More than a year had passed. "Sasuke, you’re nearly six now, aren’t you?"

Fugaku Uchiha, who hadn’t dined at home in a long while, addressed Sasuke at the dinner table. Though phrased as a question, his tone bore the weight of a command.

"Yes, Father. I’ll be six in two months."

Sasuke lowered his head and replied respectfully.

"In that case, you'll start at the ninja academy tomorrow. It’s the first day of the new term."

Fugaku seemed pleased with Sasuke's attitude, and his voice softened slightly.

"Yes, Father."

Sasuke remained with his head bowed.

"Then Itachi, tomorrow you will accompany your brother to school."

Fugaku turned to Itachi and gave his instruction.

"Yes, Father."

Itachi also bowed his head in response.

"Sasuke, are you ready?"

Itachi stood by the door and called out to Sasuke, who was still in his room packing.

"Yes, Itachi. Let’s go."

In less than two minutes, Sasuke emerged from his room. He wore a blue shirt, white shorts, white wristbands with blue trim, and the typical ninja sandals. As for the nameless sword—crafted for him at the weapon shop and named by Sasuke—it had long been sealed in a scroll from the moment he obtained it. After all, a five-year-old child carrying a sword every day would certainly draw unwanted attention.

In the ninja world, the so-called sealing scrolls were more akin to storage tools. Nearly all shinobi used these scrolls to store items. During the Chunin Exams, Tenten used an oversized sealing scroll to hold her weapons.

After adjusting the tool pouch on his back and the weapon holster on his right leg, Sasuke followed Itachi outside.

"Ugh, it’s so noisy!"

As they approached the academy, the noise resembled the sound of thousands of ducks quacking in unison. The wails of children and the scolding of parents overwhelmed Sasuke, driving him to the brink of frustration.

"Let’s go. It’ll be quieter inside the building."

Itachi swiftly pulled Sasuke towards the academy, clearly just as bothered by the cacophony.

Knock, knock, knock… Itachi gently knocked on the door of the teacher's office.

"Come in," a soft voice answered from within.

"Sensei, I’m Uchiha Itachi from the Uchiha clan. I’ve brought my younger brother to register for school."

Itachi spoke in a low, polite tone, without a hint of arrogance, despite his prestigious lineage. He nudged Sasuke forward.

"Good day, Sensei."

Sasuke greeted reluctantly. His displeasure wasn’t directed at the teacher, but at the idea of attending school itself. If it weren’t for Fugaku's insistence, he wouldn’t have come. Sasuke knew that defying his father would make his life far more difficult, and though he wasn’t afraid, he preferred to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"Ah, so you’re the young master of the Uchiha clan. Such a handsome boy."

The teacher, undisturbed by Sasuke’s lack of enthusiasm, spoke with a warm and gentle tone, clearly possessing a patient nature.

"Iruka."

Sasuke raised his head to look at the teacher. Dressed in the uniform of a Chunin, sporting a pear-shaped hairstyle, and with a scar across the bridge of his nose, Iruka was smiling brightly. "So, this is Iruka, huh? No wonder he managed to change Naruto. His patience is remarkable," Sasuke thought to himself.

"Well, Sensei, I'll leave Sasuke in your care."

With that, Itachi turned to leave.

"You must be Sasuke. You’re the last student to join the class. Let me take you to meet your classmates."

Iruka guided Sasuke out of the office and towards the classroom.

Bang, bang, bang… laughter… voices…

Before they even reached the classroom door, Sasuke could hear the noisy chatter inside.

"Everyone, quiet down! Naruto, get back to your seat!"

Iruka entered the classroom with Sasuke, his voice commanding, especially as he addressed a rambunctious blonde boy still jumping around.

"He’s so handsome!"

This, of course, was the voice of the girls.

"Tch."

And that was the boys.

"Tch, he’s not as handsome as me."

Naturally, that was Naruto. The moment he finished speaking, a chorus of disdainful "shush" sounds came from the girls.

"Sasuke, why don’t you introduce yourself?"

Once the class had quieted down, Iruka turned to Sasuke.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

Sasuke coolly stated his name and, without waiting for Iruka’s response, walked off the stage and chose a random seat beside a nondescript boy.

"So cool!"

No doubt, it was the girls again.

"Arrogant."

Naruto, as expected.

"What a handful."

A bead of sweat trickled down Iruka’s forehead as he sighed inwardly.

"Now, everyone, why don’t you introduce yourselves?"

Iruka turned to the rest of the class.

"Hello, everyone, my name is Sakura Haruno. You can all call me Sakura. I like…" (she stole a glance at Sasuke) "I hate Naruto."

And with that, Sakura had already grown to dislike Naruto after just one day.

Hearing this, Naruto’s face instantly fell in disappointment.

"Hello, my name is ***…"
"Hello, my name is Kiba Inuzuka. I like… and I hate…"

A boy with a small puppy perched on his head introduced himself.

"Hello, my name is Shikamaru Nara."

A boy with a lazy expression and the same pear-shaped hairstyle spoke next.

"Hello, my name is Choji Akimichi."

A chubby boy with two swirling markings on his cheeks, still clutching a bag of chips, stood up.

"Hello, my name is ***…"
"Hello, I’m Ino Yamanaka."

A blonde girl with long bangs that draped over her forehead introduced herself.

"Hello, I’m Shino Aburame."

A boy wearing a high-collared coat, a cap, and sunglasses that hid most of his face introduced himself.

"Hello, I’m Naruto Uzumaki. I like Sakura, and my dream is to become Hokage so that everyone will acknowledge me…"

Five minutes passed before Naruto finally finished. He truly lived up to his mastery of the strongest technique in the shinobi world—Talk-no-Jutsu.

"Remember to arrive early for school tomorrow. That’s it for today. You’re dismissed."

Iruka announced.

"Sasuke-kun…"

As soon as school ended, a group of girls rushed over to find Sasuke, only to discover he had already disappeared. It turned out that the moment class was dismissed, Sasuke had used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the classroom. He certainly had no interest in being surrounded by all those girls.