I Think I'm Quite Merciful

First, he needed to make sure Sarutobi Hiruzen knew who he was and could recognize his face.

Next, he had to aim for the top of his year and let Sarutobi Hiruzen see how talented he was.

Especially when he overtook Namikaze Minato, whom Jiraiya had high hopes for.

With the Uchiha Itachi Character Card, he was confident he could surpass the Namikaze Minato of today.

Namikaze Minato was a genius, but Uchiha Itachi was no slouch either.

At five years old, Uchiha Itachi was being taught by a clan ninja—his father, the clan leader. His training experience and techniques were far superior to Namikaze Minato's at this point.

However you looked at it, he had the advantage!

As Jiraiya's teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen would surely be keeping an eye on Namikaze Minato. He definitely knew what Minato was capable of.

All Uchiha Chonhua had to do was claim Sarutobi Hiruzen's attention for himself.

Keep your eyes on me, Sarutobi Hiruzen!

[Host, that smile of yours looks pretty sinister right now.]

"..."

"Ahem."

Uchiha Chonhua collected himself. He had to maintain his image.

There weren't any real lessons today. The teachers and students were mostly introducing themselves and getting acquainted.

After school, Uchiha Chonhua wore a smile as he planned to chat with the parents of the future Konoha 12 and strengthen their friendships.

But before he could even get up, a crowd of little girls had already surrounded him.

"..."

Listening to the girls chatter away, Uchiha Chonhua felt a headache coming on.

But he couldn't just rudely send them away. He'd only just decided to cultivate a friendly image. How could he give up on that so soon?

"Wojuan, you're so cute." "Your hairstyle looks great." "Ono, you like flowers? So do I." ...

Thanks to his good looks, all he had to do was look at their pretty faces and say what they wanted to hear.

The girls' faces lit up with smiles, and they gazed at Uchiha Chonhua with shining eyes. Then... they got even more excited.

Uchiha Chonhua's smile was about to crack. Why weren't they leaving?

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Namikaze Minato chatting with someone, too. What a coincidence—he was surrounded by little girls as well.

In this class, the only one whose looks could rival Uchiha Chonhua's was Namikaze Minato.

Watching Minato's troubled expression, Uchiha Chonhua suddenly felt his headache disappear.

Knowing someone else was in the same boat made him feel much better.

It took some effort, but he finally managed to send the lovestruck girls on their way.

The ninja world really did make kids grow up too fast.

Uchiha Chonhua sighed. In his previous life, he'd still been blowing snot bubbles at this age. He hadn't been thinking about liking anyone, let alone something as serious as romance.

Now that no one was bothering him, Uchiha Chonhua looked around. No one else in the class had left yet.

They'd only just started at the Ninja Academy, and everything still felt new. Surrounded by unfamiliar classmates, everyone wanted to get to know each other. Naturally, no one was in a hurry to leave.

Even Hizashi Hyuga, whom he remembered as weighed down by bitterness and hatred, was now chatting with his classmates with a faint smile.

His Byakugan was clear and innocent, untouched by worldly concerns.

Did he already understand what the Caged Bird above his head meant?

Uchiha Chonhua sighed. They were all still innocent children.

But the fact that no one had left suited Uchiha Chonhua perfectly. He immediately went to make friends with the future Konoha 12's parents.

Have a sweet, impulsive romance with one of the girls?

Forget that! Getting important things done mattered more!

Mikoto Uchiha was also chatting with the new friends she'd just made. When she saw Uchiha Chonhua leave, her beautiful eyes drifted after him.

"He really is good-looking."

Mikoto Uchiha thought that was probably why all the girls were talking about him. Somehow, the only thing she and her new friend had found to talk about was whether Uchiha Chonhua was handsome or pretty.

It was a little ridiculous.

How strange. Had she really never noticed before how good-looking the Tempura family's child was?

Mikoto Uchiha compared him to Fugaku in her mind.

Well, she wouldn't insult Fugaku.

Chapter 6: I Think I'm Quite Merciful

Although this was an elite class, it was still only the first year.

Apart from lessons on chakra extraction, the rest of the curriculum consisted entirely of general subjects.

Every student in the elite class could already extract chakra.

The chakra extraction classes taught at the school weren't useless. Knowing how to extract chakra didn't mean the students understood the process, so there were plenty of details that opened their eyes and proved useful.

But as for the general subjects, those who enjoyed them listened with rapt attention, while those who didn't complained bitterly.

Uchiha Chonhua belonged to the first group.

Having inherited the Uchiha Itachi Character Card, he was smart enough to be called a genius. He could easily understand everything the teacher taught.

So this was what it felt like to be a top student. Uchiha Chonhua was in a good mood.

The feeling of being able to follow along and understand everything was intoxicating.

Of course, since he was so clever that he could grasp things in one go, he naturally got bored when the teacher repeated the same explanations.

But he couldn't show his impatience. He still had to look eager to learn, with an expression that said, "What a wonderful lesson."

Hadn't Teacher Kinoshita looked so pleased when he saw him? That was proof it was working.

[Host, can't you use the Shadow Clone Technique? Why not make a shadow clone go to school for you?]

The system's voice rang out in Uchiha Chonhua's mind. He shook his head and answered it silently.

[My current persona is a studious, ambitious Uchiha. What if I use a shadow clone and get caught?]

[Besides, you have to take things one step at a time. Growth needs to follow a believable path. It's fine for the Uchiha Clan to produce a genius, but an outlier would be too much.]

His background was simple. So simple, in fact, that there was no way he could have learned the Shadow Clone Technique.

That was why he needed a teacher to give his knowledge a plausible explanation.

[Besides, I'm only bored with repetitive material, not unwilling to learn. There's never anything wrong with increasing your knowledge.]

Thinking this, Uchiha Chonhua pointed at the material in his textbook.

[System, you should study it too. Maybe it'll get rid of some of your idiocy.]

[...I'm a system, not a ninja. Systems don't study!]

The system grumbled. It had no interest in looking at those tadpole-like characters.

The system went silent.

Uchiha Chonhua shook his head. This little system had no desire to improve.

Class ended, and it was lunchtime.

Shikaku Nara wandered over with his hands in his pockets, looking listless and exhausted.

"Honestly, Teacher Kinoshita kept us late again."

Crunch, crunch.

Choza Akimichi munched on chips, his round cheeks bulging.

"Teacher Kinoshita does that all the time. Looks like Shikaku's lunch break is going to be shorter."

"Shikaku, you could try sleeping with your eyes open. Then you'd get more sleep, wouldn't you?"

Uchiha Chonhua smiled. "More sleep means more rest, and resting means you've gotten to slack off. That's what you love most."

Shikaku Nara rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe I should try that."

"Chonhua, Minato, what did Teacher Kinoshita mean by that? Please explain it to me."

Inoichi Yamanaka asked them with a troubled expression.

Hearing him, Uchiha Chonhua turned around and saw Namikaze Minato standing behind him with a bright smile.

"What it means is..."

Namikaze Minato began explaining it to Inoichi Yamanaka. Just then, someone called out to Uchiha Chonhua.

Uchiha Chonhua looked over. It was Hizashi Hyuga, who pointed toward the door.

"Chonhua, someone's looking for you."

Uchiha Chonhua apologized to his friends. "Sorry, someone's here to see me."

"Isn't that Teacher Mikami from the Medical Class?"

Shikaku Nara recognized the teacher. He watched Uchiha Chonhua leave, curious.

Was he getting involved with the Medical Class because he wanted to learn Medical Ninjutsu?

Uchiha Chonhua really did want to learn Medical Ninjutsu.

The teachers he hoped to study under were Jiraiya and Tsunade.

By now, he got along very well with his classmates, and he and Namikaze Minato, his strongest rival, were on good terms too.

That meant he could get close to Jiraiya through Minato.

Unfortunately, Jiraiya had gone away to travel and pursue the prophecy, so Chonhua wouldn't get a chance to meet him right away.

Jiraiya was away, but Tsunade was here.

As the granddaughter of First Senju Hashirama, the grandniece of Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, and the student of Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen...

In terms of status and connections, she was the real heavyweight.

More than anything, Uchiha Chonhua wanted to become Tsunade's student. Her glittering background would be a huge asset to his Hokage ambitions and help build his reputation.

It definitely wasn't because she was beautiful!

That said, Uchiha Chonhua wasn't sure how Tsunade felt about the Uchiha Clan.

Tsunade had been born after Konoha was founded. Although traces of the Warring States era hadn't completely vanished, someone born in the era of ninja villages shouldn't have been too marked by it.

First Senju Hashirama might have had a stress reaction to the village, but he'd treated everyone in it—civilians and ninja clans alike—well. Tsunade had even picked up his gambling habit, so she must have inherited some of his way of looking at things, too.

Though, as a rule, people tended to avoid learning the good habits and pick up the bad ones right away.

Second Hokage and Third Hokage, who inherited his will, were both wary of the Uchiha Clan to varying degrees. But on the surface, everyone still kept up a peaceful, friendly atmosphere.

Tsunade was still young. She probably hadn't noticed those deeper tensions.

As long as Tsunade didn't instinctively hate the Uchiha Clan, there was a chance he could become her student.

Even if he was an Uchiha.

"We're here."

Teacher Mikami's words brought Uchiha Chonhua back to the present.

They were in a different classroom, one dedicated to teaching Medical Ninjutsu.

"I didn't expect a child from the Uchiha Clan to want to learn Medical Ninjutsu."

Teacher Mikami looked at Uchiha Chonhua strangely, thinking of his earlier request and then of the clan he came from.

No matter how she looked at it, it was strange.