"Eh, Principal Gojo… I have to give the speech?"

Iruka looked at the speech manuscript and event schedule in his hands with nine, even ten parts uncertainty. His teeth were practically chattering.

If he really followed Principal Gojo's instructions… he wouldn't be able to face these parents as a ninja ever again.

"Ahem! What are you saying, Head Teacher Iruka?"

"Minato is the Principal. When addressing me, you must add 'Vice,' we can't have me making mistakes, can we?"

Gojo Kaigetsu gave Iruka a reassuring pat on the shoulder, his voice firm and steady.

"This is a great opportunity to challenge yourself. I believe you can do it."

"B-but…"

"No buts. This is a direct order from the Vice-Principal!" Gojo Kaigetsu's tone turned serious. "You know how to give a speech, right?"

"I do!"

Iruka's face was a mask of despair. Rank had its privileges, and this was a direct order from Vice-Principal Gojo, one he couldn't refuse.

However, the pressure from this task felt heavier than even a B-rank mission.

Satisfied with the answer, Gojo Kaigetsu nodded and turned to Uchiha Mikoto.

"I have some official business to attend to. Mrs. Mikoto, please find a seat and make yourself comfortable."

"Yes. Go ahead with your work, Kaigetsu-kun."

With that, Gojo Kaigetsu led Samui to his Vice-Principal office to enjoy themselves.

The spacious desk had enough space underneath to hide a fully grown kunoichi, but this time, it seemed, that wouldn't be necessary.

Gojo Kaigetsu swiveled his chair, gazing through the glass window at the training ground below.

"Kaigetsu-kun, what is all this…?"

"Shh, less talking, more watching. Come sit here." Gojo Kaigetsu patted his thigh.

Samui: "…"

Soon, the parents crowding the Academy entrance were allowed inside.

They found their seats according to their child's class. Itachi Uchiha sat on a small bench beside Mikoto, curiously observing his surroundings.

'This is… a truly bizarre spectacle.'

'Father was right, Gojo Kaigetsu is a strange and unpredictable ninja.'

Finally, Iruka took the stage. Behind him, melancholic music inexplicably began playing from the loudspeaker.

He started his speech in front of the students and parents-

[Do you know why parents can wake up so early? It's not the chakra in their bodies that wakes them! It's their responsibility towards their children!]

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

[In this cruel shinobi world, there is no such thing as peace. It's just that someone is carrying the weight for you!]

[…]

Iruka had completely embraced the absurdity, delivering his lines with passionate theatricality.

Itachi Uchiha, sitting in the audience, felt as if he were under a genjutsu attack…

He didn't sense any chakra fluctuations, yet he felt incredibly uncomfortable, wanting to flee.

He unconsciously gripped the floor with his ninja sandals, almost digging a hole through the soles.

'W-what is this…?'

Lost in his thoughts for a moment…

Iruka's onslaught continued:

[Look at your parents beside you! Do their faces bear scars from the war, scars you've never noticed all these years?!]

[Students, please look up and look closely at the faces before you.]

[Are they still as young and beautiful as they were when you were little?]

[I also ask you to look at the clothes they wear, their shoes, and their headbands. Compare them to your own. Are they as fancy and new as yours?]

[…]

Itachi unconsciously looked up at his mother's face.

He stared at it, lost in thought.

Even though Teacher Iruka's words made his chakra churn, urging him to escape, still…

He realized that, since accompanying his father to the battlefield at the age of three, he hadn't truly looked at his parents' faces.

When did his attention shift away from them?

Embarrassment, unease, confusion, anxiety, fear, guilt… A torrent of complex and negative emotions flooded Itachi's heart.

It was said that the Uchiha clan was naturally overflowing with emotions.

Itachi seemed to retreat into his own inner world. Meanwhile, some of his classmates were whispering to each other:

"Why didn't your dad come? Are you here alone?"

"Ugh, he overslept."

"Ah"

[Come on, students, stand up! Bow deeply to your parents!]

"What are we doing?"

"When did Head Teacher Iruka become so… abstract?"

Itachi, still lost in his own world, heard the instructions and stood up.

The music behind Iruka grew even more melancholic:

[Shout with me! Tou-san! Kaa-san!]

[No matter where your future leads you, no matter what kind of ninja you become, never forget what your parents look like today!]

[Cry! Let it all out!]

Samui felt like she was suffocating.

Before coming to Konoha, she had harbored many fantasies about its strength.

Like intense training regimens and secret techniques passed down through generations… but she never imagined that the Ninja Academy, such a serious institution, would be… well, indescribable.

Every bit of chakra in her body seemed to be screaming at her to escape.

The intense audiovisual assault even made her temporarily forget about Gojo Kaigetsu's wandering hands behind her.

… Silence…

At that moment, every parent on the training ground seemed deeply moved by Iruka's speech.

Tears streamed down the faces of many.

But Iruka, caught up in the moment, continued his impassioned address:

[Three years at the Ninja Academy are crucial! They are three years that can change a ninja's entire career!]

[Today, as your Head Teacher, I, Iruka, wholeheartedly recommend a book to you all-]

["Everything You Need to Know About Three Years at the Ninja Academy," available on the right side of the stage, only 999 ryō! This price won't last! Outside the Academy, it retails for 1999 ryō!]

["Everything You Need to Know About Three Years at the Ninja Academy" contains heartwarming stories from the 51 years since Konoha's founding. It's beneficial for shaping children's…]

Gojo Kaigetsu sat on the stage, like a villainous mastermind, stroking the silky golden hair of the Persian cat in his arms.

This was a project he had planned for a long time. It was a bit abstract, but considering the current state of education in the shinobi world, perhaps it was just the right amount of abstractness.

For example…

Gojo Kaigetsu's gaze fell upon Itachi Uchiha, who was still lost in thought.

This kid had been on the battlefield at the age of three and then entered the Ninja Academy.

It seemed no one had ever taught him the meaning of warmth or what it meant to have parents!

At such a young age, he was already contemplating the twisted conflict between clan and village. With the Uchiha's predisposition towards mental instability, it was no wonder he would grow up warped.

Since he was bound to become twisted anyway, Gojo Kaigetsu might as well guide the direction of that twist!