People risked ruining their eyes just to wear fake contacts and flex.
Those were fake. This was the real Sharingan. Even if it was only single tomoe, to Hiko, who had once dreamed of owning a pair, it was worth more than pride could measure. Not worth selling his soul for a penny, sure, but for a dollar it felt like a steal.
And there was one more thing. He was five years old.
Across the entire Uchiha clan, who awakened the Sharingan at five?
The earliest on record were Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke. Itachi did it on his own. Sasuke had a brother's shadow at his back.
If this leaked, people would lose their minds.
The clan elders would single him out, cultivate him, make him a pillar. That was the upside. The downside was obvious. Anyone opposed to the Uchiha would start watching him, and not just outsiders. Some of them had deep roots in the village.
In the ninja world, few were called geniuses, and fewer survived to grow up.
Peace between villages was surface calm. If one side produced a monster talent, the knives would come out: interceptions, assassinations, a thousand tricks without a bottom.
Hiko closed his eyes, and the Sharingan faded.
He had just awakened it, so he experimented in secret. The result was poor. His chakra was too shallow to keep it active for long.
He had no intention of announcing it. Even if the clan favored him, that was not a reason to brag.
He was not a kid who had to parade everything. Without a safety net, showing off was begging for death.
The Sannin were amazing, but they had the Third Hokage as a teacher. Namikaze Minato, a civilian, soared because of the Third and Jiraiya's guidance.
Kakashi was a prodigy, but his father was a Kage-level powerhouse and head of the Hatake clan.
Every example told Hiko the same thing. Nothing was as simple as it looked. Without a strong backer, fame as a child prodigy was a death flag.
"Uchiha honor... maybe I really can guard it."
The God-Tier Evolution Potion worked. That meant his growth would be outrageous. If he still could not defend the clan's honor, he might as well headbutt a brick.
With two lifetimes behind him, he knew exactly what he needed now.
Keep a low profile. Stay steady. No rush, no drag.
He could not be too bright, and he could not lag behind. A stable climb was best. Once he had true self-defense, he could soar.
If he ran around flashing the Sharingan now, assassins from other villages would come first, and certain people in Konoha would come second.
He clenched his fist and looked at his face in the mirror. The Uchiha truly were a clan of handsome men. He was still small, but the delicate lines already hinted at sharp features.
Please do not grow crooked.
Plenty of kids were cute and then turned into pumpkins later. If that happened to him, it would hurt.
He straightened his clothes, gnawed a piece of bread, and headed for the Ninja Academy.
Right now he was a dried-out sponge. He needed to absorb knowledge. Knowing the future did not make him a god. That kind of arrogance got you killed.
Ninja competition was brutal, not child's play.
One comfort: in this life he did not have "free" parents. That took a weight off. It also meant less backing, but calling two strangers Mom and Dad would have felt wrong.
His parents had died covering a retreat on a mission.
The village and the Uchiha clan paid him a stipend, enough that he would not starve. It would last until he graduated. After he became a real ninja, the stipends would stop.
Even the weakest genin could live on low-rank missions.
Dawn on the streets of the Uchiha compound was quiet. A few children with backpacks walked toward the academy.
Because he had skipped yesterday, Hiko's hands were empty. His bag was still in class.
"Hmph!"
He had barely sat down when a disgruntled snort sounded beside his ear. A chubby little face leaned in.
Tsunade.
"Uchiha Hiko, what was that attitude yesterday? Is sparring me so unbearable?"
She clearly had not let it go. Looking at the twin pigtails and cheeky face, Hiko shook his head.
"Then what do you want?"
Yes, she was the Senju princess. But this was the Ninja Academy. Status meant nothing here.
Tsunade puffed her cheeks.
"Fight me!"
"No."
He refused without hesitation. At this stage, their taijutsu was half-baked and ninjutsu barely started. He had no interest. Whoever wanted the match could have it.
BOOM!!!
The bang echoed through the room. Half the class jumped. Tsunade had blown a gasket. Her temper and her gambling habit had been nurtured early.
She had learned the gambling from her grandfather, Senju Hashirama. As for the temper... she was born with it.
Here we go again.
Would they actually start a brawl in school?
A pack of kids flinched, then got excited. Only Orochimaru stayed calm, face unreadable as always.
Even so, his eyes slid over. How would Hiko defuse this? Little Tsunade was not easy to placate.
Violent indeed.
Hiko stared at the hairline crack spreading across the desk and could not help a twitch. Tsunade's eyes were huge and locked on him. He sighed.
"Stop glaring. I admit your eyes are bigger. I still have no interest in fighting you."
"If you want, we can bet instead. You win, I listen to you. You lose, stop glaring at me."