first floor, lifted an inconspicuous tatami mat, and walked into the basement hidden beneath.
As the kerosene lamp lit up, the scene of the basement was revealed.
It was a small room with walls covered in tadpole-like curse markings. There were only two rows of bookshelves surrounded by several boxes. The shelves were filled with a large number of scrolls and books.
Below these items, labels categorized them: Ninjutsu scrolls, secrets from the Warring States period, various ninja tools and pills, as well as a large amount of gold, silver, and treasure.
This was likely the foundation of the Gojo family and the inheritance left to him by Gojo Yoru's parents.
It was also the greatest reliance for Gojo Yoru, the transmigrator, at this moment!
(PS: The chronology of the Naruto world is very messy with several versions. This book adopts the version where the Nine-Tails Attack and Naruto's birth occur in Konoha Year 48.)