To the chorus of "chirp chirp chirp" from the birds, Tōji woke up unwillingly.
He glanced at the alarm clock on his nightstand. "Mm... still a few minutes before I actually need to get up."
"Ahhh~mm." With a yawn, he peacefully closed his eyes again...
"Zzzzzzz——Zzzzzzz——" Before those few minutes were even up, the cicadas outside started their racket, shattering any hope of a peaceful doze. "Konoha's got great scenery, but this greenery is way over the top!" To be fair, at least eight months out of the year in Konoha were practically summer...
"Whatever. Might as well get up. Worst case—if I bite it honorably on the battlefield, I'll have all the time in the world to catch up on sleep." Tōji didn't shy away from morbid thoughts, even first thing in the morning.
He turned off the alarm before it could ring, walked to the window, and looked out at the clear sky. "Not bad! At least half the day should stay dry—gives the laundry a nice sun-dried smell."
Pulling the window and curtains shut, Tōji quickly washed up and changed clothes.
Stepping out of his room, he was already hit by a familiar aroma. "Dad's cooking today, huh. Mom's breakfast is never this good."
"Guess this is his little celebration for me starting my shinobi career."
Walking into the small dining room, he saw his parents already eating, waiting for him. "Yep, definitely Dad's cooking." He spotted the apron draped beside his father.
"Morning, Dad. Morning, Mom!" Tōji greeted casually, sat down, and dug in—his breakfast already set out for him.
"Good morning, little Tōji," his parents replied with the same offhand tone.
"So, little Tōji, you'll probably get your squad assignment today. Make sure you get along well with your jōnin instructor and your new teammates. Do your best starting today!" To be fair, his mother genuinely loved him—but most of the time, all Tōji felt from her words was pressure.
"Mm~" Tōji pretended to focus on his breakfast, giving a half-hearted response. If the conversation opened up, he'd be in for a headache.
He finished his meal quickly, keeping a calm face while cutting off several rounds of his parents' reminders to "become an outstanding shinobi," and made his exit as fast as possible.
"No wonder most people wish they'd reincarnate with the 'both parents deceased' perk. Even Sakura Haruno from the original story wished she had no parents when she was little…" Tōji's troubles mostly came from his parents and extended family.
But he'd already been through all kinds of similar pressure in his past life—he was numb to it now. Better to have parents who doted on you! Even if they nagged you about grades when you were young, and then complained about your salary and pressured you to get married when you grew up…
Walking slowly toward the meeting point, Tōji took in the scenery of Konoha—the sky was that sweet shade of blue, clouds tinged with the pale gold of sunlight, trees everywhere casting cool shade. His mood lightened considerably.
Weaving through streets and alleys, avoiding the busy main avenue of central Konoha, Tōji arrived at a riverbank at the southernmost edge of the village.
This year's Academy graduates weren't gathered at the school waiting for their jōnin instructors, nor had any squad assignments been announced. Everything seemed hastily decided.
On the grassy slope by the river, a burly kid for his age was already standing there—flaxen-colored crew cut, arms crossed, staring up at the sky.
Not far from him sat a girl with reddish-brown medium-length hair, plucking grass tips one by one.
Both were Tōji's classmates, but the three of them had never really been close before.
The guy was Izuno Natchi from the Izuno clan—a quiet, muscular boy who apparently had a clan secret technique. Natchi was decent at taijutsu, at least strong, but Tōji had never once seen him use any clan technique at the Academy.
The girl was Rai Akane—the "Rai" surname was rarely heard of. From Tōji's impression, Akane had never really stood out at the Academy. Ninety-nine percent chance she was a complete rookie.