Immortality begins with the ninjas of Konoha.

In late October of Konoha Year 42, the first-year students were all discussing Kakashi Hatake's personal exam.

On the way to the ninja academy in the morning, the boys I met exclaimed in admiration. As their classmates, I felt incredibly proud to witness the rise of such a genius.

"Kakashi was only 5 years old last month, he's amazing!"

"He completed six years' worth of training in just six months. This guy might be promoted to Chunin very soon?"

"You're kidding! Being a Chunin is definitely not that easy."

"A genius, you know, is someone who can break the rules. Xiu has already skipped a grade to the advanced medical class, supposedly with special approval from Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin!"

"Just looking at those books gives me a headache, Xiu is too amazing..."

"..."

As the group of students entered the school from the school gate, they became more and more excited as they chatted. Perhaps it was because Furukawa Osamu was so popular that Kakashi also benefited from it, and he completely lost the hostility he had shown after the start of the school year.

Among the crowd, Obito Uchiha had a frustrated look on his face, with some scratches on his left cheek. He had been beaten up by Kakashi yesterday, and the boy really didn't want to hear Kakashi's name.

Kakashi, who was preparing to graduate early, did not hide it and announced it publicly after his birthday.

The ninja academy's courses were too easy for him; more importantly, graduating early would allow him to win another round!

"Kakashi, how's the preparation going? The Third Hokage seems to be the examiner..."

Rin Nohara looked at Kakashi with admiration and moved to his side to ask him a question. Obito, who was behind them, wanted to greet him, but in the end, he put his arm down halfway after extending it.

"I really want to be the person she admires!"

"Why?!"

Obito suddenly heard his own thoughts and jumped up in fright. Then, he glared angrily at Furukawa Osamu, who had silently appeared beside him, and shouted:

"What are you talking about! What aspirations..."

Obito, his face flushed, looked ahead and saw that Nohara Rin didn't seem to have noticed what was happening. He breathed a sigh of relief, but then a sense of disappointment surfaced in his heart.

"Her thoughts are written all over her face. Should I go and remind Lin...?"

Before Furukawa could finish speaking, Obito quickly leaned closer and said nervously:

"Please don't, what if I get rejected..."

"How old are you? You actually have such thoughts!"

With a deliberately disgusted expression on his face, Furukawa Osamu slowly walked past Obito. Obito, realizing he had been tricked into telling the truth, jumped up and down in anger:

"You guys are just as despicable as Kakashi! I'm going to beat you all to a pulp."

"..."

Shizune, who had a low profile, lowered her head and suppressed a laugh next to Furukawa Osamu. She had been studying with Furukawa Osamu for half a year and had skipped a grade to the advanced class last month. The girl really liked her current life.

"This afternoon's course is on medicinal herb extraction, right? At the current pace, it will take another two years to complete the entire course."

Before coming to this world, Furukawa Osamu wasn't a medical student. Now, after learning the basics of medical ninja, he suddenly remembered a saying that circulated in his hometown:

"Encouraging people to study medicine..."

Medical ninjas are extremely difficult to train, and it's really hard to get children of this age to sit still and study. People with the same level of self-discipline as Osamu Furukawa are very rare.

Shizune nodded, a look of admiration appearing on her little face. Whenever she slacked off, Furukawa Osamu would offer help, and now, sensing a hint of regret in her voice, he immediately comforted her:

"You're already amazing! Even Lady Tsunade praised your studies and chakra control!"

"Thanks, Mute. Don't worry, I'll be happy if we can graduate at the same time."

With a gentle smile, Furukawa Osamu turned to express his gratitude. Being able to gain the attention of one of the three legendary ninjas was not only due to his outstanding talent, but also inseparable from the support outside the girls' school.

Unconsciously recalling the time they worked together at Konoha Hospital after graduation, Shizune smiled happily and subconsciously replied:

"I will keep up with Xiu's pace!"

-

At noon, a large number of students gathered at the entrance of the Ninja Academy. When Kakashi appeared wearing a ninja headband, the boys quickly gasped in surprise.

"They really did it!"

"That's amazing..."

"Graduating at age 5, that's breaking the ninja academy record!"

"As expected of Kakashi..."

On the outermost edge of the crowd, Obito saw Kakashi surrounded by his classmates with an envious look on his face, and then heard Osamu Furukawa and Might Guy celebrating loudly. He left feeling dejected.

Sitting alone on the stone chair, Obito covered his face with his hands in frustration, recalling Rin Nohara's smiling face just now.

After an unknown amount of time, Obito heard the familiar voice again and instinctively looked up:

"Are you alright, Obito? Class is about to start."

Nohara Rin looked worried. Only Obito in the class hadn't gone to offer his blessings, and the girl was worried that he would be isolated.

"Lin, you said you'd be watching over me, right?"

"I'll catch up to him soon, then surpass him, and become Hokage!"

Seeing Obito regain his spirits, Rin Nohara quickly nodded and smiled in response to his expectant gaze:

"Yes, I'll keep a close eye on you."

"Great! Keep it up!"

Standing up and shouting happily, Obito Uchiha instantly regained his energy, but Rin Nohara's next words left the boy feeling depressed again:

"Shu and Shizune have already skipped a grade to the advanced class! I can't keep up with them at all, Obito, I want to ask Shu for help after school..."

Obito was utterly discouraged at the thought of those textbooks that made his scalp tingle; he really couldn't help with reading and studying.

"Damn these guys! Why are they all so outstanding!"

-

Even after nightfall, Konoha's commercial street remained bustling with activity, colorful lights illuminating people's smiling faces, the shadow of war not yet reaching this place.

At the barbecue restaurant, many ninjas who had completed their missions came to congratulate Hatake Sakumo.

Kakashi graduated from the Ninja Academy at the age of 5. Even the Third Hokage praised Kakashi's talent. Everyone present praised Konoha's White Fang for his upbringing of his son.

Even ninjas from the great ninja clans came to offer their blessings, and Hatake Sakumo rarely drank heartily, making the atmosphere even more lively.

"Kakashi, it'll be time for you to take on a mission soon! I heard there's a reward of 3 taels for a C-rank mission..."

Might Guy, who was happily eating grilled meat, had his eyes light up when he talked about the mission rewards. Furukawa Osamu, worried that the silver-haired boy would say something wrong, took over the conversation:

"You have to start with a D-level mission worth 5 taels, and the team leader has to share the profits, so it's definitely not just a simple 6x return."

"Even if we encourage early graduation, the village won't assign too many missions to genin of this age."

Genma Shiranui and Ebisu nodded in agreement. They knew about Might Guy's family background; as a "perennial genin," he sometimes couldn't even get D-rank missions, and his life was indeed quite difficult.

"That's an incredible income! I absolutely must graduate early..."

Desiring to improve his family's circumstances, Might Guy set his sights on a goal and quickly received encouragement from everyone. Kakashi was about to say something more, but after seeing Furukawa Osamu's gaze, he changed the subject:

"By the time you graduate, I should be a Chunin! Remember to call me Captain."

"It's impossible to advance that quickly!"

Might Guy retorted loudly, and the group argued noisily. Furukawa Osamu, who didn't say much, responded with a timely smile, which made Hatake Sakumo feel very gratified.

When the dinner party ended, the barbecue restaurant owner insisted on giving Sakumo Hatake a free meal, which made Konoha's White Fang show a wry smile for the first time that night.

After arriving outside the store and seeing off the Chunin and Jonin, Hatake Sakumo patted Furukawa Osamu on the shoulder and thanked him with a smile.

"Shu, thanks to you, Kakashi has been able to make so many friends. Actually, I don't want him to graduate so quickly, after all, ninjas need comrades."

"It's what I should do. Kakashi is actually very popular!"

Konoha's White Fang laughed heartily upon hearing Furukawa Osamu's praise. His son's exceptional ninja talent filled him with immense pride.

Under the cover of night, the group chatted and laughed. Seeing Sakumo Hatake gently rubbing Kakashi's head and interacting with the boys with a kind expression, Osamu Furukawa could only sigh inwardly.

"What kind of mission would trigger the situation I remember?"

"..."