Konoha F4

"Wow, Chiya, you're amazing!" Seeing Fujiwara Chiya learn the Three Body Technique on his very first day, Uchiha Izumi was stunned. She couldn't help praising him again and again.

"Shh." Fujiwara Chiya quickly covered Uchiha Izumi's little mouth and gestured for her to be quiet. "Please keep this a secret. I don't want anyone else to know."

With her mouth covered, Izumi's pretty face turned crimson. She nodded, then said, "I can do that, but why don't you want anyone else to know, Chiya? You're so handsome that you could become popular, just like Itachi." She said that last part in her heart.

"Because then too many people would be watching me, and I wouldn't be able to come to your place for meals anymore." Fujiwara Chiya casually came up with an excuse.

He couldn't exactly tell her that until he was strong enough to protect himself, he didn't want to enter the sight of the Konoha F4.

"O-oh, I see." She hadn't meant anything by it, but Izumi took his words to heart. Her face grew even redder, and a pink flush spread down her neck. She continued, "My family does have quite a few ninjutsu scrolls, but most of them are forbidden to be shared outside the clan. If I gave them to you, I'm afraid my clan would cause you trouble."

She hesitated for a moment, then said, "How about this? I'll teach you the Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, and Body Flicker Technique first. They're all fairly common techniques in Konoha, so even if my clan sees you using them someday, they won't say much."

"I can't thank you enough." Fujiwara Chiya excitedly took Uchiha Izumi's hand. These were the techniques he needed most right now.

The Shadow Clone Technique in particular could use chakra to create solid clones with minds of their own and a certain ability to withstand blows. When dispelled, their memories and experiences returned to the original.

It was practically a cheat code.

The Body Flicker Technique was another one. If he combined it with the advanced flash skill cultivated through the Heavenly Steel Art, he might become the second-best taijutsu user in the Shinobi World. As for the best, that would be Might Guy in the future. With the power of the Eight Inner Gates, there might truly be no one who could match him in taijutsu.

In peacetime, the Ninja Academy not only trained students to become qualified Genin, but also taught them some essential life skills.

That morning, the teacher had tried to spark the students' interest in learning.

He had only given a brief explanation of how to mold chakra, along with a demonstration of the Three Body Technique.

The formal lessons began in the afternoon.

Although there were quite a few students from prestigious families like the Uchiha Clan, the Ninja Academy's first lesson still began with teaching them how to mold chakra.

By the time evening approached, the day's lessons had ended.

The next day, Fujiwara Chiya received the Great Fireball Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, and Body Flicker Technique from Uchiha Izumi. After looking over the first-year curriculum, he found that most of it involved stealth, trap-making, and basic ninja knowledge, with no real combat training.

He could have his Shadow Clones take care of all of it.

So, after learning the Shadow Clone Technique that night, he simply stopped going to school.

Meanwhile, his original body found a secluded grove and began its path of cultivation.

Uchiha Itachi also stopped going to the Ninja Academy.

Starting the very next day, that guy had been using Shadow Clones to attend class.

Although Chiya didn't particularly like him as a person,

he had to admit that Uchiha Itachi was a true genius.

He could learn almost anything in a flash, and often surpass his teachers at it. If Fujiwara Chiya hadn't read the original story, he might have thought Itachi was a transmigrator too.

The kind who started out as an overpowered protagonist.

A year later.

The Hokage Office Building in Konoha.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Shimura Danzō, Mitokado Homura, and Utatane Koharu—the entire Konoha F4—were seated together at the leadership table.

Below them stood the Chunin teacher responsible for teaching the class attended by Fujiwara Chiya and Uchiha Itachi.

Just as in the original story, Uchiha Itachi had accidentally clashed with an older student and revealed his Shadow Clone Technique, cementing his reputation as a genius.

The day before the sixth-year students graduated at the end of the school year, the Chunin instructor had reported him to the Konoha F4 and recommended that he graduate early.

After learning of this through his Shadow Clone, Fujiwara Chiya, who knew the original story by heart, had made a point of attending school in person during that period—a rare occurrence for him—to avoid drawing the Konoha F4's attention.

"A genius?" Danzō said, his expression calm. A bandage covered his right eye, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking, but his left eye revealed a complex mix of emotions: wariness, cunning, and a fleeting hint of murderous intent.

He seemed gloomy through and through, giving off a sense of scheming every moment.

As the staunchest believer that the Uchiha were a naturally evil clan, he hated them more than anyone. Yet at the same time, he envied them more than anyone.

He envied the Uchiha's unique bloodline limit—the Sharingan.

"Yes, Lord Danzō. He learned not only the Clone Technique for last year's graduation exam, but also the Shadow Clone Technique. He excels in every other area as well. There's no point in keeping him at the Ninja Academy any longer," the Chunin teacher replied respectfully.

He stood ramrod straight, his throat bobbing as he swallowed hard. He didn't dare meet Danzō's gaze. Clearly, this leader of Root, known as the Darkness of the Shinobi World, had become someone his fellow villagers feared like a tiger.

That was also why Danzō was destined never to become Hokage. Of course, he himself wasn't aware of it in the slightest.

"But he's only in his first year, isn't he?" Sarutobi Hiruzen was a stickler for tradition. Since it was peacetime, he didn't want Uchiha Itachi to graduate so soon.

"Yes." The Chunin teacher heard the Third Hokage's displeasure and answered meekly.

At that moment, Danzō, who had always enjoyed going against the Third Hokage, spoke up in objection. "Isn't that a good thing? It's not as if there's no precedent."

"But times are different now. That was during wartime—" The Third Hokage tried to say more, but Danzō cut him off with a single sentence.

Danzō turned to the Chunin teacher. "He's a genius, right?"

"I've never seen a student like him," the Chunin teacher replied with conviction.

"Letting Itachi graduate is for his own good, too!" Hearing this, the Third Hokage lowered his head slightly, his eyes hidden beneath his hat. He repeated the words and didn't object again.

Next, the Chunin teacher continued with his usual report on some of the more outstanding students, most of whom came from prominent families.

The Third Hokage remained silent throughout. But when the teacher mentioned Fujiwara Chiya, a civilian, he finally raised his head. "Is he a child of the Fujiwara Clan?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage. Among the first-year students, besides Itachi, the most talented in the class is the orphan of Fujiwara Chiya, the Special Jōnin. His talent is far below Uchiha Itachi's, but he's still good in every area. With proper training, he has a bright future ahead of him."

"I see. It seems Fujiwara left behind a fine child." The Third Hokage repeated the words thoughtfully. No one knew what he was thinking. Danzō and the others had kept their attention entirely on Uchiha Itachi from the start, and they looked down somewhat on a so-called civilian genius like Fujiwara Chiya.

Of course, that was exactly what Fujiwara Chiya wanted.