Classes at the Ninja Academy were painfully dull.
Civilian students had no choice but to pay close attention. For them, this was their only real path to becoming ninja.
Clan children were different.
Most of them had already learned how to refine chakra before even entering the Academy.
From the very beginning, clan-born ninja held an overwhelming advantage.
Even setting bloodlines and secret techniques aside, the resources and guidance they received put them far ahead of civilians.
Of course, there had been geniuses among civilian ninja as well.
Orochimaru, Jiraiya, and Minato Namikaze were the best examples.
Hiruzen Sarutobi did not count.
Those three had no bloodline limits and no powerful clans backing them, yet they still reached heights far beyond ordinary jonin.
They were impressive examples.
But compared to the enormous number of civilian ninja in the world, three examples were far too few.
For ordinary people, rising through the ranks was still incredibly difficult.
In truth, even this world worshiped bloodlines above all else.
The early parts of Naruto made it seem like a story of underdogs rising up through grit and passion.
But beneath that, bloodline still ruled everything.
After all, Naruto Uzumaki himself was the reincarnation of the chakra of the Sage of Six Paths' son.
If there was one truly inspiring exception, it was Might Guy.
He was the one man who, in the truest sense, proved that in the Naruto world, an ordinary human could stand shoulder to shoulder with gods.
Soon, dusk began to fall, and the Academy day came to an end.
By now, everyone at school already knew that Naruto Uzumaki was the Fourth Hokage's son.
They also knew that Uchiha Fujie, an Uchiha who was supposed to have died on the night of the massacre, was still alive.
Both boys found themselves surrounded by people.
The difference was that those around Uchiha Fujie kept their distance.
That was only because he had not activated Desire of Beauty.
Otherwise, there would have been a whole crowd of mindless fanatics around him.
Fujie's charm was terrifying.
In the original Tomie stories, no one could resist her allure.
Of course, this was a world with supernatural power, so resistance was at least theoretically possible.
Naruto Uzumaki, meanwhile, remained cheerful as ever.
He got along with nearly everyone.
Even so, he treasured the friendship of Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi the most, because they had never looked down on him, even before his identity became public.
Sasuke Uchiha was also stunned by Naruto Uzumaki's identity.
But what truly mattered to him was Uchiha Fujie.
Other than Itachi Uchiha, the enemy he hated most, Fujie was now his only remaining clansman.
"I'm sorry."
Sasuke Uchiha stepped in front of him and apologized sincerely.
He believed Itachi Uchiha had destroyed the Uchiha clan.
Though Itachi Uchiha was his enemy, that did not change the fact that his family had wronged Uchiha Fujie.
Of course, Fujie's face probably helped.
If he had looked hideous, Sasuke Uchiha likely would not have shown such a good attitude.
Uchiha Fujie was indeed an absurdly pretty boy.
But in the Naruto world, bonds between men often ran deeper than bonds between men and women.
Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.
Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha.
Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki.
Jiraiya and Orochimaru.
That kind of bond was a force of its own.
Uchiha Fujie looked at Sasuke Uchiha with a complicated expression.
There was no way he did not hate Itachi Uchiha.
If Itachi Uchiha had stood with the clan, then Uchiha Fujie would never have died moments after arriving in this world.
He had come back to life, yes.
But the feeling of death itself was forever burned into his memory.
Deep down, Uchiha Fujie understood something clearly.
All this talk of avenging the Uchiha clan was just a banner.
When he had first transmigrated, how could he possibly have had any real feelings for the clan?
No.
This was not revenge for the Uchiha.
It was revenge for himself.
"This has nothing to do with you," Uchiha Fujie said calmly. "So many Uchiha died at Itachi Uchiha's hands. The fact that you survived at all was already a miracle."
With that, he turned and walked away.
He had already made up his mind.
Revenge would absolutely come.
As for life and death, did those things really matter that much in the ninja world?
With enough power, even life and death could be reversed.
With enough power, even death itself could be toyed with.
Sasuke Uchiha was not discouraged.
As he watched Uchiha Fujie walk away, he actually felt happy.
Fujie's tone had been cold, but he had not attacked him.
He had not cursed him either.
That meant there was still hope.
The feeling of not being completely alone anymore was wonderful.
For Sasuke Uchiha, the worst thing these past few days had been that endless, devouring loneliness.
"I need to get stronger. Stronger than anyone."
"I'll kill Itachi Uchiha. I'll avenge everyone."
"And I'll protect Fujie too. I won't let Itachi Uchiha—or anyone else—hurt him."
Sasuke Uchiha clenched his fists tightly.
His eyes shifted, and a single tomoe appeared in his Sharingan.
He had awakened it on the night of the massacre, but afterward he had never been able to activate it again.
Now, at last, it had returned.
Sasuke Uchiha prepared to head home and train.
For him, the Ninja Academy still had some value, though not much.
The chunin teachers at least had decent theoretical knowledge.
Sasuke Uchiha did not want to waste even the smallest opportunity to become stronger.
He listened carefully in class.
And after school, he trained seriously on his own.
If he did not work hard, he would never defeat that man.
He would never kill that man.
That was something he absolutely could not accept.
Sasuke Uchiha returned to the Uchiha district.
As for Naruto Uzumaki, the moment he left school, someone was already there to meet him.
It was Kakashi Hatake.
Among jonin, Kakashi Hatake was considered one of the stronger ones.
He had been Minato Namikaze's student, and though he had once served in ANBU, Hiruzen Sarutobi had recently removed him from that position so he could look after Naruto Uzumaki.
Kakashi Hatake looked at Naruto Uzumaki with a trace of emotion in his eyes.
He knew Naruto Uzumaki's identity.
More accurately, there was no way he could not know.
He had simply obeyed the Hokage's order and kept silent.
There was no question that Kakashi Hatake was lonely.
His father had taken his own life when Kakashi Hatake was young.
Then, just as he had finally formed precious bonds, those people all died.
If not for Might Guy, Kakashi Hatake might truly have shut himself off from the world entirely.
Naruto Uzumaki was lonely too.
For all his cheerful bluster, he understood more than people thought.
He knew that some people were not accepting Naruto Uzumaki himself.
They were accepting the identity of the Fourth Hokage's son.
Naruto Uzumaki desperately wanted to know what his parents had been like.
He had already asked Hiruzen Sarutobi, only for the old man to pass the matter to Kakashi Hatake instead.
Hiruzen Sarutobi trusted Kakashi Hatake to know what could be said and what should remain hidden.
Back at home, Uchiha Fujie made himself a simple meal.
The original owner of this body did not know how to cook.
Fortunately, he did.
It was a skill from his previous life, born from sheer poverty.
Back then, he had been nothing more than a failed writer.
Ordering takeout cost too much, so cooking for himself had been cheaper.
After eating, Uchiha Fujie began training.
For now, he did not need to focus on practicing ninjutsu.
Because of the effects of his Mangekyo abilities, he had already mastered the techniques he knew.
And he had no new ninjutsu to learn unless he developed them himself.
His chakra affinities were Wind Release and Fire Release.
More importantly, he believed that once he assimilated Danzo Shimura, he would gain access to Root's collection of techniques.
For now, increasing his chakra reserves and strengthening his body were the real priorities.
Once those improved enough, he would be able to use the Mangekyo Sharingan far more freely.
He began physical training with a specific purpose in mind.
He was preparing for the future practice of the Eight Gates.
He did not know whether opening all Eight Gates himself would kill him.
But his split bodies could test that for him.
No matter how brutal the training became, no matter how many bones cracked, a little rest was all it took for him to recover.
His body was simply too monstrous.
This was not the power of the Uchiha bloodline.
Even the Sage Body of Asura would not have been this outrageous.
This was the power granted by the fusion with the Tomie Template.
"Hm?"
After finishing his training and washing up, Uchiha Fujie received information from one of his split bodies and looked genuinely surprised.
"A split body already made it out of the village… and it didn't even cause any commotion."
The split bodies could communicate with the original.
The original Tomie might not have been capable of something like that, but the version Uchiha Fujie possessed was the enhanced Tomie Template.
"Then again, I guess it's not that strange. In the original story, Orochimaru and Itachi Uchiha could both slip in and out of Konoha with ease. My split bodies aren't on their level, but simply leaving the village is much easier than sneaking in."
Uchiha Fujie did not dwell on it for long.
A split body successfully leaving the village was a good thing.
He was still in the stage of lying low.
And from here on, his real growth would depend on those split bodies.