Chapter 6: Hokage's speech and New home

On seeing the 3rd Hokage, everyone got respectful and serious. Most kids were surprised that he came to meet them. He looked at the kids and smiled gently.

He began his speech, "Congratulations to all of you for passing the entrance exams." And took a pause. All the kids were very happy and excited to finally enter the ninja academy. The surrounding chuunins asked for silence to be maintained and let Lord Hokage speak. Fujin however thought, 'Here it is, I guess I'll finally experience his legendary skill of influencing young kids. In my previous life, everyone talked about Naruto's talk no jutsu. But no one ever talked about how Hiruzen influenced Naruto to work hard and risk his life to protect the very people who made his life miserable!'

The 3rd continued, "Now that you have entered the academy, we'll teach you the ways of a Konoha Shinobi. We'll ensure that you guys become full fledged Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf village. This academy was created by Lord 2nd Hokage. He himself taught a lot of students in the academy, including me. I still remember the fun and battles we had in the academy. The ninjas who pass out of the academy all ensure that our village stays safe and peaceful. They ensure that you stay protected. And soon it'll be up to you to carry forward that will. The Will of Fire as Lord 1st Hokage used to say. Now you will be the ones who will carry the will of fire in you. Love your village and ensure that your will of fire preserves peace and prosperity. Carry on the will of fire in you brighter than anyone else. And let every other village know that the will of fire still burns brighter than anything else. Have a mind that will not yield, able to endure hard training and work. And, be healthy in mind and body. And with that, I welcome you future ninjas to our academy."

As soon as the speech ended, the excitement that was bubbling within the kids finally popped and all started celebrating. The day was finally called off and everyone started to return home.

After reuniting with his fellow orphans, Fujin found out that only 4 kids passed. Even Eichi failed. Only Fujin, Daisuke, Tatsuya and Naomi passed. Momonosuke comforted the ones who failed, mentioning all the other things they could do when they grow up. And all of us returned to the orphanage.

There were still 3 days for the academy to open, however those days were busy for Fujin and the other orphans who passed. The orphans who passed the entrance exam, would no longer live in the orphanage. They were provided with a small apartment in the residential areas which would be rent free until they became a ninja, and would also be provided with a small stipend to support themselves. Fujin thought, 'Oh, I didn't know about this. I knew Naruto lived alone later on, but I thought he might have been given special treatment due to his circumstances. I do wonder what the aim is by asking us to live alone. I guess the main advantage I can see is that this way we would be better prepared if we had to go on a solo mission outside the village.'

After packing up what little clothes he had, he got out of the orphanage and looked back at it. He saw that Daisuke was very sad and even crying as he and Eichi won't be together any longer. Fujin thought, 'Well it's not really like I developed much relationship with anyone here. Naruto isn't in this orphanage, so there's not really much point in staying here anyways.'

All 4 orphans were accompanied by the Orphanage caretaker to their new apartments. After dropping the other 3 off, Fujin was the last one to reach his apartment. He thought, 'So this'll be my new home for the next few years.'

The apartment was properly cleaned and very neat. While the rooms were small, they were more than enough for him. It had a small living room, a bedroom, a very compact kitchen and washroom. There weren't many gadgets in the home apart from a fridge, cooking stove and other stuff needed for cooking. There was also a sofa in the living room and a bed and an alarm clock in the bedroom. He also saw a first-aid kit.

He thought, 'Oh well, this is pretty neat. The bed's better than the one at the orphanage. Also here I should have much better privacy. So I can use the whole day to train in some way or other. I do wonder what food will be available here. They did say that someone would come here around noon and deliver the food for today as well as the stipend. Anyways finally getting access to money will be convenient. I ran out of water balloons a month back, so Rasengan training has been on a hold. I need to buy them. Also, I should definitely try Ichiraku ramen. Like heck anyone who watched Naruto wouldn't wanna try it! I also need to fill up the fridge. We won't be provided with breakfast from now on. So I should at least buy some eggs, bread and milk.'

Ending his train of thoughts, Fujin set up an alarm for 11:30am and began practicing Leaf concentration.

At 12:15pm, there was a knock on the door. Fujin opened the door to see an academy teacher who was monitoring the exam yesterday. He introduced himself as Adachi Genki and said that he'll be Fujin's class teacher for this year. He asked about whether Fujin was comfortable here and if there were any issues. On confirming that everything was alright, he said "That's very good to hear. I saw your performance yesterday, you did very good. Keep it up." Fujin replied, "Thanks"

After that he provided Fujin with his stipend and then provided him with a few ration bars. Fujin looked at those bars and asked, "What's this sensei?" Genki smiled and replied, "These are ration bars, you'll consume one for lunch and dinner. There is enough here for a week. From here on though, you'll have to collect the ration bars yourself from the Academy on every Sunday." Fujin looked plainly at his sensei as if to say, 'Really? Freaking ration bars?'

Genki saw the look and said dismissively, "Don't look down on them kid. That's the food of ninjas! They were created after doing a lot of research. Even the legendary Sannins, Tsunade and Orochimaru, worked on this. They provide a ninja with proper nutrition. So take pride that you are eating food specially made for ninjas."

Fujin saw his sensei explaining to him like he would explain to any small kid. In order to not make his sensei suspicious, he acted as a kid, first showing confusion and then being a bit prideful that he's eating food made for ninjas!

Genki smiled, and took his leave. On his departure, Fujin sighed. He wondered, 'Which moron is responsible for providing food to orphans? Seriously? A ration bar? No wonder all Naruto ate was ramen. Oh well whatever, it should provide the necessary nutrients and is easy to preserve for a long time. And I definitely need to learn some cooking. No way in hell am I eating ration bars for years!!'

He then counted the stipend given to him. There was 1000 ryo provided to him. He thought, 'Well I know that ryo is the currency here, but I don't know whether this is a lot or not. I just kept training and didn't even ever go to the shopping area near the orphanage. I really need to go out and understand the prices here. I also need to find out the costs of shurikens, Kunai, Senbon, swords, explosion tags, scrolls and other important stuff. Though I suppose there's no need to worry about that just yet. The most immediate thing to buy would be chakra paper!'

He ate a ration bar. While it didn't taste bad, it didn't taste good either. He noted that orphanage food definitely tasted better. After that he left his apartment, locked his door and went out. After asking for a bit, he found the marketplace. There he went around checking the price of various stuff. He found out that 1 dozen eggs cost 24 ryo, 1 litre milk cost 9 ryo, and a packet of bread slices cost 5 ryo. 1kg meat cost 60 ryo. Various vegetables and fruits cost in the range of 10-20 ryo. He thought, 'I see, the 1000 ryo are more than sufficient if used just for this stuff.'

He looked around and also found a weapon shop. A set of 6 shurikens cost 2000 ryo, whereas Kunai cost 1000 ryo each. A set of 6 senbon cost 1000 ryo, and swords were much more expensive, its price varying depending on the quality. He thought, 'These are expensive. I'd have to save for a long time to afford these!'

After that, he asked the shopkeeper whether they had chakra papers. The Shopkeeper nodded and Fujin bought one for 100 Ryo.

Finally ending his short trip, he bought a dozen eggs, 1 pack of bread slices, 1 litre milk, a few fruits, 12 water balloons, 3 rubber balls, items for daily use like soap, toothbrush and paste and so on. Excluding the cost of the chakra paper, he spent around 80 ryo on that journey. And he wouldn't have to worry about breakfast for the next few days.

On reaching home, he channeled his chakra through the chakra paper. The chakra paper split right through the middle. He sighed, 'It ain't lightning. Well whatever, Wind is pretty good too! Also I've already started training in it.'

Next day, the training continued, but in the evening, after asking a few strangers, he finally reached Ichiraku ramen. Teuchi became the 2nd canon character Fujin saw. He ordered Miso ramen, which cost 45 ryo. After eating it, he thought 'Wow, it tasted delicious! Still though, 45 ryo is pretty expensive for me currently. I won't be able to visit here frequently.'

Satisfied with the food, he returned back to his home.