If the children in the class were a bit older, a seemingly unattainable dream like becoming Hokage would certainly be met with widespread ridicule from those around them. But now, sitting in the classroom were children only five years old. At this age, such a dream was truly most appropriate.
Immediately after, a monotonous sound filled the classroom, as if all the children's dreams were to become Hokage. While there was nothing wrong with this, Uchiha Mukaku found it quite uninteresting.
Just then, a young Asuma Sarutobi stood up, saying with great enthusiasm, "My name is Asuma Sarutobi! I want to quickly become an independent Ninja and live a self-reliant life!"
After he finished his self-introduction, the sweet and lovely little girl next to him also stood up and introduced herself, saying, "My name is Kurenai Yuhi! I hope to become a Ninja as strong as Lady Tsunade!"
Looking at these two who were introducing themselves, Uchiha Mukaku never expected them to be childhood sweethearts. From this perspective, Asuma Sarutobi seemed more like the protagonist, as his "configuration" in all aspects was relatively complete.
Just as Uchiha Mukaku was lost in thought, it was his turn to introduce himself. Uchiha Mukaku stood up readily, intending to do something interesting. So, he said in a chuunibyou-like tone, "My name is Uchiha Mukaku! My dream is to stand shoulder to shoulder with the gods and become the strongest person in the world!"
As expected, the moment he finished speaking, the entire classroom erupted into excitement as if detonated. Although his words sounded incredibly arrogant, they greatly appealed to the boys and made the previous boys' introductions seem somewhat dull. This made many attention-seeking children incredibly annoyed, wishing they had been the ones to say it.
Uchiha Obito was also one of those stomping his feet and pounding his chest. What a waste of a great opportunity to show off! They were both Uchiha, so why was the gap so big?
After dropping the bombshell, Uchiha Mukaku looked very pleased. In an instant, he felt that going to school was quite interesting. It wasn't that he lacked a sense of crisis, nor that he wasn't motivated to improve; rather, cultivation itself emphasized gradual progress. Given his current physical condition as a five-year-old child, even if he trained to his limits every day, he would still have plenty of free time.
Furthermore, Uchiha Mukaku had the experience of his previous life, which gave him a very strong comprehension ability. Many things that young Ninja needed to spend a long time learning to understand were no difficulty for him at all; his learning efficiency was very high.
Moreover, the Ninja Academy was not the kind of daycare Uchiha Mukaku had imagined. One must know that even Ninja families could not necessarily guarantee that family members would have the energy to teach their children in their free time. After all, Ninja were often exhausted after completing missions every day and simply had no extra energy to impart Ninjutsu knowledge to their children.
Therefore, the Ninja Academy was a very crucial place. Within Konoha Ninja Village lived members of Ninja families, but also a large number of ordinary Ninja and civilians.
Children from Ninja families naturally received help from family members and could begin training early. However, children without sect backgrounds, or even those without parents, simply had no ability to undertake basic learning on their own.
For these children, the Ninja Academy was undoubtedly the best choice. Take Naruto, for example; he had no parents, and all his skills, such as Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, came from the Ninja Academy. Without the Ninja Academy, he probably wouldn't even have reached the threshold of being a Ninja.
Lee is also a very clear example; if he hadn't entered the Ninja Academy, he wouldn't even have been qualified to meet his future mentor, Might Guy. For children not from established families, the Ninja Academy was a stepping stone and a platform, a necessary path for them to cross from the civilian class into the Ninja class.
In fact, the Ninja Academy taught a wealth of content. For example, the basic Three Body Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Ninja tool training, as well as team strategy, formations, cipher interpretation, and Ninja rules. In terms of cultural classes, it covered basic cultural subjects, physics, and possibly even chemistry, nature studies (identifying certain medicinal plants), astronomy and geography (people in the Naruto World knew the Earth was round and understood there were countless planets in the universe), and other knowledge.
Furthermore, the Ninja Academy also offered Ninja sparring practical classes, Ninja philosophy classes, and even specialized training classes for female Ninja, basically covering all the basic requirements for a Ninja.
Most importantly, the Ninja Academy's dismissal time was very early, leaving students ample time for after-school training, which did not interfere with the children's training schedules at all.
Just as Uchiha Mukaku finished his day's classes and was about to head home to continue training, a deep voice suddenly rang out, "Hey, stop right there!"
This was truly an interesting development. Uchiha Mukaku turned back with interest, only to see a simply dressed but strongly built child glaring at him fiercely.
"Yesterday I was careless, but today I'll make you taste my iron fist!"
Uchiha Mukaku still had some impression of this kid. He was Morino Ibiki, the future Special Jonin of Konoha, that Jonin gatekeeper whose eight Ninja stats were the highest. As long as a Ninja's eight stats were higher than his, they would definitely make it as a Jonin.
At this time, he didn't yet have the intimidating appearance he would later possess; he was merely a tall child. Uchiha Mukaku didn't say much, just beckoned with his finger towards the kid.
Seeing the disdainful gesture from the other side, Morino Ibiki's face instantly flushed red. He shouted and charged forward, wanting to teach that arrogant kid a lesson.
Uchiha Mukaku didn't go easy on him. He grabbed the incoming fist, then, with a fluid over-the-shoulder throw, tossed Morino Ibiki away.
A dull thud sounded as Morino Ibiki landed on his back and immediately fainted. This made Uchiha Mukaku feel a bit speechless. He thought this Guy was so formidable, but he turned out to be a good-for-nothing.
"You'll catch a cold lying there," Uchiha Mukaku muttered to himself, squatting down to pat the other's cheek, but the Guy showed no signs of waking up.
Uchiha Mukaku stood up helplessly and looked around, trying to find this Guy's friends. However, the Ninja Academy students, seeing his actions, scattered like they were avoiding venomous snakes and fierce beasts, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Given the situation, Uchiha Mukaku helplessly glanced at the idiot lying on the ground, cursing inwardly, "If you can't take a hit, don't pick fights!"
Having no other choice, Uchiha Mukaku could only carry Morino Ibiki, who was a head taller than himself, intending to send him home.