-----
-----
It's been six years since I was born into this world. At first, everyone thought I was just a weirdo—some even thought I was an idiot. But now? Now they say I'm a once-in-a-century genius of the Uchiha clan, someone who might even surpass Uchiha Madara himself.
Well, duh—of course I'm progressing fast. Try making a forty-year-old man learn stuff meant for toddlers. Chakra control, ninjutsu training—yeah, these past six years have actually been kinda fun.
Right then, my dad noticed I was zoning out and gave me a good slap, knocking me straight into the lake. Thankfully, I flipped mid-air and landed on the water with both feet. Instinct kicked in—I formed hand signs: Serpent – Ram – Monkey – Boar – Horse – Tiger—and shouted,"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A giant fireball shot out of my mouth, flying toward the target on the ground. But at the same time, my dad formed hand signs too: Dragon – Ox – Hare, and said,"Water Style: Wild Water Wave!"
The moment fire met water, the fireball fizzled out, steam hissing all over. But the water still surged toward me like a wave.
I jumped back, calculating the impact time in my head.
Then I quickly formed another set of hand signs: Tiger – Serpent – Tiger – Serpent – Tiger – Serpent,"Water Wall!"
As soon as I yelled it, a wall of water burst out from around me like a fountain, blocking my dad's jutsu.
Suddenly, a hand rested on my shoulder.
"With your chakra reserves, pulling off two jutsu like that is already pushing it. What you really need now is training and a solid foundation. The Second Hokage built a school for ninjas just for that. You should go study there—it'll expand your knowledge. Besides, I won't be around to teach you forever. Ninja work keeps me busy."
I glanced at him and said, "Not going. No time."Then I turned and walked away without looking back.
My dad watched me leave, sighed, and muttered, "You're just six and already pulling off B-rank jutsu—and more than one, too. You're attracting too much attention, kid. Sending you there isn't just about learning. The Second Hokage himself oversees the place, and you'll get to meet kids outside of the Uchiha clan. You're… too different."
I wandered aimlessly through the village, looking up at those two massive statues. My heart felt heavy.
School, huh? If I were good at school, I wouldn't have ended up washing dishes for a living in my last life. School's terrifying. I'll just stick with self-study at the library. That's more my thing.
At the library, I dove back into reading about this world. Konoha, or the Hidden Leaf Village, is the first official ninja village under the Land of Fire—but not the only one. It was founded by the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and Uchiha Madara, leader of the Uchiha clan. The two were considered the strongest shinobi of their time.
As their fame spread, more and more ninja clans joined them. Through a mix of alliances and battles, Konoha swallowed up smaller ninja villages, becoming the Land of Fire's greatest weapon. That's right—weapon. Ninjas in this world are tools of political warfare.
Back when samurai and onmyōji were declining, ninjutsu—the technique created by the Sage of Six Paths—became mainstream. In those chaotic times, every ninja village fought to survive, often through brutal bloodshed. During Hashirama's rise, he dreamed of creating a peaceful village where children wouldn't have to fight. That dream gave birth to Konoha.
Years later, it grew into the strongest ninja village in the world. The only ones that come close are the so-called "Big Four" of other great nations:
Wind Country – Sunagakure (Hidden Sand)
Water Country – Kirigakure (Hidden Mist)
Earth Country – Iwagakure (Hidden Stone)
Lightning Country – Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud)
Even these four could only barely keep up with Konoha.
There was a time when Uchiha Madara alone forced Iwagakure to bow to the Land of Fire. That wasn't an alliance—it was submission. It made all the other nations think twice before challenging us. With that, the Land of Fire became the most powerful, and Konoha the strongest ninja village.
Power brought prosperity and peace. You could see real smiles and happy families here—and yeah, I got to enjoy that too.
Eventually, Madara gave up his clan leader position and left Konoha. When he returned, he fought a legendary battle with the First Hokage—and lost his life. Mito Uzumaki, the First Hokage's wife, helped seal the Nine-Tails during that fight and became the first Jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. That battlefield is now known as the Valley of the End.
Afterward, there was a purge of the Uchiha clan and a new generation was rebuilt.
Later, the First Hokage stepped down and passed the Hokage title to his brother, Tobirama Senju. The Second Hokage was blunt, upright, and had zero tolerance for evil. Under him, bandits and criminals pretty much disappeared—at least in public.
He also excelled at domestic policy. The ANBU, the Police Force, and the Ninja Academy were all his creations.
"Ugh, looks like I really do have to go to school after all. I didn't want to, but I can't exactly say no to the old man. Heh… kids with parents are such spoiled treasures. Can't believe I waited over forty years just to finally be one of them."
Chuckling to myself, I stared at the book in front of me, happiness spreading across my face as I slowly drifted off to sleep.
Standing in front of the school, I was seriously regretting life.
Sigh… Why didn't I just say no? If I had, I'd still be home in bed. I could've slept in, hit the library in the afternoon, then trained my ninjutsu and chakra control a bit. But nooo… now I'm stuck here with a sore butt, tight pants, and a 6 a.m. wake-up call. I haven't been up this early in nearly thirty years!
"Hey, punk! You're in the way of the Great Me! Move it!"
A loud, cocky voice rang out behind me.
I turned around. It was a white-haired kid with red markings under his eyes.
What the hell? White hair at his age? And those weird red lines… Is he wearing stage makeup? Doesn't look like it. Birthmark? That's one hell of a birthmark. Whatever, none of my business. Yeah… probably a birthmark.
I was taller than him—at least 5 centimeters—so I kind of looked down at him. My gaze lingered a second too long on those weird red marks, which must've made him feel like I was mocking him.
The kid flared up and threw a punch the size of a damn cannonball right at me.
I was still deep in thought—makeup or birthmark?—when suddenly…
"Back off!"
BAM! The white-haired kid got kicked clean out of my sight.
Startled, I looked up and saw a little girl standing in front of me.
She was a total loli—with golden twin ponytails and a ridiculously cute face. Even a guy like me, with forty-plus years of life experience, felt his knees go weak from the cuteness.
"Hi! I'm Tsunade Senju, but you can call me Tsunade-hime."
"Uh… hey. I'm Hong Hao—no, I'm Uchiha Aki. Just call me Aki."
"What the hell?! I had to play with you for a whole year before you let me call you Tsunade-hime! Why does this guy get to call you that right away?!"
The white-haired kid—who'd apparently recovered—came flying back, looking furious.
I glanced at him, resisting the urge to say, "You're dumb as rocks," and just gave him a little chuckle.
He saw it, and his rage instantly shifted toward me.
"Listen up, punk! The name's Jiraiya! I'm gonna be the next Hokage! Stay away from my Tsunade-hime, you hear me?!"
"Since when was she 'yours'?!"
And just like that, Jiraiya went flying again.
Tsunade turned back to me, ignoring him.
"So your name's Uchiha Aki? Oh! I know who you are! You're the Uchiha clan's biggest prodigy ever! My grandpa and Uncle Tobirama talk about you all the time. They say you're Konoha's future hope!"
I froze.
Them talking about me is bad news. I'm Madara's grandson, after all. (Yeah, don't ask who the grandma is or how Madara had a kid.) One of them killed my grandfather and wiped out the Uchiha clan before rebuilding it. The other isolated the clan and stuck us in the Police Force.
The Police Force was supposed to maintain village order, uphold the law, and catch criminals. On paper, anyway.
But with nearly thirty years of street smarts and bits I'd picked up from my dad and the elders, I knew the truth. The Police Force was created by Tobirama to appear as a show of trust—but in reality, it was monitored by the ANBU. If the Uchiha ever rebelled again… well, you can guess how that ends.
"Hope," huh? Maybe what they really want is for me to die quietly and conveniently.
With a mess of thoughts swirling in my head, I followed Tsunade and Jiraiya into the classroom.
"....."