"Wow! So handsome!"
"Did you see him? That boy over there is so cool!"
"You mean the one with white hair?"
"Yes! He's amazing!"
"I wonder which class he'll be in?"
"If only we could see him every day..."
"I don't even know his name! Should we go ask?"
A small group of girls whispered excitedly in the academy courtyard, eyes glued to one specific individual.
Unaware of the stir he was causing, I—Uchiha Satoru—was busy trying to find my classroom.
"Pfft, what a show-off."
An untimely voice cut through the chatter.
"You can tell he's a weirdo just by looking at that blindfold."
A kid with messy yellow hair and a scowl on his face was glaring in my direction. His eyes flickered toward the group of girls before narrowing at me.
"I don't get why you all like him so much," he huffed.
Jealousy. How very predictable.
"Hey! That's so rude!" One of the girls shot back. "He didn't do anything to you!"
"Yeah, are you just jealous or something?" Another chimed in.
"I—I am not!"
Blushing furiously, the kid stomped away in defeat.
I hadn't even tried yet, and I was already making rivals. A truly tragic existence.
After a bit of searching, I finally found my class.
Class 7, huh?
The moment I stepped inside, my ears were assaulted by the chaotic noise of children talking, laughing, and—was that a kid eating glue?
I could feel a headache forming already.
This... this is my punishment, isn't it?
All my past misdeeds had caught up to me, and now fate had condemned me to a classroom full of loud, energetic kids.
Nope. No way. Not happening.
I need to graduate. Immediately.
---
With my escape plan in mind, I spent the entire day optimizing my interactions.
Smiling at teachers, being polite to classmates, and—ugh—actually participating.
The results? Immediate success.
Even the yellow-haired brat from earlier, who had been shooting daggers at me in the morning, was now trailing after me like a lost puppy.
By the end of the day, the teachers were all singing my praises.
"This Uchiha boy is so polite and well-behaved!"
"Unlike the usual arrogant ones from his clan!"
"Yes, yes! He's kind, friendly, and gets along with everyone!"
When word of this reached the Hokage's office, the Third Hokage himself raised an eyebrow.
"Are you sure you're talking about Uchiha Satoru?"
"It does seem... unexpected," Kakashi admitted, eyeing the reports with suspicion.
Meanwhile, I? I was basking in my victory.
If they thought I was an obedient, well-adjusted student, they'd let me take the graduation exam early.
Which meant... no more school!
Genius. Absolute genius.
---
After school, I made my way to the Uchiha training grounds.
"Yo, Sasuke!" I called out cheerfully.
My little brother stood up from the dirt, looking confused. He had a smudge on his cheek, probably from a failed shuriken throw.
"Second brother?" He blinked at me. "What are you doing here?"
"Just got back from school. Thought I'd check on you."
In reality? I needed to practice my shuriken skills to meet the graduation requirements.
I had checked the academy's standards, and apparently, there were set skill levels required before you could even attempt the graduation test.
What kind of absurd system was this?
Since when did ninja schools have standardized benchmarks?
I mean, sure, it made sense for a regular school, but this was a profession where people literally used magic eyeballs and walked on water.
What about the gifted kids like me? The ones who were way too smart to be trapped in a classroom?
Sigh. No matter. If they wanted shuriken skills, I'd give them shuriken skills.
"Alright, Sasuke, show me what you got," I said, rolling up my sleeves.
Time to make sure my escape plan stayed on track.