Black hair. Thin. Almost like he was malnourished.
"He doesn't look anything like the rumors about Kumogakure shinobi," Shizune thought to herself.
From what she knew, Cloud shinobi were supposed to be tall and powerfully built, their arms thicker than most people's thighs, and—more often than not—accompanied by those signature sausage-like lips.
"I wonder if he'll grow up to look like that?"
She studied Uchiha Seiji's face more carefully and noticed his lips were perfectly normal—thin, even, and almost refined.
"Flashlight," Tsunade said suddenly.
"Ah—yes!"
Snapping out of her thoughts, Shizune fumbled through her ninja pouch and quickly handed the tool to her teacher.
When she glanced back up, she realized the boy she had been staring at all this time was smiling at her.
Shizune's heart skipped, and she lowered her head in a rush.She had been caught staring at him, and that was undeniably rude.
"Well now, an Uchiha who smiles this much is rare," Tsunade remarked with a raised brow.
Perhaps it was because he had grown up outside the village? The boy carried himself differently.He was nothing like the aloof, prideful Uchihas she knew.
Truthfully, if the matter hadn't been so politically delicate—and if her old man hadn't pressured her to come—Tsunade, suffering from her blood phobia, never would have bothered stepping foot here.
"Because, Tsunade-sama, your eyes are beautiful," Seiji said softly, "like they're filled with stars."
"Oh?"
Tsunade's fist twitched.If this brat didn't explain himself properly, she'd plant her knuckles straight into his face.
"When you were examining me," Seiji continued earnestly, "I felt how much responsibility you carried in your eyes. Despite your high status, you still showed such dedication… while I'm just an ordinary Uchiha.
I've read many tales, and Tsunade-sama—you're exactly like the legendary healers in those stories, who travel the land saving lives."
"Tsunade-sama is one of the Legendary Sannin, and the greatest medical-nin in Konoha," Mikoto chuckled from nearby, "of course he'd call her a famous healer."
She couldn't help but laugh softly.Seiji was still just a boy, after all. So innocent.
Hearing that, Tsunade unclenched her hand.
Ah. So that was it. He wasn't flattering her appearance, but her medical skill.
This kid knows how to talk, she thought.
"If I could learn medical ninjutsu like yours," Seiji went on, "then I too could help people. I truly wish I could become like you one day."
"Medical-nin require Yang-natured chakra," Tsunade replied curtly. "If you don't have that affinity, it won't matter how much you want it—you can't become one."
She stood, turning to Mikoto."I'll look through my grandfather's notes when I return. I'll also have another excellent medic, Yakushi Nonō, come to examine him as well."
"Understood."
Shizune quickly followed after her teacher as they left the room.
"Seiji," Mikoto said warmly before she departed too, "rest for now. In a little while, we'll also arrange your enrollment into the Academy."
Then she too was gone.
The lively room fell quiet, leaving Uchiha Seiji alone.
"Of course," he muttered to himself, shaking his head."I'm no child of destiny like Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto could charm even Tsunade out of her long self-imposed exile, inspiring her to return and shoulder the mantle of Hokage.
For Seiji, Tsunade's refusal had been expected.If she had truly been interested, she would have taken the next step, examining his chakra nature herself—something she could easily determine with her skill.
But she hadn't.
He was an Uchiha. And that alone placed barriers in his path.
Disappointment was inevitable, but Seiji wasn't disheartened.Instead, his thoughts shifted to Yakushi Nonō.
If I play this right, he reasoned, I might be able to connect with her and learn medical ninjutsu after all.
The Uchiha clan had no true medical specialists. Their young graduated from the Academy and were placed almost exclusively into the Konoha Police Force. They learned only the bare minimum of medical arts.
In truth, Uchiha Madara might have been the clan's most "skilled" medic—after all, he could perform an eye transplant on himself in the blink of an eye.
For Seiji, though, mastering medical ninjutsu was survival.
This was a world where even the strongest were fragile.Sasuke's six-tomoe Rinnegan had once been destroyed by nothing more than a kunai thrust.
If one knew medical ninjutsu, immediate treatment could mean the difference between life and death.
In the brutal wars to come, who could guarantee he wouldn't be injured, maimed, or worse?
Hashirama's cells weren't something just anyone could graft.
Besides, Seiji had already tested his chakra nature before. He'd burned through nearly all of his meager savings just to persuade wandering nin to check it for him.
The result: he possessed Yang affinity.
Not everyone did. Sasuke's official profile lacked Yang; Naruto's lacked Yin.
Chakra nature could be learned through harsh training, but that process took years.
Being born with it, though, meant he could advance far faster.
Thinking this through, Seiji rose from his tatami mat and walked toward the window. Absentmindedly, he slid it open.
A fine drizzle pattered against the trees in the courtyard, raindrops whispering across leaves.
A chill autumn wind rushed into the room.
Rain always made the world feel colder.
Seiji's lips curved into a faint smile.
"Just a little wind and rain," he murmured.
He already had a plan to draw Yakushi Nonō closer.She was destined to become the matron of an orphanage, devoting everything to the children under her care—even joining Danzo's disbanded Root division for their sake.
In this vast world, people's desires took endless forms.Some craved power their whole lives.Some dismissed power as nothing but filth, chasing immortality instead.And some—like Nonō—simply loved children.
The Next Day
At the Ninja Academy.
"This is our new classmate, Uchiha Seiji," the instructor, a chunin, announced.
He motioned Seiji toward the blackboard.
Seiji picked up a stub of white chalk and neatly wrote his name.
Glancing back at the classroom, he recognized several faces: Obito, Kakashi, Rin, even Shiranui Genma.
"Your handwriting is beautiful," Rin remarked softly.
"Hey, Rin," Obito muttered under his breath, leaning toward her, "I heard that guy came from the Land of Lightning. Don't let his looks fool you. Those people are all brutes."
Rin only tilted her head curiously.
"Please take care of me," Seiji said with a warm smile.
The instructor nodded, guiding him to an empty seat by the window in the back row.
"All right, class, let's begin."
He cleared his throat and started the lesson.
Despite the village's worsening view of the Uchiha clan, many teachers secretly favored having Uchiha students. They were diligent, disciplined, and easy to teach.
Normally, transfer students had to undergo a simple test—basic genjutsu and ninjutsu, or at least chakra control and capacity.
But as an Uchiha, Seiji was expected to keep pace naturally. Clan members were always trained additionally in private anyway.
Before long, the bell rang, and it was recess.
"Seiji-kun," Rin called, approaching his desk. Her seat was not far from his. "I heard you came from the Land of Lightning?"
"That's right," he replied.
"Is it hard to keep up here? Since you transferred in partway, I mean," Rin asked curiously.
Students couldn't leave the village until they graduated and received their forehead protectors. Only select shinobi had permission to travel outside without papers.
Seiji closed his book and picked up another, glancing at her over the top.
"Well… I'll work hard," he said, and then, with a gentle smile, added:"Rin, could you teach me some of Konoha's ninjutsu?"