When he had refused to go to the academy, The orphanage matron refused to hear his complaints. "You have a duty to the village!" she would yell.
When he tried to skip classes or run away after joining the academy as a form of protest, she hunted him down.
One time he hid in the forest for a whole day. She found him with a simple scent-tracking jutsu, dragged him back by the ear, and spanked him hard in front of everyone.
Shunsui had thought,'Who the hell let's a shinobi woman become an orphanage matron? Send her to the battlefield so the old hag could die and I can live peacefully.'
"Lazy child! You will become a shinobi, or I will make your life even harder!" she had shouted. Shunsui rubbed his sore bottom and sighed. Running away took too much effort anyway.
Another time he pretended to be sick for a week. The matron forced medicine down his throat and marched him to the academy anyway. "No excuses!" she said.
Shunsui had thought about his life many times. 'Why would I want to become a shinobi?' he had asked himself silently. 'I could just find a quiet spot outside the village, build a small house, and live a lazy life with no battles. I could nap all day, eat good food, and watch clouds go by. If I had been born normal, maybe they would have let me become a shopkeeper or a farmer. Let the protagonists handle everything. Naruto, Sasuke, whoever shows up to save the world, they can do it without me.'
But fate had laughed at him. 'No, I had to be reborn right in Konoha, the busiest hidden village. And not just anywhere, but with chakra reserves so big that everyone noticed the moment they tested me. The proctors almost dropped their tools when they felt it. "This boy's chakra is unbelievable!" they said. After that, escape was impossible.'
Now he had to become strong. He would have to wake up early, train until his body hurts, learn complicated hand signs, and go on dangerous missions. He will probably have to fight enemies and even kill people someday. And all of that while the only trump card that he had were large chakra reserves. Large chakra reserves were not something that big of a cheat code and he had no interest in training knowing that even with large reserves, he would always be mediocre compared to the true strong people of this people.
But all of that changed when Katen Kyōkotsu appeared to him. He had gotten a trump card that was overpowered and something that very much made him looking forward to become a shinobi. His attitude changed since that day.
After some time, the sensei finished the attendance. He rolled the scroll tightly and set it down with a loud tap on the desk. The room grew quiet as all the students waited.
The sensei looked around slowly, meeting each pair of eyes. "Your final exams will start soon. We having conducting early graduations this year." he announced in a firm voice. "This is the most important test of your time here. Prepare yourselves properly. Only those who pass will graduate and become genin."
----
The morning sun had barely risen over Konoha when Shunsui sat on the edge of his small bed in the orphanage.
The graduation exams were starting today, much sooner than anyone had expected. He stared at the plain wooden floor and let out a sigh at waking up early.
'Ugh, I will now have to become a shinobi and sacrifice my sleep,' he thought miserably. 'What happened to my dreams of living peacefully in some countryside town far outside the influence of all these shinobi villages? What happened to my dream of having a simple farmer wife, growing rice and vegetables, and then dying old and happy with twin boys running around causing trouble and one sweet little girl who brings me tea every evening?'
He flopped backward onto the mattress, arms spread wide like he had given up on life itself.
'I had it all planned out,' he continued thinking. 'Wake up late, eat breakfast slowly, take a long walk to check the crops, come back for lunch, nap again, maybe read a book if I felt energetic. Die peacefully at ninety with my family crying happy tears because I lived so lazily and contentedly. That was the perfect life. But no. Here I am, nine years old, about to get forced into a headband and a lifetime of danger, and waking up early. This is the worst reincarnation ever. Well, it would have....if not my dear Katen Kyoūtsu. My precious katen Kyoūtsu.'
Twin swords in their scabbard had appeared in his hands as Shunsui hugged them tightly to his chest.
He stayed like that for a long minute. But finally got tup to get ready for academy. The truth was while he wanted to become a shinobi, He did not want to graduate early.
After his plan of not joining the academy had failed and him wanting to become a shinobi after the appearance of his precious, Shunsui had decided on plan B.
Shunsui had always planned to graduate at the ripe old age of twelve, after dragging out every single year of the academy as long as possible.
He figured if he took his time, maybe repeated a year or two on purpose, he could delay the whole shinobi thing until he was bigger, stronger, and was able to use all the abilities of his zanpaktou. But no, he could not even have that small comfort. The higher-ups in Konoha had other ideas.
'Stupid Konoha. Stupid Hokage. Stupid wars,' he thought angrily as he walked toward the academy grounds.
His pink kimono swished around his legs, and his straw hat bounced slightly with each step. The Third Great Shinobi War was heating up again, and the village needed more soldiers fast.
So the decision came down from the top: every academy class would face an early graduation test. There were no more extra years of safe classroom learning. They wanted bodies in the field right now, and Shunsui was one of those unlucky bodies.
He kicked a small pebble on the path, watching it roll away. 'They could have at least waited until I turned ten. Or eleven. Or never. But no, they have to rush everything. "More shinobi! More fighters! More people to die on the front lines!" Do they even care that some of us just want to nap and train in peace? Of course not. War makes everyone stupid.'
He imagined the Hokage sitting in his office, signing papers with a serious face while ruining Shunsui's life's plan. 'Thanks a lot, old man. Really appreciate it.'
The worst part was that he could not even half-ass the exams. If he tried to fail on purpose or do poorly enough to get held back, the teachers would notice immediately.
His chakra reserves were too big to hide. One lazy performance, and they would pull him aside for "special training." Then the orphanage matron would find out.
She had already promised him that if he ever slacked off again, she would make his life a living hell.
Shunsui rubbed his backside just thinking about it. 'No way. I am not letting that woman spank me in front of the whole orphanage again. She hits harder than some jonin that I am sure of. If I have to pass these stupid exams, I will pass them properly. What a drag.'
Shunsui thought that the Naras might just adopt him after seeing how much he says "What a drag!"