If I had to describe the Academy in one word, it would most definitely be 'boring.' The history lessons were interesting, sure, but I could easily look up that information by sending a Shadow Clone to the Academy library.
Ninjutsu, on the other hand, was locked away in the Hokage building, and permission to enter was granted only rarely. Just like Itachi said, I excelled too much.
Not even two months in, my parents and I were sitting before the Academy headmaster and the Hokage. I had already been informed that the higher-ups wanted me to take the accelerated course and graduate in a single semester.
Only four months at the Academy, not bad if I do say so myself. It would also mean I would become a ninja before the new year.
"What is this all about, headmaster? Hokage-sama? Ryuu told us he was chosen for some special program, but what does it mean?" my dad asked.
He knew nothing about ninja life, so such a question was expected. I just sat there quietly, watching. What would my parents decide? Would they even let me graduate early? I refocused as the Hokage began to speak.
"Ryuuzaki-kun has shown immense talent, talent on par with that of our late Fourth Hokage, in fact. It seems he was being too humble when explaining things to you." Hiruzen, said, slightly smiling,
Talent on the level of Minato? In my dreams, maybe. I just had a massive head start and knowledge that nobody else had. I was quite talented, sure, but not to that extent.
"We propose early graduation for Ryuuzaki, at the end of this semester-" the headmaster began to explain but was interrupted by my mom.
"What? Isn't that too early? He can't possibly be ready!" She was clearly startled and shook more than a little bit.
"I personally evaluated his abilities, Haruno-san. He is as strong as a newly promoted chuunin," the headmaster continued, trying to ease my mother's worries. My dad looked less scared than my mom, but still confused.
"While he is indeed training almost every day, it's still hard to believe, headmaster," he said, understandably skeptical.
"Let me prove I'm ready then, Dad," I said, speaking for the first time during this meeting. But before I could put my idea forward, Hiruzen spoke up.
"Excellent point. We shall have Ryuuzaki-kun fight one of our chuunin in an exhibition match. Should he perform to your liking, he shall be allowed to graduate," said Hiruzen, excited to see me fight for real.
"Why did I even say anything? This is too troublesome," I sighed. This was not what I meant at all, but if it gets me out of the Academy, I'm game.
The training ground was quiet, too quiet. From my experience, there should at least be some activity around: a sound from an adjacent training ground, a ninja running nearby, something.
I stood across from one of my academy instructors, who was stretching and preparing for an all-out fight. Hiruzen, the headmaster, and my parents stood to the side, on the edge of the Academy training ground.
"Ryuu is just a kid. Is this really a good idea, Hokage-sama?" my dad asked, clearly against a full-contact spar with a trained soldier. Honestly, I didn't blame him.
"Watch closely. There is no danger. No harm shall come to your son," Hiruzen replied, confident in my ability to fight off a seasoned ninja. I finished my stretches, as did my opponent. We looked at each other and nodded.
"Are you both ready?" The headmaster's voice echoed through the training ground.
"Fight until submission or retirement. Try to avoid permanent damage." He laid out the basic rules, although, to be honest, there really were no rules.
"You shall begin as this stone touches the ground," he said, holding a small pebble in his hand.
"Ready yourselves!" He then threw the stone into the air.
I locked eyes with my opponent, immediately forcing my chakra into his system. It was a subtle genjutsu, so subtle, in fact, that even Itachi did not notice it until he activated his Sharingan during our testing.
When the stone hit the ground, the chuunin charged at me. I was content to let him take the offensive; I had already won.
This genjutsu altered the perception of my target. From his point of view, I was now five centimeters to the left, and this discrepancy would progressively worsen.
As we clashed, I was able to take hold of his arm and quickly formed three hand seals with my free hand while he attempted to kick my head.
"Shiden!" A current of violent purple electricity surged around me, one bolt hitting my opponent square in the chest and blasting him back several meters. As he landed, his torso still smoking from the attack, he flung a smoke bomb beneath himself, hoping for a brief respite.
That was a massive mistake. I strengthened the genjutsu, making myself appear a full fifty centimeters to the left of my true location.
"Firy Style: Flame Bullet!" A stream of scorching flame raced toward my general location. Not wanting to waste chakra, I sidestepped just enough to avoid the heat wave accompanying the jutsu. With the help of my haki, I could see him clearly.
It was time to showcase one of my long-range jutsu. Though not fully complete and lacking in offensive power, it might be perfect for this fight. I stretched out my arm, focusing my chakra between my thumb, index, and middle finger, violently spinning it.
A small bluish sphere formed, about the size of a golf ball, contained within a layer of chakra.
"Rasengan, fly!" At my command, the sphere sped toward the unsuspecting chuunin. It made a loud buzzing sound as it flew and struck him head-on.
He must've thought it had missed due to the genjutsu. The impact was accompanied by a loud thud, reminiscent of someone being hit hard in the solar plexus, and a barely conscious body was flung out of the smoke.
He flew a solid twenty meters before landing roughly on his back, likely with badly bruised or broken ribs.
I was starting to run low on chakra; my reserves were at about fifty percent capacity.
"I really need more endurance training," I muttered to myself, but others heard me clearly.
"He might need medical attention, Hokage-sama. That last attack may have shattered a rib or two," I quickly added, hoping he wouldn't ask too many questions.
Revealing my unfinished Rasengan was calculated; it would demonstrate my interest in legendary jutsu and my ability to replicate them, even if not completely. Securing Hiruzen's approval could open doors for me to learn even more things.
Next step: finish the complete Rasengan training and then add lightning to it. Unfortunately, I still lacked the chakra reserves to use it effectively, and depleting nearly ninety percent of my chakra for a single melee-range jutsu was a horrible idea.
"It seems Ryuuzaki-kun was holding back during academy classes," Hiruzen chuckled, looking quite pleased, something I could easily notice even without my haki still active.
I looked towards him and my parents. I couldn't quite place the mix of emotions on their faces, pride, apprehension, fear, and awe. At least they seemed impressed enough not to protest, at least for now.
"There was no reason to show off at the academy, Hokage-sama. I'd rather improve my fighting style than demolish everyone. It wouldn't benefit anyone, least of all myself." I explained.
And I did not lie, by limiting my strength and speed to levels closer to my classmates, I could actually improve my taijutsu, especially when fighting Neji, who was quite good even as a child.
Hiruzen looked even more pleased, a glint appearing in his eyes.
"And that last jutsu you used... it was based on the Rasengan. I have never seen Minato use it in quite the same way; it's typically a melee-range jutsu. He was never able to make it fly." His analysis was spot on, as expected of the professor.
"That's right, Hokage-sama. I've heard legends about the menace Lord Fourth was on the battlefield and tried to recreate one of his trademark jutsu. Unfortunately, my chakra capacity prevents me from using it effectively, so I had to improvise," I explained.
"The first jutsu I used is also my own creation. I noticed there are no defensive lightning jutsu, at least to my knowledge. I believed it would take my opponent by surprise; it was even designed with one-handed hand seals in mind." This was, of course, a lie.
This jutsu would actually be created around twelve years in the future by Kakashi to replace his Raikiri.
Hiruzen looked my way, repeating the hand signs he had seen me use. A brilliant flash of purple lightning surged around his arm, almost like a blade, though it disappeared just as quickly.
"I see; it is quite easy to use, albeit heavy on chakra consumption. However, forming an attack out of it as you did-" He paused for a moment, trying again. This time the effect was exactly what I had showcased.
"To figure out a jutsu you've seen once, a derived jutsu in fact. That is beyond impressive, Hokage-sama." His skill in analysis was borderline inhumane.
"It is a trick one picks up after being a ninja for over sixty years, Ryuuzaki-kun. But tell me, what does Raikiri mean to you?" He probed further. Kakashi's jutsu was nowhere near as famous as the Rasengan, and information on it was scarce at best.
"I've only heard of a man who cut a lightning bolt in half. Since lightning is one of my primary elements, I tried to figure out how to do it too. Unfortunately, just like the Rasengan, it consumes my chakra reserves quickly. Fortunately, the jutsu is quite malleable, so it's not hard to form it in different ways, such as the flickering armor I used." I explained quickly.
I also had to conciously make the jutsu weaker, as full powered Shiden would undoubtedly kill the chuunin.
Before we could continue our admittedly enlightening discussion about jutsu, we were interrupted by my dad.
"I'm sorry for interrupting, but what does all of that mean, Ryuu, Hokage-sama? What even happened in that fight?" Hiruzen looked at me and motioned toward my family, apparently, he wanted me to explain the battle to them.
I took a deep breath and started what I hoped would be a civilian-friendly explanation.
"As the match started, I took advantage of the situation and cast a small perception-altering genjutsu. From his point of view, I appeared a few centimeters to the left of my true location. I also made sure to compensate for it during our first clash before blasting him with an unexpected ninjutsu strike. He threw down a smoke bomb to create some cover to recuperate and use his own jutsu, but his limited vision also allowed me to strengthen the genjutsu. Now, he would see everything around him shifted a full fifty centimeters to the left, a major change in perspective. This allowed me to hit him with the next attack, as he believed he had successfully dodged it. To be honest, I won the moment he didn't notice the genjutsu." This explanation helped them understand a bit more.
I couldn't really delve into the finer details of my strategy, but it gave them a glimpse into my thought process.
Hiruzen smiled widely. "Excellent surface-level explanation, Ryuuzaki-kun. The genjutsu you used is one of your creations too, is that right?"
"Correct again, Hokage-sama. Since there is no jutsu library available, I decided to create my own simple genjutsu. I call it 'Sensory Input Confusion,' and it's activated by simple eye contact, much like the ocular genjutsu of the Sharingan.
It confuses the senses of the target. Initially, it changes their perspective in any direction I choose by five centimeters. I can then let it build up slowly or increase the confusion in a single go, although increasing it too quickly risks discovery." I explained the jutsu. It was simple, but after a few taijutsu exchanges, it ramped up enough to seriously hinder my opponent.
I was actually confused about the use of genjutsu in this world; there were very few that I remembered, and almost all of them were based on the Sharingan, a huge waste, in my opinion.
Hiruzen nodded in approval. "You certainly think about genjutsu differently than most practitioners of the art. Most try to completely incapacitate their opponents, but you use it to hinder the enemy, making them more susceptible to everything you do. It's almost like looking at my sensei again." He finished the sentence with a look of nostalgia on his face.
He was referring to Tobirama, I was pretty sure he was the one who created the Bringer of Darkness genjutsu, something more powerful but similar in design to my Sensory Input Confusion.
"I remind you of Lord Second?" I asked, taken aback by his bluntness. That couldn't be good. If he sees Tobirama in me, so will Danzo.
"You are just as brilliant a jutsu creator as he was; maybe you will become even greater." His voice was remorseful; he truly missed his sensei. It was no act. At least, I believed it wasn't.
Even my haki did not catch any lies. Was I too paranoid? No, it's better to be safe than sorry. I wasn't prepared to let anyone get too close to me, not yet.
Even Itachi was more of an acquaintance than a true friend. We were close, sharing our dreams with each other, but inside, we were both loners, chronically pushing everyone away. It hurts less to be alone if you had nobody in the first place. I knew that from experience.
I truly regretted being so distant from my family here, but I couldn't force myself to form close bonds. There was an invisible wall in my mind, stopping any feelings of love from entering my mindscape's inner sanctum.
My aloofness must have reminded him of Tobirama, although I thought my mindset was more similar to Kakashi's, the one left with nobody, even though many would gladly fill the void.
I had to stop thinking about this; there was progress to achieve.
Much less apprehensive after the battle, my parents signed the form needed for my early graduation, and I rejoiced. Finally, no more sitting in class, instead, there would be action, training, and adventure.
Hopefully, it would be training that would occupy most of my time. The next few months would need to be used wisely, primarily to expand my chakra supply. That meant endurance training and additional physical training on top of that.
Itachi would have a blast with this; hopefully, I would come out with injuries only to my ego. I would have to make the most of the remaining academy time and raid the academy library for more history and basic information; I couldn't rely on my foreknowledge forever.
Thus, based on today's events, my ninja academy any% speedrun is complete.
I walked home humming a melody, one of the songs that kept me sane before my transmigration. It was already late, and I was done with training, having to take it easy because of the exhibition match earlier that day. As I arrived home, I spotted little Sakura still awake.
"This is new; she is always asleep before Mom and Dad," I thought.
"What's the matter, Sakura? Can't sleep?" I asked. She jumped up and let out a quiet yelp, looking startled.
"I was waiting for Big Brother. Mom said you would be a ninja soon. I want to spend more time with you before you are away all the time," she explained, looking sad.
It seemed Mom thought I would disappear on a border patrol mission until I retired. I chuckled.
"I won't just leave forever, but sure, we can play tomorrow. But now it's time to sleep." I took her hand and led her to her room.
"Mommy sings a lullaby," she mumbled as I helped her into bed. It was a shame I didn't really know any.
"I don't know any, but I can try to sing something," I said. There were many songs I remembered, some of them ballads, maybe that could work.
I sat on the bed and began singing, using chakra to enhance my voice.
It's hard to say that I'm back on a straight line
You see my path is in fact just a fault line
It's in my blood, it's in my lungs and it won't die
I fight these words, I bite my tongue so I don't lie
Though it's me to blame
There is no more shame in me, in me
I just feel the same
Immune to all this pain and the scars don't write a song for me at all
I am a stone, unaffected
Rain hell down onto me
Flesh and bone, unaffected
Your fool I will not be
I am a stone, unaffected
Rain hell down onto me
Flesh and bone, unaffected
Your fool I will not be
Even before I finished the chorus, she was sound asleep. Who knew that one of my favorite ballads could feel like a lullaby to my little sister? I carefully stood up and left, closing her door behind me. I needed some sleep too.
The remaining two months at the academy were just as uneventful as the first two. The only interesting thing was Rock Lee. He was still a small kid, unable to perform ninjutsu or genjutsu, and he had yet to meet Gai.
He was becoming seriously depressed, constantly put down even by other teachers. We met on the academy training ground after school plenty of times, but it was shortly after news of my early graduation spread that he approached me.
"Is it true? Are you leaving us so soon?" he asked, desperation evident in his voice.
"How can I prove myself if you graduate?" He was getting truly desperate, feeling the pressure to be more like me, convinced he had to beat me to prove himself.
"By doing your best, Lee. Look," I said, shifting my stance and punching the wooden target. With a loud crack, my fist buried deep into the wood, almost to my wrist.
"You can't use your chakra to form ninjutsu outwardly, but that doesn't mean you can't reinforce yourself with it. Your chakra coils are thin and undeveloped, but they still carry chakra within them." I said, trying to give him some hope.
I looked into his eyes and saw a glimmer of hope, even if just a little.
"Hone your body; strengthen your will," I continued, channeling armament into my arm and letting it flow through my arm.
"Willpower is your greatest weapon. Without it, even a genius falls." I finished and punched the dummy again. This time, my fist created a small dent in the wood, but the back side of the dummy exploded into splinters, completely destroyed.
"Channel your will into every strike. Never stop until you fall to the ground." I finished my improvised motivational speech. Hopefully he would do better from now on.
I really wanted to motivate him a bit. My presence may have made his academy experience even harder.
"You have the potential to be great. Talent may get you to your full potential faster, but a genius is still nothing without hard work and the will to never stop," I explained, wondering what kind of powerhouse Lee could become if he mastered just one type of Haki.
Itachi was already decent with the basics of armament and observation, so I figured Lee should be able to develop it on his own.
"I will still be here for almost two months, Lee. I can help you get started if you want." Tears welled up in his eyes. I may have laid it on a bit thick, but I genuinely wanted to help him.
"Thank you, Ryuuzaki-kun! As expected from my rival!" he said excitedly.
"Don't thank me. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be cursing me until your dying breath," I replied with a smirk.
I wasn't lying; the training to awaken armament was an arduous process that tested your will, mettle, strength, and endurance, both mental and physical. If Lee could get through this, there would be very few people who would be able to stand up to him.
I almost felt sorry for Gaara already; he would not be prepared in the slightest.