First Meeting

The next morning, Kagami rose early. He wore gray clothes, with the distinctive fan crest of the Uchiha Clan on his back. Perhaps because he had been born into the Uchiha Clan, Kagami could be considered fairly handsome.

Following the route in his memories, Kagami soon arrived at the Ninja Academy. Once he entered the classroom, its layout was exactly as he remembered: a tiered lecture hall with three rows. At first glance, he spotted Sasuke sitting at the back of the middle row.

He really had come early. Sasuke was still an innocent boy, without the bitterness and hatred that came after the Uchiha Clan Massacre. With no hatred driving him, he could not be considered especially outstanding.

Next was a gray-clothed boy sitting in the row ahead of Sasuke. He had both hands behind his head and two triangular red markings on his face. It was Kiba Inuzuka. However, Kagami did not see Akamaru. Perhaps the dog was under his desk.

Those two were the only ones who had arrived before Kagami. He had already come quite early, yet someone had still beaten him here. Sasuke had probably been woken by Itachi, so it was normal for him to arrive earlier. As for Kiba Inuzuka, Kagami guessed that his Hokage Dream was at work. When people found their motivation, they always became especially diligent. It was nothing strange.

"Ah, it's Kagami. Big Brother sure is something. He woke me up first thing in the morning and told me not to fall behind you. Sigh, Kagami, why are you so hardworking? You got up so early, and you're only a little faster than me."

The moment Sasuke saw Kagami, he greeted him enthusiastically. Because of Kagami's reputation as a genius, most of the Uchiha's peers knew him, or at least had heard of him. Sasuke greatly admired genius figures like his brother, so he also had a strong favorable impression of Kagami, who carried the title of genius.

Kagami shrugged and said helplessly,

"Can't be helped. My father is too strict."

Saying that his father was strict was merely an excuse. Kagami knew perfectly well why he worked so hard all the time. Other people worked hard at most because of a burst of enthusiasm, while he was working hard for the sake of his own life. The concepts were completely different.

"A genius of the Uchiha Clan?"

Kiba glanced at Kagami and muttered quietly before ignoring him.

From this alone, Kagami could already sense the Uchiha's crisis. As a genius of the Uchiha Clan, he was not admired by his peers. This was different from Sasuke in the original story. When Kagami had watched the anime in his previous life, he remembered that Sasuke had been admired by many girls at the Ninja Academy. Kagami, however, was not.

It was not that Kagami wanted other people's admiration. Rather, all this told him that the relationship between the Uchiha and Konoha was deteriorating further. Someone like Kiba, who came from one of Konoha's prominent clans, had probably already been warned by his family not to associate too much with the Uchiha during this period.

The matter between the Uchiha and Konoha was classified, so those prominent clans probably did not know about it. However, many people understood how to read the situation. They had likely already noticed that something was unusual between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha.

The clan members probably would not be allowed to associate more closely with the Uchiha until after the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

Of course, that was not the only reason Kagami was unpopular. There were many others. For example, this was the first day of school. Although the Uchiha Clan called Kagami a genius, most people would not acknowledge it without seeing his true abilities.

Furthermore, most members of the Uchiha Clan were proud by nature and looked down on others. That was another reason many people in Konoha disliked them. Thus, most people would not take the initiative to approach the Uchiha, especially the boys. Everyone had their pride, and no one wanted to be looked down on by some Uchiha.

Kagami also ignored Kiba. He had no interest in fawning over someone who was cold toward him. Every minute and every second from now on had to be used to break out of the dead end awaiting him.

After sitting beside Sasuke, Kagami began chatting with him.

"Sasuke, does Big Brother Itachi have time today?"

"You're going to ask Big Brother to train you again? Sure, we can go together after school today. But Big Brother basically always brushes me off with 'maybe next time.'"

"It's always good to try. What if Big Brother Itachi happens to have time today?"

"That's true. Big Brother is such a genius. If he's willing to teach us, we'll definitely become the best students in our grade!"

Kagami continued chatting with Sasuke like this. Gradually, more people arrived. Some were unfamiliar faces Kagami did not recognize, while the rest were the future Twelve Konoha Guardians, whom Kagami knew very well.

Sakura Haruno, who kept glancing at Sasuke as soon as she entered, and Ino, who kept looking toward Kagami.

At their age, it was far too early to call it admiration. At most, their favorable impressions came from Sasuke and Kagami's good looks. They were also still young and had paid little attention to their families' warnings.

Of course, the two brothers, Sasuke and Kagami, uniformly chose to ignore it. Sasuke simply did not care, while Kagami's time was precious. He had no interest in considering what others thought of him. Even if everyone in the world had a favorable impression of him, it would still be no match for Itachi's sword on the day of the clan's destruction.

Only power was the truth.

Next came the thoroughly displeased Shikamaru Nara, who had the words "Going to school is such a hassle" written all over his face. After him came the chubby Choji Akimichi, along with Shino Aburame and Hinata Hyuga.

As soon as Hinata entered the classroom, she looked around just like Sakura and Ino. In the end, it seemed she had not found the person she was looking for, and she lowered her head dejectedly.

At this point, everyone Kagami knew had arrived. The rest were all unfamiliar faces, and Kagami did not know who any of them were.

Most of the future Twelve Konoha Guardians were in this classroom. Only the three from the previous grade—Rock Lee, Neji, and Tenten—were missing.

Most importantly, Kagami had not seen the person he most wanted to see.

"Hm? Late again? That's certainly familiar."

Kagami thought silently.

Before long, everyone found a seat and sat down. A shinobi wearing a forehead protector and bearing a scar on his face entered the classroom. He patted the podium, signaling everyone to quiet down.

"Hello, students. I'll be your teacher for the next six years. My name is Iruka. You can just call me Iruka-sensei. Now, go in order and introduce yourselves so your teacher can get to know you."

As he spoke, the student at the very front of the far-right row shyly stood under Iruka's gaze. Awkwardly, he prepared to introduce himself.

Just then, the door Iruka had closed was suddenly thrown open. A blond-haired boy in yellow stood at the entrance, gasping for breath.

For the first time, Kagami seriously examined someone. He had barely paid attention to the Twelve Konoha Guardians before, but when that blond-haired boy appeared, Kagami could not help looking at him seriously.

Naruto Uzumaki, the undisputed protagonist of the Hokage story, the son of the Fourth Hokage, and the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Looking at the boy gasping for breath, Kagami smiled faintly. He really had been late. In the past, when Kagami watched the anime, he had viewed it through Naruto's eyes. Now, he had become one of the characters, standing on the opposite side of Naruto. Thinking about it was rather strange.

Iruka naturally knew Naruto. In fact, it was impossible for him not to. The scene of the Nine-Tails roaring in the past remained vivid in his mind. It had mercilessly taken the lives of Iruka's parents before being sealed inside Naruto's body by the Fourth Hokage.

Before today, Iruka had rarely interacted with Naruto because he was afraid he might lose control and do something he should not. Now, however, he had no choice but to interact with this boy whom the villagers secretly called the Demon Fox.

After thinking for a while, Iruka finally spoke indifferently.

"What's your name?"

Iruka knew Naruto's name, but he still asked. He told himself that the person before him was not the Demon Fox, and that this was the first time he had met him.

Naruto also knew he was late. Scratching his head, he smiled sheepishly.

"Hehe, um, my name is Naruto Uzumaki!"

Iruka nodded.

"You're late. Since it's your first day of school, I won't hold it against you. Go find a seat."

Kagami silently watched Iruka. It seemed that Iruka still felt some resistance toward Naruto. After all, both his parents had died at the hands of the Nine-Tails.

However, six years at the Ninja Academy was not a short time. Such a long period was enough to change a person's opinion. This teacher who currently felt resistance toward Naruto would occupy an extremely important place in Naruto's life in the future. Iruka was a truly excellent teacher.

Next came the rest of the students' introductions. These children could not say much about their hobbies or ambitions, so most of them simply stood up and gave their names.

When it was Kagami's turn, he was quite straightforward and stood up without the slightest hesitation.

"My name is Uchiha Kagato. Please treat me well."

He immediately sat down. The person behind Kagami then began their introduction.

Kagami's name was clearly rather special.

"Uchiha Kagato? Is he one of the Uchiha's geniuses?"

"They say he's a genius, but I wonder what makes him different."

"A genius? Hmph, he looks nothing special to me."

The others discussed him quietly. There were admirers, skeptics, and those who looked down on him. All kinds of reactions were present.

At that moment, Naruto heard Sakura and Ino, who were sitting in front of him, discussing Kagami. Naruto, who was always eager to attract attention, was naturally very interested in someone who had everyone talking. He quietly asked,

"Hey, Sakura, why do they call that Uchiha Kagato a genius?"

Sakura answered as though it were obvious,

"Because he's excellent, of course."

Naruto continued asking,

"Excellent? What makes him excellent?"

Sakura was rendered speechless. Everyone said Kagami was a genius, but when it came to what exactly made him a genius, even they could not explain it.

Sasuke, sitting beside Kagami, also heard some doubts about him at that moment. He wanted to speak up in rebuttal, but Kagami stopped him.

"There's no need."

Sasuke was too indignant to let it go. He turned around and whispered to Kagami,

"Kagami, you have to show those people what a genius of the Uchiha is!"

Kagami sighed inwardly, but agreed aloud.

"I will."

Sasuke, too, possessed the Uchiha Clan's unique pride.