Uchiha Makoto

A string of system notifications flashed through Makoto's mind.

He quietly took stock of the changes in his body.

His strength, speed, and Taijutsu had all improved noticeably.

It wasn't quite enough to "take on three with one hand," but dealing with Aoki was certainly within his reach.

What a shame.

Makoto clicked his tongue inwardly.

Obito had said he believed him, but deep down, he was only half convinced.

A trust level of 50%, combined with his weighting as an important supporting character, had only manifested this much.

I wonder how much feedback an idiot like Naruto, the original story's protagonist, would give me.

And the manifestation of a lie depended on what the target actually thought. No chakra had manifested this time, which proved that Obito didn't think Makoto had any chakra yet.

Forget it. No point dwelling on it.

"Y-you're serious?" Obito stammered.

"What else would I be?"

Makoto raised an eyebrow and looked at Aoki, who was already charging toward him.

Aoki's face flushed with anger. "Uchiha Makoto! Get outside right now! To the training ground! I'll show you what happens when you run your mouth!"

"Sure." Makoto shrugged. "But class is starting. You're going to skip right in front of the teacher?"

Aoki froze.

Just then, the classroom door opened.

A Chunin teacher walked in carrying the class register. Seeing the two facing off, he frowned. "What's going on? Back to your seats!"

Aoki shot Makoto a vicious glare and mouthed, "Just wait until school's out," before returning to his seat, seething.

Makoto strolled toward his own seat by the window in the second-to-last row.

As he passed Obito, the spiky-haired boy lowered his voice.

"Makoto... you said all that to stand up for me, didn't you? Th-thanks! But Aoki has his father teaching him."

"Shut up and sit down." Makoto pushed him back into his seat.

Then he went over to the window and sat down, propping his chin on his hand as he looked outside.

Roll call began, but plenty of students kept sneaking glances at Makoto.

Might Guy gave him a thumbs-up and mouthed, "Youth!"

Asuma raised an eyebrow, apparently amused, and whispered something to Kurenai Yuhi.

Rin glanced at Obito from time to time, then at Makoto.

Good.

Makoto nodded inwardly.

My persona is established.

Although he had used up all his system attempts for the day, he'd gained strength and the attention of the entire class. Not a bad trade.

Besides, after that boast about "taking on three with one hand," all he needed was to show a little ability later, and it would easily cement the impression that he really could fight.

"Kurenai Yuhi."

At the sound of her name, a very pretty little girl stood to answer.

"Here."

Uchiha Makoto gave her a quick glance. Kurenai Yuhi, Hinata Hyuga's future instructor. Even now, as a first-year student at the Ninja Academy, she already showed signs of the exceptional beauty she would become.

Roll call continued.

Obito sneaked a look back from diagonally ahead of him, waggling his eyebrows and mouthing, "Let's head home together!"

Makoto ignored him and kept looking out the window.

Class began.

"Uchiha Makoto."

"Here."

Roll call was still going. Makoto answered lazily, but his mind had already wandered miles away.

The leaves outside rustled in the wind, and sunlight streamed through the glass, spilling a dazzling patch of light across his desk.

Makoto stared blankly at that patch of light, his finger unconsciously tracing circles on the desktop.

At the front of the classroom, the Chunin teacher cleared his throat.

"All right, that concludes roll call. Now for our first lesson."

The teacher turned and wrote several large characters on the blackboard.

Makoto glanced up, then froze.

Chakra Extraction Technique.

Those words pinned him to his seat like nails.

"...Chakra is the foundation of a ninja's abilities, created by combining physical energy and spiritual energy."

The teacher's voice echoed through the classroom. "Today, we'll learn the most basic extraction method."

A stir ran through the classroom.

The kids whispered excitedly among themselves. Even Asuma, who had been sleeping with his head on his desk, looked up.

Uchiha Makoto couldn't muster the slightest excitement.

He stared at the blackboard, his mind pounding as though a bell were tolling inside it.

They're teaching the Chakra Extraction Technique in the very first lesson?

I thought Naruto and the others learned that in their second year.

No, that's not the point.

The point is-!

Konoha Year 41... Makoto recited inwardly. Obito is six now, and he's twelve at the Battle of Kannabi Bridge... so that would be Konoha Year 47...

He drew a sharp breath.

The third world war.

The Third Shinobi World War.

The war in the original story where the Uchiha Clan fought Kirigakure alone and suffered devastating casualties.

War breaks out in Year 46, Kannabi Bridge in Year 47... Makoto clenched his hand beneath the desk. Five years left.

Five years.

It sounded like a long time, but when he worked it out...

During wartime, students graduated from the Ninja Academy in three or four years. He would only be ten then.

In Years 46 and 47, he would only be eleven and twelve.

Under normal circumstances, that was exactly the age when Genin were sent to the battlefield.

With a little luck, he might have made Chunin by then.

And then?

Then he'd be thrown into the meat grinder called the Third Shinobi World War. If he was lucky, he'd lose an arm or a leg. If he wasn't...

"Tch." Makoto couldn't help clicking his tongue.

At the front, the teacher was still talking away. "...Therefore, extracting chakra requires you to calm your mind, focus, and sense the flow of energy within your body..."

Makoto didn't hear a single word.