Early summer, Year 32 of Konoha.
The Ninja Academy's playground was already buzzing with voices.
On the raised platform, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi stood in his Hokage Cloak, holding a pipe, his mouth working as he delivered an impassioned speech.
"Where leaves dance, the fire burns on..."
"The firelight will illuminate the village and make new leaves sprout..."
Below the platform, a crowd of little brats who had just received their forehead protectors listened with their blood boiling and their eyes shining, itching to charge onto the battlefield and lay down their lives for Konoha.
But at the very back of the ranks...
Tobirama Uchiha yawned, his eyes full of resignation.
How many years had Hiruzen Sarutobi been repeating this same spiel?
Wasn't he sick of it yet?
This wasn't the "Will of Fire." This was the ninja world's premier pyramid-scheme brainwashing session.
It only worked on these brats who had never seen blood.
As someone who had transmigrated, Tobirama Uchiha knew exactly what was going on.
The Second Ninja World War had just begun, and the front lines were under pressure. The old man was rushing to feed these newly graduated Genin into the battlefield.
He called them "new leaves," but they were really just "fresh cannon fodder."
What rotten luck.
Tobirama touched his forehead protector, grumbling inwardly.
Being reborn as an orphan of the Uchiha Clan was bad enough, but I had to land in this age of chaos, too.
Fortunately, his talent in this life was decent. He had awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan at twelve, and a few old fossils in the clan had even hailed him as a "genius."
But a genius was all he was.
On a battlefield where lives were worth less than weeds, geniuses who had yet to mature died faster than anyone.
Just as Tobirama was pondering how to stay alive on the battlefield, a sudden ding rang inside his head.
[Ding! Host's resentment has reached the required threshold. Hokage King System successfully bound!] [Beginner gift package delivered. Claim it?]
Tobirama froze for a second, then the corners of his mouth shot upward.
My cheat was here!
To hell with hiding just to survive!
"Claim!"
[Ding! Congratulations! Host has received: Three-Tomoe Sharingan (immediate evolution)!] [Ding! Congratulations! Host has received: Uchiha Style Shurikenjutsu (max-level, transcendent mastery)!] [Ding! Congratulations! Host has received: Fire Release Compendium (proficient)!] [Ding! Congratulations! Host has received: Lightning Release Compendium (proficient)!]
Boom!
A warm current instantly surged through his entire body.
Tobirama felt as though his eyes had been scorched by fire, burning hot and aching. Then came clarity unlike anything he had ever experienced.
The world changed before his eyes.
The paths of the wind, the trembling of distant leaves, even the pores on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face up on the platform-he could see them all clearly.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan!
This was a threshold ordinary Uchiha clan members might never reach in their entire lives, and I had it right from the start.
And all that ninjutsu knowledge in his head felt like an inborn instinct, etched into his bones.
At that moment, Tobirama Uchiha wanted nothing more than to throw his head back and laugh.
Fuck being cannon fodder!
Humans had their limits.
But from now on, I was playing with cheats!
"All right, dismissed! Everyone, follow your assigned Jonin instructor and begin your missions!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi finally finished speaking.
Cheers erupted across the playground.
The instructors began collecting their students.
A Chunin teacher approached with a roster and called out, "Team 7: Tobirama Uchiha, Jiro Tanaka, Ai Suzuki. Follow me."
Suppressing his wild elation, Tobirama followed the group back to the classroom.
The classroom was a noisy mess, everyone guessing who their Jonin instructor would be.
The door banged open.
A beautiful woman with long, wavy blond hair walked in.
Even her loose combat uniform couldn't conceal her voluptuous figure, particularly the armor stretched tight over her chest, which was impossible to miss.
Tsunade!
She was not yet the sucker who lost every bet, but Princess Tsunade of Konoha, who had only just made a name for herself on the battlefield.
Tsunade swept her gaze around the room. Her eyes lingered on Tobirama Uchiha for two seconds, and her brows knitted tightly.
"You three from Team 7, come with me."
Her tone was harsh, as though someone owed her five million ryo.
Jiro Tanaka and Ai Suzuki, the two civilian nobodies, flushed with excitement and eagerly trotted after her.
Tobirama walked at the rear, doubts stirring in his mind.
Had the old Third lost his mind?
Assigning me, an Uchiha, to Tsunade of the Senju Clan as her student?
Wasn't that like tossing a cigarette butt into a powder keg?
Everyone knew the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan were sworn enemies. They might have stopped fighting openly, but there was still plenty of backstabbing behind the scenes.
Was he trying to win me over? Or have Tsunade keep watch on me?
Looking at Tsunade's murderous back, Tobirama gave a cold chuckle.
Whatever his game was, as long as my fists were strong enough, all his schemes were nothing but paper tigers.
Meanwhile, Tsunade, walking ahead of them, was in an equally foul mood.
That old man had really gone senile!
Anger simmered inside her.
Foisting two civilian deadweights on me was bad enough, but he had to throw in an Uchiha, too!
And an Uchiha named "Tobirama," at that!
Was that name deliberately meant to piss people off?
That was my great-uncle's name!
How much must this brat's parents have hated the Senju Clan to give their kid that name just to get one over on us?
Just looking at that fan-shaped clan crest pissed me off.
Tsunade gritted her teeth, clenching her fists until her knuckles cracked.
If not for the village's greater interests, she would have thrown this brat straight back into the Uchiha Clan District.
Training Ground 3.
A dense stretch of woods surrounded a clearing.
Tsunade turned around and folded her arms across her chest, radiating an overwhelming pressure.
"Introduce yourselves."
She tilted her chin up, looking thoroughly arrogant.
"My name is Tsunade. I like gamb-cough, I like getting straight to the point. I hate people who drag their feet, and old men. Since you've been assigned to my team, don't expect me to babysit you."
Jiro Tanaka hurried forward, stammering, "I... my name is Jiro Tanaka. I like ramen, and my... my dream is to become Hokage!"
Ai Suzuki blushed as well. "My name is Ai Suzuki. I like flower arranging, and I... I hate bugs."
Two textbook cannon-fodder types.
Tsunade barely heard them. Her gaze locked straight onto Tobirama Uchiha.
Unfazed, Tobirama stepped forward with a faint, playful smile.
"Tobirama Uchiha."
"I like all things beautiful, such as powerful ninjutsu and beautiful... cough, scenery."
"I hate anything that irritates me, especially pointless tests."
Tsunade narrowed her eyes.
This brat was pretty cocky.
He even dared take a veiled jab at me.
"Very good."
Tsunade laughed coldly and flexed her wrists.
"You know what the situation is like. The front lines are a complete mess. I don't have time to play house with you."
"Nor do I have time to teach you how to throw shuriken."
"Today's test is simple. Attack me with the intent to kill."
"If you can force me back even half a step, or stay standing for ten minutes, you pass."
"You have five minutes to discuss your tactics."
With that, Tsunade leaned against a tree trunk and closed her eyes to rest, clearly not taking the three brats seriously at all.
Jiro Tanaka and Ai Suzuki panicked.
"Is... is this the survival exercise we've heard about? We're up against a Jonin!"
"What do we do? There's no way we can beat her!"
Completely at a loss, the two could only look toward the team's sole member from an elite clan.
Tobirama remained composed and glanced at them.
"It's simple."
"Once the fight starts, you two can either watch from the sidelines or make feints to cover me. I'll handle the main attack."
"Huh?" Jiro Tanaka stared blankly. "Will... will that really work?"
"What else do you suggest? You'd only get yourselves flattened out there. Just stay out of my way."
Without bothering to check their expressions, Tobirama turned straight toward Tsunade.
"We're ready."
Tobirama called out.
Tsunade opened her eyes, her gaze sharp. "Then begin!"
The instant the words left her mouth...
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two figures flew backward.
Before anyone could even see how Tsunade had moved, Jiro Tanaka and Ai Suzuki were already hanging from distant tree branches, eyes rolled back and mouths foaming, knocked unconscious.
An instant takedown.
That was just how brutal a fight between a real Jonin and Genin could be.
Only Tobirama Uchiha remained on the field.
Tsunade dusted off her hands.
"The nuisances are dealt with. Now it's your turn, Uchiha brat."
A mocking smile curled at the corners of her mouth.
"Let's see whether you deserve that name."
Tobirama took a deep breath, and the chakra inside his body instantly surged.
His black eyes abruptly changed.
In an instant, they turned blood red!
Three black tomoe slowly revolved in his eyes, gleaming with an eerie light.
Tsunade's gaze sharpened. "The Three-Tomoe Sharingan?!"
How old was this brat? Twelve?
Hadn't the intelligence report said he only had two tomoe?
"Body Flicker Technique!"
Before Tsunade could recover from her surprise, Tobirama moved.
Fast!
Unbelievably fast!
With Lightning Release chakra stimulating his cells and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan tracking movement, his speed had surpassed the limits of a Jonin and even reached the threshold of Kage level.
"Great Fireball Technique!"
Still in midair, his hands formed seals so quickly they left nothing but afterimages.
Six seals in one second!
Boom!
A massive fireball more than five meters across blasted straight toward Tsunade's face, carrying rolling waves of heat.
A fireball of that size was utterly beyond what a Genin could produce!
"Now that's interesting!"
Tsunade roared and charged forward instead of retreating.
She had no need for hand seals. She simply raised her right foot, chakra instantly gathering in her heel.
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"
Boom!
The ground exploded.
Countless shards of rock shot up like bullets, forming a wall of earth and stone that forcibly blocked the Great Fireball.
Flames collided with rubble, sending smoke and dust billowing everywhere.
"I'm not done yet!"
Tobirama's cold voice rang out through the smoke.
"Shuriken Manipulation: Phoenix Sage Flower!"
Over a dozen shuriken wreathed in flames traced strange arcs, curving around the earthen wall and shooting toward Tsunade's blind spots from every direction.
An almost invisible steel wire was attached to each shuriken.
"Cheap tricks!"
Tsunade snorted, twisting her body in midair in all sorts of impossible ways and perfectly evading every attack.
But that was exactly what Tobirama wanted.
He gave the steel wires in his hands a sharp tug.
Crackle!
Lightning flashed!
Blinding electricity instantly covered the steel wires.
Lightning Style: Spider Web!
It was a little trick he had created by combining his knowledge of the original Naruto story with his mastery of Lightning Release.
As long as his opponent tried to dodge, they would fall into this vast web of lightning.
"Hm?"
Feeling a numbing sensation in the air around her, Tsunade's expression finally shifted.
This level of tactical intelligence was absolutely beyond a fresh graduate!
A Fire Release feint, shuriken to cut off her escape routes, and Lightning Release to close the net.
Each step fed into the next, ruthless and precise.
"Break, damn you!"
Tsunade was furious.
She really was getting a little angry.
A twelve-year-old brat had pushed her this far. How could she ever show her face if word got out?
She slammed a fist into the ground.
Strength of a Hundred Fist!
Terrifying force erupted outward with her at its center.
It was as though an invisible hand had brutally crumpled the earth. Every steel wire and trap, along with the surrounding trees, was instantly shaken to pieces.
The violent blast of air sent Tobirama flying.
Tobirama flipped several times in midair before landing firmly on his feet.
His feet had already plowed two deep furrows through the grass.
He took a breath, feeling his blood churn.
Was this one of the future Legendary Sannin?
Was this Princess Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred?
She was practically a tyrannosaurus in human form!
If that punch had landed on me, I'd probably have been turned straight into a puddle of minced meat.
The smoke and dust cleared.
Tsunade stood in the middle of the wreckage, her clothes a little dusty and her hair slightly disheveled, but otherwise completely unharmed.
But the look in her eyes had changed entirely.
She no longer looked at him as a child, but as a genuine opponent.
"Tobirama Uchiha..."
Tsunade murmured his name, a complicated look in her eyes.
"Three-Tomoe Sharingan, mastery of Fire Release 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 and wiped a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.
What a rush!
This was the kind of fight I wanted!
Every punch hitting flesh, life and death balanced on a knife's edge!
The pure thrill of battle!
Although their exchange had been brief, he could feel every cell in his body cheering.
His Sharingan worked furiously throughout the battle, recording every move Tsunade made.
"Hey, Lady Tsunade."
Tobirama suddenly grinned, his smile carrying the arrogance unique to the Uchiha Clan.
His hands slowly formed a seal she had never seen before.
The chakra inside him began compressing wildly, producing a piercing sound like birds chirping.
It was the sign of Lightning Release Chakra Nature Transformation taken to its limit.
"The warm-up's over, right?"
"Now I'm going to use my real strength."
"You'd better be able to handle me."
At those words, a vein instantly bulged on Tsunade's forehead.
"You little brat!"
"You dare look down on me?!"
"If I don't beat the shit out of you today, my name isn't Tsunade!"
Boom!
Tsunade unleashed her full aura, terrifying chakra surging skyward as though it had taken solid form.
The ground beneath her feet collapsed again.
The next second.
Like two meteors, the two figures slammed into each other once more on the cramped training ground!
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