Ninja Academy, Class A.
"My name's Uchiha Jinzō. As you can see, I'm an Uchiha… though most of them would rather pretend I don't exist."
Jinzō spread his arms with fake nonchalance, which only earned him death-glares from the other Uchiha kids in the room. If Inoue-sensei hadn't been standing right there, they'd probably have jumped him already.
Seriously, I've never seen an Uchiha this trash.Yeah, thanks guys, I love you too.
At the podium stood Inoue Satoru—a young teacher with snow-white hair, Konoha vest, and forehead protector hanging from his neck. He coughed twice, rubbing his temples like he already had a migraine.
One hopeless Uchiha in his class was bad enough. Now there were two.Wonderful.
"…Student Jinzō has finished introducing himself. You may take a seat."
Jinzō sat down, arms crossed, pretending not to hear the whispers. Not that he could block them out anyway. His senses were sharp enough to catch every word.
"Isn't that the Uchiha who failed the exam two years in a row?""Why's he in our class?""Yeah, Class C is where all the rejects go."
The Academy had three tracks: A, B, and C.
Class A: the kids with talent, mostly ninja family heirs.
Class B: mixed bag—average civilians, plus the occasional underachieving clan kid.
Class C: the loser pit. Dropouts, has-beens, shinobi who washed out and got sent back.
By all logic, Jinzō should've been tossed in C and left to rot. He'd already bombed the exams twice. The only reason he hadn't been booted was because he wore the Uchiha name. Even that should've lost its weight by now.
So why Class A? No clue. Not his problem either.
Instead, Jinzō grinned at the blond boy sitting beside him."Yo, you're Namikaze Minato, right? Heard you're always top of the charts."
Minato turned, bright smile radiating like sunshine.Two beams of light clashed—the classic standoff of Good vs. Evil.
(Wait, I'm not the evil one here!)
"It's just the result of hard work. Please take care of me this year, Senpai."
"Easy to say, easy to say." Jinzō patted Minato's shoulder like he'd just adopted him for life.
That was when he felt the murderous intent.
Slowly, he turned. Behind him stood a red-haired girl, her killing aura practically strangling the air. Her lips moved silently, but Jinzō didn't need sound—lip reading was part of shinobi basics.
What are you trying to do to my little brother?!
Jinzō flashed her a wide, innocent smile and gave a thumbs-up.
Boom!
The desk rattled as Uzumaki Kushina slammed her fist down, drawing every eye in the class.
The famous Red Hot-Blooded Habanero had arrived.
"What the hell are you all staring at?!" she barked.
Instant head turns. No one wanted to meet her eyes—rumor was, she'd flattened a genin before even graduating.
"…Kushina, we're in class," Inoue-sensei muttered, very carefully, like he was poking a sleeping tiger.
And just like that, the lesson carried on.
Jinzō ignored her burning glare and leaned back, already half-asleep. Honestly, nothing in these final-year classes was worth his time anyway.
Same three subjects, every day:
The Will of Fire Brainwashing Hour. Long speeches about Sarutobi Hiruzen's greatness, plus obligatory footnotes about the First and Second Hokage's "noble sacrifices." Anything that didn't glorify the Third? Not in the textbooks.
Ninjutsu drills.
Sparring.
By the time the bell rang, Jinzō had napped through most of it.
Later, on the walk home…
The sky glowed orange. Kushina's hair caught the sunset, shining like fire, while Minato walked quietly beside her, cheeks faintly pink.
Kushina scowled. "Minato, you're my little brother. Don't let that bastard get friendly with you!"
He mumbled something, face redder. She frowned. What's with him? Acting all soft like some girly…
Just then, the branch of a nearby tree bent with a creak. Kushina yelped and jumped behind Minato.
When she spotted the culprit, her eyes blazed.
"You Uchiha bastard!!"
Upside down from the branch, Jinzō waved cheerfully."Hey, not my fault. You're the one badmouthing me first. You get scared, I laugh. That's fair."
"I wasn't scared!!"
Jinzō sighed. Definitely tsundere. Shame she's not blonde.
His gaze slid to Minato. "How about it? Friendly match? Just between classmates."
Minato scratched his head, clearly about to refuse. Kushina planted herself in front of him, hands on hips.
"If you wanna pick on someone, fight me first!"
"No thanks." Jinzō shook his head. "If I make you cry, I'll have half the village after me. Plus…" His eyes flicked toward her stomach. Last thing I need is the Nine-Tails waking up.
"Bastard!! I'll make you cry first!"
Kushina lunged, right hook whistling through the air.
A step back, a dodge, a miss.Left hook—slip.Whirlwind of punches—afterimages.
Jinzō didn't even break a sweat. She finally stopped, chest heaving, while he stood untouched, smirking.
"That all you've got?"
"Asshole!!"
She swung a kick. Jinzō sidestepped, tapped her support leg, and watched her tumble into the dirt.
Hands behind his back, he struck a sage-like pose."This stance is called 'Falling Goose on Flat Sand.' You're welcome."
"I'll kill you!!"
She roared and charged again—only to be caught by Minato, who stepped forward calmly.
"You're no match for him. Let me handle this."
Kushina blinked at his serious tone. His sunny smile brimmed with quiet confidence.
"…Fine. Minato, beat him to death!"
The two boys faced each other. The wind stirred.
No words.
Then they moved.
Shadows clashed in a flurry of fists and kicks. Each impact kicked up gusts of air, Kushina's hair whipping in the storm. She gawked.
"Holy crap… these are students?"
Her eyes darted between them:
Minato, the golden boy, ranked number one year after year.
Jinzō, the Academy's infamous "Uchiha failure."
And yet their taijutsu outclassed half the genin she knew.
But Minato could feel it—something was off.
Each time their blows met, Jinzō's strikes were too heavy. Too sharp. Reflexes too fast. He was a machine built for killing, weaving offense and defense seamlessly.
And Minato hadn't landed a single hit.
"Peng!"
Jinzō's fist smashed into Minato's face—only for him to vanish in a puff of smoke. Substitution jutsu.
"Behind you!"
Minato's kick whipped in—
—but Jinzō braced on the fallen log, spun, and his heel slammed into Minato's chest.
"Boom!"
Minato skidded back, barely catching himself on one knee.
A kunai tip pressed to his forehead.
Jinzō grinned down at him. "You lose."
Minato exhaled, then chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Guess I do."
Kushina, slack-jawed, finally snapped. "Tch. Big deal. Bullying kids younger than you—what an achievement."
(It was true, Jinzō was a couple years older.)
But Minato shook his head firmly. "No excuses. A loss is a loss."
His earnestness made her turn away, flustered.
Jinzō's grin widened. "Don't look so down. There's a secret to my strength. Wanna learn it?"
He leaned in, foxlike mischief in his eyes.
"I'll teach you."