Five Elements Complete · Sarutobi's Scheme

The lunch break bell rang crisply, and the atmosphere in the classroom immediately relaxed considerably.

As usual, Kurenai Yuhi carried her lunchbox over and sat beside Uchiha Hara with a smile, ready to begin her daily "feeding" routine.

Looking at the brightly colored dishes in the lunchbox, especially the slices of vivid red tomato, Uchiha Hara suddenly remembered something—when he had left home that morning, his thoughts had been so scattered that he seemed to have forgotten to take his daily Blood Essence and Soul Essence.

Without changing expression, he sank his consciousness into the Demon Refining Pot, took out Uchiha Osamu's Blood Essence and Soul Essence, and used the cover of lowering his head to eat to slip them into his mouth.

A familiar warmth and cool sensation spread at the same time, merging into his limbs, bones, and sea of consciousness.

He instinctively "looked" at the panel:

[Individual Status Panel]

Essence: 1.826 (+0.100)

Qi: 1.826 (+0.100)

Spirit: 1.826 (+0.100)

[Chakra Attributes]

Fire, Earth, Lightning, Wind, Water

His Essence, Qi, and Spirit had each increased by 0.1, steadily rising to 1.826.

And in the chakra attributes section, there was unexpectedly an additional word: "Water"!

At this point, he possessed all five basic elemental attributes: Fire, Earth, Lightning, Wind, and Water!

As for the even more mysterious Yin and Yang attributes, Uchiha Hara currently had no understanding of them at all. They had never appeared on the panel either. Perhaps they required some special opportunity to reach.

"But Uchiha Osamu actually had Water-nature chakra. Did it come from his mother?" Uchiha Hara had refined the Blood Essence of Uchiha Osamu's father, Uchiha Amano, so he naturally knew that Uchiha Amano did not possess a Water attribute. That meant it must have come from his mother.

Come to think of it, he had clearly killed three people last night, yet he did not seem to have had any particular reaction!

It had been the same when he killed Kiryu Daiki before. He had not felt disgusted or bloodthirsty. In short, he had simply been calm.

"Maybe it was because I made sufficient mental preparations before every kill?" Uchiha Hara pondered. In any case, he did not think of himself as someone who loved killing. After all, every time he killed, he had a valid reason.

Besides, in a world like this, if he wanted to survive, he had no choice but to kill.

As long as one accepted that premise first, killing would naturally not be so difficult.

Clearly, Uchiha Hara had already prepared himself mentally on the very first day he transmigrated here.

Uchiha Hara also had another question.

Refining animals could grant all kinds of talents, so why had he refined three Uchiha clan members and gained no special talent beyond attributes and stats? Even Kiryu Daiki had contributed a blue talent...

Was the Uchiha bloodline itself, or a certain chakra attribute, considered a talent? Or were those three Uchiha simply too useless and genuinely talentless?

Forget it. There was no point overthinking it. If he got the chance later, he would refine a few more Uchiha. Once he refined enough of them, he would naturally find out.

If I remember correctly, Uchiha Shisui died by jumping off a cliff, right? When the time came, I would wait underwater.

It was hard to say about others, but Uchiha Shisui almost certainly had a talent.

It was not until afternoon practical class that Uchiha Hara noticed that Asuma Sarutobi's seat was completely empty.

"Didn't come to school?" He was slightly surprised, but when he recalled the scene from that morning, he understood a little more.

Although Sarutobi Hiruzen and Asuma had been behind them, his spiritual essence was too abundant, and he also possessed the blue Enhanced Perception talent, so he had naturally noticed the two of them.

He had simply been too embarrassed to turn around and greet them.

But by the time he had walked farther away, he had not seen Asuma heading home either.

Now it seemed that seeing him hold hands with Kurenai Yuhi had dealt that brat quite a blow.

From now on, he should learn to let go, right?

The lesson was still the same old four drills: running, basic taijutsu, Kunai Throwing, and Shuriken Throwing.

Teacher Daisuke Nakano moved through the ranks, occasionally correcting their movements while encouraging everyone in a gentle tone. "There are no shortcuts to becoming stronger. It depends on persistence day after day, watered by sweat..."

At three in the afternoon, the regular training ended, leaving roughly half an hour of free activity before class was dismissed.

Just then, Might Guy suddenly leaped out. Beneath his signature thick brows, his eyes burned with blazing flames as he pointed directly at Kakashi in the corner. "Kakashi! My eternal best friend! Let us have a battle of youth!"

Kakashi was reading some unknown book. Hearing Might Guy's call, he raised his dead-fish eyes, his face plainly spelling out the word "trouble," and refused without hesitation. "No."

Yet Might Guy's tenacity exceeded all imagination. He immediately began pestering him relentlessly. "Kakashi, our youth does not permit you to run away! Have you forgotten the bond between us?"

Kakashi was speechless. What bond do I have with you? My dad only pointed you out during registration, that's all!

Unfortunately, the heavens did not help Kakashi. Might Guy refused to give up, and Teacher Daisuke Nakano seemed to want to add some color to the dull lesson as well. Smiling, he mediated, "Kakashi, Guy is so enthusiastic. Spar with him in taijutsu. You can also give the other students a demonstration."

Left with no choice, Kakashi put away his book and took his position in the middle of the field across from Might Guy.

The result was without suspense.

Although Might Guy had a solid taijutsu foundation and was full of energy, he was still swiftly defeated before Kakashi's precise, efficient, and even somewhat cold taijutsu.

Though he had clearly won, Kakashi showed no joy at all. Instead, he looked even more helpless, because despite being knocked down, Might Guy immediately climbed back up, raised a thumbs-up, and flashed his shining teeth. "As expected of the best friend I recognize! You're incredible! But I won't give up! I'll challenge you again tomorrow!"

Kakashi: "..." He felt like some strange, impossible-to-shake creature had latched onto him.

Uchiha Hara watched with great interest from the side, while his thoughts churned.

"Kakashi graduated early. Aside from his extraordinary talent and boredom with school lessons, this 'best friend's' daily 'youth harassment' probably played no small part..."

He tried putting himself in Kakashi's position: I am the son of the White Fang of Konoha, famous as a genius. I only came to the Ninja Academy to experience a little youth, yet I ended up attracting a piece of clingy gum like this.

If I don't graduate early, won't I be annoyed to death by him over the next few years?

But was that all?

Uchiha Hara's gaze deepened.

Although he often caught up on sleep during the mornings, he attended the afternoon practical lessons.

He had keenly noticed that Teacher Nakano seemed especially "fond" of Kakashi, frequently praising him lavishly in front of everyone. "Kakashi, your movements are perfect!" "As expected of Kakashi, you're on a completely different level from the other students." "Geniuses really are different. The school curriculum is far too simple for you."

Imagine it: a naturally proud genius surrounded by a group of "childish" classmates, with an inescapable, overly enthusiastic piece of clingy gum by his side, while his teacher whispered in his ear every day, "Staying here is a waste of your time."

...After being hit by that series of combined blows, could Kakashi, whose mind was not yet fully mature, really resist applying for early graduation?

"Coincidence?" Uchiha Hara did not think so.

This concerned the son of an Elite Jonin—Sakumo Hatake, a man of enormous prestige who was even regarded as a strong contender for the Fourth Hokage. Would an ordinary Ninja Academy teacher dare to casually and repeatedly make remarks that might induce him to graduate early if no one had instructed him from behind the scenes?

Ninjas usually graduated at seven or eight years old. As Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen had seen far too many gifted children. His grasp of children's psychology could be called exceptionally precise. He surely knew that such an environment would prompt Kakashi to request graduation on his own.

Then why was he pushing Kakashi to graduate early?

The answer was probably the same as why he encouraged Uchiha clan geniuses to graduate early: he did not want Kakashi to build up enough prestige and popularity at the Ninja Academy.

Sakumo Hatake's reputation was already at its peak, threatening certain people's positions.

If Kakashi stayed at the Ninja Academy for the full five years, with his talent, family background, and the halo of being the "son of the White Fang of Konoha," he would likely become the center of attention throughout the entire academy. Students from several grades, both above and below him, might all be won over by him.

At that point, even if Sakumo Hatake failed to become Hokage, Kakashi would inevitably possess an extremely deep popular foundation and become a powerful contender for the future position of Hokage.

That was something certain people would never be willing to see.

Therefore, Kakashi had to graduate early and leave this "safe" environment where it was easiest to accumulate popular support.

Furthermore, look at the current first-year class. Who ranked second in grades?

It was none other than Sarutobi Hiruzen's son, Asuma Sarutobi!

Once Kakashi, the "first place," left, wouldn't Asuma, who ranked second, become first?

Perhaps he could not conquer several grades as Kakashi could, but becoming the top student of his own year would be easy enough.

Sarutobi Hiruzen had probably done more than just this one thing to pave the way for his son.

Uchiha Hara's gaze swept toward the corner of the training field, where a noisy figure wearing goggles was glued to Rin Nohara's back—Uchiha Obito.

"Was Obito really dead last?" He recalled both the original story and his present observations.

Obito might not have been among the very best within the Uchiha clan, but across the entire Ninja Academy, and in this Class A, his strength absolutely ranked in the upper-middle tier. He was second only to a handful of people such as Kakashi and Asuma. With that level of ability, he could not possibly be considered bottom-ranked.

Moreover, in the original story, not long after graduation, during an internal spar overseen by Minato Namikaze, he could trade blows with Kakashi, who was already nearing Jonin level. Though he ultimately lost, the gap between their strengths was nowhere near as large as the title "dead last" suggested.

Yet Obito bore the title of dead last, and it was a very well-known one. It had followed him from first year all the way until graduation.

If no one had manipulated that, Uchiha Hara would not believe it in the slightest.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was quite skilled at manipulating public opinion, wasn't he?

Of course, turning a capable ninja into dead last still required a certain degree of technical skill.

So how had that title come about?

Actually, it was simple.

Even Uchiha Hara could think of several methods, and the most practical was to make sure that every time teams were assigned for combat drills or opponents were arranged, Obito would always "coincidentally" face a particular, exceptionally troublesome opponent—Might Guy, for example.

Fighting a taijutsu expert and physical monster like Might Guy, losing naturally meant elimination. Even if he won, it would certainly be a bitter victory that drained him heavily. Then, in the next round, facing an opponent waiting in peak condition, he would basically lose as well.

A student who could not even reach the third round of combat drills would naturally have the label of "dead last" firmly pinned on him.

"So Konoha's waters run very deep..." Uchiha Hara sighed inwardly. I still need to keep a low profile.

Why had Kakashi's fate been so full of misfortune? Why had Sakumo Hatake been driven to suicide by public opinion? In the end, it was because they had shone too brightly without seeing the cruel truth of the political struggle among Konoha's upper ranks.

Exposing one's talent too early without sufficient strength and backing to protect oneself was a path to disaster.

If one did not want to hide as thoroughly as Uchiha Hara, then one could learn from Minato Namikaze!

Minato was also a genius. His chakra reserves, control, learning ability, and reaction speed were all top-notch. If he wanted to graduate early, it would not have been difficult at all.

Yet he remained steadily enrolled until graduation, never showing off.

Around the time of graduation, his strength rapidly improved. First, he became the disciple of Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin, and obtained the Summoning Jutsu of Mount Myoboku. Then, by a twist of fate, he saved Kushina Uzumaki and became the lover of the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki...

In an extremely short time, his strength, backing, and important political capital—a Jinchuriki lover—all fell into place, forcing the higher-ups to think twice before making a move against him.

That was the approach of a smart person. It was also how the protagonists of most fanfictions operated. They generally lay low during their time at the Ninja Academy, then quickly latched onto Tsunade or Orochimaru after graduation before rising without restraint.

Uchiha Hara could actually operate that way too, but he was not someone who liked standing out. Keeping a low profile was his choice, but it also genuinely suited his personality.

He simply liked the feeling of quietly making a fortune.

So he would not cling to anyone else's thigh like the others. He would continue hiding until he was strong enough that no one could block his brilliance.

Uchiha Hara withdrew his thoughts and looked up at the sky.

Konoha's sunlight was still bright, but he knew full well how many unseen schemes and calculations hid beneath that brightness.

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within his body and the presence of the Demon Refining Pot.

"I have all the time and capital I need. Let's take it slow."