Ninja Academy

(Note: I'll gloss over Shisui kicking the bucket and some other trivial matters. I still want to write more about things related to the protagonist.)

The days passed one by one like this. In the blink of an eye, Josuke had turned six, and he would be starting at the Ninja Academy within the next few days.

A few more things had happened over the past three years.

First, Shisui, the genius ninja of the Uchiha Clan who was as renowned as Itachi, had died. There was no way Josuke could have known about such matters, but based on the timeline from Naruto, he had roughly guessed when it happened.

Second, the Uchiha Clan's hatred toward the Hidden Leaf Village was growing deeper and deeper, to the point where it was on the verge of erupting. These past few days, his dear older brother Itachi had vanished without a trace and had not returned for several days.

His nominal father, Fugaku, often locked himself in his room as well, and no one knew what he was thinking.

Josuke could not stop it. He was still too weak.

Over three years, Josuke had learned chakra refinement, as well as low-level ninjutsu such as the Great Fireball Technique and Phoenix Sage Fire. He had also tested his chakra natures and discovered that he actually had five: earth, wind, fire, lightning, and water. That was genuinely pretty good.

But Josuke was puzzled. Why did he have water? Why did an Uchiha kid have water? Could it be that he possessed the heroic bearing of the Second Hokage?

He did not even dare think about it. Thinking back on those days made his tears flow again.

Of course, when it came to making friends, Josuke and Sasuke had met Shikamaru, Choji, Neji, and the others over the past three years, and they had all become pretty good friends. As for Sakura and the other girls, Josuke had not met a single one yet.

Still, Josuke thought that with his and Sasuke's identical looks, they would definitely charm a whole crowd. Heh.

Naruto had also changed dramatically over those three years and made many more friends.

Choji and Shikamaru, for instance, were two of his good friends.

Josuke's current plan was to get out of the village as soon as the Third Hokage kicked the bucket and see whether he could train in ninjutsu under Orochimaru or Jiraiya. Ideally, he would learn sage techniques too.

That way, when the time came to face that enraged brat—ptui, Six Paths Obito—and Madara, he would be able to go toe-to-toe with them.

For now, he definitely needed to practice ninjutsu. He also planned to study the Eight Gates under Might Guy. He certainly would not be able to learn the later gates, but Josuke's plan was simply to learn three or four gates as an early-stage transition.

Besides, the Eight Gates could lay a foundation for Josuke's physical strength in the future.

All right, it was settled.

While Josuke thought to himself, his ninjutsu practice did not stop.

After forming a simple series of hand seals, a surge of energy welled up within Josuke!

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!

A fireball appeared before Josuke and shot rapidly toward the training post ahead!

With a bang, the post was blasted to pieces by the Great Fireball.

Josuke lightly wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead.

At his current level, using the Great Fireball four times would completely drain his mana. Phoenix Sage Fire could only be used three times. His mana pool was still far too low.

Then again, he was not even a genin yet. Though Hidden Leaf Village genin...

Fine...

Thinking that, Josuke formed hand seals again.

Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire! (It had been changed, so it was changed. The ancestors' legacy.)

Small fireballs scattered forward like flowers, exploding one after another in midair.

The Phoenix Sage Fire Technique and Great Fireball Technique were the ninjutsu Josuke was currently best at. Each had its own merits, but Phoenix Sage Fire clearly demanded a higher level of chakra control.

"Whew."

After using Phoenix Sage Fire,

Josuke's chakra was nearly depleted, and he panted heavily. He really was still such trash.

But when he thought of how he was only six and still had plenty of time, Josuke did not dwell on it.

Soon, the day the Ninja Academy opened arrived, and Josuke's path as a ninja began.

"Be careful on the way."

Early that morning, Mikoto had prepared breakfast and waited for the two little ones to get up.

Breakfast was rice balls.

Josuke grabbed a rice ball and stuffed it into his mouth.

Mikoto scolded him from the side. "Eat slower. Is someone going to steal it from you?"

Josuke flashed his gleaming white teeth and smiled.

"Alright, Mom, Sasuke and I are heading to school. From now on, we'll be ninjas who can stand on our own!"

Josuke was a little excited. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Well, not really that long.

At that moment, Mikoto felt that time had passed so quickly. In the blink of an eye, her two children had grown up...

After breakfast, the two left home beneath Mikoto's watchful gaze.

"Sasuke, we're going to become ninjas."

Josuke said to Sasuke.

Sasuke looked disdainful. "Look how happy you are. I'm going to surpass Itachi."

Josuke rolled his eyes at him. The King of Posturing really was the King of Posturing—he could show off anytime, anywhere.

The two moved quickly and reached the Hidden Leaf Village's Ninja Academy before long.

After confirming their classes at the new student registration desk by the entrance, they entered their classroom.

The moment Josuke pushed open the door, he saw Naruto greeting Shikamaru. When Naruto saw Josuke arrive, he warmly called out to him as well.

"Josuke, over here! Over here!"

Naruto pointed at the empty seat beside him.

Josuke was speechless.

"Naruto, don't tell me you think people can sit wherever they want. There's a seating chart."

Josuke pointed at the sheet of white paper posted nearby.

Sasuke coolly added, "Idiot."

Naruto was left standing there, petrified.

Josuke followed the seating chart to his own seat, and his desk mate came as a huge surprise.

It was actually Rock Lee!

From what Josuke remembered, Rock Lee should have been in the previous class. But... why was it like this?

Probably because of the butterfly effect. When in doubt, blame the butterfly effect.

Josuke's birth had changed Rock Lee's life trajectory a little, though not by much.

As for why it changed and why it was only a little, fill it in in the comments.

It turned out that Josuke's arrival, combined with the Nine-Tails Rebellion, had caused Rock Lee to enroll a year later.

But this really was like finding something after searching everywhere for it.

If he got close to Rock Lee, would Might Guy refuse to teach him the Eight Gates?

So, Josuke enthusiastically stepped forward to greet him.

"Hello, I'm Uchiha Josuke. Nice to meet you."

Josuke smiled slightly and held out his hand.

When Rock Lee saw that his assigned desk mate was so outgoing, he felt a little less awkward.

He took Josuke's hand and replied,

"My name is Rock Lee. Everyone calls me Lee or Little Lee. I'm happy to meet you too! Let's burn with the fire of youth together!"

Rock Lee had already entered half-youth mode, and his words carried a faintly chuunibyou air.

Before long, the two got along like old friends.

Not far away, two girls began discussing the two handsome boys who looked exactly alike.

"Ino, look at Sasuke. He's so handsome and so cool! I like him so much."

The two girls were Ino and Sakura, the Hidden Leaf Village's famously fake besties from the early days.

Ino nodded, propping up her head with her left hand as she looked toward Josuke. "I think Josuke is really good-looking too."

Josuke had no idea Ino was secretly watching him right then. If he had known, he definitely would have said, Holy crap.

So Sakura said, "Then... then you can't like my Sasuke. Josuke is yours."

Ino's little face reddened, and she lightly smacked Sakura.

"Sakura, what nonsense are you talking about? I just appreciate handsome guys' looks, that's all."

The classroom was noisy, and Josuke naturally could not hear what everyone else was saying.

By then, Josuke had completely won Rock Lee over. With a barrage of sweet talk, he successfully got Rock Lee to promise that he would take Josuke to meet his future teacher when he had time.

That teacher was, needless to say, none other than Might Guy.