Chapter 1: Gojo Yoru
The Konoha Ninja Academy operated on a six-year curriculum, with each academic year beginning in April and ending the following March. The schedule divided into three terms: the first from early April to mid-July, the second from early September to late December, and the final term from early January through the end of March.
In this era, the academy accepted students between five and six years old.
Year 28 of Konoha saw a particularly notable enrollment—Nawaki, the Fire Country princess's younger brother and grandson of the First Hokage, entered the ninja academy founded by the Second Hokage. The true prince of the village had officially begun his shinobi education.
Year 30 of Konoha, July 18th.
Today marked the final day of the first term for all grade levels at the ninja academy.
The third through sixth-year students, already undergoing advanced training in the second and third stages of the curriculum, had spent the day completing written exams, combat assessments, and demonstrations of the Academy Three jutsu.
For the first and second years—students still practicing shuriken techniques with stones instead of actual weapons—the most challenging examination, the only one where injuries were a real possibility, was the taijutsu evaluation.
And that assessment had been saved for last.
Afternoon sunlight bathed the academy training grounds where the first-year Class A students had gathered. Boys and girls sat or stood in a loose circle, their attention fixed on what could only be described as an exceptionally intense battle between two of their peers.
At the circle's center, two small boys with contrasting hair colors were putting their natural talent on full display.
While their classmates—even students from higher grades—still relied purely on physical strength in combat, these two had already begun incorporating chakra to enhance their speed. More impressively, their psychological maturity allowed them to read their opponent's movements through careful observation, predicting attacks to either evade or create counter-opportunities.
This kind of visual spectacle, rare even among senior students, left their classmates stunned speechless. Even the chunin instructor serving as referee wore an expression of shock.
When he'd been young, he hadn't understood why he couldn't match the geniuses of his generation. Now, as a mature observer, he finally recognized the vast gulf that had separated his student self from true prodigies.
These two boys were undoubtedly the type of geniuses who left their peers far behind in the dust.
Unlike typical academy matches that ended quickly due to pain intolerance or overwhelming skill gaps, this battle had continued for an remarkably long time.
Finally, the blonde boy began showing signs of exhaustion. His reactions slowed, his speed decreased noticeably. The white-haired boy, whose stamina had held up slightly better, seized the advantage. He created an opening, sidestepping a straight punch before catching his opponent's arm. With a textbook over-the-shoulder throw, he slammed the blonde to the ground, then immediately applied a submission hold.
The chunin instructor's voice rang out: "Match concluded! Winner: Gojo Yoru. Form the Seal of Reconciliation."
As the instructor's words faded, the students watching with eyes wide as dinner plates finally snapped back to reality.
The training ground erupted in excited chatter.
"That was... incredible!"
"Is that Minato and Gojo's real strength? They've been hiding this much power the whole time!"
"I don't think they were hiding it—none of us ever pushed them hard enough to go all out. If they hadn't been matched against each other, we'd never have known!"
"Minato was so close, though. If he wasn't smaller than Gojo, he might've won."
"Hey, keep your voice down! Don't stand near me—I don't want Gojo targeting me next."
"Oh no, you don't think he heard that, do you?!"
Among the girls, a different conversation unfolded:
"Minato-kun and Yoru-kun were both so amazing! I couldn't decide who to cheer for."
"I prefer Yoru-kun. That cool, cold expression is so handsome, and he's incredibly strong. Remember when he beat up those senior students on the first day? He makes you feel so safe."
"I think Minato-kun seems easier to approach, though..."
As their classmates discussed the match, the two boys—one a half-head taller than the other—completed the Seal of Reconciliation.
"Thank you for the match, Yoru. Your skills are truly impressive." Minato's smile remained warm and genuine despite the bruises forming on his face.
"You're not bad yourself."
Looking at Minato's battered but cheerful face, Gojo Yoru felt something complex flicker through his ice-blue eyes. His own face bore similar marks from the fight, but he felt no joy in victory. Only pressure.
Because only he knew the truth—he wasn't actually a genius at all.
Both possessed bodies made of one hundred thirty trillion cells, both were technically "superhumans" compared to ordinary humans. But what nobody knew was that inside Gojo Yoru's child body resided the soul of a man in his twenties.
What was there to celebrate about an adult barely defeating a genuine six-year-old after such a prolonged battle?
Instead, this fight had shown Yoru the terrifying potential of the man destined to become the perfect shinobi. That monstrous reaction speed, that natural combat instinct—no wonder Minato would eventually become the second person in Konoha to master the Flying Thunder God Technique.
And this was only the first term!
At this rate, how long before Minato left him completely behind?
The thought sent Yoru's mood plummeting further.
Maintaining his expressionless facade, he returned to his position among the students. Thanks to his carefully trained reputation as the cold, unapproachable "school tough guy," neither the boys nor girls dared interrupt his solitude.
The contrast was stark compared to Minato's side, where their classmate was immediately surrounded by concerned students offering comfort and congratulations.
The examination continued as one taijutsu match followed another, until finally the first term officially concluded.
The moment the instructor announced the start of summer break, Gojo Yoru was the first student out the academy gates.
Gojo Yoru's home was a three-story house with a small courtyard, located on one of Konoha's central streets. Both its location and value rivaled the estates of the established shinobi clans, clear evidence of his family's exceptional wealth.
He exchanged his shoes in the entryway and headed straight through the living room toward the bathroom, passing a household shrine that held two portrait photographs.
Hot water sprayed from the showerhead, filling the bathroom with warm mist. Yoru tilted his head back, letting the water cascade over him as he pushed his white hair back with both hands. The furrow between his white eyebrows gradually eased.
He stood under the spray for a long moment, lost in thought, before finally opening his eyes.
They were blue, like Minato's—but where Minato's eyes held the warm azure of a summer sky, Yoru's were a colder shade, almost white-blue, like ice crystals. Combined with his typically blank expression, they gave him an inherently frigid appearance.
After a quick wash, he emerged from the bathroom wearing a bathrobe. Standing before the mirror as he dried his hair, Yoru gazed at the young boy's reflection and muttered sarcastically in his native language from his previous life:
"Ha... Same surname, similar hair and eye color, even looks like him—so why don't I have that kind of broken ability? If I could have that invincible power, I'd live it up for a few decades. Wouldn't even mind if my body got cut in half eventually."
After drying his hair, Yoru glanced at the clock. Despite his growling stomach, he didn't head to the kitchen. Instead, he went to the first floor storage room, lifted an inconspicuous tatami mat, and descended into the hidden basement below.
As the oil lamp flickered to life, the underground chamber revealed itself.
The walls were covered in tadpole-like script forming complex seal formations. Two rows of shelves lined the room, packed with numerous scrolls and books, along with several storage boxes. Labels organized everything into categories: jutsu scrolls, historical records from the Warring States Period, various ninja tools and soldier pills, and substantial quantities of gold and silver.
This was the Gojo family's accumulated wealth—the inheritance his parents had left him.
More importantly, it was this transmigrator's greatest asset in this dangerous world.