Graduation Day

Konoha, autumn of Year 44.

The midsummer sunlight passed through the Ninja Academy windows, casting mottled patches of light and shadow across the floor. Uchiha Narong leaned back in the last row of the classroom, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the fan clan crest on the inside of his forehead protector. Four years had passed—from the bewilderment when he first transmigrated to the silent swirl of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan now deep in his eyes. Time was like the flowing waters of the Naka River, carrying secrets and growth as it surged forward.

"Next, Uchiha Narong!" Akimichi Buza's voice rang out. When Narong stood, his gaze swept over Hyuga Yutaka in the front row—the branch-family boy had his back held taut, the Caged Bird Curse Mark on his forehead half-lit and half-shadowed by the light; on the other side, the civilian ninja Akutagawa Takeo was clutching a kunai and wiping it over and over, his knuckles white. Narong laughed inwardly. What are they so nervous about? It's not like they can't pass. These guys are all pretty strong. It's just that nerves might affect their performance.

The examination room had been set up as a simple training ground. The chief examiner, Aburame Shibun, announced the test: "Clone Technique. At least two solid clones!"

Narong deliberately slowed his hand seals. "Poof!" Three clones indistinguishable from the original appeared, even imitating the subtle differences in chakra fluctuations—this was the "Realistic Clone" he had learned from the Uchiha secret scrolls, close to the effect of a Shadow Clone yet only consuming basic chakra. A flash of amazement crossed Mizuki's eyes, while outside the window, one of Shimura Danzo's Root members quietly withdrew into the shadows.

"Pass! Excellent chakra control!" When Akimichi Buza handed over the forehead protector with a smile, he thought, This Uchiha Narong has improved very quickly these past two years.

"Wahahaha! This is the hot-blooded clash of youth!" Might Guy's thick eyebrows looked as if they were about to fly off his hairline. He threw an arm around Narong's neck. "Narong-kun! Let's have a taijutsu duel! The loser has to do five hundred handstand laps around Konoha!"

Narong helplessly pried his arm away. "Guy, your taijutsu almost strangled my collarbone off." But his eyes caught sight of the new scars on the back of Guy's hand—last night, he must have gone to challenge Kakashi again. This opponent, the slow bird who started early, actually made Narong feel a trace of awe. Pure hard work was sometimes more terrifying than a bloodline limit.

Inada Murakami leaned over and whispered, "I heard this year's team assignments will break up clan boundaries. Narong-kun, do you know anything from the inside?" There were ink stains on his cuffs; clearly, he had just finished helping his clan with clerical work. Narong shook his head and sneered inwardly. Just Konoha's higher-ups playing their "balancing act," like tossing a Hyuga branch member and me, an Uchiha, into the same pot of soup and stirring it up.

When Akimichi Buza read out the team assignments, the classroom was so quiet that the cicadas outside could be heard.

Team Three: Hyuga Yutaka as the reconnaissance core, Akutagawa Takeo for tactical support, and Inada Murakami for logistical support. Their jonin instructor was Gekko Kamikaze—this swordsmanship expert who coughed incessantly was in truth a genjutsu reconnaissance specialist trained by the ANBU.

"Does everyone in the Gekko Clan have this coughing problem?" Uchiha Narong looked at that Gekko jonin, remembering that in the Naruto anime, Gekko Hayate had the same issue. Perhaps sensing someone watching him, Gekko Kamikaze looked in the direction of the gaze. Narong did not avoid it either and smiled, counting it as a greeting.

Team Six: Uchiha Narong, Might Guy, and a civilian medical-track girl named Amamiya Ren. Their jonin instructor was Aburame Shio, whose insect swarm could build an intelligence network.

Narong's pupils shrank slightly. This setup was definitely no accident. A reconnaissance combination with the Uchiha Sharingan? Guy's taijutsu as the assault point? The Aburame Clan's field control ability? The Third Hokage was forging a wartime blade.

On the night of graduation, Narong knelt in the tea room of Fugaku's house—beneath him was still that disrespectful little cushioned stool of his. Fugaku pushed a teacup in front of him. "The clan hopes you will display your strength appropriately within your squad, but there is no need to expose your Sharingan."

"Understood, clan head." Narong lowered his eyes. In the reflection of the tea. Now that the protagonist was already ten years old, he was old enough. It was time to reveal some value within the Uchiha Clan. In this clan, ninjutsu and chakra were all useless; in the end, dojutsu did the talking. Half a year ago, Uchiha Narong had revealed to the clan that he had awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan.

Awakening his eyes at this age could only be considered outstanding, not some sort of genius. He could also be considered future backbone of the Uchiha Clan, so after his graduation, it was still necessary for Uchiha Fugaku to call him in for a talk.

When night fell.

The autumn of Konoha Year 44 came especially early. The cold wind of September swept over the Naka River, grinding the last few withered leaves into the ice. Uchiha Narong knelt before the heater, his fingertips lightly tracing a scroll engraved with the fan clan crest. This was the fourth year since he had transmigrated.

"Anime is a two-dimensional narrative, while reality is a three-dimensional game... I can't afford to gamble my life on anything taken for granted." Uchiha Narong looked at the stove and spoke softly. A thoughtful expression appeared on his handsome face. Then he shifted uncomfortably. Even after transmigrating here for so long, he still was not used to kneeling. But the old guys in the clan were rather stiff and old-fashioned. Clan gatherings all required kneeling, so he had made a little stool; sitting on it under him every time he knelt was much better.

Narong unfolded a secret letter. Written on it was intelligence bought from a transnational black-market bounty exchange.

Combined with the border reports in the clan's secret archives, he sorted out the movements of neighboring countries.

In the Hidden Sand Village, the daimyo of the Land of Wind had cut military funding, causing the scale of the Hidden Sand puppet master forces to shrink. However, the Third Kazekage's development of "Magnet Release" had entered a new stage, and he might be brewing a war to shift internal conflicts outward.

In the Hidden Stone Village, Onoki had frequently dispatched demolition units to harass the borders of the Land of Grass, attempting to cut off Konoha's supply lines. Hidden Stone ANBU were even more active in the Land of Waterfalls—perhaps for the sake of seizing the Seven-Tails Chomei.

In the Hidden Cloud Village, the Third Raikage's son A had already formed the embryonic version of the "AB Combo," and the Hidden Cloud Village's reverence for Lightning Release Ninja Taijutsu had reached its peak. Rumor had it that they planned to replicate Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki system.

In the Hidden Mist Village, the "Village of the Bloody Mist" policy had not yet been fully implemented, but bloodline clans such as the Hozuki Clan and Yuki Clan were already being pushed aside. The Seven Ninja Swordsmen directly under the Mizukage had begun appearing frequently at the ruins of the Land of Whirlpools, possibly coveting the Uzumaki Clan's sealing jutsu legacy.

"Looks like the Third Shinobi World War has already begun to brew and sprout. If I can't escape it, then I'll join in. I, Uchiha Narong, am already prepared." Looking at the intelligence that had cost him quite a bit of money, Narong sent the papers flying into the fireplace with a palm gust. The burning flames narrated his mastery over chakra and the change in the nature of wind.