Chapter 572: Entrance Ceremony

Chapter 572: Chapter 572: Entrance Ceremony

Upon returning home, Kagami discovered a ninja crow hopping around on his balcony.

"News already?"

A look of delight appeared on Kagami’s face as he went upstairs and removed the small scroll attached to the crow’s leg.

This ninja crow was the one responsible for carrying messages between Kagami and the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. Naturally, the scroll it carried contained information concerning Deidara.

However, after releasing the seal and unfolding the scroll, Kagami frowned slightly.

According to Yagura’s message, the Kirigakure ANBU had discovered Deidara in the Land of Grass. Unfortunately, due to a moment of carelessness, Deidara had noticed them, causing them to lose track of him once again.

Nevertheless, Yagura had already dispatched additional personnel and believed they would locate Deidara again before long.

Casually destroying the scroll, Kagami shook his head with a smile.

"Heh, that guy really is troublesome!"

This was precisely why Kagami was unwilling to personally search for Deidara.

After all, Deidara had ingeniously combined the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai with the Iwagakure’s clay-shaping techniques, making him an exceptionally versatile shinobi.

Although he was still young, his mobility, destructive power, and tactical proficiency had already reached the highest standards of the shinobi world. He was the kind of genius who, provided he developed normally, was practically guaranteed to reach Kage-level!

In the original timeline, Deidara had single-handedly infiltrated Sunagakure and captured its Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, alive right before the eyes of the entire village, delivering a resounding slap to the face of Sunagakure, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages!

And at that time, Gaara had already reached a preliminary understanding with the One-Tail sealed within him. His strength had also risen to Kage-level, making him fully worthy of the title of Fifth Kazekage.

From this alone, one could see just how formidable Deidara truly was!

In a certain sense, Deidara posed a far greater threat than many members of Akatsuki. He was a genuine strategic-level shinobi capable of destroying an entire village with a single strike.

What made him even more troublesome was that Deidara belonged to the extremely rare category of flying shinobi. Without deploying a large number of personnel, tracking him down would be exceedingly difficult.

Since Yagura had already dispatched additional manpower, Kagami put the matter aside and began preparing for the entrance ceremony a few days later.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these two days, news that the Uchiha clan had been thoroughly humiliated by the Hyuga clan began spreading throughout the village.

As both clans involved were among the village’s most prestigious and frequently discussed shinobi clans, the incident became such a hot topic that it could almost rival the Third Hokage’s resignation and Danzo’s appointment as Acting Hokage.

As the news continued to spread, the Hyuga clansmen began holding their heads high with pride.

All the previous talk questioning whether the Hyuga clan was truly deserving of its reputation, or whether it was merely an impressive-looking shell, vanished following this incident.

While the villagers eagerly sought information about Hyuga Kagami, the central figure of the incident, they also looked forward to seeing how the Uchiha clan would respond.

However, the Uchiha clan, notorious for its arrogance, behaved uncharacteristically this time and made no further attempts to provoke the Hyuga clan.

Meanwhile, the villagers who investigated Kagami’s background were astonished to discover that this Hyuga branch family member had once defeated Uchiha Shinichi, although that had been before Shinichi awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan.

...

Another morning arrived, bright and sunny.

Bathed in the gentle morning sunlight, Sasuke, wearing a jacket emblazoned with the Uchiha clan’s fan crest, followed his father and older brother out of the Uchiha clan compound with a smile on his face.

Today was the day he would officially enter the Ninja Academy.

Brimming with confidence, he had already prepared himself to astonish everyone with his abilities and bring glory to the Uchiha clan.

Walking at the front, Fugaku glanced at Sasuke with a stern expression and said, "I heard that the eldest daughter of the Hyuga main family and that Hyuga Kagami’s disciple are also enrolling this year. Sasuke, don’t disappoint me!"

Although Fugaku had refrained from pursuing the matter of the injured Uchiha clansmen following Shisui and Itachi’s persuasion, he still harbored the desire to compete with the Hyuga clan.

Sasuke nodded emphatically. "Don’t worry, Father! I’ll definitely become the top student of my year, just like my brother!"

Itachi smiled. "Don’t get careless. The students enrolling this year are no ordinary children."

Sasuke pouted in dissatisfaction. "Brother, why do you always treat me like a little kid? I’ve already awakened my Sharingan! Among those my age, I’m the strongest!"

Itachi affectionately rubbed Sasuke’s head.

After Sasuke’s abduction by Akatsuki, Itachi had noticed that his younger brother had indeed grown considerably. Not only had his strength improved dramatically, but he had also matured significantly in his mindset.

Before long, the three Uchihas arrived at the gates of the Ninja Academy.

By this time, the entrance was already bustling with people. Countless parents had brought their children, who were about to enroll, to the academy early in the morning.

With just a casual glance, Fugaku spotted many familiar faces.

"The Nara clan, the Yamanaka clan, the Akimichi clan, the Inuzuka clan, the Aburame clan... Hm? Even the Kurama clan is here. This year’s class really is different..."

Although he had long heard that this year’s incoming students were unlike those of previous years, the sheer scale of the gathering still exceeded Fugaku’s expectations.

With so many clan heads from prestigious shinobi families gathered in one place, anyone unaware of the occasion might have mistaken it for some kind of high-level Konoha meeting!

Suddenly, Fugaku’s gaze swept toward the Hyuga clan gathered in the distance, meeting the eyes of Hiashi Hyuga, who happened to be looking in his direction as well.

The moment the two clan heads’ gazes met, sparks practically flew between them!

"Hmph!"

With a cold snort, Fugaku looked away and began examining the two Hyuga children accompanying the brothers Hiashi and Hizashi.

"The heir of the main family is such a timid child? The Hyuga clan really has declined! On the other hand, that branch family child looks rather interesting."

While Fugaku was examining Hinata and Neji, Hiashi was also observing Itachi and Sasuke. He couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

"That bastard Fugaku really is lucky. Both of his sons possess unparalleled talent!"

Just then, the gates of the Ninja Academy swung open.

Under the guidance of several academy instructors, the parents and children gathered outside the gates began entering the campus one after another.

Meanwhile, on a temporarily erected platform overlooking the academy’s training grounds, the Third Hokage stood with his pipe in his mouth, watching the energetic children entering the campus with a gratified expression.

Standing beside him were Utatane Koharu, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the other high-ranking officials of Konoha.

As Tsunade’s disciples, Shizune, Hyuga Rei, and Uchiha Izumi stood respectfully behind her, while Kakashi, dressed in his ANBU uniform, stood behind Jiraiya.

Apart from Acting Hokage Danzo, who was still nowhere to be seen, every member of Konoha’s upper leadership was present.

Before long, Kagami led the Ninja Academy’s instructors onto the platform and addressed the Third Hokage.

"Third Hokage, it’s about time. We can begin the entrance ceremony!"

The Third Hokage nodded.

"Begin!"