Things changed after the announcement that I was to be enrolled in the academy.

Mom and Dad became much more clingy, as if they were afraid I would suddenly disappear. Uncle Riki started coming around more often and began spending more time with me than with my parents. When Dad took me with him for work, the families I was introduced to would have a lot more scars and missing bits than before.

The games we would play changed. Hide and seek with uncle Riki got harder and harder until I could only find him by following the familiar drone of his chakra. The balls Mom would toss me during games of catch started coming faster and faster, and the stories she would read to me became more factual, and less fantastic.

Even Dad, who came from civilian stock unlike Mom, began making our children's games harder. It was a less subtle increase than Uncle Riki or Mom's games but he was clearly trying.

The reason was obvious in that they were trying to prepare me for entering the academy, but I didn't really understand the point of it all. Wasn't the academy supposed to be the ones who would teach these things? I understood wanting your child to have a grasp of the basics but this all seemed a bit over the top. It was only when my Dad took me through a clan compound during one of his work days that I understood.

We saw two Inuzuka kids even younger than myself playing fetch with two of the clan's ninken. These kids, probably only three years old, were throwing balls then racing against the puppies to see who could reach the object first, displaying a level of physical coordination I hadn't seen in civilian kids twice their age.

The difference compared to some of the kids I had met on play dates was staggering.

Mom, Dad and Uncle Riki weren't trying to give me a head start, they were trying to make sure I wasn't pathetically far behind.

For my own part I decided that some changes had to be made for my own safety. I was slated to join the academy as a child with "potential" so there would be many eyes watching me. Any major deception would fall apart nearly instantly and would lead to a series of questions I couldn't answer.

The best solution I could think of was to slowly let parts of the 'true' me shine through, so that they were just considered quirks or oddities. This meant dropping a lot of the the child-like speech patterns I had adopted. My reputation for being standoffish around other kids actually working to my advantage for once, as I could pass it off as me no longer bothering to try and fit in with the others. Thankfully this also meant that I finally was able to put a stop to incredibly boring children's games I was expected to play with other kids.

Compared to the long years leading up to the announcement that I was essentially being drafted, the three months leading up to my enrollment flew by. And as I stood in front of the academy gates with my parents I was confident that I was prepared.

I was mentally an adult, how could I possibly have problems with a school system designed to teach pre-teens? I had developed pretty good hand eye coordination from all the games Mom would play with me. I was a university student competing against kids younger than ten! All I had to do was coast by with minimal effort and spend the rest of my time trying to figure out how I was going to get out of this whole mess alive. Easy.

Then two six year olds clambered up the twelve foot tall gate in front of us, ran across the top of the wall, jumped to a nearby tree on the other side, pushed off of the trunk and disappeared from sight in only a couple of seconds.

I was so fucked.

-II-

It took but a moment once we had entered the building proper to be shown to a room by an instructor, where I got a goodbye kiss from my Mom, a comforting pat on the head by Dad, and then left alone in front of the classroom.

This was it. Behind the door was the first step to becoming a shinobi. A child soldier who would be forced to fight for his village or be hunted down.

When I imagined situations like this happening before the Accident I thought that this would be the most exciting moment of my life. I would study, make friends and gain access to literal superpowers through what I would learn here! It was every kid's dream!

But there was a massive difference between imagining the impossible and actually living through it. My hands were shaking to the point where I could barely grab a hold of the sliding door to the classroom.

I was terrified.

This wasn't a story dreamt up in my imagination, where the heroes would go through a couple of hardships before succeeding and making the world a better place. This wasn't the story of the anime I half-remembered. I wasn't Naruto or Sasuke, a main character with special powers guaranteed to get through all of this in the end.

I was a lost soul, trapped in the body of a kid who was being forced into a role where I would have to kill or be killed on the front lines of a war that was just beyond the horizon.

I steeled myself. None of that mattered now. All that mattered was survival. Survival and laying low for long enough that I could get the hell out of this village the moment I got the opportunity.

Just as I gathered the nerve to actually open the classroom door I heard a voice behind me.

"Hey there! You alright? You've been standing there like a statue for a while!"

A young boy, probably only a couple years older than myself, was walking towards me with a smile and a hand raised in greeting. A boy with spiky blond hair.

Once he knew he had my attention he sped up until he was standing in front for me, crouching slightly so he wasn't looking down at me.

"This is your first day right? Don't worry about it! You're a little small, sure, but most kids are a pretty nice, and all the teachers are too once you get used to 'em. So theres nothing to panic about."

The kid's friendly smile turned into a full on grin.

"Tell you what. Anyone gives you trouble you just come find me! This is my second year now, so that makes me your senpai! And it's the senpai's job to take care of the new kids after all."

The casual charm and friendliness of this stranger pushed through what remained of my fear. Pushing it back far enough that it was replaced by embarrassment, which of course lead to frustration. I was a grown man who was being comforted by a six year old child. What the hell was wrong with me?

I straightened up as much as I could, and gave a short, polite bow to the kid.

"Thank you for your assistance, I believe I can handle it myself from now on out. May I ask your name?"

He shifted back slightly, his expression clearly showing surprise.

"Uhhh... no problem? Just trying to be nice you know? Name's Minato, Namikaze Minato. Hey you know you talk kinda weird right?"

My blood froze in my veins at the name. I knew he looked vaguely familiar.

I was nowhere near ready to deal with the inevitable shit-show that would happen if I stuck around Minato long enough to watch his fate unfold. Rising from the shallow bow I was still in I gave him a curt nod of acknowledgement, before opening the door to the classroom, stepping through, and shutting it as fast as I possibly could without slamming it.

Turns out there was nothing better than an even more terrifying thing to make you conquer a previous fear.

I could see why and how he could become the next Hokage though. Assuming he wasn't pushed into the academy early like I was, being a second year would make him only six years old. Six years old and he already oozed enough charisma to calm someone who was frozen in terror with just a few sentences? That was a whole new type of scary.

Taking a deep breath at the narrow miss, I remembered that I was actually in the classroom now. And judging by the amount of noise I wasn't the only one either. Turning around I noticed my future classmates for the first time. Thankfully most of them were chatting among themselves, with only a few paying attention to me. The most surprising thing about the group was that they weren't all the same age. It looked like I was the youngest, about a year younger than the next youngest if I had to guess, but after that the ages varied.

Apparently the Lord Seconds' 'recruitment drive' cared more about skill, maturity or willingness than the age of the shinobi-in-training.

Spotting an isolated desk about halfway up the tiered seating arrangements I claimed it as my own. I had no idea when we would actually start and had no intention of joining the conversations of a bunch of children, so I cracked open the book Mom had brought for me along with the usual school supplies and settled in for a wait.

Over the next fifteen minutes new kids continued to trickle in and fill up the remaining spaces, until the every desk had a trio of kids. My partners for the day ended up being a blonde girl who looked a good four years older than me, and a boy with unremarkable brown hair who seemed to be one of the oldest kids. He was probably a few months away from hitting ten if I had to guess. Thankfully they both kept to themselves so I didn't have to try and make small talk.

A few minutes after the last kid arrived a dozen teachers entered, arms filled with books and scrolls which they sorted into groups on the front desk. Their job done, most of them left leaving only three behind.

All wore the same slate grey shirt and pants, along with the military flak jacket which denoted their rank of chuunin or above. They were also all at least in their 40s, heavily scarred, and with two of them missing fingers. It didn't take a genius to figure out they were veterans, having taken up teaching due to injury or retirement.

The class was totally silent for the first time as the students examined the trio in front of them, while the instructors did the same. The head of the trio was the first break the silence, his voice much more raspy than was usual.

"Alright kiddos, listen up. I don't like repeating myself, so I'm only going to say this once. You will address me as Hiroto-sensei, or just sensei. The man to my left is Itsuki-sensei, the one on my right is Katsurou-sensei. Before we start there are some ground rules to follow. You will listen to what we say, and then you will do as we say. You will always address us with '-sensei'. You will respect any of the other instructors in this building the same as you respect us. If you do not follow our commands, or show flagrant disrespect to your superiors while here it will be noted. Am I understood?"

An unenthusiastic chorus of 'yes sensei's filled the classroom, which Hiroto seemed to find acceptable. Taking the clipboard that had been laying on the front desk he continued.

"We will begin the way we will start every day from now on, by taking roll call. Absences will be noted."

Without waiting for a response this time, Hiroto began calling out names from the list.

I didn't know what I was expecting when I pictured the academy, but this wasn't it. Especially considering what I knew about Iruka and Naruto's future relationship. The academy was still a pretty new establishment though from what I had managed to grasp, so I guessed it was just hadn't found its footing yet?

Hearing an 'Uzuki Akahiro' threw me for a moment, before realising they were using my mothers maiden name. Maybe because she was from a more shinobi leaning family than my father? Either way I called that I was present before anybody thought I was missing. Overall there had to be more than 60 names called.

Curiously I didn't recognise any of the names being called. No Uchihas, Hyuugas, or any of the smaller clans that I remembered from the Narutoverse. Maybe the Second's plan to get the clans to be more involved with the academy wasn't as successful as expected? I wasn't given much time to ponder this before Hiroto dropped the clipboard back on the desk.

"Everyone's here. Good. Now let let me finally welcome you to the academy. All of you are here because you showed either potential, drive, a certain mindset or a set of skills that may one day be beneficial to the village.

Without guidance those talents would go to waste, so it is our job to polish those traits and turn you into proper shinobi! By entering this room you have voluntarily decided to take the first step in becoming some of the greatest warriors available to not only our Hokage, but the entire Land of Fire!

The journey will not be easy. We will push you to your limits and beyond, but if you overcome these hardships you will gain power, earn the respect of your peers, and surely inherit our Will of Fire!"

Hiroto paused to gauge the atmosphere of the room. Sure the speech sounded nice enough, but it was blatant propaganda. There sure as hell was nothing voluntary about me being here, with the same probably going for a number of the others too, but it would be too much to expect a bunch of pre-ten year olds to recognise it as such. Many of the kids were actually sitting up a little straighter, puffing out their chest a bit more than was necessary. The thought that they were specially selected for their 'special talents' to become elite shinobi filling them with misplaced pride.

"I will now let Itsuki-sensei explain the structure of the academy, and your possible future." Hiroto said as he stepped back, letting the scarred man on his left take the floor.

"The academy has a special system set up to reward both hard work and natural talent." Itsuki began as he started to draw a five-tiered pyramid on the blackboard that took up the front wall.

"There are several tiers of students that will study here, but everyone starts at the bottom level." He drew an arrow pointing at the base of the pyramid. "Hard work, talent, a desire to learn, above average progress. These things will be noted by us and any future instructors. Work harder than your classmates, develop your talents enough, progress better than your competition, and at the end of the month you will move up a tier." This time he drew an arrow to the second tier.

"As Hiroto-sensei said, absences and disrespectful behaviour will also be noted, along with poor performance and a lack of effort. Slack off and you will be given warnings. If you don't improve, you will drop down a tier. Drop lower than the bottom and you will no longer be welcome at this academy. Only a set number of students will be in each tier at any one time."

Itsuki turned back to the class which had become very tense.

"The village does not have the resources to waste on those who refuse to work. Moving up in tiers will put you in a smaller class, with students more on your level. This means more individual focus from your instructors, and more access to resources to continue your growth.

The heads of the shinobi specialisation departments in the village hand pick students from the third tier upon graduation to fill out their divisions, providing an excellent path to becoming a Tokubetsu Jonin. Students who manage to reach the fourth tier are given personal training by one of our villages esteemed Jonin in three man squads.

Those who truly excel, who manage to outperform even the best of the best, can look forward to having some of the most powerful and influential shinobi among our ranks fight for the chance to take you as an apprentice. Established clans who see your exceptional potential may offer to adopt you in their families, hoping to increase their future renown by counting such a prodigious shinobi as one of their own, and granting you access to secrets that are forbidden to outsiders in return. Or perhaps you will choose to move among already established teams, learning not only from not one but a pool of elite Jonin teachers to broaden your skill set as much as possible. For those who reach the fifth tier your options are boundless!

Opportunity is a double edged-blade however. Stagnate in the lower tiers, and you will be left to your own devices. No special resources will be dedicated to you, everything you earn will have to be earned alone. This way we can ensure that the villages resources are focused on those who either work hard enough, or leverage their talents intelligently enough. You will graduate once your teachers have decided that there is nothing more you can learn from the curriculum, or when you reach fourteen years of age and pass the final exam."

With his speech over Itsuki stepped back, letting the class absorb the information. For my own part I just in shock. The finer points of the explanation probably went over most of the students' heads, some of the language he used certainly wouldn't be familiar to school children, but that wasn't the problem.

The whole system was ruthless. Brutal even. Social Darwinism at its most extreme. It rewarded trampling your fellow classmates for even the slightest advantage. Sabotage to bring them under and mercilessness to raise your own standing. Anything to gain those coveted top tiers of the pyramid. Not to mention anyone with prior training would have a massive advantage over others. Was this system still in place at the time of the anime?

With how some of the other students were beginning to size up their classmates, I wasn't the only one to catch the subtext of the system. It was a competition that would impact the rest of these students' lives, starting from before they were even old enough to grasp that concept.

I would have to radically change my plans.

The teachers gave everyone a minute or two to digest what had just been said before the third one, Katsurou, stepped forward.

"As Itsuki-sensei mentioned, your actions and progress will be constantly monitored. Part of this process will be done by tests, which you will only be told about moments before they begin. The tests may be traditional paper exams, or they may be not be. Preparedness for any situation is the hallmark of any decent shinobi, so expect to be tested on anything at any time and be prepared for that eventuality. For example, we are going to begin a test right now! Each student is to come forward and collect a copy of each of the books and scrolls on the desk. Once you have, you are to return to your seat and await further instructions."

Katsurou stepped back to indicate he was done speaking, while Hiroto and Itsuki readied their clipboards off to the side. The moment of silence lasting only a handful of seconds before the scraping of chairs filled the room as children rushed forward to grab their materials.

I and a few others saw no point is running up with them just yet, seeing no point in joining the crush. Not to mention the possibility that they were trapped. This was a test in a shinobi academy after all.

Once most had returned to their seats and no traps were sprung, I grabbed my own copies of the books and scrolls and began to inspect them back at my shared desk.

There were three scrolls. Two of them were labelled 'Test', the other had no label. The books on the other hand seemed to be textbooks of some kind, with titles like 'Beginner Mathematics' and 'The story of the Elemental Nations'. Once all the students had collected their things the classroom became silent once again.

A minute passed.

Then two.

Then five.

Many of the students had begun to look around in either confusion or panic at this point, probably thinking they had missed something. After the five minutes passed Katsurou stepped forward again.

"You should now have a total of seven items in front of you. For the duration of this test, you may open three of them. Anyone who opens more than that automatically fails. Anyone who already opened one of them will be docked points. You were told to sit and wait instructions, not begin looking through the items."

There were a couple shouts of protest from students who had already begun to look through their textbooks, but they were quickly silenced by a stern look. Thankfully I had managed to reject my first impulse of flipping through any new book I got my hands on so I wasn't one of them.

"You may now open your chosen items."

At the signal I looked at the array of books and scrolls in front of me, thinking about the next step as the other students began scrambling to figure out what to do. It seemed obvious that the idea was partially to gauge students' problem solving skills. Giving two tests and allowing us to open one text book to look for answers? The smart thing would be to open both labelled scrolls, look at the questions, and then choose the textbook that would help answer the most. It reminded me of an overly complex version of those 'read every question before starting' tests I would get in middle school before the Accident, where there was a question hidden at the end that gave full marks if you only answered that one.

But this was a shinobi academy right? What was it they always said? 'look below the underneath' or something?

I took another few minutes to inspect all the book covers, trying to spot any hidden meanings or messages. The only thing that ended up standing out was the blank scroll, all the other items looking like normal textbooks or scrolls.

Taking a quick glance around I saw that everyone was hyper-focused on their tests, with our three instructors standing at the front occasionally jotting something down on their clipboards and sharing it with each other. I clearly wasn't going to get any clues from them.

Looking back at my desk I tried to think through it. Maybe the 'Test' scrolls were decoys, and the real test was in the blank scroll? That sounded sufficiently sneaky and shinobi-like right? Following my hunch, I decided to unroll the blank scroll first.

The inside was just as blank as the outside.

Shit.

Okay I had to get a grip. This test was designed for a bunch of school children, I needed to stop over complicating this. I had wasted my help option by over thinking this, I just needed to open the test scrolls and go from there.

The first scroll had only a few questions on it, regarding the set up of the academy and what was expected of us as students. Things we had just covered. Simple enough, they were just testing to see if we were paying attention. The second scroll was a bit weirder though. It contained what looked like a mix of mathematics and reading comprehension, something I was thankfully almost two decades ahead of, but after the first few dozen questions they veered off track. Basic reading comprehension changed to vocabulary, to asking what certain words meant to us, to then straight up philosophy questions about the nature of language. The basic maths questions gradually became more complex, before shifting to logic puzzles and dilemmas.

It was all very strange, and I tried to answer them as best as I could, but ended up questioning my answers on even the most basic questions. Unlike the previous test scroll I couldn't even start to think of what they were trying to get out of this and finished the test more confused than I had started it.

It didn't take much longer after I had finished for Katsurou to declare time over, which was met with a cacophony of groans and the clatter of pencils being dropped. With the tests over, we were told to follow Hiroto out to lunch for the day as our scrolls were collected.

It had only been three hours since I walked into the academy, and if those hours were anything to go by it was already shaping up to be a tense, stressful experience. And from what was said I was going to be here until I was fourteen.

What a nightmare.

-II-

Lunch was a brief affair, half an hour of letting the students mingle and eat as they pleased. There was even a provided lunch for those who either forgot to bring something, or couldn't afford to.

Probably because it would be bad to have underfed child soldiers, it would stunt their development into adult soldiers.

Okay that was a bit too cynical seeing as school lunches were a common thing before the Accident too, but I was still appalled by the academy system in general.

The source material for this world painted a much different story than the one I was in right now, and I was not prepared to begin fighting other kids for my future already. It was obvious that if I wanted to have the best shot of surviving I would be aiming for tier three on the pyramid. A simple job at R&D or whatever the shinobi equivalent was would provide the perfect balance between safety while still living up to peoples expectations, not to mention a good place to plan my escape.

I passed the lunch break with a number of other students who also didn't want to participate in the games around us, each of us quietly minding our own business. The time passed uneventfully, and Hiroto-sensei took us back inside. Instead of going back to the classroom, Hiroto led us through the building and to another outside space at the back of the academy.

Targets were lined up against the walls of the field, and scattered throughout the space were a number of stone circles. Each circle was perhaps 5 or 6 meters in diameter and filled with sand.

I could already tell I wasn't going to like this field.

Once we were joined by Itsuki, Hiroto began speaking.

"Welcome to the training field. While in the classroom Itsuki-sensei will train your minds, and out here I will train your bodies. The rules are simple. Follow my commands, don't try to seriously injure or maim your fellow students. That's it. Any questions?"

One of the younger kids hesitantly rose a hand, receiving a nod from Hiroto to ask the question.

"Uhh, what's maim mean?"

"To disfigure, or to permanently injure." Hiroto answered, before addressing the group as a whole once more.

"Alright, how many didn't know what I meant when I said maim?"

A large number of hands were raised.

"And so why did no one else have a question? I am here to train your physical abilities, not judge your vocabulary! If you wither do not understand something or are unclear, ask for clarification. How are you supposed to follow my commands if you do not understand what I am telling you? Each one of you is here to learn, so let this be your first lesson in this field: There is no shame in not knowing, only in refusing to learn."

The other students relaxed a bit after Hiroto's comment, the tense atmosphere dissipating after they weren't berated for not knowing.

"Now then, much like in the classroom this first day will be used to measure your skill level in various aspects, as well as setting a standard for what will be expected of you. Throwing, catching, athletic ability, and sparring to finish. On my word everyone pick a target by the walls. You will then be handed wooden balls to throw as accurately as you can at the centre of the target... Begin!"

-II-

Three hours later I was laying flat on my back in a grassy patch close to the front gate. Everything hurt. My muscles ached in ways I hadn't experienced in this life yet, and I could already feel a couple bruises all over my arms.

Things had actually been going okay until the athletics test, which had been exhausting. Even the endless energy of children had to run out eventually, and I had hit that point halfway through the time limit.

And then came the sparring, if it could even be called that.

The rules had been simple. One verses one, the match going until someone touched ground outside of the circle, surrendered, or when the either Hiroto or Itsuki ended it. This meant that every fight devolved into a brawl almost immediately. There was no fancy taijutsu, no martial arts, just a bunch of kids throwing punches, kicks, and whatever else to try and beat the opponent into submission.

Which ended up with me getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter.

I had never actually been in a fight before. Even before the Accident I had never been in a situation that devolved into a physical confrontation. Sure I might know the absolute basics of 'protect the head', 'stay low' and stuff like that, but all the theoretical knowledge in the world doesn't help when you are facing down someone taller, stronger, and faster than you. Hiroto had even taken pity on me and matched me up with the second youngest in our class, only a year older than me.

It didn't matter.

I held my own for all of about ten seconds, after which I was in the fetal position getting pummelled into the dirt. It only ended when Hiroto stepped in and called the match, the entire fight only lasting about half a minute. I did get an approving comment about 'sticking it out' as I limped away from the ring as a reward though.

Honestly, I absolutely would have used that out if I had remembered we were allowed to do that in the moment. At least I learned the valuable lesson that getting the shit kicked out of you tended to make you forget about everything else.

The day's activities were called once the last pair had gone at each other, and although there was still fifteen minutes left before the official end of the first day Hiroto and Itsuki had let us go early provided we didn't leave the school grounds. Which is how I ended up here, laying on my back, trying to figure out whether my left arm or my right ankle hurt more.

My contemplation was cut short as I heard the din of hundreds of children rush out the academy doors, the day officially over. Because I was focusing on my hearing, I noticed one of the hundreds of faint buzzing noises detach from the crowd rushing out the doorway and pause next to me. Opening my eyes I was met with the upside-down grin of the boy I had already decided I would do my best to avoid looking over me.

"Hey there Akihiro, first day go okay?"

I could only groan in response as I forced my tired muscles to get me off of my back and in a sitting position, before I felt a hand grab me and pull me to my feet.

"Don't worry about it, Hiroto-sensei did a number on us during my first day too. It gets better from here on out." Minato reassured, laughing at my state.

"Thank you for the assistance Minato-san, but I'm sure I can manage on my own if you wou-."

My response was cut short as he suddenly turned his head, tracking a flash of red colour through the crowd of leaving kids.

"Sorry but I'm gonna have to head out. Hey look after yourself yea? Don't freeze up at any more doors, and try to stop talking so weird!"

With a pat on my shoulder Minato quickly jogged back to the crowd and disappeared, not even waiting for my response. It didn't take much to guess what, or rather who, he was chasing. I was just glad that there was someone else he was clearly more focused on than I. Maybe I can use Kushina to distract him if he ever tries to get too close?

Wait a minute, he called me by my name just then, but I'm pretty sure I didn't tell him what it was. In fact I made a point not too. So how did he know?

Whatever, everything hurt too much to care about some kid, future Hokage or not.

I began moving towards the gate where there was a crowd of waiting parents. I could see Mom standing there scanning the exiting children, and it would be terribly rude to keep her waiting just because I was in tremendous physical discomfort.

Hell, maybe I could spin this ordeal into some extra desert at dinner? I heard from Dad that she was planning on making something nice to celebrate my first day.

A/N

So that's chapter two done. I'm hoping to finish up the academy time over the next two or so chapters, at which point we get to start getting into the real juicy stuff! Thank you all for the surprisingly positive reactions so far!

As always, criticism is appreciated, as one can never improve without it!