One Day, I'll Open the Seal...

Snake-Ram-Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger.

That was...

After one clash, Kagami Uchiha rapidly formed hand seals, startling the teacher into shouting.

"Everyone!! Scatter!!!"

Kakashi's pupils contracted as his hands moved swiftly.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"

The Great Fireball Technique was a signature ninjutsu passed down through generations of the Uchiha Clan and widely known throughout the ninja world.

For nearly every Uchiha, the first ninjutsu they learned was the Great Fireball Technique.

Having heard from Obito that Kagami Uchiha could use Fire Release, Kakashi had assumed he knew the Great Fireball Technique. That was why he reacted the instant Kagami Uchiha began forming seals.

Boom!!

The ferocious fireball shattered the earth wall!

Kakashi had made the right response, but he had underestimated the strength of Kagami Uchiha's ninjutsu.

"This is bad!"

The Chunin teacher immediately sensed trouble and used the Body Flicker Technique, trying to save Kakashi.

Poof!!

Before the flames could reach him, Kakashi's body exploded into a cloud of smoke, leaving behind only a piece of dead wood.

Substitution Technique!

When?

Bang!

Kagami Uchiha turned and bent down, meeting Kakashi's fist as he emerged from an earthen hole.

Their fierce taijutsu battle resumed.

"Th-this is already a battle between real ninja, isn't it..." Obito muttered from the corner where he had been forgotten, his eyes full of disbelief.

And unwillingness.

The Uchiha Clan revered strength. He often heard clan members praising Kagami Uchiha, but whenever their eyes turned to him...

Rin Nohara promptly offered comfort. She patted Obito on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Obito is amazing too. I believe you'll become a great ninja someday!"

"Yeah!"

The gloom that had just risen in Obito's heart was dispelled by the girl's smile.

So Madara really did have a sharp eye for people. As long as Rin Nohara was alive, Obito would never awaken the Mangekyo.

Obito really ought to thank Lord Madara for that blessing.

"Earth Style: Earth Wave!"

Among children his age, Kakashi's chakra reserves were already beyond excessive.

This was a lower-tier version of Earth Style: Earth Flow Wave. The ground rippled like waves, disrupting Kagami Uchiha's movements.

"Among those under ten whom I've fought, Kakashi, you are the strongest."

Kagami Uchiha leaped between the rolling earth, a faint smile remaining on his face from beginning to end.

"But I'm tired of this game."

"Your purity is still lacking."

The moment those words fell, a flash of scarlet reflected in Kakashi's eyes.

An incomparably terrifying demon god of a sea of blood crashed into his mind, instantly freezing both his body and spirit.

Sharingan Genjutsu—Sukuna Special Edition.

The double-tomoe Sharingan slowly emerged in Kagami Uchiha's eyes as he walked toward Kakashi step by step.

His hand rested on the hilt of Sode no Shirayuki.

Smack!

The teacher's hand landed on his shoulder, his voice trembling slightly. "Enough... You win, Kagami."

He lowered his head, saw the scarlet in Kagami Uchiha's eyes, and swallowed.

He had indeed heard that the Uchiha Clan had a genius who awakened the Sharingan at five... but he had awakened it as a double-tomoe Sharingan?!

Perhaps he had awakened it even earlier... and evolved it to double tomoe by the age of five...

Either possibility was terrifying enough.

The entire place fell silent.

Watching Kagami Uchiha battle Kakashi, it was not as though they had never considered that Kagami might win, but...

They simply could not understand how Kagami Uchiha had won!

Not until Kagami Uchiha swept his gaze across the crowd, and that scarlet glow entered their eyes.

Even children knew what it was.

One of the Three Great Dojutsu, the Uchiha Clan's greatest symbol of power...

The Sharingan!!

Kagami Uchiha was quite satisfied by the awe in these brats' eyes.

That was more like it. The Uchiha did not need any bonds. All they needed to do was crawl at his feet and look up at him.

Even without using the Sharingan, he was confident he could defeat Kakashi.

But why hide it?

A person's personality was influenced by factors such as environment and upbringing. There was also another important factor... the body.

Bad lungs made one prone to sadness.

A bad liver made one prone to irritability.

A bad stomach made one prone to resentment.

Uchiha brains were good. Being a little arrogant was perfectly normal!

Walking in fine clothes by night—that would make him Uchiha Fugaku.

The Uchiha Clan's inherited genes had influenced Kagami Uchiha's personality, but the most important factor was his own mindset.

In his previous life, he had no parents, no family, no friends. If he had been born in ancient times rather than the modern era, he would have been an unstable element under close watch, the sort who would be trained into a death warrior.

But here...

At the end of the sea, the sky became the shore.

The scarlet faded from his eyes. Kagami Uchiha said flatly, "My name is Kagami Uchiha. I hate challenges from people who overestimate themselves, I hate being disturbed while eating, and I hate Uchiha Obito."

"That's all."

Uchiha Obito: "..."

--

The smoke concentration in the Hokage Office had already exceeded safe limits.

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the scene in the crystal ball, his brows tightly furrowed.

This child... needed proper guidance.

He summoned his secretary and said in a low voice, "Jiraiya has been teaching Minato lately, correct?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage. They are currently training in the Death Forest."

After pondering for a while, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided not to act so quickly.

He would let the child remain at the Ninja Academy for now. Perhaps interacting with children his own age could change his personality.

If that truly did not work, then he would let that Little Sun shine on this Uchiha brat.

On Minato, Hiruzen Sarutobi had seen a light capable of uniting everyone. It shone even brighter than his talent for ninjutsu.

--

If not for his performance at the Training Ground, Kagami Uchiha looked far more well-behaved than Obito.

He did not make noise during class, nor did he sleep.

Though when the teacher called on him to answer questions, he ignored them anyway.

Kagami Uchiha had long since mastered everything taught at the Ninja Academy. Forget tree climbing and walking on water—he had nearly finished learning chakra nature transformation in the clan's lessons.

The ultimate limit of chakra nature transformation was the Rasengan. He wondered whether Minato Namikaze had developed it yet.

This was also the problem Kagami Uchiha was currently trying to solve. He had a complete set of steps and could reverse-engineer it from the standard answer.

If he used it before Minato Namikaze did, then the Uchiha Clan would be the Rasengan's original and authentic creator.

Minato Namikaze?

If you weren't Jiraiya's disciple, I'd sue you for plagiarism!

Of course, that all depended on Kagami Uchiha developing the Rasengan first.

Kagami Uchiha sat quietly, his consciousness already sinking into his mental space.

Before a massive gate, Kagami Uchiha sat down and began cultivating.

The Rasengan had three stages: "rotation," "power," and "maintenance."

Kagami Uchiha was currently stuck at the third stage.

The Rasengan was like a miniature typhoon gathered in the palm. The hardest part was maintaining that state.

"Brat... what exactly is going on outside... And what is with those eyes of yours..."

The Sharingan genjutsu infused with Sukuna's Cursed Energy had been one of Kagami Uchiha's experiments.

The effect was not bad. If the dean of students had not intervened, Kakashi could have stood there until morning.

It had also allowed Sukuna to sense a little of the outside world.

Chakra was the perfect fusion of spiritual energy and physical energy, while Cursed Energy originated from negative emotions and was merely one kind of spiritual energy.

In Sukuna's view, nearly every brat outside possessed Cursed Energy!

He had even sensed several powerful sources of Cursed Energy nearby, no weaker than top-grade sorcerers.

Such a density of powerful people was far too abnormal...

Most importantly... this was also the first time he had directly sensed Kagami Uchiha's eyes.

Though he did not yet think they could harm him...

As an analogy, he was like a wild bull, while the Sharingan was like a lion... No, a dragon egg was a more fitting comparison.

He had a vague premonition that if those eyes hatched from their shell, they could effortlessly shatter even his immortal body!

During a break in his training, Kagami Uchiha glanced at him and said blandly, "That's why it's so annoying."

"Other people either get a cheat that fully powers them up at once, or they have some system handing out missions. Yet all I have is this half-baked thing called you."

"Brat! What did you say!!"

"Quiet, Sukuna."

"This world is far more dangerous than you imagine. There are countless beings capable of killing you, so put away that pointless self-indulgence."

"Listen to me obediently. Maybe one day you'll get the chance to appear as my Summoning Beast."

Sukuna roughly understood what a Summoning Beast meant. His cold voice rang out. "Before I reach the pinnacle of this world, I do not mind wagging my tail and begging for favor."

"Compared to me, brat, you are the one who does not know the immensity of heaven and earth. With such pitiful strength, you dare expose yourself before other powerful beings."

"I am not like you."

A smile played at Kagami Uchiha's lips. The chakra sphere in his hand showed faint signs of stabilizing.

"If I die, it only means I was nothing special."

"I will not beg and plead to survive like you."

His scarlet eyes met the killing god lurking in the darkness.

"I know perfectly well how small I am, but does that mean I should hide myself away?"

"Knowing something cannot be done and doing it anyway—Sukuna, you have already lost humanity's most important instinct. You are merely a somewhat stronger beast."

"That is why you can only be a mount, to be ridden by me!"

"Brat, you are merely an ordinary man using this unknown prison to bind me. Stop spouting such big words."

Kagami Uchiha moved closer to the Seal, the corner of his lips curving upward.

"Sukuna, one day, I will open the Seal..."

"And put a dog collar on you."