I couldn't stop smiling.
"First day in the Naruto world..."
"And I've already learned a new jutsu."
For the next few days, I focused on one thing above everything else.
Building my body.
Having the Six Eyes and excellent chakra control was one thing, but I wasn't going to make the stupid mistake of relying entirely on my abilities.
I was still six years old.
My body was small.
My muscles were undeveloped.
And no matter how talented I might be, there was a limit to what this body could physically handle.
So I trained.
Push-ups.
Squats.
Sit-ups.
Running.
Stretching.
Every day, I pushed myself a little further.
I wasn't trying to turn myself into some muscle-bound monster.
I simply wanted a physical foundation strong enough to support everything I planned to learn.
At the same time, I had my Shadow Clone working on chakra control.
My first major goal was water walking.
Unlike walking on walls, water walking required constantly adjusting the amount of chakra being released through the feet.
Too little...
I'd sink.
Too much...
I'd be thrown off balance.
So I sent my clone to a secluded river and had it practice.
Trial and error.
Again.
And again.
And again.
At first, it failed miserably.
The clone would step onto the surface—
Splash!
Straight into the water.
It would climb out.
Try again.
Splash!
Again.
And again.
But eventually...
It stopped falling.
My Six Eyes made the process even easier once the clone understood what it was supposed to feel for.
The moment the chakra stabilized beneath its feet, everything clicked.
It walked across the surface.
One step.
Then another.
Then another.
When the clone finally dispersed, the memories rushed into my mind.
I winced as the familiar headache appeared.
But this time, it wasn't nearly as bad.
I'd already learned how to handle the information.
And just like that...
I could walk on water too.
By the end of those few days, I had a basic understanding of chakra control, wall walking, water walking, Shadow Clones, and the fundamentals of several techniques I'd observed.
I wasn't a master.
Far from it.
But for someone who had only been in this world for a few days...
I was progressing frighteningly quickly.
Then—
The day finally arrived.
The day I would officially enter the Konoha Shinobi Academy.
I stood in front of the mirror that morning.
Grey hair.
Bright blue eyes.
Black rectangular sunglasses.
I adjusted my clothes and stared at my reflection.
For a moment, I simply stood there.
This is it.
Today, I would meet the people I'd only ever known as fictional characters.
Naruto Uzumaki.
Sasuke Uchiha.
Sakura Haruno.
Shikamaru.
Choji.
Kiba.
Hinata.
All of them.
They were no longer characters on a screen.
They were real.
I adjusted my sunglasses.
A small grin appeared on my face.
"Alright..."
I grabbed my bag.
"Let's go to the Academy."
"Tch..."
I continued walking toward the Academy, my hands tucked into my pockets.
"If I had just observed someone walking in the water, I would've probably learned it instantly."
I sighed.
"But meh..."
I shrugged.
"I guess trial and error did the job."
There was no point complaining about it.
If anything, the process had taught me something important.
The Six Eyes could let me understand techniques at an absurd speed, but understanding something and actually developing the ability to perform it were still two different things.
I needed experience.
I needed practice.
And more importantly...
I needed to understand exactly what my new abilities could and couldn't do.
I adjusted my sunglasses as the Academy came into view.
The closer I got, the more familiar faces I began noticing.
Students.
Parents.
A few shinobi.
And somewhere among all of them...
The future generation of Konoha.
I couldn't help but grin.
"This should be interesting."
Finally, I reached the Academy.
I entered the classroom and took an empty seat among the other students.
There were quite a few of us.
Some were talking excitedly with their friends, while others were looking around nervously.
I kept quiet.
For now, I was more interested in observing everyone.
Then the doors opened.
An elderly man entered the room.
The Third Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi.
I had seen him countless times in the anime.
But seeing him in person was...
Different.
He stepped before us and began speaking.
"Young shinobi..."
He talked about the village.
About protecting one's comrades.
About how every person in Konoha was connected.
And then came the famous speech.
The Will of Cra-
Ahem.
The Will of Fire speech.
I listened quietly as Hiruzen spoke about the importance of passing the will of the previous generation to the next.
Honestly, it was a little surreal.
I'm actually sitting here listening to Hiruzen give his Will of Fire speech.
Eventually, his speech began coming to an end.
"Remember..."
Hiruzen smiled warmly.
"The village is your home. Protect it, cherish it, and carry the Will of Fire within you."
He paused.
His eyes slowly moved across the classroom.
Then—
They stopped.
On me.
Our eyes met.
For the briefest fraction of a second...
His expression changed.
His eyes widened.
Microscopically.
It was so subtle that no ordinary person would've noticed.
But I did.
My Six Eyes caught it instantly.
Then just as quickly—
It was gone.
Hiruzen's expression returned to normal.
A gentle smile appeared on his face.
"Well then, I believe that concludes our little introduction."
He turned around and walked toward the door.
I continued staring at him.
He hadn't said anything.
Hadn't even acknowledged me.
But I knew what I'd seen.
What?
I frowned.
Did he notice something?
I looked down at my hands.
Then toward the door through which Hiruzen had disappeared.
"What the hell was that?"
My mind began racing.
He couldn't possibly know about the Six Eyes.
Could he?
I had only awakened them a few days ago.
I hadn't used them openly.
I'd worn sunglasses everywhere.
I hadn't performed any jutsu in front of anyone.
So...
Why did the Third Hokage react like that?
I leaned back in my chair.
"...What?"
For the first time since arriving in this world...
I felt like someone was watching me.
We were eventually escorted toward our respective classrooms.
I walked in quietly and chose a seat at the very back.
Perfect.
From here, I could observe everyone without attracting much attention.
I adjusted my sunglasses.
Immediately, the classroom changed.
Chakra.
It was everywhere.
Every student had it.
I could see the chakra flowing through their bodies, their pathways, their reserves...
And then I noticed something.
I paused.
...Huh?
I looked at the student sitting nearby.
Then another.
Then another.
I began comparing them.
Their chakra reserves were all relatively small.
Some had slightly more than others.
But then I looked toward the front.
Sasuke Uchiha.
My eyes narrowed.
Even him?
I examined his chakra.
The amount was definitely greater than most of the other students.
As expected from an Uchiha.
But then I compared it to mine.
I froze.
"...What?"
I looked again.
Then again.
No mistake.
My chakra reserves were larger.
Not by some microscopic amount either.
They were noticeably larger.
And that wasn't even accounting for my efficiency.
The Six Eyes allowed me to use chakra with absurd precision, meaning I wasted almost nothing.
That alone would give me ridiculous stamina.
But this...
This was different.
My actual reserves are bigger than Sasuke's.
I slowly looked down at my hands.
What the hell?
I had assumed I was just some random civilian.
A nobody.
No famous clan.
No special bloodline.
Just Toshiro Takahashi.
But if I was really just a civilian...
Why were my chakra reserves this large?
My eyes moved toward Sasuke again.
He's an Uchiha.
A clan famous for their chakra and Sharingan.
And yet...
I had more.
I looked around the classroom.
There was another thing I noticed.
My chakra wasn't simply abundant.
It was incredibly dense.
Even when I wasn't consciously controlling it, it seemed to circulate naturally through my body with almost no leakage.
I swallowed.
Could this be because of the Six Eyes?
No.
That didn't make sense.
The Six Eyes should explain my perception and efficiency.
Not why my body's total chakra reserves were so high.
I leaned back in my chair.
Then what am I?
I stared toward the front of the classroom.
For the first time, another possibility entered my mind.
Am I really just a civilian?
My expression became serious.
Maybe there was something about this body that I didn't know.
Something hidden even from me.
And suddenly...
Hiruzen's strange reaction made a little more sense.
I slowly adjusted my sunglasses.
"Interesting..."
Maybe the Third Hokage knew something about Toshiro Takahashi that I didn't.