Naruto: Choosing from Birth Chapter 2

Yeah, even I didn't believe that excuse.

"Nonsense! I caught it with my own hands from a tree!" Shibi Aburame said, his face flushing red.

"Exactly. I raised it on that tree. If I hadn't put it there, how could you have caught it? I can't be bothered arguing with you. Get him."

In an instant, three fists came down on Shibi Aburame.

But the sound that came back was a heavy thunk. Shibi Aburame's body had turned into a log.

Substitution Technique!

Shibi Aburame appeared from the other side of the three lackeys and was just about to counterattack when he suddenly spotted a fist the size of a sandbag coming at him from the side.

It was Uchiha Cheng's fist, as though it had been waiting there for Shibi Aburame all along.

No one saw Uchiha Cheng's Sharingan flash and vanish.

A Ninja Academy student's Substitution Technique was crude and easily seen through.

With a bang, Shibi Aburame was knocked to the ground. Then the three lackeys rushed over and gave him a thorough beating.

"Damn it! If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one! What kind of skill is ganging up on one person?" Shibi Aburame shouted unwillingly, his face bruised and swollen.

"Sure, I'll give you a chance to fight one-on-one."

"Hit him harder."

In an instant, the fists that had stopped began raining down on him again.

"Didn't you agree?"

"Yeah. One of you against all of us..."

Pfft...

"Alright, that's enough. Hand over your money. Consider that rare Colored Rhino Beetle sold to you. From now on, I'll cover you at school." Seeing that it was about enough, Uchiha Cheng had his lackeys stop.

"This is too much! It was obviously wild... I only have five hundred ryo." Shibi Aburame felt like crying. He had gotten beaten up and still had to pay protection money. He secretly swore that after returning home, he would train twice as hard and definitely settle this score.

"The Aburame Clan is a major clan, isn't it? Why do you have so little loose change?" Ryo was not particularly valuable in this world. Even a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen cost anywhere from several dozen to a hundred ryo.

"I'm short on money. Raising insect babies and the like costs a lot. Besides, the Aburame Clan isn't as rich as the Uchiha Clan."

"Mm, you seem honest enough, so I'll let you off this time. From now on, give me five hundred ryo every week. If anyone bullies you at school, just give them my name," Uchiha Cheng said with a nod.

"You're the only one in the whole school who bullies me..." Shibi Aburame muttered quietly.

"Hm? What did you say? Not convinced? Of course, if you can beat me, I wouldn't mind paying you five hundred ryo instead."

"No, I'm convinced." Recalling Uchiha Cheng's current strength, Shibi Aburame decided it was best not to challenge him for now.

Ding! Congratulations, total Chakra increased by fifty percent.

He immediately felt the amount of Chakra in his body surge dramatically, increasing by roughly half of what he had previously possessed.

Uchiha Cheng's Chakra reserves had now barely reached the level a Special Jonin could possess. Among Uchiha Clan members his age, who generally had "low mana," this was absolutely unmatched.

Afterward, Uchiha Cheng took out two hundred ryo and rewarded his three lackeys, making them so happy that they launched into another round of flattery.

The three civilian lackeys declared that they would cling tightly to Cheng-nii forever. They could eat and drink well while avoiding being bullied by others.

Uchiha Cheng waved them off, and everyone went home.

Konoha Hokage Office.

At that moment, the Third Hokage, who had watched the previous scene from afar through a Crystal Ball in the Hokage's office, had an Anbu bring him Uchiha Cheng's file.

Uchiha Cheng:

Fourth-year Ninja Academy student.

Eight years old.

Usually performed terribly on written tests!

However, he displayed astonishing combat ability in practical matches.

He was in the same class as Minato Namikaze, the first generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio, Hyuga Hiashi, Hizashi Hyuga, Nawaki Senju, Mikoto Uchiha, and others.

Second son of Uchiha Kagami, the current head of the Uchiha Clan.

Deeply favored by Uchiha Kagami. It was likely excessive indulgence that had given Uchiha Cheng such an arrogant and domineering personality at such a young age.

Compared to his second son, Uchiha Kagami was far stricter with his eldest son, Fugaku Uchiha, causing Fugaku Uchiha to mature early and become calm and steady.

Most importantly, both of them were geniuses...

Usually, Uchiha Cheng acted arrogantly at school, but he had only bullied civilians at most. Had he finally begun bullying the children of major clans now?

This generation happened to include exceptionally gifted descendants from every major clan, such as the Senju Clan, the Hyuga Clan, and the three clans of the Ino-Shika-Cho Trio, staunch supporters of the Hokage faction.

"Ah, the Uchiha Clan truly produces an abundance of geniuses. Konoha's future is worrying..."

"We can't let the Uchiha Clan easily crush Konoha's future. Have Jiraiya and Orochimaru choose a disciple in advance and train them. That will suppress the Uchiha Clan's arrogance." The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, thought to himself.

Then he said to the Anbu before him, "Go summon Jiraiya and Orochimaru."

"Yes!"

A short while later, Jiraiya and Orochimaru arrived at the Hokage's office.

"Old man, hurry up and say what it is. It's evening now, and the bathhouse... no, I'm busy gathering material for my writing," Jiraiya's booming voice called out before he even entered.

At this time, Jiraiya and Orochimaru were still young. Having only recently become elite Jonin, they were full of youthful vigor.

"There are many geniuses among this year's Ninja Academy students. I want you to select a few and train them in advance. Small conflicts between the ninja villages have been constant lately. I'm afraid it won't be many years before these peaceful days are over." The Third Hokage took a puff from his pipe and slowly said, "Do either of you have anyone in mind?"

"Heh, funny you should ask. I rather like a child named Minato Namikaze. Last time, I ran into him in the woods practicing shuriken throwing. He had good talent and reminded me of myself when I was younger, so I gave him a little guidance. I didn't expect him to learn every ninjutsu I taught him the moment he saw it," Jiraiya said with a grin.

"Nawaki Senju. Not bad," Orochimaru said lightly, with a rare trace of eagerness in his eyes.

At this time, Orochimaru still had an excellent relationship with Tsunade and the others. In the original story, Orochimaru first cried when Nawaki Senju, his disciple, died. It was also from then on that Tsunade and Orochimaru gradually grew apart. The second time he cried was when the Third Hokage was killed by him.

The Third Hokage glanced at Orochimaru, then nodded. "Then let them become your disciples. But you'll need to speak with Tsunade about Nawaki Senju..."

"Nawaki Senju does not have the talent to become a medical ninja, so Tsunade already told me to teach Nawaki whenever I had time," Orochimaru replied.

The Third Hokage tapped his pipe. "That little Uchiha in their class has been causing a bit of trouble lately. I hope you can guide Nawaki and the others carefully."

Orochimaru and Jiraiya exchanged a glance and immediately understood the old man's intentions. "Understood!"

Early the next morning, after breakfast, Uchiha Cheng arrived at the Ninja Academy right on time.

The Ninja Academy had been founded by the Second Hokage as an institution for training ninjas. It gave many ordinary people the chance to become ninjas. At this point, only around ten years had passed since its founding, so it was far less developed in many respects than it would be by the time of the original story.

He had accumulated enough. Starting today, he would deal with those major clan children one by one.

Cheng-nii had always treated everyone equally. Since he had beaten one, he could not leave any of the others out this time.

Even schools on Earth in his previous life could not guarantee that students would never be bullied, much less this brutal world of Naruto.

His three lackeys, Big Bear, Bear Two, and Bear Three, had been waiting respectfully at the school gate early in the morning.

That was right. Their original names had been too awful, things like Bear Egg and Kameda...

Uchiha Cheng had simply given them nicknames that matched their intelligence and were easy to understand.

When the bell rang, Uchiha Cheng and his group barely entered the classroom.

In an instant, dozens of gazes shot toward them.

"Uchiha Cheng is too arrogant. My Eight Trigrams Palm has already reached thirty-two palms. He'll be perfect practice." A white-eyed boy spoke to another white-eyed boy who looked exactly like him. They were clearly the brothers Hiashi and Hizashi.

"Cheng-nii is so handsome. No matter how many times I look at him, it's never enough," a lovestruck girl said.

"Get lost. Cheng-nii is mine."

"Though he acts all cocky, I have to admit that he really is strong. A few days ago, he even beat up students from higher grades."

Uchiha Cheng ignored the whispers and sat down beside Mikoto Uchiha in a domineering manner.

"Cheng-nii, what did you do after school yesterday? Why did you tell me to go home first?" Mikoto asked softly, her pretty face slightly red.

Yesterday, I went around bullying people. Could I tell you that?

He had to maintain a righteous and radiant image in front of girls.

"Oh, I gave the Colored Rhino Beetle I raised on a palm tree west of the school to Shimi Aburame yesterday. It delayed me a little."

The two of them glanced at Shimi Aburame, who was sitting two rows behind them.

Hearing the sound, Shimi Aburame raised his head. The head that had been swollen like a pig's yesterday had clearly been mostly treated, though there were still faint bruises across his face.

"What happened to his face? It looks like he was injured," Mikoto said softly.

"Nothing. He was too stupid and fell several times while climbing a tree. Later, I couldn't stand watching anymore, so I climbed up and caught it for him myself."