Naruto: Skill Editing System

Morning in Konoha.

Hirakawa Yuuki walked along the street leading to the Ninja Academy, frowning as he observed his surroundings.

This commercial street was usually bustling with activity. Stores on both sides sold all kinds of goods, and during his daily walk to school after morning training, Yuuki was always surrounded by the sounds of merchants calling out to customers.

But things had changed.

The street was eerily quiet. The usual crowd was nowhere to be seen. Even the few remaining Konoha residents wore anxious expressions as they hurried away.

Most of the shops had their shutters down. The few that remained open barely cracked their doors, giving the impression not of honest business, but of shady, secret dealings.

The elusive ANBU had also changed their usual habits. Now and then, two or three masked ANBU could be seen forming squads, streaking across the rooftops.

Even the sky seemed infected by the mood. For days on end, thick clouds loomed overhead, not a ray of sunlight breaking through. The entire village felt shrouded in gloom.

Gloom, tension, fear, anxiety...

Invisible waves of negative emotion swept through Konoha, blanketing the village and weighing down everyone's hearts.

Yuuki understood why.

Two months ago, on a moonless, stormy night perfect for bloodshed, the Sand and Stone shinobi launched a surprise joint attack on Konoha's outpost in the Land of Rain, wiping out most of the stationed force. That very night, they pushed their offensive toward the borders of the Land of Fire.

The surviving Konoha shinobi who fled the Land of Rain reported the news via messenger hawks the moment they returned to the border.

The instant Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen received word from the front lines, he ordered Konoha's long-prepared shinobi army to mobilize for the border. Supplies, food, tools, medicine, followed in massive quantities.

To keep the fighting from spilling into the Land of Fire and damaging the civilian population and economy, the shinobi forces needed to repel the enemy at once. They had to push the battlefield beyond the border, anywhere outside the homeland would do.

Led by the future Sannin and Konoha's White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, the shinobi army moved swiftly, arriving at the front just as the enemy was about to break through the defense line.

After three days of brutal combat and heavy losses, the Konoha forces finally drove the battlefield back into the Land of Rain.

Only then did the Second Great Ninja War officially begin.

But for now, that had nothing to do with Yuuki, still just a student at the Ninja Academy.

After all, Konoha was still a great power. Even with Sand and Stone teaming up, the village had enough reserves to hold out for a while.

Yuuki estimated that it would be at least a month or two, maybe half a year, before things became so urgent that Hiruzen would start promoting Academy students to genin and sending them to the front lines as cannon fodder or replacements for veteran shinobi.

"What?! The graduation exam is tomorrow?!"

Yuuki had just walked into the classroom when Kushina ran over to deliver the news.

He froze in confusion. He hadn't expected Hiruzen to deplete Konoha's future potential this quickly, sending Academy students to war before they even finished training?

Was the situation in the Land of Rain really that desperate?

"It's true. Teacher Mizukawa Katsu just came and announced it himself. Everyone knows already."

Seeing the doubt on Yuuki's face, Kushina added that clarification.

Yuuki glanced around the classroom.

Sure enough, all the students seemed aware of it, though their reactions varied.

Some were resigned, as if they had already seen it coming. As always, they kept doing their own thing—sleeping, snacking, or playing with insects.

Some were clearly panicked, frightened by the thought of early graduation and war. They wandered nervously around the classroom.

Others were excited, bragging to their classmates about how many enemies they'd kill on the battlefield, how their names would echo throughout the ninja world.

Yuuki ignored all of it, went to his seat, and started preparing his books for the day.

"Why aren't you surprised at all?"

Kushina walked over, puzzled by his calm.

"Surprised?"

"Why would I be surprised about something I already knew?"

Yuuki answered flatly, not even turning his head.

Kushina took a deep breath, scowled, and turned away.

Clack.

Yuuki placed his satchel, his companion for the past ten years, into the desk cubby. He figured today would be the last time he used it. Once he passed tomorrow's exam, his ninja tool pouch would take its place.

After neatly stowing the bag, Yuuki stared blankly at the desk in front of him.

Of course, he wasn't really spacing out. His mind was turning over thoughts at full speed.

If nothing went wrong, after tomorrow's exam, he would receive his forehead protector. Likely, he'd also be assigned a mission right away—either to the front lines or to take over duties from a more experienced shinobi.

Yuuki didn't care where they sent him. Even the front lines were fine.

So far, he had never tested his ninjutsu in real combat.

And besides-

He wasn't weak anymore. As long as he didn't run into a jōnin, he was confident he could at least survive.

Thinking this, he didn't even need to form hand signs. A faint flicker of bluish-purple lightning danced between his open palms on the desk, a product of pure muscle memory from his recent training.

But more important than that, Yuuki was deeply curious who his future jōnin instructor would be.

That would determine whether Konoha treated him as cannon fodder, or a potential prodigy worth grooming, giving him safer missions and time to grow.

After all, there were many reasons Namikaze Minato had become the Fourth Hokage. One of them was that he belonged to the Hokage lineage.

Everyone knew Konoha preached freedom and equality. And sure, maybe that was true for lower-level shinobi.

But the title of Hokage? That was another matter entirely.

From the First Hokage onward, the role had stayed within the same tight-knit circle.

The Second was the First's younger brother.

The Third was the Second's student.

The Fourth was the Third's grandstudent.

The Fifth was the First's granddaughter.

The Sixth was the Fourth's student.

The Seventh was the Fourth's son.

If they'd all lived at the same time, they'd practically be one big family.