The soft morning light came through the gaps in my bedroom window, streaking the wooden floor with golden stripes.
Today was my first day at Ninja Academy.
As soon as I woke up, I sat up in bed, stretching my arms with a slight yawn. Despite the slight anxiety that tried to form in my stomach, the predominant feeling was anticipation.
I got up, walked to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water to wash away any remnants of sleep.
After dressing calmly, I chose an outfit that was comfortable and light, but nice enough not to look ordinary. It was a slightly tight shirt, which even showed the muscles that had started to develop on my body after last week's training, with a blue sash with the symbol of the Kazuki clan tied around my left arm, a green circle the color of my hair embraced by a pair of black wings like mine, or rather Makami Kazuki's. I went into the kitchen and began to cook.
I went into the kitchen and started preparing my lunch.
Not knowing if the school would provide food, I decided to make sure and bring my own.
Something I learned last week out of curiosity is that the [Kankara Formula] is an absolute cheat when it comes to cooking if I knew the necessary information.
This made me buy some cookbooks and try to understand as much as possible about everything.
In my mind, ingredients began to turn into numbers, proportions, cooking times, calorie efficiency and nutritional value. As my eyes looked at the onion, my mind saw: medium cut, 0.5cm cubes, ideal braising time: 4min33s.
I used Japanese rice, sautéed vegetables and a small piece of grilled chicken in miso sauce. It smelled great, so I carefully put everything in the lunchbox and stored it in my little green backpack, matching the color of my hair.
As I cooked, my mind went back to the day before.
After lunch with the Hatake, Kakashi and I continued practicing. We spent hours in that makeshift arena, even alternating between Shurikenjutsu and basic defenses.
Kakashi was demanding, direct, but surprisingly didn't seem so arrogant anymore.
And Sakumo...
Not only did he watch part of the training, he also intervened at times, correcting our postures, giving advice on what we should focus on to improve.
Being with them was more comforting than I expected.
Even with all my caution, I realized that it was safe to show some of my genius with them. Not all of it, of course, but enough to keep up with Kakashi without raising any red flags.
Still... Sakumo's presence made me uneasy.
Knowing what the two clowns in the Hokage's tower were planning to do to him worried me, especially as I didn't know when it would happen.
I saw Kakashi's eyes light up with respect when his father spoke, I saw how safe he felt when Sakumo was around and how proud he was when I also improved because of his father's tips.
Remembering what he would be like after his father's death made me even more uneasy.
Taking a deep breath, I closed the lunchbox, put on my small green backpack and left the house.
The walk to the gym was quiet, but soon the sounds began to increase. Children laughing, running, some crying... and parents saying goodbye with hugs, instructions or promises to pick them up on time.
I watched the scene in silence.
Many came from civilian families, others were the children of shinobi. I saw a boy with the Aburame clan crest on his shoulder wearing sunglasses as he stared at his mother, who was also wearing sunglasses and just stared back at her son.
It even looked as if the two could communicate by telepathy.
A blond boy had a Yamanaka bandana around his waist as he hugged his father with a tearful expression.
And I was alone.
As alone as I've ever been in this world... and the next.
A twinge appeared in my chest, making me lower my gaze for a moment.
"Enzai!" A familiar cry called out to me.
I raised my face immediately.
Kakashi was walking towards me with his hands in his pockets and his standard bored expression. Behind him, Sakumo followed with a broad smile and a friendly nod.
"Good morning, Enzai. Ready to become a real ninja?" Sakumo spoke in a warm voice.
It made me smile. "Good morning, Hatake-san, and good morning, Kakashi."
Kakashi just nodded, but I saw. Behind his mask and half-closed eyes, he seemed pleased to see me there.
With them by my side, the feeling of loneliness dissipated.
'No, if there's anything I can do, I will. I'll try to prevent Sakumo Hatake's demise... Even if it's not easy...' I thought resolutely.
Kakashi and I walked together to the school entrance, where several children were being directed to their respective classrooms.
When we entered class 1A, all eyes immediately turned to us.
It was as if time stood still for a second.
Kakashi walked with his hands in his pockets, shoulders relaxed, looking distant and bored, as if nothing there deserved his attention.
I finally saw again the proud Kakashi I saw at the Ninja Academy test, and it made me want to laugh a little.
I was walking beside him with an upright posture, calm steps, a slight smile on my face and attentive, gentle eyes.
The difference between us was striking, and from an aesthetic point of view, we attracted much more attention than we would have done if we had entered the classroom separately.
Not just because we contrasted well, but because we were both too beautiful to go unnoticed.
I saw the eyes of a girl in the third row widen at the sight of Kakashi, she had short hair, big, sincere eyes, with two lilac marks on her cheeks.
'That must be Rin...' I thought amusedly.
She smiled faintly, and an excited glow appeared on her face even though she tried to disguise it.
Next to her, a boy with orange glasses and messy hair clenched his fists as he glared angrily at us, not knowing which one of us Rin was looking at like that.
'That must be Obito...' I thought even more amused.
On the other side of the room there was another pair acting in a similar way.
A girl with reddish eyes, pale skin, a delicate face and dark hair was looking at me curiously, her eyes analyzing my every detail.
And next to her, a boy with brown hair, slightly tanned skin and a face that vaguely resembled a monkey was staring at me angrily before looking away.
I entered the room with a calm smile and greeted some of the students standing nearby. I introduced myself naturally and chose a seat near the window.
Kakashi sat next to me, crossing his arms as if that seat was just a temporary inconvenience.
The class was still murmuring among themselves when the front door opened with a dry slap.
The teacher entered the room with a serious posture, wearing a slightly worn chunin vest and a Leaf Village bandana tied around his forehead.
He had dark brown hair combed back, attentive but tired eyes and a discreet vertical scar over his left eyebrow.
"Good morning, class, I'm Nobuki-sensei." He said in a firm voice. "I'm a veteran chunin assigned to look after your basic training. Some of you already have an above-average base, others will need more time. But believe me, you all have the potential to become powerful ninjas of Konoha."
The class was silent, looking at this ninja teacher with curiosity.
Then he continued. "Before we start with the content, I want everyone to introduce themselves. State your name, clan, and what you want to achieve by being a ninja. We'll start from the first row."
One by one, the students began to stand up.
Obito's turn finally came. "I am Uchiha Obito. Of the Uchiha clan, of course. I... want to become the most powerful Hokage of all!"
Seeing that this boy was an Uchiha, knowing how genius this clan usually was, made everyone look at him with interest, wondering how powerful this boy was to be so confident.
Obito seemed to be trying to appear confident, but the way he glanced at Rin right afterwards gave away the real reason.
Then it was Rin's turn. "I am Nohara Rin. I'm not from any noble clan... but I want to become a medical ninja like Tsunade-sama, and help my companions return well from their missions."
Her voice was gentle, and when she had finished speaking, just as Obito had done, she cast a quick glance in Kakashi's direction and immediately looked away.
"I am Sarutobi Asuma and I want to be strong enough to be known by my name, not by my father." He spoke with his arms crossed and his jaw tense. His gaze passed over Kurenai, then me, as if he was already considering me a problem.
"I'm Yuuhi Kurenai, from the Yuuhi clan. My goal is to become a great jounin focused on Genjutsu in the future, just like my father." She spoke gently.
"I'm Might Guy!" Said a suddenly excited voice from the background. A boy with thick eyebrows and an intense expression jumped to his feet. "I'm Duy's son! My goal is to prove that even without talent, I can become a great ninja through the power of youth!!!"
He finished by posing with his fist raised, while the teacher seemed to hold back a sigh.
Some of the students laughed, but honestly, I found it... admirable.
Then it was my turn.
I stood up calmly, maintaining a polite posture. All the eyes in the room turned to me with a mixture of curiosity and judgment.
Then I took a deep breath and spoke clearly. "I am Kazuki Enzai, from the Kazuki clan. My dream is to rebuild my family... and become Hokage."
Silence.
Many girls' eyes lit up. Kurenai seemed even more interested. Even Rin gave me a surprised and kind look.
Obito clenched his fists on the table.
Asuma muttered something I didn't hear, but it was clearly a complaint.
The most curious thing was the look Kakashi gave me. Not of disbelief... but of recognition.
That was the perfect disguise for someone in my situation. Nothing drew less attention than an orphan prodigy trying to "prove himself".
It would be very strange if I gave a very different answer to everyone else in the class, so I felt that this approach would be the best.
And honestly, that wasn't too far from the truth.
Even if being Hokage was very problematic, if I could stop Hiruzen from staying in power and doing the stupid things he and Danzo did non-stop, I could keep Konoha's strength at its peak and live a much more peaceful life while getting stronger.
So I sat back down, satisfied.
The teacher waited for the last introductions and then walked over to the blackboard. "Very well. Before we start formal training, you need to understand what it means to be a Konoha ninja. And it all starts with the Will of Fire."
I'd expected that... but I still sighed.
"The Will of Fire is the philosophy that unites our village. It's what makes us protect each other like a true family. It's what allows Konoha to remain strong, generation after generation..."
Next to me, Kakashi rolled his eyes slightly, just as I did.
That lesson was more like a lecture. There was nothing technical, nothing practical, just a lot of idealism in the form of words. Perhaps it was important for ordinary children, but both Kakashi and I had matured enough to see that there was more than that behind the village's façade.
As the teacher spoke, Kakashi took his hand out of his pocket and began to discreetly form seals with his fingers under the table.
I looked over and smiled.
I decided to follow along.
Even though I didn't need hand seals to do Jutsus, I decided to learn them anyway.
Not only would it help me hide my true power, but it could also be very useful for confusing my enemies in future battles.
We started with the basic seals: ram, rat, tiger, snake. We alternated quickly, as if we were playing a kind of silent "jokenpô" with ninjutsu.
From time to time, Rin's eyes wandered over to us curiously, Kurenai also glanced over a few times, intrigued by our synchronicity.
This caused Obito to cast an annoyed glance at us, muttering in a low voice. "Do they think they're better than everyone else or are they just trying to get attention?"
"Idiots." Asuma also replied in the same tone.
But neither Kakashi nor I cared, we were just having fun.
When the lesson was finally over, Nobuki-sensei erased the board and turned to us with a new roll of parchment.
"Now let's talk about something more practical, Chakra Refining. This is the basis of everything, without it, you won't be able to perform any technique in the future."
This part I really paid attention to.
He explained that refining Chakra was the process of mixing the physical energy of the body with the spiritual energy of the mind, and keeping this flow balanced and constant.
An image appeared in my mind immediately.
'Mana...'
In my system, I had practiced control, expenditure, use... but I hadn't tested the concept of refinement. Perhaps because, for me, Chakra and Mana were equivalent, but Chakra refinement seemed like a way of increasing the user's total capacity, which would explain why there wasn't a scroll of it in the Kazuki mansion library. It was the kind of basic technique you learned from an adult, and it didn't need to be recorded.
I closed my eyes and began to try.
Carefully, I followed the teacher's instructions and joined my breathing to the rhythm of my body.
To make it easier, I used the [Kankara Formula] to monitor the energy conversion rates inside me, visualizing the mixture of spiritual mana and physical energy.
It was like trying to keep water balanced on a wobbly board.
The process was slow.
But after a few minutes I felt it!
A faint warmth began to emerge in my center, not like when I spent Mana, but as if a slight expansion was taking place.
I was excited: 'This really works...'
Even if the energies were different, if I refined my 'Chakra' daily, as the exercise dictated, I could use this flow to slowly increase my maximum Mana!
A small smile appeared on my lips.