The Honoured One || NarutoxJJK

7: Child soldiers 101

Satoru's first impression of the academy? It was boring. He fought sleep as he listened to the teacher go on and on about village history starting from warring clans era to the establishment of hidden villages. He already learned that stuff when he was two. His mom was also miffed about him not making any new friends. But it was not his fault. Most of the kids in his class were older than him by 2 years and the ones who were closer to his age, were envious of him for some reason.

"Now class, let's go outside for some exercise."

That got Satoru's attention and he perked up at finally being able to move out of his accursed seat.

When they went outside, Satoru saw the dummy targets that were fixed and a bunch of kunais in a wooden box. There was another teacher next to Shin, probably an assistant or something. Shin clapped his hands and the excited chatter of kids probably seeing shinobi weapons for the first time stopped as they looked towards their teacher for further directions.

Shin took a kunai from the box held it in front of everyone, "This is a standard kunais. There are also other kinds. Now, we'll practice throwing these. I know you may not succeed at first but practice is key. Each person will get 5 throws." Then he started calling names in alphabetical order.

Satoru actually paid attention to his classmates' performance this time to see if anyone stood out. The first kid that went had brown hair and brown eyes and looked around five. He was clearly from a civilian background but clearly was excited.

He threw the kunai and it completely missed the mark. He sulked and tried again, but missed again. He managed to hit the edge of the target in his last throw and brightened up a little and walked back to his position.

Similarly, the others mostly failed but a few from clan backgrounds managed to hit the target once or twice. And finally the teacher called Satoru's name.

Satoru smiled mischievously and walked forwards taking five kunais from the box earning a surprised look from the teacher and others. As soon as the teacher gave the signal, he threw all five, each landing in the heart of the target.

There was pin drop silence before the kids started their exclaims of wonder and some looked at him with envy.

"G-good, now class, spread out. We are going to practice the basic katas for the standard taijutsu." Shin ordered.
The assistant came forwards and demonstrated some positions that were easy enough for beginners to follow. The kids followed his movements as best as they could. Satoru sighed and swallowed back his complaints of being bored and quickly performed all the katas with great precision. All the while, he could feel the eyes of Shin on him.

~~~~~~

Shin had been a sensei for five years now. And while he would have liked to move to higher ranks, the limits of his abilities kept him in his current rank. He had long accepted the fact and was no longer bitter. As long as he could polish the next generation of Konoha shinobi and increase their chances of survival. But he knew that more than half of these students were going to die as soon as they graduated. And the rest were going to leave the profession all together. Every year, many civilian kids joined their academy, impressed by other shinobi figures who they idealised but very few made it out of genin ranks. It was common and he had long made peace with that.

What he was not used to, was the presence of a talent so great that he shuddered at the possibilities. That's why Shin was here currently, in Hokage's office about to make a request.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, the strongest kage without a doubt, stared at him intensely before sighing, "Are you certain?"

"Yes, hokage-sama. I believe his skills are wasted in the current grade. He not only excels but outperforms every exercise and test. Not only that, I'm sure that if we were to test him against a genin, he would win without issue."

The hokage looked conflicted and Shin could understand. It was wild to think of putting a three year old in the graduating class. Some of not most would see it as immoral but they were in a war. They needed to take advantage of every resource they could and did not have the luxury of worrying about moral values.

Sarutobi sighed and Shin knew he had came to the same decision, "Fine. Move Hatake Satoru in this year's graduating class."

Shin nodded and bowed before leaving the hokage office.

Hiruzen looked at the village and breathed in the smoke of his pipe. Something about putting a toddler in the battlefield did not sit right with him, but the security of the village was more important than that. Alas, what could one do in the face of responsibility. 'Thank god Sakumo is not in the village.' Sarutobi mused.

~~~~~~

'Finally' Satoru thought as he heard the words coming out of Shin's mouth.

"I've noticed you looked bored in all the classes and even during the exercises. I believe your skills and time should not be wasted especially now that we need every single shinobi to do their part. So the hokage has decided to move you into this year's graduating class. From tomorrow, you'll be with them."

The whole class looked at Satoru with shock and some seemed unsurprised at the news. Satoru just nodded and went back to his seat.

When Satoru went home, he nonchalantly told his mom about the decision as they were eating a quiet dinner. His mom's chopsticks fell out of her hands as she froze in alarm before loudly complaining about how it was not right for Satoru to be a shinobi so soon and how much dangerous the life of a shinobi was.

But even after all the complaints, Misa knew the things that were necessary for the survival of their village. She was the wife of a shinobi. She knew critical decisions had to be taken that may be seen as morally wrong and not right. But what could she even do? In the end, she lived in a shinobi village and was aware of the circumstances surrounding shinobi. But no matter the explanations and reasons, she was still a mother. But even she could not do anything to protect her child.

So with a heavy heart, Misa gave her reluctant approval. And the next day found a three year old Hatake Satoru in the graduating class of that year.

~~~~~~~

A/N:
How's it going, everyone?
A new semester just started and I'm already cooked 💀
I hope you enjoy the chapter and don't forget to vote. Don't be a silent reader pls. Also share your thoughts :)