Konoha.
The edge of the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Six-year-old Uchiha Tunan knelt at the doorway, gazing toward the setting sun.
His clothes were a complete mess, covered in dust, with several shoeprints even stamped across his back.
Uchiha Tunan was a transmigrator who had arrived here three months ago.
The original owner's soul might have been devoured, or perhaps it had gone to the Pure Land.
His awakened cheat was called the Legacy Inheritance System.
As long as someone who acknowledged him died, he could inherit all of that person's abilities.
There were many ways to earn acknowledgment: recognition of strength, emotional recognition, recognition of ideals, and so on...
Yet since transmigrating here, the system had only indicated that Uchiha Tunan's parents met the requirements.
Both of Uchiha Tunan's parents were members of the Konoha Military Police Force. They were fairly talented as well, and had both awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan.
As for Uchiha Tunan himself, under his parents' guidance, he had long since begun learning to refine Chakra.
However, Uchiha Tunan's talent was too poor. At this rate, the highest achievement of his life would probably be becoming a Chunin.
Whether he could awaken the Sharingan would depend on fate.
"Don't blame me. I can't help it either."
Uchiha Tunan muttered, then lowered his head and put on a dejected, despondent expression as he quietly waited for his parents to return home.
After a while.
Uchiha Tunan's parents, Uchiha Genbo and Uchiha Nanako, returned from outside.
The moment they reached the entrance, the two saw the marks of violence on Uchiha Tunan's body.
Uchiha Nanako looked at Uchiha Tunan with a pained expression, but the Uchiha Clan had always been ruled by men, especially when it came to educating the next generation.
Uchiha Nanako could only stand there silently and wait for Uchiha Genbo to speak.
Uchiha Genbo's brow creased slightly as he said coldly, "Bullied by your classmates?"
Uchiha Tunan nodded miserably.
Uchiha Genbo said sternly, "Then train harder and hit them back. There are no weaklings in the Uchiha Clan."
Then he walked straight past Uchiha Tunan and entered the house.
Uchiha Nanako wanted to reach out and pick up her son, but Uchiha Genbo's angry shout came from inside.
"Leave him alone."
Uchiha Nanako hesitated for a moment, then had no choice but to withdraw her arm and head to the kitchen to cook.
After entering the house, Uchiha Genbo poured himself a cup of sake.
"That Kakashi is too awful." Uchiha Tunan's sobbing voice came from outside the door.
Uchiha Genbo paused at those words, lifted his cup, and took a small sip. His tone softened slightly as he said:
"Kakashi? Lord White Fang's son. It's only natural that you can't beat him.
That's exactly why you should work harder to catch up to him.
By the way, why did you fight?"
Uchiha Tunan stood up, nodded dully, then wiped away his tears with his hand and said in a pitiful voice:
"Today, I said Father and Mother were part of the Security Force, that you were the pride of protecting the village.
But Kakashi said right in front of me that you were cowards, that you didn't dare go to the battlefield and only hid in the village to bully civilians.
All the capable Uchiha clansmen had gone to the front lines. Only trash would choose to stay behind.
I couldn't hold myself back, so..."
Crack! Uchiha Genbo crushed the sake cup in his hand. All desire to drink vanished instantly.
He gave Uchiha Tunan a deep look, then slowly rose and headed toward the bedroom.
"After you eat, go practice your Throwing Technique in the yard."
Uchiha Tunan nodded, his face streaked with tears.
After dinner, Uchiha Tunan took a kunai into the yard and practiced his Throwing Technique at the target hanging from the tree trunk.
Mm.
Not a single throw hit.
Inside the bedroom, Uchiha Genbo and Uchiha Nanako knelt facing each other, the atmosphere somewhat heavy.
"Have you really decided? The battlefield is very dangerous."
"I always thought Tunan had poor talent and lacked bearing, that he had disgraced the Uchiha Clan.
I never expected that, in other people's eyes, I, his father, was trash too.
Tomorrow, I'll report to the elders and go fight on the front lines.
As a father, I must lead by example. I want Tunan to know that his father is neither a coward nor trash."
"I'll go with you."
"You should stay home and take care of Tunan."
"No. As an Uchiha clansman, he should learn to be independent too."
At that moment, Uchiha Tunan kept throwing kunai while shifting his gaze toward the house, thinking to himself.
Sorry, but if you don't die, it'll be hard for me to take the first step.
Isn't the Will of Fire all about dedication? Then dedicate your lives for me.
Though I'm not your child, I'll sleep with a few more female ninja with good genes in the future and pass on this body's bloodline.
Go down early and keep your child company. Dying at an enemy's hands is better than dying at the hands of your own clansmen later.
That's kind of awful. I've only been here a few months, taken someone else's body, and now I'm sending their parents to their deaths. How am I becoming more and more like a ninja?
Then he sent the kunai flying in an elegant arc before it crashed heavily to the ground.
It missed the target.
Inside the bedroom, Uchiha Genbo heard the continuous sounds of kunai falling outside, and his resolve to go to the battlefield grew even firmer.
The next day, at the Ninja Academy.
Today was the end of the half-term, and the students were to take their half-term exams.
The exam time had been uniformly scheduled for the afternoon.
The morning was reserved for Lord Hokage's speech on the Will of Fire.
All the Ninja Academy students gathered on the training field.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stood on the podium and swept his gaze over the students below.
Then he cleared his throat and began his speech...
After only a couple of sentences, Hiruzen Sarutobi sensed that something was off.
Most of the students below looked at him with admiration in their eyes.
Yet one first-year student had deep confusion in his gaze.
Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned and reviewed what he had just said, only to find that he had not said anything wrong.
Perhaps this child's comprehension was simply too poor to understand.
He stopped dwelling on it and continued speaking.
By the time he was halfway through, Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly noticed that the confusion in that student's eyes had vanished, replaced by an enlightened expression.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded to himself slightly. Good, it seemed this kid had been listening attentively.
His speech became even more impassioned.
By the end of the speech, Uchiha Tunan wore the same admiring expression as everyone else.
But Hiruzen Sarutobi knew that Uchiha Tunan's admiration was different from the others'.
The others admired his status, while Uchiha Tunan had truly been convinced by the principles he spoke of.
Thinking this, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded in satisfaction.
If this kid could grow up, he would make a useful tool.
After the speech ended, Hiruzen Sarutobi left amid the students' cheers. Before departing, he gave Uchiha Tunan a meaningful look.
With just that glance, Uchiha Tunan immediately trembled with excitement.
At noon, Uchiha Tunan returned home.
As expected, the house was already empty. Only a table full of food and a note had been left behind.
The handwriting on the note looked rather elegant.
It was clearly written by Uchiha Nanako.
Its general meaning was that the two of them had already set off for the battlefield, and they hoped Uchiha Tunan would take good care of himself.
Study hard, train hard, and strive to become a powerful ninja in the future.
There was enough money in the bedroom, but they still hoped Uchiha Tunan would not spend recklessly, and so on.
It listed all sorts of precautions.
Only the final line revealed Uchiha Genbo's tone.
There were no cowards in the Uchiha Clan, nor was there any trash.
After reading it, Uchiha Tunan sighed and put the note away.
Have a safe journey. Don't you dare come back alive.
Before you continue