Knight of Owner

The climate in Konoha during April is at its most comfortable and pleasant—neither cold nor hot. A gentle spring breeze stirs the cherry blossom branches, causing pink and white petals to drift down like rain, prompting passing pedestrians to stop and admire the view.

It is truly the perfect season for flower viewing.

However, not everyone has the leisure to go on outings and admire the flowers. The Ninja Academy has reached its annual enrollment season, and the avalanche of application forms has truly exhausted the entire faculty. With the senior students graduating in March and the new students enrolling in April, these two months are the most grueling of the year.

"Hey, have you heard? That Demon Fox is enrolling this year, too."

"For real? Letting a monster like that into the Ninja Academy? My son is enrolling this year, too... Damn it, what on earth are the people at the top thinking?"

"Shh!"

"Keep your voice down. Don't talk nonsense. The Hokage must have his reasons for doing this. Just keep an eye on your own kid and tell them to stay away from that Demon Fox."

At the gates of the Ninja Academy, parents and relatives dropping off their children gathered in small groups. News of the boy who was the incarnation of a certain Demon Fox enrolling spread quickly among most of the parents. Especially when that little boy with yellow hair appeared on the street in front of the school gate, the atmosphere suddenly turned extremely strange.

Disgusted and hateful gazes, whispers that could be heard clearly...

The boy lowered his head, dragging his heavy feet as he shuffled toward the school.

"Brother, hurry up! We're going to be late!"

"How could we possibly be late? Look, isn't that kid in front just arriving now? Toka, stop pulling! If you keep pulling, my sleeve is going to be ripped to shreds!"

At the end of the street, A little girl was tugging at her brother's sleeve, charging forward like a missile.

The boy walking in front, immersed in the gloomy reality, hadn't noticed the attack from behind. Caught off guard, he was knocked flat on his face by the girl, sprawling on the ground with his rear end stuck high in the air—a truly wretched sight.

"See! Toka, I told you not to run. Now look, what if you've hurt someone?"

"How could I have hurt him? Stop trying to scare me, Brother."

The girl kicked her brother's calf in great dissatisfaction.

"Stop, stop, stop! Toka, it's my fault, quit kicking! My bones are going to break." Uchiha Sōken raised his hands in surrender, hopping about to dodge the attacks of his sister, who had transformed into a shin-breaker.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Uchiha Toka, having failed to land a single kick, turned her head to ignore her troublesome brother and shifted her gaze to the little blond boy she had knocked over.

"...I'm fine."

The boy scrambled up. He had no intention of holding anyone accountable; he brushed the dust off his clothes and turned to leave.

"Why are you running? Are you a new student enrolling today, too?"

Uchiha Toka called out to the boy.

"...You're not afraid of me?"

The boy reached up to scratch his messy yellow hair, looking at the girl before him in utter astonishment.

The non-sequitur response made the girl glare at the blond boy in annoyance. "Who would be afraid of you? You're a boy, but you're not even as tall as me. You look like an easy target... Tell you what! As an apology for knocking you over, I'll look after you in the Ninja Academy from now on. If anyone bullies you, just tell me, and I'll beat them back for you."

"Eh?"

The boy stood there blankly, as if he hadn't fully processed what had just happened.

"What are you standing there like a dummy for? If we don't hurry, we're going to be late."

The girl... Uchiha Toka sighed, clutching her forehead. The first underling she had recruited upon entering school looked a bit dim-witted; he didn't seem very bright!

"Yo, Toka, starting to recruit underlings already?"

Uchiha Sōken looked the boy up and down.

A bird's nest of messy yellow hair, azure blue eyes, three whisker-like marks on each cheek, wearing a black short-sleeved shirt and white shorts... If one looked deeper, one could see the extremely powerful seal on the boy's body.

Uzumaki Naruto, the Third Nine-Tails Jinchuriki of Konoha.

"Brother, you're so annoying! Just go back already! We don't need you here." Uchiha Toka angrily pushed away her unscrupulous brother, who always loved to tease her. "Hurry up and leave! Don't you have a mission? Go to work, and don't forget the enrollment gift you promised me, Brother."

"You still remember that? I was just saying it off the cuff at the time. Besides, what does a five-year-old need with a Short Sword? I'll carve you a wooden sword to play with later."

"I don't care. A promise is a promise. If you dare lie to me, Brother, I'm going to tell Mom you bullied me."

"...Toka."

Uchiha Sōken's voice suddenly turned deep. He placed a hand on his sister's shoulder and said with great seriousness, "You must remember, tattling is a privilege for small children. Now that you've stepped into the Ninja Academy, you are a reserve ninja. If your classmates find out about such childish behavior, they will laugh at you."

"A promise must be kept. Grandfather said so himself. Stop trying to trick me, Brother; I won't fall for your schemes."

Once bitten, twice shy. After being fooled so many times, the little girl had developed a resistance.

Uchiha Toka made a face, grabbed her newly recruited underling, and dashed into the school in a flash.

"Don't run so fast, watch out for people... Honestly, she never learns!" Uchiha Sōken stood outside the school gate, watching his sister and the blond boy's backs disappear into the lobby of the teaching building, slowly retracting his neck.

Today is the first day of school. To help students adapt to school life as quickly as possible, parents are no longer allowed to enter the school grounds; dropping them off at the gate is the limit.

"Brother Sōken."

"Brother Sōken."

A familiar greeting came from behind him.

Uchiha Sōken turned around and saw two figures, one tall and one short. "It's Itachi! Is this... dropping Sasuke off for enrollment?" Standing before him were none other than the brothers from the clan leader's family, Itachi Uchiha and Sasuke Uchiha.

"That is how it is, Brother Sōken, you are also..." Itachi Uchiha's words were interrupted before he could finish.

"Toka and Sasuke are the same age, after all! By the way, Sasuke, you are in Class A as well, right?"

"Yes, I am in Class A."

"That works out perfectly. I have a mission I want to entrust to you. I wonder if you have the guts to take it?" Sōken Uchiha squatted down, looking the pint-sized Sasuke in the eye as he spoke.

"What mission? Just leave it to me, I guarantee I'll complete it."

The still-pint-sized Haruto grew excited. A boy of his age was most passionate about ninja games, especially when the mission was being entrusted to him by the renowned Brother Sōken of the clan... He agreed without a second thought, not even bothering to ask what the mission actually was.

What a good kid!

At this age, Haruto was still a proper, good kid of the Uchiha clan who hadn't been corrupted by Talk-no-Jutsu. He was far cuter than his brother, who was always thinking about sacrificing his small family for the sake of the greater good!

"This is a long-term mission."

Sōken Uchiha cleared his throat. "This year, you and Toka are the only two from our Uchiha clan to enter the Ninja Academy. You and Toka could be said to carry the honor of our Uchiha clan at the academy, and Toka is a girl, after all... So, Sasuke, don't be modest. Use your strength to tell those people at school that we Uchiha are the strongest in Konoha."

"Mm-hmm!!!"

Sasuke Uchiha's small face flushed with excitement. He nodded vigorously, puffing out his chest as he made his promise. "Brother Sōken, don't you worry. I will never bring shame to the name of our Uchiha clan."

However, Itachi Uchiha, standing to the side, frowned slightly.

"Oh! That's the spirit."

Sōken Uchiha patted Haruto on the shoulder, encouraging him. "Sasuke, if you can take first place in every single exam at the Ninja Academy this year, I can gift you a Chakra weapon!"

"Really?"

"I never lie."

So-called Chakra weapons refer to weapons infused with special metals that possess various properties such as absorption, conduction, extension, enhancement, or conservation. Due to the high difficulty of forging them and the vast market demand, a good Chakra weapon is extremely valuable; even ordinary Jonin cannot afford a suitable one.

Although Sasuke Uchiha was only five, his family background made him understand the value of a Chakra weapon.

Isn't it just taking first place?

He wouldn't lose to those idiot classmates of his.

The high-spirited Haruto charged into the school grounds.

Only Sōken Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha remained standing outside the school gate.

"Brother Sōken."

"What is it?"

"The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's identity is sensitive. Our clan... it would be best not to have too much contact."

"Hmm... Itachi, you've grown up, haven't you? You've even started telling me how to do things!"

"Brother Sōken, that's not what I meant, I just..." Itachi Uchiha tried to explain.

"Haha! Just kidding." Sōken Uchiha laughed. "Don't worry, I have no interest in the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, but I won't stop Toka from making friends either. Since the Hokage allowed the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki to enter the Ninja Academy, interactions between children should be fine, right?"

"...Brother Sōken, I spoke out of turn."

"It's fine, it's fine. You're doing this for the sake of the clan, after all!"

Sōken Uchiha maintained that fake smile and waved his hand.

"Itachi, if you have things to do, go attend to them. There's no need to stay here and waste time with an idler like me."

"Then... please excuse my rudeness." Itachi Uchiha took his leave very politely. Judging by his direction, he was heading toward the Hokage Building... Watching that still-small back fade from view, the smile on Sōken Uchiha's face gradually vanished, leaving only a bone-chilling coldness in his eyes.

Itachi Uchiha, indeed!

In his memories, this was a cold-blooded monster who would go so far as to slaughter his entire clan for the sake of his younger brother and the village!

One had to know that the Uchiha clan wasn't entirely made up of annoying guys who liked to look down their noses at people; there were many elderly people and children in the clan! There were also many ordinary people who had never awakened their Sharingan in their entire lives and weren't even ninjas. Yet, regardless of gender or age—whether it was a sixty or seventy-year-old man or a toddler just learning to babble—he had killed them all, leaving not a single soul behind.

For this cold-blooded junior, Sōken Uchiha truly couldn't muster a shred of goodwill, only guarded disgust...

If he had started as an orphan bullied by the clan, that would be one thing. With his golden finger, he could at most fake his death to avoid the cold-blooded devils Obito Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha—who killed their own masters and parents—move somewhere else to lay low, develop slowly, and wait until his divine skills were mastered to take revenge for the dead clansmen.

The problem was that his parents were both alive, he had numerous relatives and friends, a warm and harmonious family, and a super cute sister...

He couldn't run.

There was nowhere to hide.

The time left for him to resist the tragic fate of his clan could hardly be called abundant.

The "little strong ones" of Konoha had already officially enrolled in school. The time until the Night of the Massacre... would not be too far off. History had indeed changed slightly because of Sōken Uchiha, but the changes were not significant. Obito Uchiha had still sacrificed himself gloriously during the Kannabi Bridge Battle, and the Fourth and his wife had ultimately lost their lives on the night Naruto was born...

When the Kannabi Bridge Battle broke out, the nine-year-old Sōken Uchiha was just a newly promoted Chunin fighting against Mist Ninja on the Eastern Front, with no qualifications to influence the war on the Northern Front.

On the night of the Nine-Tails' attack on the village, let alone the ten-year-old Sōken Uchiha, not a single ninja from the Uchiha clan had been able to leave their compound to support the Fourth that night; ninjas from the Anbu and Root had surrounded the Uchiha clan's residential area heavily.

Five years had passed in the blink of an eye since that night.

During these five years, through unremitting effort and with the help of his golden finger, he had become a powerhouse in the clan on par with Shisui Uchiha.

Right,

Uchiha Sōken's golden fingers were the inherent skill known as Magic Release (Flame) and the Noble Phantasm Knight of Owner.

It sounded a bit incongruous, and in reality, it truly was quite incongruous. While it appeared to be a dual golden finger setup, compared to the omnipotent systems of his peers, his golden fingers... well, they weren't exactly trash, but they were certainly laborious to develop.

Regardless, it was still much better than starting with a blank slate!

He had been sent to the battlefield to kill at the age of seven, and in the eight years since, he had managed to significantly improve the power of Magic Release (Flame) through countless bloody battles. Since he lacked things like a system screen, it was difficult to judge exactly what level he had reached.

As for Knight of Owner.

This intangible Noble Phantasm was quite useful; it could grant any weapon in his hand the attributes of a D-rank Noble Phantasm and allow him to wield it. The limit for activating this Noble Phantasm was that the object had to be recognizable and identifiable as a "weapon." In other words, Kunai, Shuriken, Short Swords... even rocks or large trees could be transformed into D-rank Noble Phantasms for his use.

Of course, a weapon like a large tree wasn't very handy, and it was far less effective than a Shuriken.

A Shuriken imbued with the attributes of a D-rank Noble Phantasm possessed enough destructive power to shatter the hardening techniques of ordinary Chunin. Combined with the Sharingan and the Uchiha Style Throwing Technique, honestly, relying solely on this level of Shurikenjutsu—provided he didn't run into those monsters or get surrounded—was enough to survive on the battlefield if he remained cautious.

However—

It was not enough!

Far from enough!

No matter how much outsiders praised his strength, Uchiha Sōken, who still only possessed the Three Tomoe Sharingan, did not have much confidence in dealing with the cold-blooded monsters that were the future Itachi Uchiha and Obito Uchiha. The unique ocular techniques of the Mangekyo Sharingan, the Susanoo known as the "Power of God"...

None of these were things he could easily crush just by relying on these two golden fingers.

He needed greater power!