“Alright, Asma, don’t be unhappy.”
Seeing Asma looking unhappy after being lectured by Sarutobi Hiruzen, the girl beside him couldn’t help but comfort him.
She proactively shifted the topic, running forward and turning back to say, “Let’s go to school quickly. I want to see if we’ll be in the same class?”
“Ah.”
Seeing the girl’s retreating figure, Asma was slightly stunned, quickly calling out, “Wait for me, Kurenai!”
He quickly took a step forward to catch up.
Right now, he didn’t want to stay by Sarutobi Hiruzen’s side.
“Children are like that, they’ll understand when they grow up a bit.”
The middle-aged man, who had been unable to interrupt earlier, patted Hiruzen on the shoulder and comforted him after Asma left.
“Hope so!”
Sarutobi Hiruzen forced a smile, putting away his worries and then said, “Let’s go too, Kurenai-senpai.”
“Mhm.”
…
Yuuhi Kurenai, born in Konohagakure, Year 6, is 35 years old this year, a Jōnin.
And that girl is his daughter, born on June 11th, Year 36 of Konohagakure, only 5 years old this year, Yuuhi Kurenai.
The two families had a good relationship on a daily basis. They happened to meet on the way and walked together, and then they saw the Uchiha ‘parade’ together.
——————
As everyone was buzzing with discussion, under the ‘eager’ gazes of the surrounding people, the Uchiha group walked proudly towards the school gate.
Looking up, there was a signboard hanging above the school gate, with the words ‘Ninja School Central District’ inscribed on it.
Konohagakure Ninja School, since its predecessor, Konoha Academy, was established by Senju Tobirama, has gone through more than 30 years of development. With the increase of the Konohagakure population, the expansion of the city area, and the needs of war, the original Ninja School with only one campus was no longer able to meet the village’s growing needs.
Therefore, after the First Shinobi World War, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage at the time, set out to expand the Ninja School. Eventually, four branch campuses were built in the dense population, high concentration of ninja area of Konohagakure's central district.
They were named East City Branch Campus, West City Branch Campus, South City Branch Campus, and North City Branch Campus according to their locations.
The original Ninja School, located below the Hokage Rock in the upper district, was renamed the Central District.
However, due to habit, people still mostly call it the Ninja School.
The main difference between the Central District and the four branch campuses lies in their different enrollment requirements.
The enrollment requirements for the Central District are higher, requiring students to have certain talent and even to have mastered some basic ninja knowledge in advance.
Generally, only children from major families and descendants of veteran ninjas can meet the requirements.
The four branch campuses, on the other hand, are more egalitarian, with lower requirements for talent. Almost anyone who wants to become a ninja can sign up and pass the examination.
However, the four branch campuses hold an exam every year to eliminate those who are really not suitable to become a ninja.
Similarly, if they perform exceptionally well, they can also be promoted directly from the branch campus to the Central District, which is to avoid missing out on talented individuals from the common people.
Because in addition to the different enrollment requirements, the Central District also surpasses the four branch campuses in terms of teaching staff and educational resources.
For example, the teachers at the Central District are generally Chūnin, and they are all experienced Chūnin.
The teachers at the four branch campuses are generally more experienced Genin.
Another example is that the Central District has a maximum of 20 students per class, adopting small-class education, while the four branch campuses sometimes have more than 50 students per class, a proper large-class education.
…
Chen Yue had already learned about the Central District and branch campuses of the Ninja School when he consulted the 《Konohagakure Ninja School Development History》, so he wasn’t surprised when he saw the name on the signboard. He simply glanced at it and led everyone through the crimson gate into the school.
Upon entering the school, the first thing that caught everyone’s eyes was a huge training ground surrounded by three teaching buildings, much larger than the plaza outside the gate, and there were more people as well.
A large number of people crowded under ten standing signs erected in the training ground. The signs listed the names of those who passed the Ninja School entrance exam this year, as well as the class list.
The Ninja School entrance exam was held from March 29th to March 31st, three days ago, and today was the day to announce the names of those who passed the entrance exam, as well as the day for the newly admitted students to start school.
That's why there were so many people at the Ninja School today, because it wasn’t just the students and parents who passed the exam, but also many parents and children who didn’t pass.
The obvious advantages of the Central District over the four branch campuses made all the parents who had a little confidence in their children want to give it a try. What if they passed?
Even if they didn’t pass, they could still go back and sign up for the branch campuses with the exam report from the Central District, because the start date of the branch campuses was a little later than that of the Central District.
The Konohagakure authorities also support this behavior, all for the sake of not missing any potential talent.
………………
PS: Picture of the Ninja School location.