Life in Konoha went on. The Third Great Ninja War was now raging and did not seem to be over soon. But the village itself was protected from it. There was no battle in Konoha. The children were sheltered from it. Even Jun, who knew what kind of horrors lurked in the village, could not help but feel safe inside. He also felt at home.

He was never afraid to walk outside on his own. He went to the Academy and library by himself. He had begun practicing infusing his chakra even though he had yet to learn a Jutsu. He ventured farther from the Academy and his house. He explored more of the village. During the holidays, he sometimes spent the day with the other children in his class, playing ninjas or hide and seek. He got lost countless times. That allowed him to discover many interesting places. He also encountered familiar faces such as Minato.

Jun had no concrete plan for the future. He certainly did not want to deal with Tobi or other antagonists. He wanted to become a strong ninja capable of protecting his family. Obito and his teammates weren’t the only faces he encountered. He saw Gai Maito a few times while going to the Academy. Jun also saw Shikaku Nara in the street with a tall blond man he identified as Inoichi Yamanaka. He also saw Kushina in her Jonin uniform passing by him. It was strange for Jun to see all these characters who were now people in flesh and blood.

Jun kept his secret to himself. He lived his life quietly, devouring all the books he can. Time passed and the end of the year arrived. At the Academy, the kids must take the end of the year test to go to the next level. There was also the option of taking the final exam to graduate and become a genin. Jun wasn’t interested in graduating now. His taijutsu was weak, and he had not mastered any Ninjutsu yet.

Some ambitious kids in his class tried to graduate early, but they all failed. In the advanced classes, a few students succeeded in graduating. During wartime, the average age of the graduates was around nine or ten years old. But this time, many younger kids became genins. Among them was Shisui Uchiha, the youngest of the promotion. He was six years old. Jun crossed paths with him outside the Academy. He looked at him pondering on what the young Uchiha must be feeling.

Does he think it was worth it? Is he proud of himself? Does he know what war really is?

He couldn’t ask Shisui such questions.

The instructors decided to move Jun to a higher class based on the result of his test, making him skip a year. Jun thought he had held back but he obviously did not hold back enough. His mom was happy to hear the news.

“Am I going to become a genin now?” Jun asked with a hint of worry.

The sensei laughed and shook his head.

“No, you’re not there yet. Your reading and writing as well as your math skills are strong. You will be wasting your time in the second year. It’s best to have you in the third year. You will be behind in Taijutsu and chakra-related exercises, but it’s nothing you can’t improve with practice.”

“It’s perfect.” His mom answered.

The matter was settled like that. No one asked for his opinion. Jun took a step closer to becoming a genin as well as the risks associated with it. The one he dreaded the most was being sent to the battlefield.

Time passed, and the new school year started. Jun was nervous. His family, on the other hand, was happy. His father showed him a simple Raiton Jutsu and promised to teach him when he was ready. His mother was encouraging him to practice his katas every morning with her. As for Izumi, she was in awe of her big brother. Jun didn’t have the heart to tell them he did not want to become a genin, that his dream wasn’t to become a ninja. It was just a means to an end. He just wanted to be powerful.

This year, there were two names Jun recognized. Yugao Uzuki and Iruka Umino. He wanted to befriend them. He approached Iruka when he was alone and introduced himself. It took more courage to talk to Yugao as she was with a group of kids playing. Jun asked if Iruka and he could join them. Most of them quickly accepted. A few were reluctant to let Jun join them as he was the shortest due to his young age. But he quickly proved his worth, and they accepted him. He shared his lunch with Iruka and Yugao, and their friendship began there. Jun was delighted.

The third-year courses weren’t much more complicated than the first-year ones he experienced last year. There were more practical. The kids were told about the danger of different environments, edible fruits and mushrooms, safety rules when setting up a camp, and other survival tips. They learned the history of Konoha and its clan, the land of fire, their allies, and enemies.

Jun was ahead of most kids when it comes to History, Geography, and Math. The class was very selective. Jun was one of the good students, like Yugao and Iruka. The three sat together. For any exercises that require a team of three, they would do it together. They learned more Taijutsu. Jun’s level was average at best, like Iruka’s. Yugao was the one who carried the team. She was better than the both of them in Taijutsu.

They also learned more about Jutsus. They were introduced to Ninjutsu. They learned Genjutsu and how to break out of one. Not all students performed equally. Those who were immersed in this sort of thing from an early age had no issue keeping up. The others had more difficulty understanding the concept. Everyone progressed at a different pace. Jun, Iruka, and Yugao had all been raised by shinobis but were not part of a clan. They had no issue following the lessons, but they did not get the attention the teachers gave the students coming from clans. Fortunately, it did not hinder their progression. Iruka had trouble with some concepts from time to time, but Jun and Yugao came to his aid. They worked well as a unit. The three spent more and more time playing together.

Jun kept up with his reading. He had learned many things about the Uchiha and their Dojutsu. He even came across several mentions of Madara Uchiha and his brother Izuna and their Sharingan. There were rare mentions of the Mangekyo Sharingan. The Uchihas were very secretive about it. The little information known about it was from people who had fought against Mangekyo Sharingan users.

Jun also learned from books about chakra nature transformation. He also worked on using his chakra efficiently. He possessed a decent reserve of energy for a kid. But compared to an adult, he lacked power. He wanted to compensate for it with better control. The senseis were now introducing them to the idea of feeling chakra and circulating it, using a leaf on their forehead. Jun had already mastered the exercise. He experienced no issue keeping up. After that came walking on trees, walls, and water.

The Academy was preparing them to be shinobis. A significant part of it is to be able to take a life. They needed to get mentally ready for it. There were survival exercises in the forest during which you had to catch, kill and prepare your food. Initially, they would just capture it, and one of the senseis would demonstrate how to kill and prepare the animal. After several survival exercises, there had to kill their own prey. There was still a step from slaying a wild animal and killing an enemy on a battlefield. Jun did not know if the other kids were aware of that.

“Jun, Jun, what are you thinking about? Play with me.”

He turned his head towards Izumi, whose eyes were shining with curiosity. He closed his book on the strengths and weaknesses of the various elements.

“Nothing in particular. Do you want to train with me?”

Izumi was delighted. Training his little sister was something he had been doing recently. Before the age of four, children rarely possessed enough coordination to practice martial arts or even throw shuriken. Jun hadn't wanted to take any risks. He was not well trained either. But he felt confident practicing basic katas with his sister. Jun was presently seven years old.

Their mother did not instruct them in Ninjutsu, and their father did not have the time to do so. Perhaps they had hoped to shelter them from reality as long as possible. But when Jun started training his little sister, their parents realized that it was too late to pretend that their babies weren’t becoming ninjas. They didn’t ask them to stop, but their mom started to assist him with his Taijutsu. His father offered him guidance with his chakra control. When Jun demonstrated that he could easily climb trees and walls, Renzo took his son to a pond to practice walking on water.

Jun had to adjust his schedule. Its reading time was reduced. He did not have time to read after class anymore. He also spent less time playing with his friends after the Academy. His friends noticed he was using the time to train more. They also picked up the pace. Yugao also trained with her parents. As for Iruka, both his parents devoted their time going from battlefield to battlefield. He mostly trained on his own.