"Look! He's so handsome!"
"Did you see him? That white-haired boy over there is ridiculously good-looking."
"Yes, yes, him! He's so cool."
"I wonder which class he'll be in."
"If only we could be in the same class and see him every day."
"What's his name?"
"He's so handsome my knees are going weak."
"Should we go talk to him?"
Inside the Ninja Academy, a bunch of little girls huddled together, chattering away.
Uchiha Satoru had no idea anyone was talking about him. He was still looking for his classroom sign.
"What a poser."
A sour voice cut in.
"Wearing a blindfold? You can tell there's something wrong with him."
"I don't get what goes on in you girls' heads."
The boy who interrupted was another new student.
With a head of glaring yellow hair, he eyed Uchiha Satoru sidelong.
Fuck!
A bunch of girls were fawning over him just because of that face?
Why the hell should they?
At the Ninja Academy, shouldn't skill be what mattered?
What a shallow bunch, judging people by their looks.
Resentment knotted in his chest.
The real reason was the girl he liked. She had just complimented Uchiha Satoru too.
"Why do you have to be such a jerk?"
"He didn't do anything to you. That was out of line."
"You're not jealous, are you?"
The girls around him all glared at him, refusing to let anyone bad-mouth their dream boy.
"I-I'm not jealous!"
"I'm not wasting my breath arguing with you."
The blond boy went red all the way down his neck, tossed out that last remark, and turned to leave.
Uchiha Satoru finally found the door to his classroom.
Class Seven?
He tipped his chin up for a look, then stepped inside.
The room was full of little brats, with shrieks and roughhousing ringing in his ears.
As the little monsters' noise battered his ears, Uchiha Satoru's temples began to throb.
Was this karma?
Had he done so many rotten things that heaven had sent a bunch of kids to punish him?
Forget three years in this godawful place. One day would drive him insane.
No. He had to get the hell out early.
Uchiha Satoru made up his mind, an entire plan already taking shape in his head.
For the rest of the day, he pushed his knack for winning people over to the absolute limit.
From fifty-year-old instructors to five-year-old snot-nosed kids, he won over every last one.
Even the blond boy who had picked on him earlier over the girls ended up eating out of his hand.
After school, several instructors were still marveling at how unexpected this boy from the Uchiha Clan was. He was so well-behaved and obedient, as warm as a little stove.
Their words reached the Hokage Office Building exactly as spoken. The old Third Hokage was holding his pipe, and after hearing the report, he sat stunned for quite a while.
Was this really something Uchiha Satoru would do?
It was the complete opposite of his earlier assessment.
Indeed, the Third Hokage had never let up. He was still keeping a close watch on the Uchiha Clan, as well as Uchiha Satoru, who had already caught his attention.
Still, getting along with the people of the village was a good thing, no matter how he looked at it.
It showed that this child was different from those Uchiha who walked around with their noses in the air.
He hadn't followed the other Uchiha in shutting himself away in his own little circle and ignoring everyone around him.
He could get along with anyone and lend them a hand, regardless of their background or abilities. Surely that meant he had a generous heart.
The Third Hokage exhaled a puff of smoke and nodded twice, tossing his previous conclusions into the trash and adding Uchiha Satoru's name back to the list for his plans.
Little did he know that throughout this entire day of effort, only one thought had been running through Uchiha Satoru's mind.
I, Uchiha Satoru, don't want to go to fucking school!
After school, Uchiha Satoru returned to the Uchiha Clan Compound, but instead of going home, he took a turn and entered the Training Ground for the first time.
"Hey, Sasuke!"
"Big brother?"
Sasuke climbed up from the dirt, half his face still smeared with soil.
He had tripped while practicing with shuriken.
My brother didn't see that, did he?
Anyway, what was he doing here?
Sasuke's eyes were full of questions.
"Big brother, what brings you here?"
"I stopped by to check on you on my way back from school."
Uchiha Satoru gave him an offhand answer.
In truth, his own hands were itching. He wanted to practice throwing shuriken.
Having decided to graduate early, he had naturally looked up the graduation exam requirements.
He hadn't expected them to include a passing standard for shuriken throwing.
Were ninja exams these days really this rigid? This obsessed with well-rounded development?
Every subject had a strict cutoff. Fail to meet one, and they wouldn't even let you through the exam room door.
Shouldn't being a ninja be about the end result?
As long as you got the mission done properly, what else mattered? Why insist on a pile of rules and restrictions to choke people with?
How the fuck did that make sense?
How the fuck was that scientific?
It didn't fit the way the Naruto world worked at all.
Couldn't they allow a talented specialist?
Before you continue