2 The New Life in Konohagakure

The Konohagakure,

In the Hatake family's courtyard, stood two little boys distanced by around two meters of empty space between them.

Both of them were panting and holding some kind of wooden swords with their sweaty little hands, "Alright Kakashi, here I come again!"

The red-haired boy suddenly exclaimed and thrust himself forward while slashing at the other boy with his wooden sword.

The other white-haired boy, called Kakashi, took a deep breath and then swiftly parried the attack with his own sword too.

After a dozen blows and clashing sounds, it became apparent that they were evenly matched.

After managing to create some distance between them, Yoshi Uzumaki, the red-haired boy suddenly exclaimed, "Kakashi, this is enough for today. I'm going to use that trick now, so be careful."

Kakashi looked at Yoshi seriously, while concentrating hard. He was already familiar with his next move. Yoshi managed to defeat him using this move many times in the past.

Before Yoshi learned it, they were pretty evenly matched, but now Yoshi can defeat him at any given time with that move during their duels whenever he uses it, 'Today, I must counter it!'

All of a sudden, Yoshi disappeared from his original place swiftly, leaving only his shadow to be faintly seen for a second.

Suddenly, he appeared right in front of Kakashi, aiming at his chest.

But outside of his expectations, right at the last second, Kakashi quickly moved his sword and shielded his chest from the attack.

Even Kakashi himself was truly shocked by this because this never happened before.

This move is something Yoshi learned to do only recently when his chakra control reached another big breakthrough.

By sticking his chakra to the soles of his feet, he managed to raise his movement speed by multiple levels at a moment, giving him a window of opportunity to end the battle quickly before the enemy manages to react.

He got this idea from Sakumo a year ago, and with his amazing chakra control ability, he managed to grasp it not too long ago.

Sakumo was really surprised when he saw him perform it perfectly.

Apparently, this move is only something shinobi learn around the time they are high-level genins, while he was not even in the ninja academy yet.

But considering that he started training his chakra control from when he was two, and him having two different souls fused together in his body, it wasn't that much of a surprise to him.

Moreover, he was also somehow technically oriented person in his last life, so maybe this helped a little as well.

He is now four years old. His last year was spent on chakra control practicing and training with Kakashi in kenjutsu and body exercises.

He also completed both the "Walk on Water Technique", and "Tree Climbing Jutsu" during this year.

Only after grasping them completely recently, did he manage to find a way to use the chakra on the soles of his feet efficiently in battle.

After mastering this move, he always defeated Kakashi right after using it during their sparring sessions, but now Kakashi somehow defended against it. Even though he used just half of the power of this move now, it still made him pretty curious and surprised.

"How did you managed to defend this time, Kakashi?"

"I don't know. I just managed to see you appearing right in front of me, for the first time today, before you struck, and then my hand kind of moved on its own to defend me," Kakashi replied confusedly.

Yoshi opened his eyes wide and then sighed a little, 'Truly astonishing thing. If I'm not mistaken, that was probably a body reflex from his genetic memory, I learned about in my previous life,

Through the hundreds of years of constant battles using only their swords, the members of the Hatake clan managed to incorporate their kenjutsu style and experience into their clan's genome,

Not to mention their sight, reaction time, and body constitution being superior for learning kenjutsu as well,

It's like a Kekkei Genkai but made specifically for kenjutsu. The Hatake clan is truly a special existence...'

Looking at the white-haired little child in front of him, Yoshi sighed again, 'Eh, Kakashi... Who knows how far would you have gone in the original series if not for Obito giving you his Sharingan, and then stunting your potential with it,'

'You don't need any Sharingan to be strong, my friend, your clan's kenjutsu is already more than enough...' In fact, it was really like this in the original.

Kakashi entered the Ninja Academy at the age of five, graduated at the age of six, became a chunin at the age of nine, and then became a jonin at the age of twelve.

His growth back then could be truly considered spectacular and unparalleled by any kind of shinobi world standards. However, everything changed after Obito gave him his Sharingan.

The Sharingan just wasn't made for non-Uchiha people to use, especially not the ones without some kind of monster bloodlines like the Senju clan, with a large amount of chakra in them.

The reason for this was really simple. When a non-Uchiha person transplants the Sharingan into his eye sockets, it has to be activated at all times.

It couldn't be turned on and off like in Uchiha clan's people, thus draining an enormous amount of chakra from them twenty-four hours a day, every day.

It's no wonder that Kakashi's strength stagnated at the level of an elite jonin for the ten whole years before the original started, and even until the end of the whole series. Only near the end of it did Kakashi manage to truly break through the Kage level.

"It seems like you really have a talent for swords, Kakashi," Yoshi smiled and said.

"Alright, let's go, dinner should be ready by now," Kakashi nodded and replied.

They walked inside the house while talking about something.

Kakashi having a proud smile on his face, he finally managed to catch up to his friend again.

Later that day, after Sakumo got back from a full day of work as an Anbu commander, he brought them into the courtyard again.

Sakumo often helped them a lot in their journey to getting stronger. A time like that was right now as well. Sakumo brought them both special papers made to test the special affinities of shinobi's chakra nature,

Most people have a chakra that has an affinity to one of the Five Elements Nature Transformations.

To find out what affinity someone has, pieces of paper that are made from a special type of tree are used to react to the slightest hint of chakra in any number of ways, depending on the nature latent in the chakra.

The chakra paper reactions are as follows:

Fire: The paper will catch on fire and turn into ash.

Wind: The paper will split in half.

Lightning: The paper will wrinkle.

Earth: The paper will turn to dirt and crumble away.

Water: The paper will become damp.

After explaining them the use of these papers, Sakumo asked while smiling, "Alright, who will go first?"

They glanced at each other and Yoshi motioned to Kakashi that he goes first.

"Okay," Kakashi said, grabbed the chakra test paper, extracted his chakra a little, and the paper promptly started wrinkling.

Sakumo smiled slightly, already expecting this result, "Well, our Hatake clan's natural affinity is in lighting so this isn't too surprising."

"You go now, Yoshi," Sakumo said while giving him the next paper.

Yoshi nodded and did the same as Kakashi before him. But, the more surprising thing happened to his paper. It was first cut in half, then it caught little flames, finally becoming damp in the end.

Sakumo looked really astonished at the moment. The vast majority of shinobi have only one chakra affinity, the ones that have two are very rare, and those with three are practically unheard of.

"It seems like you're truly a genius Yoshi. The only shinobi that can rival you in the number of chakra affinities is the Lord Hokage."

"If I'm not mistaking, he has chakra affinities with three elements too, but he can, in fact, use all five of the chakra natures skillfully."

Having an affinity towards a particular chakra nature, just means that you will be more talented in that nature, not that you can't do jutsus with the other ones as well.

Yoshi's father had the chakra affinity for fire, his mother for the water. As for the wind one, he wasn't sure how he got it. Maybe the soul of his previous life contributed, maybe not. Kakashi also looked at him, enviously.

"Father, can you teach me the lightning ninjutsu of our clan now?" He asked hurriedly, not wanting to get far behind Yoshi once again.

"Haha, I'm sorry but I can't, for now, Kakashi, it's too dangerous for you," Realizing that Kakashi was getting really disappointed with himself, he continued.

"But... I specially prepared three other jutsus for you two today. And, after you successfully learn all of them, I can consider teaching you some elemental ninjutsu only then."

Kakashi looked really ecstatic and surprised, he asked, "Great, father, what are those?"

"They are called, the basic three ninjutsu. You must learn all those three in order to successfully graduate from the ninja academy. So every genin knows them in actuality. They are essentially a cornerstone of every shinobi's ninjutsu skillset.

They are called the Body Replacement Technique, Transformation Technique, and Clone Technique.

The Body Replacement Technique is a technique when users replace their own body with some other object, generally with a block of wood, the moment an attack lands. This creates an optical illusion, making the enemy think the attack was successful.

From this, the shinobi can use the lapse in the enemy's attention to attack or flee from the battlefield. Explosive tags can be attached to the replacement for an added surprise. It's basic ninjutsu but it's also useful art that can be applied in a variety of situations."

Both Kakashi and Yoshi were looking at him curiously with their full attention, absorbing all that knowledge like a sponge.

"The Transformation Technique is just that, a transformation jutsu.

Given all the missions ninja are assigned to - battle, intelligence gathering, diversions - this is a priceless ninjutsu. It is typically used to change into people other than oneself, but one also has the ability to change into animals, plants, and even inanimate objects like weapons.

This gives this technique an abundance of uses. The transformation of a skilled shinobi will be exactly like the genuine article, so it will be impossible to tell the two apart.

On the other hand, a transformation performed by an inexperienced person will have obvious discrepancies. It will be impossible to deceive anyone with it. This is one of the most basic ninjutsu, as such most shinobi know how to perform it."

"The Clone Technique is ninjutsu that creates an intangible copy of one's own body, without any substance,Since the clone itself doesn't have the ability to attack, and thus can only be used to confuse the enemy, it is mainly used in combination with other ninjutsu.

It's a basic technique, but depending on one's ingenuity, it can be used effectively. The clones may dissipate when they come into contact with something."

"You can find more information and how to learn these three jutsus here..."

Sakumo finished his speech and gave them some kind of textbooks. Those three were widely circulated jutsu and it was not a problem for him to get these for them, "Alright, you can go now. Remember, only after you finish these three will I allow you to learn other jutsu."

The two boys nodded enthusiastically and quickly started learning the things written in the textbooks and experimenting. Occasionally talking and getting help from one another if there was a problem they found. Mainly Yoshi helping Kakashi of course, after all, he was an adult.

Sakumo watched them together with a really big smile on his face.

Looking at the sky all of sudden, he murmured, "Don't worry Daichi, your son is doing fine. He will grow up to be a fine young man just like you wanted him to be. I promise you!"

- - -

And just like, another year of his life passed by.

He was now five-years-old, so he was ready to enter the Ninja Academy by Konoha's standards.

During that whole year, nothing really major happened to him.

The only people he regularly had contact with were Sakumo and Kakashi Hatake. The closest people to him in the whole Konoha.

Not that he didn't have contact with other people from this village.

Namely, the old Hokage, Sarutobi, periodically liked to come to Hatake's residence personally to check on him, to see how was he 'fitting' in the Konoha. If he had any problems, and stuff like that.

The whole time he was there, he was trying to give him some soft brainwashes. He usually repeated phrases like "Will of Fire", "family" and others.

There was that one time when he brought someone alongside him. It was a little older girl with red hair and a pretty face who looked to be around eleven years old.

She was Kushina Uzumaki, the future mother of the protagonist of this world, Naruto.

To be completely honest, he didn't have much of a good impression of her.

In his mind, she was just a weak woman who succumbed to Konoha's man, and their stupid village.

She forgot to investigate or didn't even seem to care at all about how Konoha duped and betrayed her own birth clan.

She was undeserving of her old grandfather, the great Uzumaki clan patriarch, in his opinion.

Although he remaining polite to her on the surface, both her and the Hokage realized something wasn't right in their communication then.

However, thinking that Kushina's presence was maybe opening some uncomfortable memories sealed inside him, they left it at that and didn't disturb him with seeing her anymore in the future. He didn't see her ever since then.

Regarding his strength department, he was still doing the same things he did the last year while getting stronger as his body grew bigger and aged. Having set up the good foundations now, he's expecting to become a real strong man in the future.

Kakashi was catching up with him too, having learned to control the chakra soles on his feet recently, as well. But he's not as skillful as Yoshi in it, of course.

But still, Yoshi was now only half a step stronger than him. But he wasn't that particularly worried about that, after all, Kakashi was the most talented shinobi in history in the original work, not to mention right now, with his competitive spirit charged by Yoshi. That guy was truly a little monster.

Regarding those three jutsus that Sakumo gave them last year, they have already finished practicing them!

With his generous help in explaining various problems to him, Kakashi also learned it at the same time as himself.

The results were so amazing that Sakumo even told them that they already have a full-on official genin-level strength right now.

He was doing everything in his power he can do to help them to get stronger even faster. He can feel that the next war is brewing on the horizon and will probably start before the next year comes.

Even though they will be safe in the Ninja Academy at that time, but what if the war continues for a longer period of time?

Nothing is safe right now, with his few casual words to his father back in the Uzushiogakure, Yoshi already changed some parts of the history, without even realizing it himself.

That's why Sakumo promised to teach them a new powerful technique after their first day at the Ninja Academy,

Yes, today is the day when the Ninja Academy officially starts in Konoha!

Sakumo, Kakashi, and Yoshi were currently getting closer and closer to the Academy, while Sakumo talked about something.

"Please remember this, boys, even though you basically already completed the whole Academy practical curriculum, there is still stuff left for you to learn there in regards to the theoretical part of the general shinobi knowledge.

Students, there are taught a core curriculum of reading, writing, mathematics, science, geography, etc. These lessons are typically framed in a ninja-context, and in fact, are learned at all in order to facilitate later instruction in tactics and strategy.

I don't have time usually to teach you all these things by myself at home and you never know when they might become useful later on the battlefield, so listen well and take notes.

Also don't even think about graduating from the Academy until you formally must do it. The whole ninja world is now very chaotic, and I don't want you to lose your lives prematurely by going onto the battlefield early.

So, I'm sorry but in my mind, you're still just kids, no matter how strong you are,

Also, don't worry about your progress stagnating, I'm gonna still personally teach you ninjutsu at home, so that's that..."

Sakumo finished speaking, rarely being this serious. You can tell that he really cared for them, he already laid the safe path down for them to follow and get strong the easy way.

In fact, Sakumo isn't a stupid person. If he was still alive at that time, in the original, he would never allow for Kakashi to graduate that early as he did back then,

He would probably personally train him until he felt that he would be safe and strong when finally entering the shinobi world.

That's the benefit of having a strong parent, pity that he died in the original. So, Kakashi had to go through the hard path in life relying only on himself.

"I understand, uncle!" Yoshi replied sincerely, knowing that going into the battlefield, at this age, is pure madness. Kakashi nodded as well, he wasn't stupid either.

Sakumo sighed relievedly, feeling grateful for their maturity.

They finally arrived right at the front of the Ninja Academy,

The Ninja Academy is a huge building in Konohagakure located directly at the base of the Hokage Mountain. It is where prospective ninja is trained and where official ninja receives their assignments. It was founded by the Second Hokage out of military necessity.

Along with being a school, it is also the area where the Hokage's office is located, which is where missions are dispatched and the day-to-day running of the village takes place.

The Academy is quite large and is comprised of several buildings which were erected over time,

The building can be identified by the tree in front of it which has a swing on it and more so, by the giant sign with the kanji for "fire" on it.

As they were preparing to get even closer, they finally spotted two people going in their direction.

Yoshi instantly remembered them, they were the famous Might Duy and his now young son, Might Guy.

Duy was a tall and well-built man with high cheek-bones, a somewhat bulbous nose, dark hair, thick eyebrows and noticeable body hair on his wrists and forearms,

His hair was cut in a bowl style that was combed to his right and lifts slightly.

He also sported a bristling mustache with a small goatee and stubble which made up the rest of his beard. He wore a green jumpsuit, orange striped leg warmers, and a yellow scarf around his neck.

His son Guy was just a miniature version of himself really, but without all that body hair, and his green jumpsuit being without sleeves.

"Oh, nice to meet you!" Sakumo said politely, then continued, "My boys will be attending the Academy in the future too. I hope they will all get along well!"

Duy looked at the red-haired boy, and then at the Sakumo and Kakashi who both have white-hair confusedly, but soon regained his composure and stated directly, "I'm afraid that will be impossible!"

"Huh? What a thing to say! Are you one of those monster parents!?" Sakumo replied with his voice genuinely full of shock and scare.

"No, Dad... You're wrong. This guy failed the academy entrance exam," Kakashi said seriously while pointing at Might Guy, who was now also looking at him.

Yoshi also looked at the Might Duy and the Might Guy full of amazement, 'One of them defeated all Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist while simultaneously killing four of them together,

While the other, nearly killed Madara in his peak form. They are both truly phenomenal ninja!'

"Oh, pardon me! I just assumed since you were in front of the academy..." Sakumo added full of embarrassment.

"Haha, don't worry about it!" Might Duy replied heartily while smiling brightly.

"Dad, we should get going or we're going to be late," Kakashi said truthfully, Sakumo's guidance from earlier took them a little time.

"Right, then please excuse me," Sakumo said while looking at Duy, and then taking a step forward.

"Your name's Kakashi Hatake, right? Thank you for your support!" Might Guy suddenly said in response to Kakashi's earlier sentence about him failing to enter the Ninja Academy.

After hearing what he said, his father smiled proudly and they also went ahead on their way.

Duy was a proud and upbeat man. He believed strongly that one must have confidence in themselves in order to achieve anything,

He also believed that one's true youth-only ends when one turns their back on their beliefs and joy.

Sakumo all of a sudden touched the hair of Kakashi and Yoshi, then said, "You should ask what his name is and remember it!"

"He'll be a good rival for both of you."

"Huh?" Kakashi asked unsure why his father said that.

Sakumo looked at Guy's back with eyes full of experience and knowledge while replying.

"At the rate this boy is training, he will become stronger than you!"

"He will?" Kakashi replied again and then shouted.

"Hey, you! What's your name?" He asked loudly while looking at Guy in the distance.

Guy turned around and while looking at both Yoshi and Kakashi, he replied with a hearty smile while flexing his muscle a little, "Might Guy! I'm going to become stronger than anyone else around!"

Kakashi sweat-dropped a little, and they continued for the Academy, soon coming right outside the entrance. Other parents nearby looked really surprised when they saw them pass by.

They immediately recognized who the man is, and judging by the hair of the one kid beside him, they recognized him too,

But, they all wondered the same thing, who was the other kid with red hair?

They whispered to each other, 'Is that the famous White Fang?'

'Who is this kid with red hair, and why is he so close to Lord Hatake?'

'Maybe it's his other kid?'

Other kids happening to be nearby the entrance, also looked at them curiously, after their parents whispered to them who the man was.

Some of them also looked at the kids around the famous White Fang as well, already regarding them both as the targets to surpass in the future,

However, those were just the boys of the group. The girls from there however thought very differently, they all looked at Yoshi with their eyes full of imaginary hearts.

His long red hair was tied up in a small ponytail, his eyes were bright purple. He wore a gray almost modern-like t-shirt on his body and ordinary black pants and shoes. He looked really graceful and lovely overall,

With Kakashi still wearing his mask, Yoshi took all the limelight this time around from the girl's population.

"I told you to take off the mask before we came, didn't I?? Yoshi said and smiled at Kakashi knowingly.

Kakashi just sweatdropped again and explained, "I have a total of zero interest in stuff like that."

"Not to mention, I wouldn't want girls liking me just because of my face either."

All of a sudden, Sakumo knocked him on the head and smiled.

"Heyy..." Kakashi groaned while holding his head a little.

"That's what you get for being so serious all the time!"

'Is that the famous iron fist of love?' Yoshi thought curiously.

Sakumo said while smiling and continued, "Let's go and hurry up inside! I'm gonna see you later today. You'll be quite satisfied with this new jutsu I'm gonna teach you."

After that both of them resolutely walked inside, an important period of their youth finally starting today.

- - -

Classrooms in the Academy are really large and have high ceilings, based on a theory that larger classrooms lead to expansive education, expanding even to the blackboard itself.

In front of the blackboard is a podium, situated far from the students' desks, and put in a position where the teacher can view everyone at once.

Even Yoshi was truly surprised by how large this classroom actually. It's even bigger than some classrooms from his previous life. It also looked decently modern and well equipped for this world.

'That's the richest shinobi village for you...'

He and Kakashi were seated in the back row together. Everyone was seated in pairs on tables scattered around this entire spacious classroom.

He looked over this large classroom trying to find some familiar faces, and sure enough, he found them soon.

'Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yuhi...?' He thought while looking at a boy and girl who were seated together while talking about something enthusiastically.

'Asuma sure looks better and fresher now than when he was older later in the original.'

He had a white flak jacket, a nice hairstyle, and looked very stylistic overall. Kurenai looked basically the same as she was in the original, just a mini-version of her then.

'Is that Rin?' He thought while looking at a girl seated alone next,

She had straight brown hair, which was cut in a chin-length bob that framed her face, and brown eyes, she also had a rectangular purple marking on either side of her cheeks,

She wore a simple outfit consisting of a light-colored blouse with a bow tied in the middle and a simple, sleeveless haori.

'But, where is Obito?' He thought while looking at the rest of the classroom.

But soon, another girl caught his attention, 'Is that girl Anko? Really cute.'

That was his impression when he saw her. At this time she wore a sleeveless fishnet mesh shirt, fishnet armbands that reach her elbows, dark shorts, and knee-length boots.

Soon, he looked at all the other famous characters from the original work quickly.

Genma Shiranui who later became one of the four exclusive guards of the Fourth Hokage, and a captain of them. A really qualified jonin in his opinion,

He was also one of the few carriers of the famous "Flying Thunder God Jutsu" after Minato died. Even though it was an imperfect version of it, it was still a great feat to accomplish.

Ebisu, who later became an elite trainer, who had extensive knowledge in basic to advanced forms of ninja skills.

These two later formed a ninja team alongside Might Guy, who wasn't present here at the moment. The Third Hokage still didn't make an exception allowing him to join the Academy as of yet.

And Ibiki, Hayate, and Tokara who formed a genin team together, later on, were also in the Academy at this time.

There were also some unfamiliar people to him, from the famous Konoha clans.

From the Uchiha clan, there was this one guy with his arms crossed, looking arrogantly at the rest of the students, sitting at the classroom table alone. He wore a standard Uchiha clan dress proudly.

From the Hyuuga clan, there was one guy who looked really quiet while also sitting alone. His forehead was being covered by his hair.

Yamanaka, Akimichi, Nara, Aburame, Inuzuka, he also saw at least one, if not more, kids from each one of these famous clans respectively.

Other people in the classroom that made the majority of this class were mostly of civilian origin.

Yoshi felt slight pity towards them because he knew that without a strong bloodline, you're no one in this world, only a cannon fodder basically.

He knew that the idealistic Naruto Uzumaki, wouldn't reach anywhere near his former power level had he not had many hidden privileges, talents, and other bullshit powers hidden inside him from birth, no matter how hard he worked. Moreover, he was surnamed Uzumaki, so there's that.

Don't mention him Might Guy and Might Duy, had they not had great talents and outstanding bodies for learning taijutsu from birth, coming from God's know where, they would've never come to reach those high levels in the original, no matter how hard they worked.

He doubts the majority of civilians in this classroom right now could even open one Hidden Gate, not to mention two, even if they worked hard for decades. Seven or eight? Not even in their wildest dreams.

Regarding Minato, him having the ability to learn the perfect Sage Mode, which requires a large amount of personal chakra reserves to learn in the first place, points towards only one direction too.

Yes, he was the hidden descendant of some great ninja clan, as well. Even though the author didn't personally specify it in the original, many people, including Yoshi, believe in this theory.

Probably, Senju's clan, after all, they mysteriously disappeared, allowed outflowing of their bloodline, married into other clans and even civilians. So, go figure, right?

In conclusion, civilians are really only cannon fodders in this world. That's why he was looking at them with some sympathy.

Unless a Kage-level shinobi decides to take them as personal disciples, but that's too unrealistic, isn't it?

Some of the people he looked at, also looked back at him with varying responses,

It's safe to say that he and Kakashi were the most interesting guys in this whole classroom right now, due to their special relationship with Sakumo.

That Uchiha kid looked at both him and Kakashi provocatively with clear traces of animosity and contempt being shown in his eyes.

'Damn, these two bastards stole all the limelight away from me. They stole all the limelight away from my Uchiha clan!' Uchiha Kosuke thought angrily.

Taught from the time when he was born, that the Uchiha clan must be first in everything and that the glory of the Uchiha clan must be maintained at all times, his heated response was somewhat expected. He is still only a child after all,

Besides him, everyone else was looking at them just curiously, and nothing more.

Soon, the doors of the classroom opened, and the teacher came inside promptly.

He wore a Konoha protector on his forehead, he had glasses on, and he wore a Konoha's green flak jacket. He looked pretty plain overall.

But, even though he was just a chunin, his teaching ability is first-class. That's why he was personally selected by the Hokage to teach this batch of Konoha's ninja students.

'This is a really interesting batch of students this time around.'

He thought silently while looking at all of them, 'Lord Hokage's own son, Lord Sakumo's son too, Uzumaki clan child, Hyuga clan's side branch genius and two different Uchihas...'

'Wait, where is the other Uchiha kid?'

But, as soon as he thought of that, the doors suddenly opened again,

A gasping, breathless boy, entered the classroom quickly. You could easily tell that he was running on his way there.

He had black eyes and short, spiky, black hair. He had very distinctive orange-colored goggles on his face,

He also wore a long-sleeved blue uniform and a blue jacket with an orange collar and trimmings,

The jacket was fastened to the rest of the outfit by two buttons on the collar and had the Uchiha clan crest at the back.

As soon as catching his breath again, he said, "I'm terribly sorry for this, teacher, there was this one old lady crossing the road..."

After finishing his story, the whole classroom instantly burst into laughter. Even Yoshi and Kakashi behind his mask had slight smiles on their faces. Only Rin looked at him sympathetically.

But one boy was really angry. Uchiha Kosuke held the arm of his chair furiously, while his whole face got red a bit from the anger, 'To embarrass our clan like that in public, on the first day to be late?! This waste!!'

"Alright, sit down for now, but remember, this can't happen again in the future," The teacher took a big sigh and helplessly said.

"Thank you, teacher!" Obito replied heartily with his hand on his hair and went and sat down on the chair which was beside Rin.

Rin was also looking at him gently while comforting him as well. He was also looking at her from time to time with a red-like face.

'No wonder he went to war with the whole world because of her in the original. Only this girl was treating him seriously,' Yoshi sighed and thought for a moment.

"So, now that everyone's here, I'll introduce myself first. My name is Eiji Matsumoto, Konoha's chunin, and I'll formally be your teacher for the next five years. Now you introduce yourself," Eiji smiled for a bit after he spoke.

And soon after the introductions were over, the official lections started.

The majority of the students listened patiently to their teacher who explained things concisely.

"Shinobi classes can be basically broken into the four basic levels of:

Taijutsu classes serve as the Ninja Academy's equivalent of physical education. In taijutsu class, students are engaged in physical activities to help train their bodies and develop their stamina. Sparring is common,

Bukijutsu classes are classes where students are taken through the handling of ninja weapons and tools, like shuriken and kunai, learning how to throw and wield them through target practice, as well as instructed on the basics of trap-setting,

Ninjutsu classes provide the bulk of what potential ninja learn at the Academy. Students are taught about chakra, how to manipulate it and use hand seals, and ultimately how to use techniques such as the Transformation Technique and the Clone Technique,

Genjutsu classes are focused less on how to create illusions and more on how they work. Students are taught how to determine if they are trapped in a genjutsu, and then how to release themselves from it,

Girls also must attend kunoichi classes, where they are taught about other cultures and how skills such as flower arranging will help them to blend in during an infiltration mission."

After the introductory lesson was over, Eiji said, "Alright, this is it for the theoretical part of our lessons today."

"Next, let's go outside and test your physical and throwing skills!"

They all left the classroom and soon entered the Academy's training grounds.

This whole space was very spacious and guarded by a big fence, behind which were large trees.

'Wait, I remember this place. Isn't this the place where Sasuke whooped Naruto's ass for the first time in the original?' Yoshi thought funnily for a bit.

"First we will test your shuriken skills, and after that your physical talent. Remember, give everything you have into this. This test is also being graded and will enter your final score at the end of the month."

Eiji explained this while pointing at a couple of assistant teachers who were currently standing outside the field while holding some kind of notebooks in their hands. Students started murmuring around a little.

Soon, they came to the throwing grounds where the various targets and weaponry were located.

"When I call out your name, you will pick ten different weapons of your choice from these tables and throw them onto the targets. You will stand behind this line, and your goal is to hit as close to the center of targets as possible.

If you don't do very well this time, don't worry, it's only your first day, after all. You'll have many more opportunities this month to try again. It's expected of you, to try to practice your throwing skills at home on your own, and get better!"

Eiji said while pointing at the tables full of ninja shurikens and kunai, and the red line around ten meters away from the targets. But, this is only the beginner range, it's expected to increase as their skills progress in the future.

"First, Tanaka..." Most of these kids being called first were of civilian origins. This was probably their first time throwing shurikens, so you could imagine what kind of results were those.

But soon, it was time for more 'famous' ones to throw,

"Uchiha Obito!" Everyone started looking at him with interest now.

"Rin, look here, this one is for you!" Obito suddenly looked at Rin beside him with a red face.

"You can do it, Obito, I believe in you!" Rin held her little hand joined in a fist high, encouraging him and replied.

'Rin...' Obito thought while looking at her gentle and pretty face dazed.

"Cough... Obito what are you doing, hurry up!?" Eiji who finally couldn't take it anymore, coughed to interrupt him.

"Yes, teacher!" Obito got out of his daze, replied hurriedly, and picked up required shurikens while thinking, 'Rin, I definitely won't disappoint you!'

'Alright, here I go!' He started throwing them one by one.

But, instead of on the original targets, the majority of the hits lander near their teacher Eiji, who had to duck and do various acrobatic positions to dodge the upcoming shurikens.

His final pose looked very embarrassing like he was doing the so-called twister. His glasses fallen down on the ground, and his forehead protector slid down covering half of his face.

All of the students immediately started laughing hard, some even falling on the ground from laughter while holding their stomachs comically.

"This idiot..." Kakashi said helplessly, but his eyelids also twitching slightly, barely containing his laughter. It was his first time in life seeing something like this.

"Hahaha..." Yoshi besides him also unexpectedly burst into laughter, the first one in a long time. The first one in this new life actually.

"Hahaha... Kurenai did you see that? This guy is a real genius, he nearly killed a chunin on his first try, hahaha..." Asuma joked and said to the red-eyed girl beside him while laughing himself.

Kurenai finally couldn't contain it anymore too, she started laughing madly, nearly collapsing, and leaned over a little on Asuma, not seeing that he stopped laughing by now, his whole face a bit red.

Rin looked at him genuinely worried, she couldn't wait to go and comfort him a little.

"Damn, this beast! To shame our Uchiha's famous art of throwing shurikens like this, no, this beast is not even an Uchiha, he's a bastard, yes he must be!" Kosuke thought madly, in fact, he was really convinced by now that Obito was a bastard,

There is really no way that the Uchiha person can be this bad at throwing shurikens. This just hasn't happened before! It's too unscientific!

Even the assistant teachers laughed a little after seeing this. This was also their first time seeing an Uchiha being this bad at shuriken throwing,

They deliberately left who they thought to be the best at throwing in this class for the end. But, now it seems that they might have left the worst for the end.

'I may have survived the battlefield before, but right now I might've actually just died at the ninja Academy...'

'I can't allow for this to spread to my friends...'

Eiji thought painfully while listening to all of his students laughing.

He suddenly stood up and roared.

"Uchiha Obito! How on earth are you this bad at throwing shurikens? You won't be allowed to throw any more shurikens at the Ninja Academy for this whole month! You're to reflect and practice your throwing skills at home for the next month!"

Eiji spoke furiously in front of Obito, "You're graded a zero for this month!"

"But teacher, I just..." Obito tried to explain but Eiji stopped him.

"Go away! I don't want to see you anymore!" Eiji fiercely yelled.

Soon, Obito left the throwing grounds while other students laughed even harder.

"Rin, I'm very sorry, I..." Obito wanted to explain himself, but Rin put her finger in front of his mouth and said gently.

"It's okay, Obito. I believe in you. I believe you will definitely get better for the next month!"

"Rin... Thank you!"

Rin just smiled in response, while Obito looked at her on verge of tears, full of gratitude.

"Enough laughing, let's go next!"

Soon after the commotion ended because of the teacher's loud yelling, another name was being read, "Hyuga Takumi!" That was the silent Hyuga guy from the branch family. The other students also looked at the only Hyuga member in this class a little curiously.

He just silently picked the shurikens from the table, then started throwing them one by one quickly.

He was really good at this, even though the shurikens didn't hit the pure center of the targets, they still hit it only by two points away.

'Hyugas are Hyugas even without the Byakugan. This is a child's game for them,' Yoshi thought, referring to Takumi's throwing skills shown just now.

And, as he was the best one so far, the other students started applauding him. He just nodded plainly towards them a little and then left back to his place silently.

"Uzumaki Yoshi!" This name caused a big commotion around the field.

The other students started whispering to each other, 'Uzumaki?'

'Wasn't that clan recently destroyed?'

'Wait, wasn't he Lord Hatake's son?'

"Enough!" Eiji yelled and the commotion soon stopped.

"Yes, he is from that famous Uzumaki clan! And he's the son of Lord Hatake's dear friend, who entrusted him with his care in the future, understand now?" Eiji explained it, so his identity doesn't cause any more confusion in the future.

"Alright, Yoshi, you can start!" Yoshi nodded and went to pick his weapons.

Looking at his back, Kurenai suddenly asked Asuma beside her something silently whispering it to his ear, "Wasn't that clan destroyed two years ago, how is he in Konoha now, Asuma?"

Asuma's entire face looked very red before he responded quietly, "I overheard it from my father, the Lord Hatake went to personally bring him from there to Konoha before it was completely destroyed..."

Kurenai nodded knowingly. It seems like the Lord Hatake really valued that friend.

After arriving near the targets, Yoshi took a deep breath while concentrating hard, trying to stimulate as much spiritual energy as possible. After a while, he suddenly started shooting.

His results were the same as Takumi's in the end. Only off by two points in the majority of the shots.

They were that good mainly because his spiritual energy was truly superb.

Eiji, assistant teachers, and other students were presently really surprised.

It's one thing for a Hyuga to get that score, but another one for him.

Kakashi looked like he was expecting this from his friend.

Obito, who recovered now from the previous shock, looked at him really jealously.

Rin on his side looked helpless.

'Damn, how is this kid this good? No matter what, I'll surpass him and maintain the glorious image of our Uchiha clan today. If only that waste was as half as good as him...'

Kosuke thought angrily when thinking about Obito. Without a doubt, the Obito became his most hated person out of this whole batch of students already.

'Hateful!' He clenched his fists tightly.

Takumi opened his eyes also looking surprised a little.

And the rest of the students giving him similar looks.

The majority of the girl population in this field however also gave him another kind of look,

Looking at his swaying red hair, pretty face now stained with sweat, and elegant black t-shirt, while he was casually throwing those shurikens away, they were all taken away.

He was also looking at them once he was finished, then while looking at the crowd, he spotted one girl who was also currently looking at him.

For whatever reason, he decided to tease her a little.

Looking at her, he smiled cheerfully, before making a small kissing gesture as well.

"Did you see that?"

"Kawaii!"

"He did it for me!", "No, it was for me!"

Soon, another kind of commotion erupted in the field.

"This guy... is too much..."

Kakashi sighed helplessly at the behavior of his only friend.

The look of other boys in the field quickly turned to jealousy, after the initial respect.

"Damn, that guy!" One boy said angrily.

"What's so good about him, his face?" Another one added.

"Yeah, I don't get it, look at his hair, it looks red just like a tomato," The first one added jealously.

But another girl overheard their conversation and angrily interjected, "That's a part of his charm idiots, you don't understand anything," Then, returned to look at Yoshi again with her eyes full of stars.

Soon, all the girls started arguing between themselves, while occasionally interjecting to argue with the class' boys a little as well.

Eiji massaged his temples a little looking at the commotion in front of him.

'This class is getting more and more troublesome.'

"Enough!" He yelled then.

"The next is Kakashi Hatake!"

The commotion soon stopped, when they heard that name. They all wanted to see him perform as well. But only one girl stood there still in a daze,

Her gray eyes twinkling cutely and her finger somewhat pointed towards her chest. She had two bright red clouds on her cheeks and thought about something.

'Did he do that for me?'

'No, that's impossible, I'm just an ugly tomboy!'

'But, he clearly looked towards me...'

'Ahh, I'm going crazy!'

'I'm going to personally ask him what he meant by that once the classes finish today!'

Anko Mitarashi was resolute in finding out the truth!

Kakashi picked up his shurikens while also giving Yoshi a very helpless look, to which Yoshi just smiled cheekily. Soon, he came in front of the targets,

After a few seconds of concentration, he started throwing them at the desired targets.

Strangely, he also missed the center of most of the targets, by only two points.

The art of throwing shurikens is very similar in nature to swordsmanship. It's all about strength, speed, and precision. So, It seems like Hatake clan genes serve him well in this department as well.

Unlike the other two occasions before, the other students weren't that much surprised this time around, seems like they got used to it.

Not to mention, they didn't expect anything less from that legendary man's biological son.

They still applauded him a little, to which he nodded and went back to his place.

'This one too? Then even more so, I have to succeded. I can't let these outsiders take away the glory that belongs to my Uchiha clan!' Kosuke thought heatedly.

'Damn, after going back today, I'll practice this skill until my hands collapse. I must surpass them all in the future, Yoshi, Kakashi, just wait for me!' Obito thought fiercely.

"So, we're tied this time around, huh Kakashi?" Yoshi asked him when he got back beside him while smiling.

"Yes, shooting it only two points near the center isn't that bad considering that we didn't practice our throwing skills too much at home."

"That's true," Yoshi smiled and then teased him a little, "But, I was still better than you at another thing today..."

"What thing?" Kakashi asked, somewhat guessing where this was going.

"It's called being handsome and suave!"

"Fool..." Kakashi sighed, then starting to ignore him a little.

"Sarutobi Asuma, next!" This name caused a little commotion too. After all, this boy is the son of the current highest leader of their entire village.

"Finally!" Asuma yelled, then continued.

"Kurenai, watch out for this! I'm going to beat those three guys that came before me, and show them who's the best of all!" He smiled and stuck out his thumb a little in the end.

"Okay, Asuma! But please don't end up like that Obito guy, haha!" Kurenai replied while laughing, her face a little red.

"Um," Asuma nodded, then went ahead and picked his throwing weapons of choice.

After coming in front of the targets, he immediately entered some kind of stance, indicating that he was already pretty well trained in this skill.

He soon shot them out, fastly one by one,

Before even finishing, the students and teachers were already stunned.

It looked like they really hit the marks in all ten different places.

But after Eiji went forward to confirm it personally, he announced, "It's only off by one mark!"

This was still a very good result, in fact, the best one so far today.

Everyone was surprised in a moment, before realizing that this boy was personally trained by the Hokage, so this result isn't anything truly surprising at all.

"Sorry, Kurenai, it still wasn't a perfect score," Asuma went back to his place and said to Kurenai a little bit dejectedly.

"Haha, don't worry about it, fool. You only promised to surpass those three, and you fulfilled that promise to me already," She replied while smiling, Asuma began smiling as well while looking at her.

'Alright, I'm the only one left now. I'll show you all right now! I'll show you all, what's called the Uchiha's talent!' Kosuke thought passionately and waited then.

"Uchiha Kosuke, next!" And sure enough, his name was read next.

He resolutely went to pick his chosen shurikens.

Then came to the targets, then took a deep breath after that.

After that, he finally shot his shot.

He executed his moves gracefully.

Every move made the shurikens hit their intended targets.

Everyone held their breaths together.

Eiji went to confirm it and then exclaimed, "Full score, the best one of today!"

The assistant teachers took the notice inside their notebooks, not too surprised by this result, this is what an Uchiha shuriken throw should look like, they all thought knowingly.

'Do you see now, you all? No matter what you do, the Uchiha clan always comes first in the end.'

Eiji looked at all the students a bit proudly.

"So, this is it for today regarding shurikens. Remember to practice well for the next time!"

"Now, for today's physical exercise, I want you all to run ten laps around this field."

"But, running those ten laps means you only get a passing grade. You must go even further if you want to get a better grade than that."

"Alright, let's go and get ready!"

In the Hokage's building near the Ninja Academy, in Hokage's building, stood two men ready to watch the impending show.

The older man in a white robe who had brown hair, unlike in the original, said to the snake-like man beside him who currently wore a Konoha jonin ninja uniform,

The man had long black hair, snake-like yellow eyes. He excluded a very dangerous vibe, but still not as evil as it was many years later.

"I didn't expect you to be so interested in the Ninja Academy, Orochimaru?"

"Haha, teacher, I can't let you always watch all the good things by yourself!" He said pointing at the crystal ball on the Hokage's table.

"So, why do you think this is interesting?" Sarutobi asked seriously, really not knowing why Orochimaru staid to watch this kid's show, after reporting for his next mission.

"It's not every day that you see your own son, Sakumo's son, and that unknown Uzumaki devil kid in the same class..."

"I want to see, who's the best one of them, haha..."

Sarutobi nodded, understanding it a little now. Sakumo and Orochimaru were really good friends once in the past, "I feel like it will be Kakashi that comes first. No, it will probably be really close battle between him and the Uzumaki!"

"So, you really have no confidence in your own son, huh, teacher?" Orochimaru asked a bit playfully.

"It's good if he enters the top five this time around, in this batch of students," Sarutobi replied, full of confidence in his prediction and wisdom reflecting shining through his words, "Alright, it seems to be starting now."

In the field down below, all students stood near each other, ready to start their marathon once they hear the signal, "Start!"

After starting their intense run, they were all even for a while,

Nevertheless soon, clear distinctions were being formed between them,

The first wave was formed by Yoshi, Kakashi, Kosuke, Takumi, and Asuma,

The second wave by the kids of shinobi parenting households, like Genma, Hayate, Ibiki, Ebisu, and others. And the third wave was being formed of civilians.

This exercise is, in fact, not so very naive. It tests both your mind, the will, and your body potential, the vitality, better said the physical part of the chakra output potential of your entire body.

That's why both the Hokage and the Orochimaru became so interested to watch it.

After the ten laps, the majority of the civilian kids collapsed,

After the fifteen laps done, all the civilians and the majority of kids with shinobi parents or weaker clan kids collapsed on the ground as well,

After twenty laps, nearly all the kids of this whole class collapsed. Only six still kids currently prevailed, still running fervently.

Outside of the five mentioned in the first wave, Obito Uchiha remained running behind them as well. In fact, he was relying only on his powerful will to accomplish this feat.

'I can't stop now! I will surpass all of them!' Looking at their backs he thought fiercely.

But pity, his body didn't allow him to get much ahead. After running only two more laps, his legs collapsed of exhaustion, his will staying firm until the very end.

'No!! I don't want this, I don't want this at all, why don't you go forward?! My body?!!'

He fiercely looked at their backs, until his eyes closed on their own from the sheer exhaustion alone. He promptly fell unconscious...

Hokage looked really surprised after seeing all of this from the above. It was very rare to see someone with this of a strong will, while this very young. The only other one he knew of being like that was his own disciple Jiraiya.

"Did this kid remind you of that idiot, too? He's also Uchiha? I'm truly excited to see just how far will this kid go in the future, fufu," Orochimaru said, rarely being this sincere.

"Yes, it seems that I have to reevaluate this kid, Obito. He should be getting a good teacher after graduating to express his full potential as well," Sarutobi said while calculating something.

"Huh, you have someone in mind, teacher?" Orochimaru asked curiously.

"No, but I will think about it," Sarutobi said seriously.

Obito went to the hospital, not realizing that his performance today changed his whole fate. For the better or worse, it's still yet to be seen,

Yoshi, Kakashi, Kosuke, Takumi, and Asuma all continued going forward while occasionally looking at each other. Already exhausted students who stopped running continued spectating.

All of them very currently watching the marathon, all but Rin, who went together with Obito, accompanying him to the hospital worriedly,

They were what you could call, childhood friends. Rin was Obito's closest person in the whole world besides his old grandma. As for how they met, that remains a mystery.

Kurenai looked at the race while silently praying in her heart and clenching her little fists, 'Asuma, you must win!'

They were also childhood friends. Her grandfather, the Yuhi clan's patriarch, and the Third Hokage were really good friends, so they often hung out together in the past.

Near the other spectators, also stood a girl named Anko. Silently cheering for Yoshi in her heart, not knowing the reason why.

In the process of their race, Asuma felt his legs started to give in, so he thought seriously.

'My father was right... It seems like I truly can't compare to these four guys in the vitality aspect. So, that's why I will work harder in the future to try and overcome them in other ways!'

He suddenly stopped racing and went towards the spectators' area tiringly, his legs shaking a little.

When he arrived in front of Kurenai and wanted to say something to her, he suddenly started collapsing.

She swiftly caught him and whispered gently, "Alright, it's enough, let's rest for a bit now..."

He just nodded and continued to look at the race ahead, his heart full of new-found determination.

In the Hokage's office, Sarutobi nodded knowingly, already planning on how to train Asuma next.

The race continued. Kosuke looked at them while thinking something, 'These two troublesome bastards, and a Hyuga. I can't lose to them no matter what.'

Takumi thought while looking at them a little too for a second, 'This Uchiha guy is the same as me, in talent. But these two are on a completely different level,' And, just as he thought about that,

Yoshi and Kakashi suddenly looked at each other and smiled, already knowing what each other meant. Suddenly, their speed increased further and they advanced ahead rapidly.

Everyone looked at them stunned and wide-eyed, not knowing where their power came from.

Takumi directly surrendered after seeing this, and went towards the spectators' area, while occasionally sighing on his way there.

Uchiha Kosuke continued helplessly forward, 'Why is it like this? What is that power? Weren't we the Uchiha, supposed to be the best at everything?' He collapsed and laid on the ground weakly, his whole worldview suddenly collapsing.

Unlike Obito, his willpower was still not strong enough, so he couldn't' continue to go forward with all that immense pain tearing apart his body.

"How is this possible, teacher?" Even the stone-cold Orochimaru looked at them now, feeling shocked.

Sarutobi also looked at them carefully with wide eyes, then sighed, and explained while noticing that Orochimaru also realized something, "These little guys are applying chakra to their feet."

"But how, aren't they just five years old, teacher?"

"Geniuses, being geniuses. But this is truly unprecedented in the whole history of Konoha, no even before that."

"If these two little ones actually successfully grow, and inherit the skillsets of their respective clans, it's not too far-fetched to say that the Konoha will continue to be on the top of the whole ninja world for many more decades to come!"

"But that's if they continue to be on the Konoha's side that is," Orochimaru said seriously, he was apparently not joking when he said that.

"What do you mean by that, Orochimaru?" Sarutobi asked dangerously while looking at him.

"Ohh, nothing, it's just a good thing to reconsider, knowing your former behavior towards the Uzumaki clan and all, for example, teacher..."

"Orochimaru, I know the boy's personality, he isn't like that! Not to mention, as long as Sakumo is alive, he would never allow him to do anything against the Konoha, I'm sure of that!" Sarutobi said seriously, full of trust towards his strongest subordinate.

"But, what if Sakumo isn't alive?" Orochimaru suddenly said again.

"What do you mean by that, Orochimaru?" Sarutobi asked enquiringly once again.

"Oh, nothing, it's just that you may never know what will happen during the upcoming war..." Orochimaru said that upfront to his teacher, but only he knew what he was thinking in his head.

'Knowing that old fox Danzo, he and Sakumo can't coexist under the same sky, not to mention the same village...'

'And knowing Sakumo's character, he will presumably be an easy target for Danzo. So, it's also easy to see who will lose in the end, also sometimes, just pure strength isn't enough to buy you life...'

'I already agreed to cooperate with Danzo, once this war finishes. So, I won't do anything to stop it, friend or not. I already choose my path a long time ago, there's no turning back now, my purpose is high-minded and eternal...'

On the field below, Yoshi decided to tie it down with Kakashi,

Revealing too much of your talent right now won't earn you too many benefits, opposite it will actually only earn you more apprehension of Konoha's high level. And he really doesn't want that.

And, looking through with his Mind's Eye, he already noticed the Hokage and another strong chakra presence watching over them from the top of one the buildings nearby.

'The only cold and ruthless person with an aura like that, in the Konoha, at the moment, I can think of is Orochimaru the Sannin. As for why he would be looking at me and Kakashi at this time, I really don't know...'

"Alright, how about tying it down, Kakashi?"

Looking at Yoshi's face, he already understood the thoughts of his friend a little,

He knew that Yoshi was probably stronger than him by half a step now, but he doesn't want to show it due to various reasons.

After all, Yoshi wasn't a native of Konoha, and sometimes showing too much talent, can be a bad thing. After they both stopped, the test was finally concluded.

Eiji finally announced the results.

The other students were looking at them full of awe and respect.

"Alright, today's lessons are officially over. You're free to go home and rest. See you tomorrow!"

After announcing that, the kids started to disperse,

Everyone went on their own ways, Kakashi and Yoshi as well.

They exited the field all the while receiving the looks of admiration from all the students they passed by. They started going in the direction of their home.

But, after passing through the secluded area outside the Academy, Yoshi faintly smiled and said towards no particular direction, "Alright, the kitten can come out now ~!"

Somewhere in the hiding, behind a fence, one little girl blushed slightly, 'Who is a kitten, you idiot? After I beat you up, you'll see, hum...'

Silence. Nothing happened. Kakashi opened his eyes wide and looked at him like he was crazy.

Yoshi started feeling embarrassed a little and said again, "If you don't come out now, I promise, I will be sure to spank you once I find you ~!"

Anko suddenly blushed the hardest for today. She finally couldn't take it anymore and jumped over the fence, her whole face being still visibly red, down to her ears. Kakashi looked at her shocked.

"Y-you shameless, bastard!" She suddenly yelled and started running towards him, readying a punch.

"Haha, I was just kidding, okay?!" Yoshi laughed and said while dodging her punch.

"You bastard, I'll kill you! Don't just run, if you're a man!" She yelled, not stopping her fierce onslaught.

Kakashi looked at all of this, not believing his eyes. Is that his friend who was serious all day, only thinking about practice, not even going outside?

"Okay, you asked for it," Yoshi said smilingly, stopped running, and caught her little fist.

"I was just kidding before, I'm sorry if it offended you in any way," Yoshi said while looking into her eyes.

Anko looked at his serious face and his purple eyes, her heart beating hard and her whole face flushed a bit.

"H-mm, let go of my hand first." She said in a mosquito-like tone.

"Okay," After letting go of her hand he smiled again and asked, "So, why were you following us, Anko?"

'He even remembered my name?'

"I just wanted to ask you something..." She said bravely, regaining her composure a little.

"Alright, I'm all ears for you ~," Yoshi replied easy-going.

"Back at the field, did you...?" Anko suddenly realized, she couldn't continue, she was really embarrassed to say it.

"Did what, hurry up and say it please, I can't stand here all day," Yoshi pretended to be in a hurry for a bit.

"Did you send that kiss towards me back in the field?" Anko suddenly yelled while closing her eyes.

Kakashi felt overwhelmed, even Yoshi looked a little surprised.

'This girl is really brave,' He thought curiously.

"Who else if not you, fool..." He said while playfully hitting her on the head.

"After all, I made pretty sure to take a good look at you before doing so ~."

Anko now felt really overwhelmed by emotions, everything happening today was just too much for little her. On the first day of school, a good-looking boy confessed to her so nonchalantly.

"B-but, why ...?" She asked silently again, still flushed, not really understanding what the boy saw in her, after all, the other boys always thought of her as an ugly tomboy before.

"Would you be mad if I said, it was because I just kinda felt like it was the right thing to do at that moment?" Yoshi asked while holding his hair a bit embarrassingly.

"No, it is much better than you saying that you fancied me at first sight," Anko finally regained her composure and her iconic smile.

"Haha, who said I don't fancy you ~," Yoshi said while turning his back against her and continuing going forward. Kakashi behind helplessly following him as well.

Anko blushed a little, but then smiled again and said while running towards them.

"Hey fool, you wait! My home is in that direction too."

"Nani? Wouldn't you be lying just to get close to me ~."

"Huh, I don't know who just said that he fancies me a moment ago, hmm."

"W-what, you're still ten years early for me to fancy, little girl!"

"Haha, look at you embarrassed like that, that's the payback you get for teasing me before ~."

"Would you stop all this flirting already? You're both only five years old for god's sake!"

"Haha, why are you so jealous Kakashi? You should know that love doesn't really know about age!"

"Maybe you should find someone to fancy too White Hairs, then you won't be so gloomy all the time, learn from Yoshi a little ~!"

"Sigh..."

- - -

Later at Hatake clan's residence.

Three people were eating dinner together, one adult and two little kids.

Listening to the story from Kakashi's mouth, Sakumo couldn't believe it for a while, his face turning a bit incredulous, 'This kid, Yoshi, found a girlfriend already?'

Looking at his bowed red face while eating dinner, he was even more convinced, 'Truly you never really know people, like you think you do...'

'But when did he learn to pick up girls? Kakashi said he was even very skillful in it...'

"Even though you're only five years old now Yoshi, me, your uncle, will fully support you!" Sakumo said while holding his thumbs up teasingly.

"It was a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding really, uncle? Don't you already know what kind of person am I?" Yoshi who finally couldn't take it any more directly said.

"Alright, let's believe him, for now, dad, what do you think of our performance in the Academy this time father?" Kakashi interjected to help Yoshi a little and asked.

"Well, I'm really satisfied, Kakashi. You don't know, but you became quite a hot topic right now inside the Konoha's shinobi circles..."

"Really, what do they all say?" Kakashi asked again curiously.

"They all say you're the most gifted people coming from the Academy in a while, the last one before you being only Minato Namikaze, and before him only the Lord Hokage's personal disciples..."

"Minato Namikaze?" Kakashi heard that name for the first time.

'So, he's already being famous? Truly incredible,' Yoshi thought wanting to hear more about him.

"That guy is truly a genius, he's even more talented than me and the Lord Hokage's disciples..."

Kakashi looked really shocked, more talented than his father...

Yoshi not so much, he already knew the story. He just wanted to know, how strong was the famous "Yellow Flash" currently.

"But, in my mind, you two are also more talented than him, so don't worry. Anyways, that guy is definitely astounding. He graduated from the Academy in the last batch of students, then six months later also passed the chunin exams, and became a full-fledged Konoha chunin,

He's the fastest one to do it in history, setting a new record. He's only eleven years old now. But, the most incredible thing about him is he's only of a civilian origin," Sakumo explained, apparently full of praise towards this young junior.

"Uncle, what jutsu is he best at?" Yoshi cut to the chase, Kakashi wanted to know it as well.

"That's a good question, Yoshi!" Sakumo smiled mysteriously.

"In fact, that is the jutsu that I wanted to teach you today, too!"

Yoshi tried to guess it, but he really couldn't. So, he waited for an answer thereafter.

Kakashi couldn't wait to hear the name of that mysterious jutsu too.

"It's called the "Body Flicker Technique",

This jutsu is a high-speed movement technique, allowing a ninja to move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed,

To an observer, it appears as if the user has teleported. A puff of smoke is occasionally used to disguise the user's movements.

It is accomplished by using chakra to temporarily vitalize the body and move at extreme speeds.

The amount of chakra required depends on the overall distance and elevation between the user and the intended destination,

This jutsu is, in fact, the next step of your sticking chakra to the soles of your feet move."

Yoshi finally remembered this famous jutsu from his previous life.

'Yes, why was I so stupid? Of course, the Yellow Flash learned this technique too, probably relying on it heavily before he learned the Flying Thunder God,' Yoshi thought, feeling enlightened a bit.

"Alright, let's go to the courtyard, now, I will formally show you how this jutsu is performed," Outside it was already getting dark.

"Alright, watch carefully now!" Sakumo stood in place, smiling. Then all of a sudden, unexpectedly, disappeared.

All of a sudden, he started teleporting all around the yard, sometimes appearing and disappearing behind them as well. Kakashi's eyes, and Yoshi's Mind Eye, currently unable to follow his movements at all.

Sakumo finally appeared at his initial location again and said, "In fact, this is just the basic version of this jutsu, that most people are familiar with, used at extremely high-level."

"But, I created my own version of this jutsu, as well. It's called the Inverse Body Flicker!"

He suddenly appeared right in front of them, upside down, while swinging his sword towards them from that position, then stopping a few inches away from their faces dangerously.

'I understand it, even though it looks very simple, in fact, uncle must've used it to finish countless enemies before. I can imagine how surprised they were when he appeared in front of them like that!' Yoshi thought, amazed. Kakashi was pretty astonished too, also guessing the usefulness of this amazing technique himself.

"So, this is how you're gonna practice it in the future..."

And another sleepless night, in Hatake's household, was spent on training like that.

- - -

Later that night, at the Uchiha clan's compound.

At the only park in their compound, a boy was sitting on a swing, looking really lost and dejected.

Suddenly, a figure appeared behind him and swung him a little.

Kosuke looked startled and turned around quickly, only to see a twenty-year-old handsome Uchiha man standing behind him now. It was his own cousin, Uchiha Fugaku!

Only described as a prodigy by his clansmen, this man became the leader of the Uchiha's Police Force at a really young age all the while being groomed as the next clan patriarch.

"I heard about today, Kosuke," Fugaku suddenly stated.

"Yeah..." Kosuke clenched his fists, thinking that his cousin will surely be really disappointed with himself and even scold him severely right now,

However, outside of his expectations, Fugaku just patted him on the head while smiling, "It was about the time you experience it, fool!"

"Experience what, cousin?" Kosuke asked curiously, full of respect towards this man.

"Experience the taste of defeat of course. Or else how did you think people in this world get stronger? By winning? No, they only get complacent in that way. People only get stronger by losing, only by losing will they find more motivation and find more ingenious ways to get stronger. In fact, I really like losing more than winning."

Kosuke looked stunned while looking at his cousin.

"Do you love our Uchiha clan? Then grow stronger, strong enough to be able to protect it well in the future! And what did I tell you, how does one get stronger? Through, losing, of course! So, you should embrace losing instead of feeling bitter about it, Kosuke..."

Kosuke just looked at Fugaku, speechless. All of a sudden, he went forward, hugged Fugaku, and shouted while crying emotionally, "Thank you, cousin. I promise, I won't fail you, I won't fail my clan!"

Fugaku returned the hug and smiled contently. In fact, if today didn't happen and his cousin didn't taste the defeat and still remained arrogant in the future; he would never truly become a real strong man later.

"Alright, Kosuke, seeing that you have truly grown up. From now on, I will personally train you as my successor as the commander of the Uchiha's Police Force!"

Kosuke smiled slightly surprised, having learned and understood many truths tonight.