Not Weaker Than Anyone

Moonlight shone across the lake, its bright reflection clear on the water even at night. The moon here had been created by the Sage of Six Paths when he sealed the Ten-Tails. The thought of a jutsu capable of creating a celestial body was beyond Mirai's imagination.

Standing by the lake, Mirai began forming hand seals: Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. Once he had completed them quickly, he drew on the chakra within his body and directed it to his mouth.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Mirai shouted the name of the jutsu.

"Whoosh!" A flame burst from Mirai's mouth and rapidly formed into a massive fireball about two meters in diameter before him. Radiating scorching heat, it surged forward.

Boom!!

The fireball exploded over the center of the lake, scattering white steam across the water. Mirai stared in amazement at the effect of his jutsu and couldn't help clenching his fists.

"I, Mirai, am no weaker than anyone else. I'll become even stronger," he said to himself. Even Uchiha Sasuke had needed to practice this jutsu many times before mastering it, yet Mirai had succeeded on his first try. That meant he had more talent than Sasuke.

When he had first arrived here for no apparent reason, in this dangerous world of Naruto, where children could leap about in perilous places, it was no wonder Mirai had lacked confidence. On Earth, nothing like this could ever happen. He had lived in a society governed by laws, where even fights were rare.

This was the first offensive jutsu he had learned, and he had succeeded on his first try. Only now was he convinced that even in this dangerous world, without the System Shop, he was every bit as talented as anyone else.

Taking advantage of the moment, Mirai used the Great Fireball again. Another two-meter fireball burst from his mouth. This time, he felt a little dizzy. He had clearly used too much chakra. After practicing the Body Flicker Technique over and over, then launching two Great Fireballs, Mirai was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the grass, panting. Still, he wore a happy smile.

After resting for a while, Mirai successfully used the Great Fireball one more time, then left the lakeside and returned to his room. It was already late, and if he kept using jutsu there, someone would surely notice.

Back in his room, Mirai lay down and fell asleep at once. He had expended too much mental energy that day and needed a good rest. For the first time, he slept so peacefully.

The next day, Mirai went to school early again. The knowledge taught there was part of his main quest, so he had to maintain perfect attendance and earn high marks. With a super-genius like Uchiha Itachi around, Mirai couldn't afford to slack off at all.

Time flew by, and half a year passed in the blink of an eye. By then, Mirai had been in this world for a year, and he had grown quite familiar with the street where he lived.

Many people on his street knew Mirai. Though young, he was independent and self-reliant, and they were all kind to him. He had changed noticeably over the past year, most obviously growing taller.

Of course, the biggest change for Mirai was that he had become much stronger—more than ten times stronger than he had been six months earlier. He hadn't earned many Points over those six months; altogether, he had fewer than twenty.

Since there wasn't much he could use them for, Mirai hadn't bought any new jutsu to learn. He had saved his Points so that he wouldn't be left without options when the time came.

By now, he had mastered quite a few jutsu, all of them picked up from Uchiha Itachi. Whenever he had the chance, Mirai would spar with Itachi. It helped him quickly improve his combat strength and make up for his lack of experience, so he learned plenty every day throughout those six months.

At first, when Mirai fought Uchiha Itachi without using the Sharingan, he never won; he lost every time. A month later, the outcome was still the same. After three months, Mirai finally managed not to lose for the first time. They fought for an hour and ended in a draw. Now, after six months, Mirai and Itachi were evenly matched. Their fights almost always ended in a draw, and if Mirai used the Sharingan, the odds of victory swung almost entirely in his favor.

Whenever Mirai asked Uchiha Itachi for advice, Itachi told him everything without reservation. Mirai was deeply grateful to him. This was a time when he urgently needed to grow stronger, and he had decided that if Itachi ever needed anything from him, he would do everything he could to help. The System's quest to build a good relationship with Itachi had finally started to pay off.

Today was another day for the school's strength assessment. Unlike the usual monthly tests, this time there were visitors: the Fourth Hokage and the Third Hokage had both come to watch.

Mirai had met both the Third Hokage and the Fourth Hokage before. He had seen the Fourth Hokage when school began, and after that he had usually run into him at Ichiraku Ramen. The Third Hokage, however, often visited the Ninja Academy. Mirai later learned that he was the academy's principal. With the Fourth Hokage now in charge, the Third Hokage only needed to give him his full support, leaving him plenty of time. He also wanted to train a new generation of supporters for Minato, so that even if he was no longer around, no one could rebel and undermine Minato's position.

The Ninja Academy had been founded to train talent, and it was taken very seriously. A Jonin was worth far more than a hundred Genin. Konoha was still recovering from a period of weakness. Even if a lean camel was still bigger than a horse, a strong Konoha was the only guarantee of safety.

Iwagakure and Kirigakure were both showing signs of moving against Konoha. They weren't minor shinobi villages, but two of the Five Great Shinobi Nations. If war broke out, these children might all be sent to the battlefield.

When the children saw the Third Hokage and the Fourth Hokage arrive, they all began whispering excitedly. The belief that the Hokage was the most worthy person of respect had been instilled in them from a young age.

Many of them dreamed of becoming Hokage. Seeing two generations of Hokage arrive together to watch their matches naturally thrilled them, and they wanted to show off their abilities in front of both of them.