Ninja Reserve

In the forty-first year of Konoha, the lingering chill of early spring was gradually dispelled by the warm sunlight. Kyohaku Uchiha's first school year at the Ninja Academy was drawing to a close amid an outwardly peaceful atmosphere concealing undercurrents beneath.

Six months were enough for him to become thoroughly familiar with the workings of this place known as the "cradle of ninjas," and to gain a clear understanding of the so-called Ninja Reserve training system.

The academy's curriculum was mainly divided into three categories.

Academic theory courses were Kyohaku's strongest field. In Ninja Continent Literature, he needed to expend only a small amount of effort to achieve excellent results; Basics of Chakra Cultivation and Introduction to Ninja Tools corroborated what he had learned from his father's notes and the library, deepening his understanding; Fundamentals of Anatomy and Taijutsu touched upon his former profession as a forensic examiner, and his understanding of muscle structure and the principles of exerting force far surpassed that of his peers. He could even occasionally spot areas in the textbooks that were overly simplistic or imprecise, but he never pointed them out, merely noting them down in silence; Geography of the Shinobi World was a field he had long studied in depth.

In these classes, he consistently remained in the upper-middle range. He neither stood out excessively and invited suspicion, nor fell behind enough to require extra "attention." Like the most inconspicuous backdrop, he quietly absorbed, integrated, and deepened his knowledge.

The true challenge had always come from practical and physical training courses.

In Ninjutsu Practice, they were currently teaching the most basic E-rank Three-Body Technique. For Kyohaku, whose chakra control was exceptionally precise, creating a blurry, distorted but genuine clone with the Clone Technique, exchanging places with a prearranged wooden block over a very short distance with the Substitution Technique, or transforming into another student of similar build with the Transformation Technique were not especially difficult on the level of chakra manipulation. The difficult part was making the process appear "difficult and imperfect," in keeping with the image of someone whose "right foot was disabled and whose chakra circulation might be obstructed." He had to precisely control his chakra output, making his clone more illusory, his substitution slower, and his Transformation Technique occasionally leave a flaw. This kind of "reverse control" was even more mentally taxing than performing the techniques flawlessly.

Taijutsu Training Guidance and Physical Training were his outright weaknesses. He could barely participate normally in basic flexibility, coordination, strength, and speed training. Most of the time, he could only perform the extremely limited adaptive exercises assigned by the teacher at the edge of the field, watching Tetsuzan Uchiha, Daiichi Uchiha, and the others display their vigor on the field, occasionally casting disdainful glances his way. Endurance runs were even more of a nightmare. Hobbling along with his crutch, he was always the last to finish, sweat soaking through his clothes as waves of stabbing pain pulsed from his right ankle. Yet he had never once said he wanted to quit, only silently completing that greatly shortened distance one step at a time.

Shuriken Techniques was a class where he could somewhat "reasonably" reveal a hint of unusual talent. Although his unstable footing greatly affected the force and consistency of his throws, his delicate control over the muscles of his arm and wrist, along with his subconscious calculations of trajectory, angle, and wind direction—drawn from his father's notes and the logical thinking of his previous life—allowed his accuracy to improve at a "slow but steady" pace after an initially abysmal performance. Occasionally, he could even strike the bullseye, drawing a flicker of surprise from the teacher. But he would immediately make his next few throws miss, concealing that "coincidence."

Ideological and specialized education courses were more subtle. In the Inheritance of the "Will of Fire" class, he listened to the teacher speak of the First Hokage's ideals, the bonds between comrades, and the spirit of dedicating oneself to the village. His face remained calm, but inwardly he felt nothing, only a faintly cold scrutiny. Pretty slogans, tools for uniting people's hearts, but they cannot conceal the essential truth that ninjas are tools. He recorded this material as a sample for understanding the village's ideology and methods of social control.

Tactical Theory and Ambush and Teamwork Drills were far more interesting. Although his physical limitations prevented him from serving as a main force during drills, his mind, accustomed to logical analysis and information processing, allowed him to display a composure and organization beyond his years during tactical discussions and intelligence analysis. His proposals often took unconventional approaches, emphasizing efficiency and information gaps, and sometimes made the teacher in charge of the class take notice. Yet in team exercises, he was usually marginalized, and during group assignments, he was always the one left over until last.

The academy's teachers also left a deep impression on him.

Teacher Iwakado, who was in charge of taijutsu and shuriken classes, was a burly, stern-faced man with a large beard. He was demanding and loud-voiced, and the students were all somewhat afraid of him. But Kyohaku had once happened to see him after school, completely at a loss as a little girl clung to his leg and acted spoiled—probably his daughter—while his face was filled with tenderness. He had also heard rumors of other teachers teasing him for being afraid of his wife. He was an all-around Jonin with a rough exterior and a soft spot inside. He appropriately relaxed his demands on Kyohaku, yet there was no discrimination in his gaze. Instead, he occasionally taught him techniques for using his center of gravity and crutch to generate force.

There was also a classmate named Ebisu, who always wore sunglasses and carried himself like a little adult. His theoretical grades were exceptionally outstanding, and every other word out of his mouth was "rules," "efficiency," or "elite." He seemed rigid, but Kyohaku could sense his persistent desire for recognition.

Over the course of the year, Kyohaku Uchiha was like a seed scattered in an inconspicuous corner, quietly drawing nourishment without anyone noticing. He skillfully played his role, burying his true self deep within. While his peers were still learning in confusion how to become ninjas, he was already using the mindset and perspective of an adult to systematically deconstruct the profession of a "ninja," while silently planning an entirely different path for himself.

To him, life in the Ninja Reserve was more like a long but necessary internship in disguise.