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Evan knew perfectly well that the world of Naruto wasn't just one where bloodlines ruled — it was a world built on teacher and student lineage.
For common-born ninjas, their only real source of ninjutsu was what their teacher passed down.
Another possible path — though less certain — was earning rewards through merit, by completing missions and getting official recognition.
There might even be a chance to submit an original jutsu to the village in exchange for others, but that was still unclear.
Either way, for an ordinary ninja, getting a good teacher usually meant you had to be a genius.
Take Minato Namikaze, for example — he caught Jiraiya's eye and became his disciple.Or Sakura Haruno — a civilian ninja too.
Before she became Tsunade's student, she basically had nothing special going for her.
Team leaders didn't always teach their squad personal jutsu either.
Naruto and Sasuke? One was practically Kakashi's spiritual son, the other an Uchiha orphan — and Kakashi himself had ties to Obito.
Of course, Kakashi did teach Sakura some basics.
Besides general ninja skills, her genjutsu talent probably came from him. But he never passed down anything too flashy.
After all, the bond between a team leader and students wasn't the same as a master-disciple relationship like Jiraiya and Minato.
Outside special cases, it was more about mission guidance than deep mentorship. Whether a teacher taught jutsu or not depended entirely on their mood.
So even if the Rasengan might not suit him, Evan still decided to put it on his list.
If he could master it, it'd be his perfect calling card — a door-opener.
"When it comes to resources, the Legendary Sannin are top-tier. Orochimaru's dangerous, sure, but he's also full of possibilities."
"Tsunade… probably not taking disciples right now. But maybe I could get something out of Shizune?"
Evan admitted it — he was being a bit calculating.
But survival in this world wasn't exactly kind to idealists.
"And Jiraiya… probably off somewhere peeking at women again. Too hard to get near him."
"As a student, my best chances for connections are Tsunade — through Shizune — and Sakumo Hatake."
That was one of the reasons he chose to focus on kenjutsu — the sword techniques of Sakumo, the White Fang.
Through Kakashi, Sakumo could become an indirect influence. Through Shizune, he might reach Tsunade.
And as a backup plan — there was always the Eight Gates.
There were surely plenty of other jonin in Konoha he didn't know yet, but he had no way to reach them for now.
That's why building a "genius" image was essential.
If enough people started paying attention, maybe one of those top ninjas would take him as a student.
And even if no one did, geniuses always got special treatment. The Third Hokage would likely invest extra resources in him — especially since the Academy was directly under his supervision.
Oh, and there was always Danzō Shimura.
If things got desperate, Evan figured even being scouted by Danzō wouldn't be entirely unacceptable — though he doubted that would happen.
After sorting out his plan, Evan took a break, then started training again — shaping water balloons, trying to form the Rasengan.
Two days passed like that, split between kenjutsu drills and Rasengan practice.
Then came March 20, Year 41 of the Konoha calendar — the official start of school.
Evan slung his backpack — with the lunch his mom had packed — and headed for the Academy.
Class 1-A, Year 1.
Standing at the doorway, Evan scanned the room.
He quickly spotted a few familiar faces: Kurenai Yuhi, Shizune, Rin Nohara… and a kid with sunglasses and a toothpick between his lips.
He smiled, walked in without hesitation, and sat right beside Shizune.
Shizune blinked, about to greet him, but Evan had already offered his hand.
"Hey, I'm Evan. Nice to meet you — looking forward to studying together."
Her cheeks flushed at his bright smile. She took his hand shyly. "I'm Shizune. Nice to meet you too."
Evan released her hand quickly and slipped into easy conversation, chatting casually while glancing around at the other students.
More kids trickled in.
Soon, a boy in a tight green jumpsuit — Might Guy — appeared, full of energy as always.
Then came Kakashi — silver-haired, hands in his pockets, expression cool and distant.
One look at him, and Evan realized how much young Kakashi resembled Sasuke — that same cold, brooding aura.
The room filled up, and the bell rang.
A middle-aged man walked in and said, "I'm Niki Ryusei. Starting today, I'll be your instructor."
Just as he finished, bam — the door slammed open.
Everyone turned. Uchiha Obito stumbled in, panting like he'd run a marathon.
"S-sorry… I'm late!"
Yep. Even as a kid, Obito was consistent about one thing — being late.
Ryusei sighed. Of course he knew who Obito was. The kid had even missed the entrance ceremony.
Still, it was the first day of school, so he decided to let it slide.
"Obito, make sure it doesn't happen again."
Obito grinned in relief, scratching the back of his head. "Yes, sensei!"
"Alright then," Ryusei said. "Why don't you start us off with introductions?"
Obito blinked, then nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, sir!"
He marched to the front, chin up, chest out, confidence radiating.
Kakashi rolled his eyes a little.
Ryusei gave the format: name, favorite food, least favorite food, and your goal as a ninja.
"I'm Uchiha Obito, from the Uchiha clan! I like onigiri with woodfish flakes, and I hate natto!"
Then he flashed a grin and gave a big thumbs-up. "As for my goal… I'm gonna be Hokage, of course!"
Evan sighed inwardly.
A commoner might dream of being Hokage — but an Uchiha? That was another story.
The village leadership was filled with Tobirama Senju's old subordinates. Even Hiruzen Sarutobi kept his distance from the Uchiha.
And Danzō — the second most powerful man in Konoha — was as anti-Uchiha as they came.
In this political climate, unless the clan staged a coup, there was no chance an Uchiha could ever take the Hokage's seat.
Still, childhood dreams were harmless. No one laughed at him.
After Obito finished, other students took turns introducing themselves.
Finally, it was Evan's turn.
He walked up with a friendly smile. "I'm Evan. My favorite food is dango… and my least favorite food is also dango."
That got a few chuckles.
"My goal," he continued, "is to become a strong ninja — someone who can protect my friends, my family, and our village."
He said it simply, but with quiet conviction — and for a moment, the classroom fell respectfully silent.
"..."
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