"I'm here to protect my Konoha?"
What kind of reason was that?
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared in stunned silence at the young Uchiha boy who had suddenly barged into his office—and at that overly blunt, couldn't-be-more-direct declaration.
But when he flipped to the section listing his physical attributes, he found himself speechless.
"Incredible innate stats... This child might really have the potential to become the next God of Shinobi! But... he's an Uchiha..."
"Open up already!"
Knock knock knock!
A round of frantic banging on the door rang out, laced with the rough, nasal voice of Danzo.
Both Uchiha Kirin and Hiruzen Sarutobi shivered involuntarily.
The Third Hokage let out a long, weary sigh. Holding his head with one hand, he stamped the application form with the other, then waved Kirin off to go report to the Academy.
...
When the door opened and Kirin laid eyes on Danzo—who had dressed himself up like a flamboyant peacock, reeking of cheap perfume—he was instantly struck with a psychic blow of unimaginable magnitude.
He nearly puked on the spot.
For the first time ever, Kirin began to question whether his previous approach to dealing with Danzo had been... too lenient.
He couldn't take it anymore.
In an instant, he completely abandoned the idea of "restoring" Danzo to normal. This man—he didn't want to see him for even one more second!
Clutching his application form, Uchiha Kirin bolted from the room like a wild animal fleeing a predator.
Only poor Hiruzen was left behind, to suffer alone in Danzo's tormenting presence.
...
The next day
Now composed and in good spirits, Uchiha Kirin swaggered confidently into the Ninja Academy.
As a transfer student, he was directly placed by Iruka into the elite class—where students like Naruto, Sasuke, and the heirs of various major clans were all gathered.
Right after his self-introduction, a combat training class began.
Kirin grinned.
Finally, something fun to do!
Sure, some of these students came from families he didn't particularly like. But kids were innocent—blank slates, really.
Kirin had no intention of going overboard.
He just planned to gently correct a few of their worldviews... with his fists.
After all, many of the students in this class were quite gifted. With proper training and some psychological guidance, several of them might even one day surpass the Kage threshold.
Wasn't this exactly what the Slug Sage had talked about—cultivating shinobi to resist and delay the Otsutsuki invasion?
Adopting a deliberately provocative tone, Kirin opened his mouth and began taunting the entire class. He even used a small Chakra technique that subtly influenced emotions.
Everyone present—whether arrogant clan prodigies or normally chill, lazy types—found themselves irritated beyond reason.
"Hey! Just because you're a little kid doesn't mean we won't teach you a lesson!"
One tall boy couldn't hold back anymore. He raised his kunai and pointed it at Kirin, clearly about to start a fight.
Iruka quickly stepped in, shielding Kirin, repeatedly explaining that he was new and needed time and patience to adjust.
Sasuke, who rarely spoke much, stepped forward from the crowd.
He dropped his kunai, locked eyes with Kirin...
And stared.
And stared.
But Kirin never showed the slightest hint of backing down.
Left with no choice, Sasuke turned to Iruka and volunteered to "discipline" his younger clanmate—for the good of the class.
Uzumaki Naruto also jumped in. He had no idea what he was even trying to say—he just couldn't stand Sasuke hogging the spotlight and had to butt in.
After a moment of blanking out, he came up with something:
He walked up to Kirin, raised his hand to pat his head, and said with a grin,
"This guy's my new friend now, alright? Don't mind him!"
Kirin dodged Naruto's hand, but as he looked at the three standing before him...
He felt something strange.
A strange warmth.
Oddly enough, in both his past life and his current one, this was the very first time he'd ever felt what it was like to be... protected.
Their strength was negligible, sure.
But that feeling... was real. Like cool spring water flowing into a heart long since dried up.
"...Still, don't think I'm going easy on you for that. Come on, Sasuke—let me see what that unlucky big brother of yours has taught you!"
Six or seven years old, Sasuke had just recently visited Itachi.
Now, being mocked like this by Kirin, his face turned bright red.
Still, he tossed a kunai to Kirin and insisted he would beat him empty-handed—demanding that Kirin apologize to his brother.
Why did this Uchiha kid have to be such a brainless Itachi fanboy?
Kirin sighed, tossed the kunai aside, and threw a casual punch at Sasuke, who was moving slower than a snail.
Thunk.
Sasuke hit the ground.
Kirin had used a bit of Gentle Fist technique—enough to cause a burst of intense pain but no real injury. Sasuke couldn't even move.
Watching the boy groaning and writhing on the floor, Kirin briefly wondered if he should go give Itachi a "correction punch" too.
But after some thought, he let it go.
Itachi had killed him multiple times in simulations already.
At most, he'd consider giving him a decent death someday—for Sasuke's sake.
...
Naruto, seeing Sasuke beaten so easily, instantly lit up.
In his mind, if he could take down Kirin, he'd replace Sasuke as the class's number one girl magnet.
"Then I'll get Sakura in the bag for sure!"
While he was lost in delusions, Iruka scooped up Sasuke and rushed off to the infirmary.
That snapped Naruto back to reality.
He picked up the wooden kunai from the ground, formed a seal, and charged straight at Kirin.
Kirin calmly caught the kunai, tapped it against Naruto's arm—causing the boy to scream in pain and roll across the floor.
Yet Naruto didn't give up. Driven by sheer willpower, he leapt at Kirin again.
Watching him for just a few seconds, Kirin truly understood just how twisted the ninja world had become.
Such pure-hearted children... and yet within less than a decade, they'd be warped into monsters by vague, meaningless ideals.
"Settle down already!"
Naruto flailed wildly, throwing punch after wild punch. Kirin dodged every one.
Then, with a few Gentle Fist strikes, he hit pressure points that triggered waves of searing pain.
Naruto wailed, thrashed on the ground—but still got back up, pushing through the agony.
No wonder this kid had been able to withstand Gentle Fist beatings during the Chūnin Exams—his clones getting dispersed dozens of times—yet still defeat Neji in the end.
"But how many of my attacks can you actually take?"
Boom!
A thunderous strike almost caved in Naruto's chest.
Gasping, wheezing, Naruto finally collapsed, unable to move.
"Everyone, get him!"
No one knew who shouted it first, but in the next moment, the entire class—previously paralyzed with fear—rushed Kirin as one.
Only a few girls who hated fighting stood frozen, staring blankly in shock.
Screams echoed.
One by one, the boys were thrown around like rag dolls.
A few tried dirty tricks—spitting, or pulling down pants—but those got punished the worst.
Each of those brats got hit in at least ten different pain-triggering pressure points.
Honestly, Gentle Fist worked wonders against scrubs...