…
Evening.
After the last class ended, students trickled out of the academy in small groups.
"See you tomorrow, Genma!" Shizune beamed as she waved at Shiranui Genma, then skipped off hand-in-hand with Nohara Rin.
Genma smiled faintly and bent his head to finish packing his bag.
At that moment, Ebisu leaned in with a sly look.
"Genma, I don't know… but haven't you been acting a little weird these past two days?"
"Have I?" Genma frowned.
"Of course you have!" Ebisu widened his eyes. "You barely ever talk to girls, but today you and Shizune talked for several classes straight. That's more than you usually say to girls in an entire year!"
"…It wasn't that much. We were mainly talking about studying." Genma slung his bag over his shoulder, answering casually.
"Heh." Ebisu looked at him with obvious disdain.
As the two of them left the classroom and passed by the training field, Genma glanced up and, unsurprisingly, saw Guy still training there by himself.
"What's wrong with that guy? Even after school, he's still at it. Doesn't he get bored?" Ebisu muttered, clearly unimpressed.
But watching Might Guy, dripping with sweat as he ran laps around the field on his hands, Genma unconsciously slowed his steps.
In the past, even though Genma was one of the few in class who was friendly with Guy—thanks to sitting next to him—deep down, he'd still looked down on him somewhat.
After all, they were just kids. That kind of attitude was almost inevitable.
But now, Genma carried an adult's mind, and he also knew clearly what Guy would one day achieve. He no longer had the slightest trace of contempt.
After his rebirth, perhaps due to the fusion of souls, Genma's thoughts had become sharper and more active. But his chakra growth hadn't improved much at all.
After all, chakra was formed from both spiritual and physical energy—and the physical aspect had the greater influence. If the body didn't change, then no matter how much his spirit strengthened, his chakra reserves wouldn't grow much either.
Genma fell silent as he watched Guy push himself in training. After a moment, he stepped onto the field as well.
"What are you doing?" Ebisu blurted out, instinctively following him.
Genma put down his bag and said calmly, "From now on, I'm going to train like Guy does. You can head home… or stay and train with us."
"What!" Ebisu's eyes nearly popped out of his head, his expression one of total disbelief. "What's gotten into you? It's like you've turned into a different person. You were never like this before!"
Genma didn't answer. He simply flipped onto his hands, imitating Guy, and began jogging laps around the field.
Ebisu froze on the spot, watching the two figures run upside-down across the training ground.
His once equally half-hearted friend had suddenly become hardworking—hardworking enough to leave him behind. For anyone, that would be tough to swallow, let alone for an eight-year-old child.
Beads of sweat started forming on Ebisu's forehead.
"Damn it…"
Wiping his brow, Ebisu suddenly jabbed his finger toward Genma and shouted furiously, "Fine, go ahead and train if you want! But I, Ebisu— even if it kills me, even if I have to jump off Hokage Rock—I'll never be as stupid as the two of you!"
"You idiots!"
And with that, he spun on his heel and stormed off, his small back bristling with indignation.
Genma didn't react, continuing to run handstand laps, picking up speed as he went.
The natural laws of this world were clearly different from his previous life. Even as a child, his body possessed strength and stamina far beyond what he once had.
Back when he was a couch potato, he couldn't have lasted this long even running upright, let alone on his hands.
He had to admit, doing training that even Olympic champions would struggle with felt incredible—
…if only Guy wasn't constantly lapping him.
…
As the sky grew darker, Genma finally collapsed onto the ground, panting heavily. He wiped the sweat from his forehead while catching his breath.
Meanwhile, Guy kept running with the exact same rhythm as when he'd started.
Not long after, the schoolyard was illuminated by lanterns and streetlights.
Quite unexpectedly, Shiranui Genma saw a group of students walking out from a quiet corner of the academy, chatting and laughing in small groups.
These students varied in age—some looked to be eleven or twelve, while others seemed about the same age as him.
"That's…" Genma's eyes narrowed as he spotted a somewhat familiar figure among them.
Silver hair. Black facemask. Both hands shoved in his pockets, radiating a lazy, indifferent air…
Hatake Fifty-Fifty!
No—
Hatake Kakashi!
Genma had only been in the same class as Kakashi for half a year when he first enrolled, so they weren't familiar. Still, thanks to his memories from his past life, he recognized him immediately.
What's going on here?
Just as Genma was puzzling over it, a voice came from nearby:
"That's Class 6-1. They just got dismissed."
Hearing the voice, Genma turned his head and, sure enough, it was Guy.
Still balanced upside down, Guy looked over at him.
"Genma, why are you here?"
"…"
Genma was silent for a moment.
"You didn't notice me earlier?"
Guy blinked, then suddenly exclaimed in surprise:
"There was someone else running laps on their hands just now—was that you?!"
"Should be." Genma wiped sweat from his brow again.
He asked, "Does Class 6-1 always get out this late? I never knew that."
With his inverted posture, Guy's nod looked more like a head shake.
"Class 6-1 is mostly full of advanced students. Uchiha Shisui and Hatake Kakashi are both in that class. Their dismissal times aren't fixed—sometimes they get out really late." (Note)
Then Guy grinned, a flash of bright teeth gleaming.
"Until now, I was probably the only one in our class who knew about it. But now there's one more."
Genma chuckled.
"Guess you could say my very first day of working hard already brought me a little reward."
"When are you heading home, Guy?" he asked again.
"Probably in another half hour," Guy said after thinking a moment.
Genma nodded.
"Then I'll go back first. I'll keep at it after school tomorrow."
Hearing this, Guy suddenly stretched out a hand, his eyes blazing with passion.
"What?" Genma asked, puzzled.
"A handshake to seal our youthful vow!"
"…"
In the end, Genma still met his palm.
Smack!
…
Back home, Genma drank several cups of water, then fetched his piggy bank. Smashing it to pieces on the floor, he carefully gathered the bills and coins, counting them one by one.
Before long—
Looking at the small stacks of cash and the pile of coins laid out on the ground, Genma frowned.
"Two thousand, six hundred and fifty-five ryō."
Note:
If I don't write footnotes, someone always complains—so here's one… The manga and official databooks never specify Shisui's exact age, so this setup doesn't contradict canon.
If we follow one of the anime's claims that Shisui was Uchiha Kagami's son (episode 578, timestamp 10:20, Pig Pig Subs), and Kagami died young (Databook Jin no Sho, p. 208, Kagami died at 25), then Shisui should be nearly 30 at this point—making him a greasy middle-aged man at the time of the clan massacre. Clearly that doesn't add up.
Based on his appearance in the anime, Shisui seems only a few years older than Itachi, but exactly how many isn't stated. And since that portion is anime-original, not part of Naruto's 700-chapter main canon, it doesn't conflict with this story's setting at all.
Any settings here that differ from canon, I'll always note separately. If I don't point it out, that means it doesn't contradict canon. So if you want to challenge the setting, please check the manga or official databooks for evidence first.