The weight of the Third Hokage's gaze was not a physical thing, yet Ryota felt it as a distinct pressure against his skin—like a static charge building before a lightning strike.
He sat in a small, nondescript office within the Academy's administrative wing, away from the bustling hallways where students were currently heading to their afternoon lectures. Across from him, Sarutobi Hiruzen sat behind a desk of polished cedar, smoking a pipe that filled the room with the earthy, bittersweet scent of tobacco.
Ryota didn't fidget. He didn't look at the floor in a show of false humility, nor did he stare defiantly. He simply existed in the space, his posture a masterpiece of relaxed efficiency. Internally, his [Hyper-Cognition] was working at 100% capacity. He was analyzing the way the smoke curled around the Hokage's hat, the subtle rhythm of the old man's breathing, and the presence of two ANBU operatives hidden in the ceiling's blind spots.
"You've caused quite a stir, Ryota-kun," the Sandaime said, his voice a gravelly rumble. "Iruka tells me your grasp of history is... unconventional. And the hospital report on a certain twelve-year-old student mentions a 'nerve-shock' that shouldn't be possible for a boy who has only been in the Academy for a few weeks."
Ryota tilted his head slightly. "Strength is often a mask for inefficiency, Hokage-sama. I simply removed the mask."
The Hokage took a long pull from his pipe, his eyes narrowing. "And how does a civilian orphan with no clan library and no teacher learn to 'remove the mask' with such surgical precision?"
Ryota had anticipated this question the moment he stepped into the Academy. He had prepared a dozen lies, but for a man like Sarutobi, the truth—carefully curated—was far more effective.
"The library is my teacher," Ryota replied, his tone melodic and steady. "He who understands the anatomy of a leaf can understand the anatomy of a tree. I spent my early years observing the way the shinobi in the market move—how they carry their weight, how their chakra flickers when they are tired. I merely applied logic to my observations."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[TRAIT DETECTED: DECEPTION MASK (TIER 1)]
[EFFECT: HEART RATE AND PUPIL DILATION ARE MANUALLY SUPPRESSED DURING STRESSFUL SOCIAL INTERACTIONS.]
He felt the System "Work" with him, chilling his blood and stabilizing his pulse. To the Hokage, Ryota looked like a generational prodigy—perhaps a more grounded version of Itachi Uchiha.
"Logic," Sarutobi repeated, a ghost of a smile appearing on his face. "A dangerous tool in the hands of a child. Tell me, Ryota-kun, what is your goal? Why do you push yourself with such... desperation? I can see the exhaustion in your marrow."
Ryota didn't hesitate. He leaned forward, his dark eyes reflecting the fire of the Hokage's pipe. "Because the world is a design that is currently falling apart, Hokage-sama. I don't want to be a piece on the board. I want to be the one who ensures the board doesn't break."
The Hokage's eyes flashed—a momentary glimpse of the "God of Shinobi" that once commanded the battlefield. But the moment passed, replaced by the weary grandfather. "Go back to your class, Ryota. But remember: a design that lacks a heart is merely a machine. And machines eventually rust."
The Training Ground: Refinement and Resentment
As Ryota left the office and walked toward the training grounds, he let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The encounter had cost him significant mental energy.
[TRIAL COMPLETE: THE SHADOW'S GAZE]
[REWARD: TRAIT POINTS +50. ALL-PURPOSE PROGRESS: 2%.]
[BONUS: REFINED CHAKRA SENSITIVITY (RANK: BASIC)]
He found Naruto and Hinata waiting for him near the edge of the woods. Naruto was trying to stand on one leg atop a narrow wooden post, failing miserably, while Hinata was practicing her hand signs with a focus that made Ryota proud.
"Ryota! You're back!" Naruto yelled, tumbling off the post. "What did the Old Man say? Was it about the 'poke-thing'? Is he gonna ban it because it's too cool?"
"Hardly, Naruto," Ryota said, walking over and helping the blonde boy up. "He was just curious about my 'design.' But forget about that. We have work to do. Hinata, your Tiger sign is a fraction of a centimeter too high. It's causing your chakra to pool in your wrists rather than flowing to your fingertips."
Hinata blushed but immediately corrected her stance. "L-like this, Ryota-kun?"
"Perfect," Ryota said. He turned to Naruto. "And you... your problem isn't a lack of talent. It's a lack of structure. Your chakra is like a flood; we need to build a dam."
For the next four hours, Ryota became the architect of their growth. He didn't give them standard Academy drills. He used his [Hyper-Cognition] to analyze their specific biological needs.
For Naruto, he prescribed "Stillness Drills"—making the boy sit perfectly still while Ryota placed small, vibrating chakra pulses against Naruto's stomach, forcing the boy to manually stabilize the Nine-Tails' chaotic influence without even knowing it. For Hinata, he focused on "Confidence Conditioning," forcing her to strike his palms while he used his [Total Cellular Control] to absorb the impact, teaching her that her power was not something to be feared.
By the time the moon began to rise, the two were exhausted, but their chakra signatures felt sharper, cleaner.
"You guys go ahead," Ryota said, his own body screaming for rest. "I need to finish my own 'Work'."
As they left, Ryota walked deeper into the forest. He needed to push his [Refined Physique] to the next level. He found a large boulder, easily five times his weight, and sat before it.
[NEW TRIAL: THE GRAVITY OF WILL]
[OBJECTIVE: LIFT THE BOULDER USING ONLY CHAKRA-ENHANCED PHYSICALITY.]
[WORK REQUIRED: MANUALLY STIMULATE THE PITUITARY GLAND TO RELEASE GROWTH HORMONES WHILE REINFORCING SKELETAL STRUCTURE WITH YIN CHAKRA.]
[DANGER: BONE FRACTURE PROBABILITY - 45%.]
I didn't come to this world to be 'Average', Ryota thought. He placed his small hands against the cold stone. He began to hum—a low, guttural sound that resonated with the stone.
He visualized his skeleton not as bone, but as reinforced steel. He poured his chakra into his legs, feeling the muscle fibers stretch to their absolute limit. He was "hacking" his body, forcing it to adapt to a stress it wasn't meant to handle for years.
The boulder groaned.
Ryota's teeth ground together, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth. His vision blurred as his brain struggled to manage the massive influx of sensory data.
Higher... he commanded.
The stone lifted an inch. Then two.
Suddenly, the air behind him grew cold. The [Refined Chakra Sensitivity] he had just earned shrieked a warning. He didn't drop the boulder; he calculated the risk and decided to use the momentum.
Ryota spun, using the weight of the boulder to swing his entire body around, dropping the massive stone exactly where a shadow had been standing a second before.
CRACK.
The ground shattered under the impact.
Standing on a nearby tree branch, a man with a bandage over his right eye and a cold, calculating expression looked down at Ryota. He held a cane in one hand, but his posture suggested a predator ready to strike.
Danzo Shimura.
"A civilian with the strength of a Genin and the mind of a strategist," Danzo said, his voice as dry as parchment. "The Sandaime is too soft. He sees a spark and calls it 'Fire'. I see a weapon that hasn't been sharpened."
Ryota stood amidst the dust of the shattered ground, his chest heaving, his arms trembling from the exertion. He looked up at the leader of Root, and for the first time since his transmigration, he felt a genuine thrill of danger.
"I am not a weapon, Danzo-sama," Ryota said, wiping the blood from his chin. "I am the one who designs them. And I am currently under the protection of the Hokage. Are you here to challenge his 'Design'?"
Danzo's single eye narrowed. "Protection is a temporary state. Utility is permanent. You have a choice, Ryota. You can stay in the light and remain a curious anomaly... or you can enter the darkness and become the shadow that rules it."
Danzo raised his cane, and suddenly, four Root agents appeared from the trees, their masks gleaming in the moonlight. They didn't move to attack, but their intent was clear: this wasn't an invitation. It was a kidnapping disguised as an opportunity.
Ryota looked at the agents, then back at Danzo. He felt the System pulse in his mind.
[URGENT TRIAL: THE SHADOW'S GAMBIT]
[OBJECTIVE: ESCAPE OR NEUTRALIZE THE ROOT EXTRACTION TEAM WITHOUT REVEALING YOUR FULL POTENTIAL TO DANZO.]
[SUCCESS REWARD: TRAIT - PHANTOM BODY (RANK: APEX).]
[FAILURE: ENROLLMENT IN ROOT. WIPE OF EMOTIONAL SUBSTRATE.]
Bold, Ryota thought, a dark, Aizen-like smirk finally breaking across his face. You think you've caught a tiger in a cage, Danzo. But you've forgotten to check if the cage is made of the same metal I've already learned to melt.
"I choose a third option," Ryota said, his voice dropping to a whisper.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, unremarkable glass sphere—something he had spent the last three nights 'Working' on using his [Total Cellular Control] to compress highly volatile chakra into a physical shell.
"I choose to show you why you should have stayed in the shadows," Ryota said.
He crushed the sphere.
A blinding flash of white light consumed the forest, followed by a roar that shook the very foundations of the Academy. But as the smoke cleared, Danzo didn't find a corpse or a captured boy.
He found a single, charred piece of paper sitting in the center of the crater.
On it, in perfect, elegant calligraphy, were four words:
"Checkmate is only the beginning."
But as Danzo looked up, he realized something that chilled even his cold heart. Ryota hadn't just escaped.
He had taken something from Danzo's belt during the flash. Something that Danzo had spent years trying to hide.
Ryota was gone. And the secret of the Uchiha massacre was now in the hands of a six-year-old civilian