The Hidden Demonstration
The weeks since the System's awakening had been a test of will and discipline for Uchiha Sora. His mind, now adult and perfectly aware of the seven-year countdown, drove a training regimen that his four-year-old body could barely sustain. He had optimized his chakra meditation and physical exercises to the point of near collapse, achieving the milestone of reaching Level 1 and, with it, Basic Chakra Control.
However, this exponential progress had become his greatest risk. He couldn't keep pretending to be a bored civilian child. His body was now too efficient, and his chakra reserve of 50/1000 was already noticeable even to a Chūnin like his father, Kenshin.
If they waited until the standard age of six for Sora to enter the Academy, his skill level would be so implausible that the Uchiha Clan (Fugaku's faction) or the feared Root (Danzo's) would become intrusively interested in him. The only solution was to force their hand.
One afternoon, while helping his mother, Hitomi, sort through some elementary genjutsu scrolls in the living room, Sora waited for the exact moment Kenshin returned from his guard shift at the compound's south wall.
"Mom, Dad," Sora called, using a clear voice without the lisp he had practiced for his facade. He walked over to Hitomi, who was reviewing a sealing scroll.
Sora did not opt to lift objects or make a loud noise. His plan was subtle and scientific. He placed his two small hands on the scroll, concentrating. Using Basic Chakra Control, he channeled his energy into his palms, focusing it subtly on chakra manifestation.
His small hands were surrounded by a faint blue energy.
The silence in the room was absolute.
Hitomi was the first to react. She dropped the scrolls she was holding and knelt, grasping Sora by the shoulders with a mixture of horror and amazement.
"Sora!" Her voice trembled.
Kenshin, hardened by years of shinobi service, reacted pragmatically. His face turned grim, immediately understanding the implications of what he had just witnessed.
"Hitomi, get a piece of chakra paper, quickly," Kenshin ordered.
Fire and Lightning: The Double Threat
Kenshin, with trembling hands, handed the chakra paper to Sora.
"Son, you have to concentrate. Do the same thing you did with the scroll, but focus on the sensation. Show us if you can make the heat feel different."
Sora nodded. His INT (28) allowed him to process the instruction in milliseconds. Fire was already confirmed; after all, it was the essence of the Uchiha.
He channeled his energy, focusing on speed and friction. The paper manifested with two simultaneous results:
It completely burned up (Fire Release, the expected Uchiha element).
A dry crackling was felt, and the paper fibers visibly wrinkled with an electrifying stiffness (Lightning Release, the unexpected and dangerous affinity).
Kenshin and Hitomi gasped. Kenshin picked up the paper, his serious Chūnin expression giving way to pure astonishment.
"Fire Release. And... Lightning," Kenshin muttered. He stood up and walked a few steps, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "Chakra control for affinities at age four, and two natures at that! An Uchiha with such a strong Lightning affinity at this age!"
"But Kenshin, the Academy... the enrollment..." Hitomi stammered, her eyes full of fear. "If he's already this good, the Uchiha Clan will set their sights on him."
"Precisely. If we keep him at home, and he continues to progress at this speed, the awakening of his Sharingan, when it happens, will be too much for them to ignore. They will consider him an asset for the Clan's civil war," Kenshin said, pounding his fist on the table. "Or worse, they'll see him as an unstable element."
The Survival Calculation
Kenshin sat down next to his wife, his voice low and heavy with the seriousness of duty.
"The Academy starts in one month. The standard age is six, and children who unlock their chakra earlier enter at five or, exceptionally, at six. If Sora enters now, at four years old, he will go with the five and six-year-olds who also have their chakra unlocked."
"He'll be the smallest in the class."
"And that is our only advantage, Hitomi. If we put him in now, his enormous ability will be justified as 'extreme precocity, but within the limits of a Clan genius.' If we wait two years, he will be a monster that can only be explained by... unauthorized methods."
Kenshin turned to his son. Sora, who was sitting on the futon, looked at his father.
"Sora. This is no longer a child's game. The shinobi path is dangerous."
Sora nodded, his face serious. "I want to go to the Academy, Dad. I need to learn the Fire jutsu."
The determination in Sora's voice, though calculated, was genuine. He wanted that knowledge and the excuse to train. Kenshin's argument was impeccable: early entry justified advanced control. The slowness of the Academy would become the perfect alibi for the rapid progress of his System.
Hitomi sighed, exhausted by the invisible burden that surrounded her son. "Alright, Kenshin. Tomorrow I'll go speak with the Matriarch to expedite the paperwork. He will go. Let the Third Hokage supervise him before the Council does."
Sora's plan had worked. He had an alibi, a path, and an immediate goal. The time he had bought in the Academy was vital.
Kenshin approached his son and placed a hand on his shoulder, with a mixture of fierce pride for his son's Uchiha potential and the sadness of knowing his childhood had ended.
"Sora, you're going to the Academy in a month with the older kids. You are an Uchiha. Show them what we're made of."
Sora nodded, his mind already planning the training regimen for the following month. With the System, that month would be worth six months of normal training.