Kiryu Daiki: Animal Atlas

By the time he arrived at the classroom, Kurenai Yuhi was already there.

The moment she saw Uchiha Hara, the girl's face blossomed into a bright smile, and she took the initiative to wave hello.

"Hara, good morning! Did you bring a lunch?" she asked with concern. "Starting today, we'll be adding practical classes in the afternoon. We won't be dismissed at noon anymore, so we'll have to eat at school."

"I did. Thanks for asking." Uchiha Hara shook the small cloth bag in his hand.

A trace of barely noticeable disappointment flashed across Kurenai Yuhi's face. "I even asked my dad to prepare an extra portion..."

After returning home, she had specifically asked her father about Uchiha Hara. When she learned that his parents had died and that his life was difficult, she had thought she could take better care of him.

Uchiha Hara felt a warmth stir in his heart, but his face still wore that gentle, slightly frail expression. "It's fine if you brought an extra portion. Practical classes take a lot of energy, so I'll help you finish it. It would be a waste otherwise."

Kurenai Yuhi's eyes immediately lit up again, and she nodded vigorously. "Mm!"

The two were talking in low voices when the light at the classroom door suddenly dimmed.

Asuma Sarutobi walked in with his two regular lackeys—Ebisu, who wore sunglasses, and the tall, skinny Yu Shiranui.

The instant he saw Kurenai Yuhi chatting happily with Uchiha Hara, the grin on Asuma's face vanished, and his expression darkened.

He strode over to their desks, glared at Uchiha Hara first, then said to Kurenai Yuhi, "Kurenai, stay away from him!"

Kurenai Yuhi furrowed her delicate brows. "Why?"

"Because..." Asuma was left speechless.

Ever since childhood, he had been influenced by what he heard in his clan: things like "the Uchiha clan is extremist," "the Sharingan is cursed eyes," and "stay away from them."

But how could he say something so openly prejudiced in front of the entire class?

He could only turn his hostility toward Uchiha Hara and warn him stiffly, "Uchiha Hara, you'd better stay away from Kurenai!"

Uchiha Hara raised his head and looked at Asuma with eyes that seemed innocent but were actually calm. "Asuma, is Kurenai Yuhi your personal property? Do you get to decide who she can be friends with?"

As soon as those words were spoken, Asuma's expression changed drastically. Kurenai Yuhi flew into a rage as well, her little face flushing red as she abruptly stood up. "Asuma Sarutobi! I'm not yours, and my affairs are none of your business! Don't ever say something like that to me again!"

Asuma was choked speechless, his face turning bright red. He was about to explain himself, but when he saw the curious eyes of the surrounding students gathering on him, his thin skin kept him from continuing. He could only return to his seat resentfully.

Ebisu leaned closer and whispered, "Asuma, should we find a chance to..."

He made a subtle gesture.

Of course, he did not mean killing him. He meant finding somewhere to beat him up.

Asuma shook his head irritably. "No! The school strictly forbids private fights. Besides, the stretch from the school to the Uchiha Clan Grounds is a busy area. There's no chance to make a move."

In truth, the school might not have enforced the rule that strictly, but as the Hokage's son, he had to uphold the rules more than ordinary children did.

After thinking it over again and again, he gritted his teeth. "Forget it. We'll find another chance later!"

What they did not notice was that a boy named Kiryu Daiki, seated behind them, had heard their conversation.

Kiryu Daiki came from an ordinary ninja family. His father was merely an unsuccessful Chunin who often complained at home about being unappreciated and lacking connections or opportunities for promotion. Kiryu Daiki looked at Asuma's back, then thought of his identity, and a calculating glint flashed through his eyes.

If I can help the Hokage's son solve his problem... he'll definitely remember my contribution, right? Then wouldn't promoting my father be just one word from him?

Even if he doesn't promote my father, if I can attach myself to the Hokage's son, I can avoid ending up exactly like my father in the future!

He secretly made up his mind to help Asuma deal with Uchiha Hara.

However, this matter could not be publicized. He had to do it cleanly, then go deliver the "good news."

As for whether he could defeat Uchiha Hara, Kiryu Daiki was extremely confident. He had been gifted since childhood. Though he was only five years old, he was already 1.4 meters tall, broad-shouldered and thick-waisted.

That was also why he could enter Class A.

Uchiha Hara, meanwhile, was under a meter tall and looked sickly. No matter how one looked at him, he seemed easy to bully.

Kiryu Daiki simply could not imagine how he could lose!

The bell rang, and the first class was literacy.

The teacher led the class through the text word by word, explaining as she went.

Uchiha Hara's foundation truly was poor. His parents had died early, and he had not put his mind into academic subjects, so he had not paid attention even during the clan's introductory lessons.

But the current Uchiha Hara was no longer the original owner of this body. Not only did he possess a child's powerful memory, he also had an adult's efficient comprehension.

He followed the teacher's pace while rapidly flipping through his textbook.

Before the teacher had even finished leading the class through a single passage, he had nearly gone through all the new words in the entire book and understood more than half of them.

After class, Kurenai Yuhi wanted to come chat with him again, but Uchiha Hara asked first, "Kurenai, is there somewhere in the school where we can read books freely?"

"Yes!" Kurenai Yuhi immediately nodded. She only wanted to spend time with Hara; as for what they did, it did not really matter. Reading together was fine too.

"You mean the library, right? I'll take you there!"

The Ninja Academy really did have a library. Those fanfiction writers had not lied after all.

When they arrived at the library, Uchiha Hara found that its collection was fairly extensive. But upon closer inspection, most of the books were ordinary works on history, geography, and culture written by civilians.

Even in the section related to ninjas, there were only the most basic books, such as Introduction to Chakra Fundamentals and Illustrated Guide to Hand Seals.

Knowledge was tightly locked down, just as expected, Uchiha Hara thought.

During Sarutobi Hiruzen's administration, Konoha's control over knowledge had been extremely strict. For low- and mid-level ninja to acquire advanced ninjutsu knowledge through public channels was almost a fool's dream.

But he had not come for ninjutsu in the first place, so it did not matter.

He first borrowed a copy of Universal Dictionary and Complete Guide to Vocabulary. He had no desire to be like a certain number-one surprise ninja who needed someone to explain even the meaning of "a rabble."

Next, he selected several miscellaneous books on customs, curiosities, and geographical atlases, slipping a copy of Common Animal Atlas of the Land of Fire among them.

"Hara, why are you borrowing so many books?" Kurenai Yuhi asked curiously.

"Some of what the teacher covers is a little too simple. Sitting around doing nothing is a waste of time. Reading more can always broaden one's horizons," Uchiha Hara said candidly.

He only needed to maintain the image of being physically weak. There was no need to pretend to be stupid as well.

The Uchiha clan was naturally strong in spiritual power, so the chances of producing fools were already low. Obito was merely scatterbrained by nature, not lacking in intelligence.

Upon hearing that, Kurenai Yuhi looked at him with even brighter eyes. It was as if stars were glittering within those red irises.

She felt that this seemingly frail classmate was not only handsome but also so diligent in his studies. He was completely unlike those arrogant Uchiha her father always talked about!

The break was short. They had only just returned to the classroom when the second class began.

This lesson was on the Ninja Code, and Miki Sarutobi was teaching again.

However, the Ninja Academy's classroom was tiered. If students sitting in the back secretly did something, the teacher at the front might not necessarily notice.

So Uchiha Hara began multitasking. His ears listened to the teacher while his eyes rapidly skimmed through the Animal Atlas tucked inside his textbook.

His original intention was to systematically understand the Land of Fire's biological resources and prepare for acquiring racial talents with purpose later on.

Felines were agile, and perhaps they could improve his reaction speed. Wasn't Minato Namikaze famous for conquering the world with his reaction speed?

Canines had keen senses of smell, which would also be useful when tracking enemies.

Bats could emit ultrasonic waves. Combined with chakra, perhaps that could be developed into sound-based ninjutsu.

An eagle's vision was exceptionally sharp. Even while flying ten thousand meters in the sky, it could spot a rabbit nearly the same color as the surrounding weeds. If he fused an eagle's Life Imprint, his eyesight should receive a major boost as well.

There were also cranes, with their graceful postures. He wondered whether they could help with his Tai Chi training.

Then there was a snake's Infrared Vision, a honey badger's vitality and poison resistance, a turtle's longevity...

Uchiha Hara discovered that these animals were truly versatile. Some of their traits were no worse than a Kekkei Genkai.

He thought of Orochimaru again. Since Orochimaru could fuse snake genes into his body, why not try other animals?

If he had only tried a turtle, perhaps there would have been no need for something like Living Corpse Reincarnation!

As he continued reading, the description of one animal suddenly caught his attention.

Chameleon: a type of lizard capable of changing its skin color.

Since it could alter its own color according to its environment, could he gain its camouflage ability after refining it?

If I gain a chameleon's camouflage ability... A thought burst forth like a spark. Wouldn't I be able to adjust my skin tone and complexion at will, perfectly concealing the fact that my body is steadily getting healthier? I might even be able to perform more advanced optical camouflage when necessary.

This discovery made Uchiha Hara's heart race.

Endurance and vitality could wait. Camouflage was an urgent necessity for the current Uchiha Hara!

He had to get a chameleon as soon as possible!