Uchiha Academy

7 days later, Uchiha Clan Training Grounds.

Boar—Tiger—Dog—Ox—Rabbit—Tiger

After completing the hand seals, a surge of heat accompanied by the flow of chakra gathered in Kyosuke's throat.

Then, a large burst of flame suddenly erupted from his mouth, spreading in all directions and shooting straight toward the numerous targets not far away.

Under Kyosuke's chakra control, the flames struggled to adjust their trajectory, attempting to hit the bullseyes.

But the results were far from ideal. With his current chakra amount and control still relatively low, pulling off something like this would require at least a few more levels.

Of course, Kyosuke hadn't demanded that he accomplish this right now.

All of this was for the sake of the Second Elder watching from the sidelines.

After all, that was how people in high positions operated—it wasn't enough for subordinates to have ability; they also needed to show the right attitude.

Right now, Kyosuke was demonstrating that attitude to him.

"Clap~ clap~ clap~" The Second Elder kept smiling as he applauded, but he offered no words of praise.

He simply instructed Kyosuke to keep working hard, then turned and left.

"Hah." Kyosuke let out a light breath. This hurdle of a test could be considered passed.

Mastering a C-Ranked Ninjutsu in 7 days, and as a 5-year-old at that—even if the results weren't spectacular, they were at least not bad.

Over these 7 days, he had thrown himself into his efforts, neglecting sleep and meals, until he finally grasped the technique.

The reason for such urgency was that on the second day, after waking up, he had suddenly realized the true intent behind this gifted ninjutsu.

It was to assess his understanding and application of "techniques." If he fell short in this area, his evaluation would likely take a serious hit.

So today, having passed the test, Kyosuke finally felt a sense of relief.

After resting in place for a while and recovering some chakra, he turned and headed toward the Clan Academy.

Because starting today, he would be diving into new knowledge.

Normally, this kind of knowledge wouldn't be introduced until after age 8, with elders first giving simple guidance before sending the children to the academy.

Kyosuke's situation... was this another test?

"Endless, isn't it." Kyosuke's eyes narrowed briefly, then his expression returned to its usual sunny demeanor.

After all, following that duel, he had already been branded with a "truth, goodness, and beauty" label in the minds of some clan members.

Helping a clansman who had bullied him for years overcome his psychological barriers after winning a duel—wasn't that performance sunny enough?

Who would suspect that a 5-year-old child could harbor such heavy scheming?

Gently pushing open the academy's door, Kyosuke stepped inside.

To be honest, when he saw the scene within, if it weren't for the clan crest fans on the children's clothes, he might have momentarily thought he'd walked into Konoha Ninja Academy.

He later learned that the clan had deliberately modeled this place after the Ninja Academy's style.

And not just the style—the teaching methods and management approaches also drew from it to some extent.

Because aside from a few Uchiha children who would halfheartedly sign up for the Ninja Academy, the vast majority were still taught by the clan itself.

This was common in many large clans. After all, no one wanted their juniors to be brainwashed all day with "Will of Fire" rhetoric.

At least, that was the current situation for the Uchiha Clan, and it would likely persist for a while until Fugaku took over and things began to improve.

Because compared to the Ninja Academy, clan-based education fell short by more than just a little.

As Kyosuke's thoughts wandered, he started to zone out again.

Suddenly, he felt a light tap on his shoulder.

In an instant, every muscle in Kyosuke's body tensed, and a killing intent involuntarily leaked out—before he forcefully suppressed it.

"Sigh." Kyosuke turned around helplessly, wanting to see who had startled him.

What came into view was a cute little girl with a ponytail and long black hair, looking at him timidly.

Clearly, she had been frightened by Kyosuke's killing intent.

"Hmph, what's with the attitude? This young lady doesn't want to bother with you anyway." After a moment, she finally recovered, shot Kyosuke a glare, and turned to leave.

"Crazy."

Kyosuke shook his head, ignoring the willful Uchiha girl, and headed to the teacher's office.

"Knock~ knock~ knock~" Three moderate taps echoed down the hallway.

Then, after receiving permission, Kyosuke stepped inside.

With the clan's tutoring teacher, Kyosuke selected the courses he wanted to prioritize.

"Ninjutsu Theory" and "Ninjutsu Development Basics."

Kyosuke chose these two courses for two reasons.

First, if he still had no way to gain experience, the "prodigy" title wouldn't hold up for long.

So to be safe, he needed other means to maintain that reputation—and the title of "Ninjutsu Development Prodigy" seemed like a good fit.

Second, as he cleared more and more Instance Dungeons in the future, he would inevitably obtain abilities he shouldn't have access to. For that reason, he decided to prepare in advance.

This was also the ultimate reason Kyosuke had taken the initiative to come and attend class here.

Once the lecture began, Kyosuke unexpectedly found that the knowledge about Ninjutsu was far more interesting than he had originally imagined.

As a result, he immersed himself in the ocean of knowledge until someone tapped him on the shoulder again.

Kyosuke's mouth twitched as he turned his head, and sure enough, it was that ponytailed little girl again.

"Hey, you're Kyosuke, right? Let's get to know each other. I'm Nagisa, Uchiha Nagisa." With that, she extended her fair little hand toward him.

"Uchiha Pig? Hahaha, who gave you that name?" Kyosuke burst into unexpected laughter upon hearing the little girl announce her name.

He wanted to get back at this willful little girl for scaring him, on one hand, and on the other, the name genuinely hit his funny bone.

To be honest, since coming to this world, he hadn't laughed so freely.

So for a moment, the entire classroom echoed with his laughter.

Although it greatly affected the other clan members' studies, no one, including the teacher, dared to say anything.

After all, Kyosuke still bore the title of "Strongest Genius."

But among these people, the one standing before him—Uchiha Pig—was absolutely not included.

"No, not Pig, it's Nagisa, Nagisa!" the little girl shouted.

"Oh, Pig."

"It's Nagisa!!!"

And so, Kyosuke's first class passed in this noisy, playful manner.

That evening, just after returning to his room from school, he was summoned by the Second Elder again.

Kyosuke adjusted his clothes while frowning, pondering the purpose of this summons.

After thinking it over and coming to no conclusion, he could only steel himself and follow that never-showing-his-face ninja to the Second Elder's residence.

"Oh, little Kyosuke is here. Have a seat." The Second Elder, who was tending to his flowers and plants, knew of their arrival without turning around.

He first instructed Kyosuke to sit on a chair, then continued focusing entirely on his bonsai.

After a while, the Second Elder finally turned to face Kyosuke and asked with a smile, "How was your day at the academy?"

"Very good. The teacher's explanations of the problems were excellent," Kyosuke answered truthfully.

"Haha, that's good, that's good." The Second Elder smiled in satisfaction at Kyosuke's reply.

Just as the two were starting to chat casually, an unexpected figure walked in.

"Grandfather." The figure walked up to the Second Elder, called out crisply, then turned her head to look smugly at the stunned Kyosuke.

This figure was none other than the little girl named Uchiha Nagisa, who had been bickering with him all afternoon.

And her identity was the Second Elder's own granddaughter.

"Haha, little Kyosuke, this is my granddaughter Nagisa. You're both the same age, so you should interact often from now on," the Second Elder said, stroking the little girl's hair as he smiled at Kyosuke.

"Hello, I'm Uchiha Nagisa. Nice to meet you." A strange smile curled at the corners of the little girl's lips as she once again extended her fair little hand toward Kyosuke.

This time, Kyosuke didn't hesitate and shook it immediately.

Seeing this, the Second Elder smiled contentedly, then suddenly sighed as he said, "Nagisa's parents passed away early. She's grown up by my side. Oh, and by the way, even the name 'Nagisa' was given by me."

Hearing this, Kyosuke's face flickered between red and white for a moment, then he stiffly praised, "Oh, that's a really good name."

Across from him, the little girl was grinning smugly.