The next morning, Chiba showed up at school with two dark circles under his eyes.
He'd spent most of the night planning his next steps—but no matter how he calculated it, there was no way he could open the Fourth Gate at his current age.
That's right. His body was simply too young. Just being able to open the Third Gate now was already pushing the limits. If he forced open the Fourth Gate, it could cause irreversible damage to his development.
The Eight Gates technique was a forbidden jutsu that harmed both enemy and user alike. The more gates opened, the greater the damage to the body. The final gate—Gate of Death—was just that: opening it meant certain death.
His current physical development had become a bottleneck, and there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't exactly fast-forward time to make his body grow faster.
Still, Chiba wasn't discouraged. Instead, he saw it as a window of opportunity to focus on building his physical foundation. Who knew? Maybe after a year of intense training, his body would be strong enough to open the Fourth Gate without catastrophic consequences.
After all, the Eight Gates technique wasn't about age—it was about physical strength. If his body was strong enough, it didn't matter how old he was.
As he walked toward school, the same familiar sneers and disdainful stares followed him. Chiba was already used to it and didn't pay them any mind.
Just as I thought… everything feels like nothing ever happened. The incident really was kept under wraps.
Soon, he arrived at the ninja academy.
The school wasn't organized by classes, only by grade level, which was determined based on the student's year of entry. All students in the same year were taught in one large classroom.
At seven years old, Chiba was in Second Year, having been enrolled for two years. Most of his peers were also seven or eight years old.
His current academic rank? Forty-seventh out of fifty.
A bottom-tier student. A quiet, nearly invisible one at that.
In fact, even the last-place student had more presence than him.
Why? Because whenever parents asked their kids about school rankings, the questions often went:
"Who's number one?"
"Who's number two?"
"…Who's dead last?"
Followed by:
"If you ever fall behind that kid, I'll beat you senseless!"
See? Even third place didn't get that much attention. As the fourth from the bottom, Chiba was practically a ghost.
And with the stigma of being a traitor's son, he was already being treated as someone better off ignored. The fact that no one openly bullied him was already a blessing.
Chiba didn't mind. He preferred the peace and quiet. As always, he headed for his usual seat in the far back corner near the door.
That spot had become his personal sleep corner—critical for recovering from his daily exhaustion. After training his body to the brink each day, he barely had time to rest. School naps were the only way to reset before the next round of training.
The ninja academy's curriculum was relatively simple. Aside from the Three Basic Techniques (Clone, Substitution, Transformation), it also covered Shurikenjutsu and basic taijutsu. Graduation exams would randomly test one of these.
As for daily performance rankings, they weren't based on written tests, but on evaluations made by the chūnin instructors, who judged based on overall performance and daily class activity.
But due to Chiba's constant fatigue, he always seemed sluggish and half-awake in class. Whether it was shuriken throwing, ninjutsu, or taijutsu, he always performed just barely passable—which kept him firmly in the bottom tier.
On the other hand, the top student of the second year was widely considered the next prodigy after Kakashi.
Uchiha Hirohiko.
A genius of this year's class, he was already approaching graduation standards in taijutsu, ninjutsu, and shurikenjutsu. If he hit the mark on any one of them, he could graduate early.
Kakashi had graduated at five years old—legendary even by Konoha's standards.
Now, the school—and the village—had placed their hopes on Uchiha Hirohiko as the next prodigy. Even though the Uchiha clan had a rather complicated standing in Konoha, the village high-ups wouldn't hesitate to promote someone with talent.
It was a message to all ninja: If you have ability, Konoha will invest in you.
This inspired loyalty—and ambition.
Until recently, Chiba couldn't have cared less. He had been so absorbed in Eight Gates Mode development and chakra control that he hadn't paid any attention to others. He only vaguely knew the top student's name.
In fact, he didn't even know what Hirohiko looked like.
What early graduation? What village support? He hadn't thought about any of that.
His only concern was his pitiful chakra volume.
But now, with his Eight Gates Mode more or less stabilized, Chiba finally had the mental space to think about advancement.
If he could become one of the village's special trainees, Konoha wouldn't treat him as expendable. He might even be protected during the Third Ninja War, instead of being thrown in as cannon fodder.
And with his newly discovered talent for ninjutsu, being officially groomed would give him access to better training resources and knowledge.
It was worth a shot.
Chiba leaned against his desk, pulled out a Konoha extra-large steamed bun the size of his head, and silently gnawed on it.
Recently, his appetite had been monstrous. No matter how much he ate, he was still hungry. These buns, which were supposed to be enough to fill a grown man, barely made a dent—he needed three per meal just to feel full.
And even then, he'd be hungry again soon.
Still, Chiba didn't mind.
"Good. The more I eat, the faster I'll grow. The Fourth Gate is getting closer."
But for an orphan living on Konoha's welfare, food had now become his second-biggest expense after his weighted gear.
Money… was getting tight.
Just as Chiba was mid-bite, a loud shriek cut through the classroom.
Some of the girls—early arrivals—let out high-pitched screams and rushed toward the door.
"Kyaaa! Hirohiko's here!"
"He's so cool!"
"Hirohiko! Can I sit next to you today?"
They clasped their hands under their chins, gazing starry-eyed like fangirls at a pop idol.
Then, a boy walked into the room, dressed in a short-sleeved academy uniform.
With sharp eyebrows, clear eyes, and striking features—even at this young age—it was obvious that he'd grow into a heartthrob. No doubt:
This was Uchiha Hirohiko.
But despite the cheers and adoration, Hirohiko paid no attention to the crowd. He walked coldly to his seat in the front row, inner corner of the classroom.
His detached, stone-faced demeanor only made the girls scream louder.
"Ahh! My heart can't take it!"
"So cool—!"
The chorus of squeals stabbed at Chiba's eardrums. Frowning slightly, he kept chewing on his bun.
What's with this Hirohiko kid? The academy's golden boy, from the prestigious Uchiha clan, already getting showered with admiration—so why did his face look so gloomy?
Yes—on that emotionless expression, Chiba could clearly read the words:
"Deeply troubled."
Just as Chiba pondered this oddity, something even stranger happened.
Every male student in the room suddenly had the same glint in their eyes. Their jealous gazes toward Hirohiko transformed—into hope, into awe.
And then—they all rushed to the door.
All of them.