You Are My First Friend

How much Chakra did a five-year-old Uchiha have, really?

Shin, who traded Chakra for formidable taijutsu prowess, knew exactly where his weakness lay.

After being struck in the chest, Shin did not waste Chakra relieving the pain in his pressure points.

Ninjutsu? Casting one or two D-rank techniques would probably drain him dry.

Genjutsu? With the Byakugan's all-around perception and no blind spots, there would be no chance for eye contact at all.

As for taijutsu, there was even less to say.

The eyes that emerged only when an Uchiha's emotions underwent intense upheaval—eyes capable of precisely controlling the flow of Chakra—were Shin's best chance at a complete victory.

"Why did I transmigrate into this world?"

"Why didn't I get some overpowered cheat to defy fate?

"Why do I have to lose?"

"Why..."

The unceasing pain from his body amplified the emotions he deliberately stirred within himself in his desire for power.

Scenes from the original story's tragedies surfaced in his mind one after another, like shattered glass layered repeatedly atop itself.

His sharp-tongued, soft-hearted father, Chiken.

His mother, Aoko, who cared for him so attentively.

His older brother, Fugaku, who yielded to him in every way.

And the Uchiha Clan members who cared for and cherished him, though their emotions were prone to spiraling out of control.

"I will change all of this!"

A large amount of special Chakra surged through Shin's mind.

His eyes already possessed powerful dynamic vision, but under the influence of this Chakra, another tiny black dot split off from the original one.

"I won, Uchiha Shin!" Nao cried out as she delivered her final palm strike.

Slap!

Her fair right wrist was gently caught in a hand.

"Thank you, Hyuga Nao."

Shin's originally pitch-black eyes had been tinged with an eerie red.

The two tomoe in each of his eyes turned Nao's once delighted little face back into its usual icy expression.

"The Sharingan..." When she tried to pull back her right hand, she found that she could not do it.

Using Nao's hand to complete the hand seals, Shin tightly gripped her wrist.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

With the announcement, a fireball spewed from his mouth.

With her right wrist restrained and nowhere to dodge, Nao chose to raise her left hand and take it head-on.

"Boom...!"

Her left arm blocked the fierce flames. Her face pale, she lightly furrowed her delicate brows.

The spectators beneath the stage had all fled the classroom and rushed into the hallway the moment Shin gave his warning.

"That was terrifying! He was getting beaten up just a second ago, then he awakened the Sharingan and fired off a Fire Release!" The chubby Heiji sighed with the expression of someone who had narrowly escaped death.

"There's more. If I saw correctly, he used Nao's right hand to complete the hand seals!"

Mikoto was thrilled. For the Second Young Master of the clan to awaken the Sharingan at five years old was exceedingly rare even in the entire clan's history.

"He really is a genius. If you ask why..."

The inconspicuous Aburame boy added quietly, "Because that not only completed the hand seals, but also allowed him to firmly restrain his opponent while casting the Fire Release afterward..."

"It balanced purpose and practicality."

For newly enrolled students, that evaluation was not exaggerated in the slightest.

Heiji looked at the classmate before him, someone he had no impression of at all, and grew confused. "Who are you again?"

"I'm Shibi Aburame."

"Oh, you're from the Aburame Clan. Never mind, then." All the students.

In the New Student Classroom on the other side.

Nao, who had defended against a Great Fireball Technique, unexpectedly curved her lips into a rare, beautiful smile.

Quite a few scorch marks had appeared on her pristine white kimono, left behind where her defense had fallen short.

Yet she paid them no mind.

"Uchiha Shin, earning your acknowledgment really is difficult."

Nao's eyes were filled with the satisfaction of someone receiving a precious toy for the first time in her life.

"It's not difficult..." Shin released the left hand that had been gripping her right wrist.

"Only a battle between the Sharingan and the Byakugan can be considered fair, right?"

Shin's two-tomoe Sharingan was reflected in Nao's pale eyes.

For some reason, an odd feeling arose within her heart.

"Fair? Do you think fairness exists in this world?"

"Maybe..." Shin smiled and voiced his thoughts. "You and I were both born with powerful Kekkei Genkai..."

Then he turned to look at the blue sky beyond the window. "Yet some people can struggle their entire lives and only attain a fleeting moment of brilliance."

Pensive, Nao stated the cruel truth. "But most people do not even get that chance."

Shin nodded in acknowledgment. "It's only a duel. There's no need to follow the rules of ninja..."

"Besides, neither of us is a ninja yet." Nao understood and agreed with him from the bottom of her heart.

She had never expected someone like this to emerge from the always arrogant Uchiha Clan.

Absolute fairness had never existed.

Was it truly fair for a Hyuga, gifted with powerful taijutsu and the Byakugan from birth, to fight an Uchiha of the same age who could only expend Chakra?

Watching Nao lower her head in thought, Shin, having employed his art of persuasion, laughed wildly within as though his scheme had succeeded.

If he wanted to change the Hyuga, who were all bound by rigid traditions, he could not point it out so directly.

As a product of the ninja world's distorted system, Nao was still too young, with a worldview not yet fully formed; she could not truly understand it.

"Give me your hand..." Shin looked at her burned left arm. "Once you're healed, we'll settle the winner and loser again."

"Is that also the fairness you believe in?" Nao offered him her left hand and accepted his kindness.

"No..." Shin transferred what little Chakra he had left into her body. "I'm only thanking you for helping me obtain these eyes."

At that moment, as Nao looked into his scarlet eyes, she unexpectedly broke into a broad smile.

"Uchiha Shin, you're really strange."

"A lot of people say that..." Shin returned her smile with one of his own. "But I don't think so."

"Uh..." Nao's expression went blank as she felt the continuous flow of unusually warm Chakra within her body.

"You... were you born with all five Chakra natures?" Having figured it out, Nao asked with slight surprise.

"Yes." Shin nodded gently and continued supplying Lightning and Wind-natured Chakra.

"Looks like I've become strange too..." Nao smiled again. "Right now, I don't even find you annoying anymore."

This time, it was Shin's turn to be stunned.

"What is it? Why are you staring at me?"

Her pursed lips brought him back to reality.

"Nothing..." Shin released her left hand. "Your hand is just done healing."

"Really?" Nao looked doubtful, wearing a thoughtful expression.

The "young" Shin believed that, at only five years old, he was not suited to saying too much to a girl.

Changing her outlook slightly and healing her injury were already enough repayment.

However, after thinking for a long time, Nao suddenly asked a question that caught him completely off guard. "Uchiha Shin, are we friends now?"

"Friends?"

After giving it careful thought, Shin realized that apart from his family, he had never truly had even one person he could call a friend.

Plans could not keep up with changes—that was the best way to describe his current situation.

More than ten seconds later, Shin looked directly into Nao's eyes, his tone becoming incomparably serious. "Hyuga Nao, you are my first friend."