Konoha
Ninja Academy
In one of the classrooms, a Chunin instructor stood to one side with a sheet of paper in his hand.
"Next, Chihane Hatake."
At the Chunin instructor's call, a boy slowly walked up to the front.
"Clone Technique!"
Poof!
A puff of white smoke rose, but no clone appeared.
"Failed again..."
The boy gritted his teeth, but his hands kept moving.
"That was just a mistake."
"Clone Technique!"
Another puff of white smoke appeared. Unfortunately, there was still no clone.
"Enough. There is no room for mistakes in a ninja's world. A mistake costs you and your comrades your lives." The Chunin instructor looked at him with disappointment.
"I understand." A trace of bitterness crossed Chihane's face.
Had it been anyone else, the Chunin instructor would certainly have let them try the test again. But Chihane was a child of the Hatake Clan, and as a ninja who admired Konoha White Fang, the instructor always held him to a higher standard.
After all, his younger brother, Kakashi Hatake, was already a Chunin.
"If you understand, get back to your seat."
"Next, Makoto Uchiha."
At the Chunin instructor's call, a boy with short black hair calmly walked up, brought his hands together, and formed a simple hand seal in front of him.
"Clone Technique!"
Poof!
Along with the white smoke, a clone appeared to Makoto Uchiha's left, its expression and movements almost identical to his.
"Ninety-seven points. Not bad."
The sight drew gasps from quite a few people in the classroom.
"That's an Uchiha for you!"
"Makoto really is a genius."
Watching this, Chihane couldn't help giving a bitter smile.
He had been in this world for a year now.
This was a world of ninjas, and Chihane had been born into Konoha's prestigious Hatake Clan.
His father was Konoha White Fang, renowned throughout the shinobi world, and he had a younger brother named Kakashi Hatake. At five, Kakashi had applied for early graduation and passed. At six, he had already been promoted to Chunin. His talent was famous throughout Konoha. He was a true genius, and in many people's eyes, Konoha's future White Fang.
By comparison, Chihane Hatake was far too ordinary.
He was Dead Last in his class. Apart from taijutsu, he was terrible at every subject. His body had an innate difficulty producing chakra, leaving him with only a fraction of what other children his age possessed. As for ninjutsu, he couldn't even perform the Clone Technique, no matter how hard he tried. His body, on the other hand, was unusually strong. He could eat several times as much as an ordinary person at every meal, and he was considerably stronger than most children.
Though taijutsu had powerful forbidden techniques such as the Eight Gates of Death, capable of kicking Six Paths Madara down, that glory was fleeting—a brilliance that could shine only once in a lifetime.
He had been in this world for a year, with no system and no wise old mentor. He hadn't even been able to prevent White Fang's suicide because he had arrived too late.
What was more, it was now the forty-second year of Konoha. The Third Shinobi World War would begin next year, and he didn't even have the strength to protect himself.
He was already eight years old.
He didn't have much time left.
If he couldn't gain enough strength to protect himself within a year, he would all but be doomed to serve as cannon fodder in the impending Third Shinobi World War.
Chihane had no intention of becoming cannon fodder.
"Quiet!"
"Next, Obito Uchiha."
The Chunin instructor still commanded authority. At his demand for quiet, the class quickly fell silent.
Obito Uchiha glanced at Makoto Uchiha, then walked up to the front.
Once there, he fixed his gaze on Rin Nohara, took a deep breath, and thought to himself.
This time, I'm going to beat Makoto Uchiha and make Rin see me in a new light.
Bang!!
After he formed the hand seals,
White smoke flashed, and a lopsided clone appeared beside Obito Uchiha. Though it was a clone, anyone could tell at a glance that it was fake. "Fifty points." The Chunin instructor glanced at Obito. The Uchiha Clan was known as a gathering place for geniuses, with practically every member ranking among the school's best. Yet somehow, it had produced an exception like him.
"Ah! Ah!! Let me try again!"
Naturally, Obito Uchiha refused to settle for fifty points and immediately formed the hand seals again. But he hadn't practiced well to begin with, and his impatience only made things worse. His second attempt at the Clone Technique failed outright.
On his third attempt, he finally regained a little confidence, scoring ten points higher than his first try and reaching the passing mark of sixty.
"Hmph! Told you that wasn't my real strength. The Clone Technique? Heh, easy!" Seeing that he had reached sixty points, Obito instantly grew cocky.
He looked toward Rin Nohara, hoping to hear her gasp in admiration.
"Get down from there and return to your seat!" He never got Rin Nohara's gasp, but the Chunin instructor's roar reached his ears first.
Watching this, a thought flashed through Chihane's mind.
Turning evil really was ridiculous!!
Just witnessing Rin Nohara's death was enough to send a dead last like Obito Uchiha over the edge, unlock his Mangekyo, and awaken Kamui, arguably one of the most powerful abilities. Even his combat experience and personality underwent a complete reversal.
Before long, he attacked Konoha, released the Nine-Tails, and indirectly killed the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Absolutely fucking ridiculous!
Forget it. No point overthinking things. I should head to the Back Mountain and keep training my taijutsu. Even if I can't practice ninjutsu, I can't just give up.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Chihane stood up and headed toward the woods in the Back Mountain.
As he walked, fellow Ninja Academy students occasionally cast strange looks his way.
"Look, that's Kakashi's older brother. I heard he hasn't mastered a single ninjutsu."
"Then he probably won't even pass the graduation exam!"
"Compared to Kakashi, is he really White Fang's son?"
Contemptuous looks came with a steady stream of whispers.
Chihane simply ignored them.
As Kakashi's reputation as a genius spread through Konoha, Chihane had heard comments like these for a whole year. Arguing with them every day would probably wear him to death.
He had long since grown used to it.
Arriving at the little grove in the hills behind the village, Chihane began his usual training.
First came five hundred straight punches, followed by five hundred side kicks.
"One hundred twenty-one, one hundred twenty-two."
"Three hundred twenty-one, three hundred twenty-two."
After a ten-second rest, he started another set.
"Two hundred fifty-one, two hundred fifty-two."
"Four hundred fifty-one, four hundred fifty-two."
As time passed, sweat and blood mingled on the tree trunk. Nightfall did nothing to stop Chihane's training. Since he couldn't practice ninjutsu, he had no choice but to put dozens of times more effort than an ordinary person into taijutsu.
Soon, he finished the second set as well.
Next came a set of one hundred push-ups and one hundred squats.
"Twenty-one, twenty-two."
"Ninety-one, ninety-two."
"I'll rest a little, then finish with a run home."
Before you continue