Konoha, Year 32. Early summer.
The Ninja Academy's training field was already buzzing with noise.
On the platform, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, wore his Hokage Cloak and held a pipe between his fingers. His mouth opened and closed as he delivered an impassioned speech.
"Where the leaves dance, fire burns without end..."
"The firelight will illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout..."
Below the platform, a group of little brats who had just received their forehead protectors listened with boiling blood, their eyes shining. They wished they could rush straight onto the battlefield and shed their blood for Konoha.
But at the very back of the crowd—
Tobirama Uchiha yawned, his eyes filled with helplessness.
How many years had Hiruzen Sarutobi been reciting this same speech?
Wasn't he sick of it?
This wasn't the "Will of Fire" at all. It was clearly the Ninja World's most elite brainwashing pyramid scheme.
It could only fool a bunch of little kids who had never seen blood.
As a transmigrator, Tobirama Uchiha understood the situation perfectly well.
The Second Ninja World War had just begun. The front lines were under pressure, and the old man was eager to send this batch of freshly graduated genin to fill the battlefield.
They called them "new leaves," but they were really just "fresh cannon fodder."
"What rotten luck."
Tobirama touched his forehead protector and grumbled inwardly.
Becoming an orphan of the Uchiha Clan after transmigrating was bad enough, and he had even landed in this chaotic era.
Fortunately, his talent in this life was decent. He had awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan at twelve and had been praised as a "genius" by several old fossils in the clan.
But that was all he was—a genius.
On a battlefield where human lives were as cheap as grass, geniuses who had yet to mature died faster than anyone else.
Just as Tobirama was considering how to survive on the battlefield, a ding suddenly rang in his mind.
[Ding! The host's resentment has reached the required level. Hokage King System binding successful!] [The beginner gift pack has been issued. Would you like to claim it?]
Tobirama froze for a second before the corners of his mouth shot upward.
His cheat had arrived!
Why the hell would he need to hide now?
"Claim it!"
[Ding! Congratulations, host! You have obtained: Three-Tomoe Sharingan (immediate evolution)!] [Ding! Congratulations, host! You have obtained: Uchiha Style Shurikenjutsu (mastered to perfection)!] [Ding! Congratulations, host! You have obtained: Fire Release Compendium (proficient)!] [Ding! Congratulations, host! You have obtained: Lightning Release Compendium (proficient)!]
Boom!
A warm current instantly surged through every part of his body.
Tobirama felt as if his eyes had been scorched by fire—burning hot and aching—followed by unprecedented clarity.
The world changed before his eyes.
He could clearly see the path of the wind, the tremble of distant leaves, even the pores on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face atop the platform.
Three tomoe!
It was a threshold that ordinary Uchiha clansmen might never reach in their entire lives, yet he had it from the very beginning.
And all that ninjutsu knowledge in his head felt like an inborn instinct, carved into his bones.
At that moment, Tobirama Uchiha only wanted to throw back his head and laugh.
To hell with being cannon fodder!
Humanity always had its limits.
But! From this moment on, he was a cheater!
"All right, dismissed! Everyone, follow your respective jonin instructors and begin carrying out missions!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi finally finished speaking.
Cheers erupted across the training field.
The teachers began gathering their students.
A chunin teacher approached with a list and called out, "Team 7: Tobirama Uchiha, Jiro Tanaka, Ai Suzuki. Come with me."
Tobirama suppressed the wild joy in his heart and followed the group back to the classroom.
The classroom was noisy, with everyone guessing who their jonin instructor would be.
The door was pushed open with a bang.
A beautiful woman with long, wavy blond hair walked in.
Even her loose combat uniform could not conceal her stunning figure, especially the bulging armor over her chest, which was particularly eye-catching.
Tsunade!
At this point, she was not yet the gambling sucker who always lost. She was Princess Tsunade of Konoha, who had just made a name for herself on the battlefield.
Tsunade swept her gaze over the room. Her eyes paused on Tobirama Uchiha for two seconds, and her brows furrowed tightly.
"The three from Team 7, follow me."
Her tone was harsh, as though someone owed her five million ryo.
The two civilian extras, Jiro Tanaka and Ai Suzuki, flushed with excitement and eagerly followed behind her.
Tobirama walked at the back, but doubts rose in his heart.
Had the Third Hokage gone mad?
He had assigned an Uchiha to train under Tsunade of the Senju Clan?
Wasn't that like tossing a cigarette butt into a powder keg?
Everyone knew the Uchiha and Senju clans were hereditary enemies. Though they no longer fought openly, they still gave each other plenty of trouble behind the scenes.
Was he trying to win me over? Or was he having Tsunade keep an eye on me?
Tobirama looked at Tsunade's murderous back and sneered.
Whatever they were plotting, as long as his fists were strong enough, every scheme would be nothing but a paper tiger.
Meanwhile, Tsunade, walking ahead of them, was in an equally terrible mood.
"That old man has truly gone senile!"
She held back a surge of anger.
It would have been one thing to saddle her with two civilian deadweights, but he had even thrown in an Uchiha!
And an Uchiha named "Tobirama," no less!
Was that name deliberately meant to disgust her?
That was her second grandfather's name!
How much did this brat's parents hate the Senju Clan to name their kid that just to take advantage of it?
"Just looking at that fan crest annoys me."
Tsunade gritted her teeth, her fists cracking loudly.
If it were not for the village's greater interests, she really wanted to throw this brat straight back to the Uchiha compound.
Training Ground 3.
A dense forest surrounded an open clearing.
Tsunade turned around and crossed her arms over her chest, an immense pressure bearing down on them.
"Introduce yourselves."
She lifted her chin slightly, her face full of arrogance.
"My name is Tsunade. I like gambling... ahem, I like straightforward things. I hate people who dawdle and old men. Since you've been assigned to my team, don't expect me to look after you like a nanny."
Jiro Tanaka hurriedly stepped forward and stammered, "I-I'm Jiro Tanaka. I like ramen, and my d-dream is to become Hokage!"
Ai Suzuki blushed as well. "I'm Ai Suzuki. I like flower arranging, and I-I hate bugs."
Two classic cannon-fodder templates.
Tsunade did not hear a word of it. Her gaze locked directly onto Tobirama Uchiha.
Tobirama was not intimidated. He stepped forward, a teasing smile on his lips.
"Tobirama Uchiha."
"I like all beautiful things, such as powerful ninjutsu and beautiful... ahem, scenery."
"I hate everything that irritates me, especially boring tests."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
This brat was pretty cocky.
He actually dared to speak with a hidden meaning.
"Very well."
Tsunade sneered and rolled her wrists.
"You all know the current situation. The front lines are a complete mess. I don't have time to play house with you."
"I don't have time to teach you how to throw shuriken, either."
"Today's test is simple. Attack me with the intent to kill."
"As long as you can make me take half a step back, or stay standing for ten minutes, you pass."
"I'll give you five minutes to discuss your strategy."
After saying that, Tsunade leaned against a tree trunk and closed her eyes to rest, not taking the three brats seriously at all.
Jiro Tanaka and Ai Suzuki panicked.
"Th-this is the legendary survival exercise? But our opponent is a jonin!"
"What do we do? We definitely can't beat her!"
The two were completely at a loss and could only look toward the team's sole member from a prestigious clan.
Tobirama remained calm and glanced at them.
"It's simple."
"When we start, the two of you can watch from the side or launch a feint to cover me. I'll handle the main attack."
"Huh?" Jiro Tanaka stared blankly. "C-can that work?"
"What else are you going to do? If you go up there, you'll only be throwing yourselves away. Just don't get in my way."
After saying that, Tobirama ignored their expressions and turned directly toward Tsunade.
"We've finished discussing."
Tobirama called out.
Tsunade opened her eyes, her gaze sharp. "Then begin!"
The instant her words fell—
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two figures flew backward.
Before they could even see how Tsunade had moved, Jiro Tanaka and Ai Suzuki were already hanging from distant tree branches, their eyes rolled back, foam spilling from their mouths as they fainted.
Instant defeat.
That was how cruel the difference between a true jonin and genin was.
Only Tobirama Uchiha remained on the field.
Tsunade clapped her hands as though dusting them off.
"The nuisances have been dealt with. Now it's your turn, Uchiha brat."
A mocking curve appeared at the corner of her lips.
"Let me see whether you deserve that name."
Tobirama took a deep breath, and the chakra within his body instantly boiled.
Those black pupils abruptly changed.
They became blood-red in an instant!
Three black tomoe slowly rotated within his pupils, radiating an eerie light.
Tsunade's eyes sharpened. "Three tomoe?!"
How old was this brat? Twelve?
Hadn't the intelligence report said two tomoe?
"Body Flicker Technique!"
Before Tsunade could finish being surprised, Tobirama had already moved.
Fast!
Unbelievably fast!
With Lightning Release chakra stimulating his cells and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan's dynamic vision, his speed had already surpassed the limits of a jonin and even reached the threshold of the Kage level.
"Great Fireball Technique!"
While airborne, his hands formed seals so quickly that only afterimages remained.
Six seals in one second!
Boom—!
A massive fireball over five meters in diameter, carrying rolling waves of heat, blasted directly toward Tsunade's face.
The scale of that fireball was something no genin should have been able to produce!
"Interesting!"
Tsunade shouted and charged forward instead of retreating.
She did not need hand seals at all. She simply raised her right foot, chakra instantly gathering at her heel.
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"
Boom!
The ground exploded in an instant.
Countless chunks of stone shot upward like bullets, forming an earthen wall that forcibly blocked the fireball's assault.
Flames collided with shattered rock, sending dust and smoke billowing everywhere.
"It's not over yet!"
Tobirama's cold voice came from within the smoke.
"Shuriken Manipulation: Phoenix Sage Flower!"
More than a dozen shuriken wrapped in flames traced bizarre arcs around the earthen wall, shooting at Tsunade from every direction and blind spot.
Nearly invisible steel wires were attached to every shuriken.
"Cheap tricks!"
Tsunade snorted. Her body twisted through all manner of unbelievable movements in midair, perfectly evading every attack.
But that was exactly what Tobirama wanted.
He suddenly yanked the steel wires in his hands.
Crackle—!
Lightning flashed!
The wires were instantly covered in blinding electricity.
Lightning Style: Spider Web!
This was a small technique he had created by combining his knowledge of the original Hokage story with his mastery of Lightning Release.
As long as the opponent dared to dodge, they would fall into this vast net of lightning.
"Hm?"
Tsunade felt the numbing sensation in the surrounding air, and her expression finally changed.
That combat intelligence was absolutely not something a student who had just graduated could possess!
Fire Style as a feint, shuriken to seal off her position, then Lightning Release to close the net.
Each move chained into the next, ruthless and precise.
"Break for me!"
Tsunade was furious.
She was genuinely a little angry now.
Being pushed this far by a twelve-year-old brat—would she have any face left if word got out?
She slammed a fist into the ground.
Strength of a Hundred Fist!
Terrifying power erupted directly from her body.
It was as though an invisible giant hand had viciously kneaded the earth. Every steel wire, trap, and even the surrounding trees were shattered to pieces in that instant.
The violent shockwave sent Tobirama flying.
Tobirama flipped several times in the air before landing steadily.
The grass beneath his feet had been plowed into two deep trenches.
He took a breath, feeling his blood and chakra churn.
So this was one of the future Three Ninja?
So this was Princess Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred?
She was practically a humanoid tyrannosaurus!
If that punch had landed on him just now, he would probably have been turned into a puddle of meat.
The dust slowly dispersed.
Tsunade stood amid the ruins. Her clothes had a little dust on them, and her hair was slightly disheveled, but she was completely uninjured.
However, her gaze had changed completely.
She was no longer looking at a child, but at a true opponent.
"Tobirama Uchiha..."
Tsunade murmured his name, her eyes complicated.
"A Three-Tomoe Sharingan, mastery of Fire Style and Lightning Release, and such seasoned combat instincts..."
"Looks like the old man didn't screw me over this time. He sent me a monster instead."
Tobirama straightened up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
This was awesome!
This was the kind of battle he wanted!
Fists against flesh, life and death hanging by a thread!
The pure thrill of battle!
Although their clash had only been brief, he could feel every cell in his body cheering.
His Sharingan spun wildly in battle, recording Tsunade's every movement.
"Hey, Teacher Tsunade."
Tobirama suddenly smiled, the expression carrying the Uchiha Clan's characteristic arrogance.
His hands slowly formed a seal she had never seen before.
The chakra inside his body began to compress frantically, producing a piercing chirping sound like birdsong.
It was the manifestation of Lightning Release chakra nature transformation taken to its extreme.
"The warm-up's over, right?"
"Next, I'm going to use my real strength."
"You'd better not be unable to take it."
At those words, veins bulged across Tsunade's forehead.
"You little brat!"
"You dare look down on me?!"
"If I don't beat the shit out of you today, then my name isn't Tsunade!"
Boom!
Tsunade's aura erupted completely, terrifying chakra surging skyward as though it had substance.
The ground beneath her feet collapsed once more.
The next second.
The two figures, like twin meteors, collided viciously once again in the cramped training ground!
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