School

The next day, Chiba went to school with two dark circles under his eyes.

He had spent all night planning, but no matter how he calculated it, there was no way he could open the Fourth Gate at his current age.

Yes, he was still too young. Opening three gates was already a struggle. His body likely could not bear the immense chakra of the Fourth Gate, and forcibly opening it might have a devastating effect on his future physical development.

The Eight Gates was a forbidden jutsu that injured the enemy by a thousand and oneself by a thousand. Opening it damaged the body, and the more gates opened, the greater the damage. If the Gate of Death was opened, death was certain.

His body at this age limited his progress in training the Eight Gates. Chiba could only sigh helplessly at that. After all, he could not speed up time and make his body grow faster.

Still, Chiba was not discouraged. During this period, he could train his basic physical strength and temper his body. Perhaps after a year, his body would be stronger and meet the requirements to open the Fourth Gate.

After all, what truly mattered for the Eight Gates was not age, but physical strength. If his body was strong enough, it did not matter how old he was.

As Chiba walked to school, he still received all sorts of disdainful looks and disgust. He had long grown accustomed to it and did not care much, merely thinking:

Sure enough, it was as though nothing had happened on the streets. The matter had been covered up.

Before long, Chiba arrived at school.

The Ninja Academy had no classes, only grades.

Grades were naturally divided according to enrollment time, and all students of the same grade attended lessons in one large classroom.

Chiba was seven years old and had been enrolled for two years, making him a Second Year student. Most of his classmates were seven or eight as well. He ranked forty-seventh in his grade, which had only fifty students in total, making him Fourth From Last.

He belonged to the group of poor students, and he was the awkward, inconspicuous sort among them.

Even the last-place student had more presence than he did.

In fact, the last-place student was even more memorable than the second-place student. Whenever students went home and their parents asked about their grades, if their child was not first, the first question would definitely be, "Who came first?" Then, "Who came second?" Next came, "Who came last?" And finally, "If you dare end up like so-and-so—the last-place student—I'll beat you to death."

See? Even third place had no presence. He was fourth from last, so naturally he was a complete nobody. On top of that, he was the Traitor's Son. It was already fortunate enough that the other students did not bully or make things difficult for him.

Still, Chiba was happy to have some peace and quiet. Once he sat in his usual Back Corner By The Door, he could sleep to his heart's content. After all, because of his taijutsu training, he squeezed out every last bit of strength before going to sleep each day. Even after sleeping, he still felt groggy, clearly not fully recovered. He could only catch up on sleep at school to restore his strength before continuing his training.

The Ninja Academy taught the Three Body Techniques, Shurikenjutsu, and basic taijutsu, and the Graduation Exam tested one of those subjects at random.

As for regular assessments and grade rankings, the Chunin Teacher evaluated every student's performance and calculated their scores. There were no separate examinations.

Due to the grogginess after taijutsu training, Chiba's Shurikenjutsu, Three Body Techniques, and taijutsu all looked mediocre to the Chunin Teacher. He could only rank near the bottom.

The top student in the Second Year was a genius after Kakashi's own kind: Uchiha Hirohiko. He was the most promising genius of this class to graduate at age seven. His taijutsu, Three Body Techniques, and Shurikenjutsu were all close to graduation standards. Once he reached that standard, he could graduate.

Back then, Kakashi had surpassed that standard at Five Years Old and graduated early as an exception. He had become a legend of the Ninja Academy and a genius admired by everyone in the village.

Now, Uchiha Hirohiko was the genius the Ninja Academy favored as someone capable of graduating early. Early graduation also meant being valued by the village and regarded as a key training prospect, a ninja who could stand on his own in the future.

Even with the Uchiha Family's awkward position in Konoha, the Konoha High Command would not hesitate in the slightest. It was a statement to all ninja: those with talent would be trained by the village. It could also inspire other ninja and strengthen their sense of belonging to Konoha.

However, Chiba had been engrossed in training the Eight Gates and developing Eight Gates Mode, so he paid no attention whatsoever to what happened around him. He knew the top student was Uchiha Hirohiko, but... he did not even know what Uchiha Hirohiko looked like.

Whether someone graduated early or not, Chiba did not care at all. At the time, he had been worrying about the amount of chakra in his body and had no mind for anything else.

But now that his Gate of Life Mode was basically complete, he had started paying attention to this early-graduation business.

If he received the village's key training and became a prospect, Chiba would not be casually treated as a disposable pawn. In the future Third Shinobi World War, he would not become Cannon Fodder. Perhaps, as a future prospect, he might even be protected.

Moreover, Chiba had Ninjutsu Talent. Becoming a key training prospect would make learning ninjutsu much easier.

Then... let's give it a try!

Chiba propped himself up with one hand on the desk, pulled out a Konoha Giant Steamed Bun larger than his face with the other, and silently began gnawing on it.

Recently, his appetite had grown enormously. It seemed as though he was never full. This oversized bun, said to fill an adult's stomach, would not satisfy him unless he ate at least three in one meal, and even after eating his fill, he became hungry again very quickly.

Chiba's only thought on the matter was: That's not bad. Eat more, grow faster—the Fourth Gate is within reach.

But for an orphan living on Konoha Welfare, food had become a major expense in addition to Weighted Training Gear.

Money was getting tight.

Just as Chiba began chewing on his bun, a piercing round of Screams erupted in the classroom. Some of the Female Classmates who had arrived early started screaming and rushed toward the door, shouting as though they were lined up to welcome someone. "Wow! Hirohiko is here!"

"He's so handsome!"

"Hirohiko, can I sit next to you today?"

As they spoke, they cupped their chins in both hands, their faces filled with infatuation.

Then, a boy in a Short-Sleeved Shirt entered the classroom. He had Sharp Eyebrows and Bright Eyes, clear and handsome features. Though still young, he was clearly destined to become a heartthrob who would captivate countless girls someday.

So this was Uchiha Hirohiko.

Yet faced with the screams of all those infatuated girls, Uchiha Hirohiko ignored them completely. With a cold expression, he walked straight to his seat in the inner corner of the front row.

That cool demeanor, Immovable as a Mountain, triggered another wave of screams from the girls, their eyes filled with hearts.

"N-No, I can't take it! My heart..."

"Ah! He's unbelievably handsome!"

The overlapping screams assaulted Chiba's eardrums. He chewed his bun and frowned slightly.

This Uchiha Hirohiko was a genius the school had high hopes for and a member of the prestigious Uchiha Clan. Why did he have such a worried and sad face?

Yes, Chiba had read the words "worried and sad face" from Uchiha Hirohiko's cool expression.

Just as Chiba was puzzled, the eyes of every boy in the classroom flashed with a strange light. Their gazes, previously filled with jealousy toward Uchiha Hirohiko, abruptly turned into looks of eager admiration.

At once, all the boys surged toward the door.