Konoha Ninja Academy's square.
"You will all become Konoha's precious jewels, the foundation on which it stands!"
Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi stood on the podium, speaking with great vigor as he looked out at the little kids below.
Uchiha Kei was tucked away in an inconspicuous corner, yawning widely.
This was his second year in the Naruto World.
It had taken him six months to go from mysteriously arriving in this world to reluctantly accepting reality.
He'd spent the next six months frantically refining chakra and practicing ninjutsu.
Since he couldn't fight it, he might as well enjoy it.
In those six months, Uchiha Kei had learned one thing.
Not every Uchiha was a genius. There were also useless ones like him...
"Kei, you're bored too, right?"
A blond boy with six symmetrical whisker marks pushed his way over beside him.
"Yeah, it's boring."
Uchiha Kei knew who it was without even turning around.
If he had a friend in Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto was definitely the only one.
Both had lost their parents, both were perennial dead last, and neither was popular.
"After the entrance exam, how about we go graffiti the Hokage Monument?"
Uzumaki Naruto glanced around and whispered conspiratorially.
Uchiha Kei rolled his eyes. As a good kid born under the red flag and raised in the spring breeze, would he really do something like that?
"Afterward, we can go get Three-Color Dango together!"
"Sounds good!"
In the end, Uchiha Kei couldn't resist the temptation of Three-Color Dango. What could he say? He just loved the stuff.
More importantly, he was broke—much poorer than Uzumaki Naruto.
"All right, we'll begin the entrance exam now!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand, and the children below immediately cheered.
The large crowd made its way to the Training Ground. Apart from a handful of them, everyone else was rubbing their hands together, eager to give it a try.
"First test: Shuriken throwing."
Uchiha Kei and Uzumaki Naruto were among the handful. They quietly hid at the very back, watching their classmates skillfully throw Shuriken one after another.
"How do you think they trained?"
Uchiha Kei was a little envious. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get a Shuriken to hit the target.
"Who knows? It's fine, you've got me here with you."
Uzumaki Naruto looked just as envious. He and Uchiha Kei were about equally hopeless—neither of them could hit the target.
"Sigh."
Uchiha Kei sighed.
He'd watched Naruto three times, so of course he knew Uzumaki Naruto's future.
Sage Mode, Kurama Mode, all kinds of Rasengan—he was the chosen one, plain and simple.
And what about him?
Across seven hundred and twenty episodes, Uchiha Kei's character hadn't even appeared once.
A textbook nobody.
The world was so unfair...
Uchiha Kei lay listlessly on the ground, gazing at the deep blue sky, and slowly drifted off to sleep.
After who knew how long...
"Kei, Kei, Kei, wake up! It's your turn!"
Uzumaki Naruto anxiously shook Uchiha Kei, who was fast asleep.
"Don't... don't bother me. Let me sleep ten more minutes, just ten..." Uchiha Kei mumbled groggily.
"It's your turn! Wake up..."
Uchiha Kei sat up, bleary-eyed, as everyone's gaze focused on him.
"Is that the Uchiha Clan crest?"
"Looks like it. Why haven't I seen him before?"
"I think his name is... Uchiha... Uchiha something, right?"
"He looks so relaxed. He's probably another Uchiha Clan genius."
"Definitely. Sasuke Uchiha just got a perfect score in Shuriken throwing!"
The crowd whispered among themselves, curiously studying Uchiha Kei.
"Holy crap..."
Uchiha Kei woke up in an instant and hurried over to the exam proctor.
"Uchiha... Kei?"
The exam proctor looked him up and down.
"Hey!"
"Let's begin your test." The exam proctor smiled kindly and patted his shoulder. "Even if you're talented, you shouldn't get carried away."
Uchiha Kei broke into a cold sweat.
Had they... gotten the wrong idea?
Uchiha Kei shakily picked up a Shuriken and tried to aim at the target.
"Why doesn't he look talented at all?"
"Exactly. His hand's shaking. It'd be a miracle if he hit the target."
"The Uchiha Clan has always been the best with Shuriken. Maybe he has his own throwing technique."
Amid the murmurs, a haughty-looking boy stood with his arms crossed, his face full of disdain.
"Sasuke, is he one of your clan?"
Sasuke Uchiha snorted. "I don't acknowledge him as a member of the Uchiha Clan. He's an embarrassment!"
"Huh?"
Uchiha Kei steadied himself, took a deep breath, aimed at the target, and threw with all his might.
The Shuriken spun through the air, cutting through it with a sharp whistling sound. It went "whoosh"...
And disappeared without a trace...
"Holy crap!"
"Holy crap!"
"Holy crap!"
The crowd's jaws dropped, and everyone stared at Uchiha Kei with wide eyes.
"Smack."
Sasuke Uchiha covered his face with his hand.
He'd known it would turn out like this. What an embarrassment to the Uchiha Clan.
Uchiha Kei didn't react much. At most, his face reddened a little.
What could he do? This was normal for him. In fact, he'd done a little better than usual today.
After all, he'd thrown it past the target. Usually, he couldn't even reach it.
He was even a little smug about it, and shot Uzumaki Naruto a challenging look.
Uzumaki Naruto looked just as stunned. After all, he hadn't even reached the target with his own throw.
"Ding, received shock from Nozawa Koten, Shock Value +9."
"Ding, received shock from Miyamoto Tanaka, Shock Value +10."
"Ding, received shock from Kamikami Kazuya, Shock Value +19."
"Ding..."
A string of alerts rang out in Uchiha Kei's mind.
"What shock?"
Uchiha Kei looked at Uzumaki Naruto beside him.
"Shock? What are you talking about?"
Uzumaki Naruto was completely confused, not understanding what his friend meant.
"Didn't you just say it? 'Shock +9' and stuff?"
Uchiha Kei was just as baffled.
"What nonsense are you talking about? Still half asleep?"
Uzumaki Naruto casually patted him on the forehead, a goofy smile on his face.
"No... just now..."
"Ding, 1,000 Shock Value. Exchange for a random basic ninjutsu? Confirm?"
The alert in his mind rang out again.
"Obviously. Do it," Uchiha Kei said without thinking.
"Ding, ninjutsu exchange successful. All Shock Value deducted."
"Obtained Ninja Tool Mastery."
In an instant, Uchiha Kei's head began to ache as a jumble of knowledge flooded into his mind.
"Wh... what is this?"
A moment later, Uchiha Kei stared blankly at his hands. A Shuriken appeared in them without a sound.
"Holy crap, how did you just pull that Shuriken out?"
Uzumaki Naruto stared at the Shuriken in his hand in shock.
"Ding, received shock from Uzumaki Naruto, Shock Value +9."
This time, Uchiha Kei knew where the voice was coming from.
It was coming from inside his head!
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