A masked man suddenly appeared behind Daniel, grabbing his attention. Daniel turned to face him, his eyes narrowing. "It seems there are people taking advantage of my little stroll," the man stated, his voice deep and domineering.
Daniel looked at the man seriously and pointed. "Looks like I have an imposter," he said deadpan, an awkward silence filling the room. "I never thought I'd ever say that line," Daniel thought to himself, smiling under the mask.
"It seems I've come across an idiot," the masked man responded.
Not wanting to stay in the awkwardness, Daniel readied himself to charge. "Guess we can only fight it out," he said, charging at the masked man, only to slip through him as he tried to strike.
"You're quite fast, but that's all," the masked man retorted as Daniel moved through him. But he didn't expect what happened next. Daniel, swiftly using the Fist of Flowing Water, struck the masked man faster than he could activate his Sharingan ability to phase through matter. Disarrayed, the masked man tried to fight more seriously but was met by a blow that slammed him down to the ground.
"This could get tricky," the man observed. "But I don't have time for this." The man grabbed Daniel's arm that pinned him to the floor, teleporting them to his pocket dimension. "I would love to continue our conversation, but I'm in a hurry," the masked man said, dropping Daniel and teleporting back, leaving Daniel stranded.
"You're late," a young man noted as the masked man appeared in the forest just outside Konoha.
"I was just wrapping things up," the man responded. "Shall we leave?" he added to the young man.
"Sasuke, I know you're strong. I hope you live up to my expectations," the young man pondered as he left the village.
"This place is really empty, huh," Daniel noted as he sat stranded in the masked man's pocket dimension. "I can see why people talked about DMS Kakashi being strong. If I didn't have any teleportation techniques, I'd be done for," he noted. "Man, the Sharingan is really something, huh, to trap someone in another dimension. Damn," Daniel praised the Uchiha for their eyes. Not only them, whether it was the Hyuga, Uzumaki, Senju, heck, even Kimimaro, those guys were really broken in the Narutoverse. Since they were more gifted than any other clan, they had the most potential when it came to ninjutsu.
"Although I'd emphasize potential," he added, since some of the clans didn't even scratch the surface of their abilities. "I mean, the Hyuga—a complete waste of potential. With their eyes, you'd think they'd be more skilled other than just being really good at poking people." When it came to the Hyuga, Daniel was always enraged at how little they utilized their eyes. "Well, it's not like it's my problem. On that note, Naruto really is something, huh," Daniel sighed.
Daniel respected how talented Naruto actually was compared to his peers. He received the littlest training, only to catch up later in the game, but he was still able to rank among the likes of Sasuke. Kakashi didn't offer that much to Naruto in terms of training; instead, he focused on Sasuke. And Hiruzen, the old hypocrite, not only did he not look after Naruto, but he didn't do much other than give him a place to live. Not like it helped, since he practically made a child live on his own. At least he could've given Naruto scrolls that belonged to his parents so he could learn his family's jutsu. Even Guy contributed more to Naruto's growth as a ninja compared to Hiruzen.
"Maybe I should train Naruto," a thought suddenly appeared in Daniel's mind. He knew how talented Naruto was, and if he trained him from this age, Naruto would grow stronger than in the original story. "Hehe. Maybe I can change Naruto's perspective on a few things," Daniel laughed.
"I think I've rested enough. It's time to head back," Daniel said, teleporting back to his room. "This was really lucrative," he grinned. Not only did he get four pairs of eyes, but he also borrowed some money from the deceased clan. It was a shame they died before he could pay them back, but now Daniel had enough to live on his own. "I can finally kiss this place goodbye," he noted, jumping on his bed and heading to sleep.
Morning arrived, and gossip filled the ninja academy at Konoha. "I'm guessing Sasuke won't be coming to school today," Daniel thought as the class buzzed with students discussing the incident. Iruka broke the noise as he entered the class.
"Alright, pipe down. Class is starting," he commanded, slamming some books on the table.
"Umm! Sensei, are the rumors true?" a pink-haired girl asked in a concerned tone.
Iruka quieted the class. "That is none of our concern. Whatever rumors you heard are simply that—rumors. I won't be answering any questions not regarding our lessons," Iruka brushed off the topic and started his lesson.
"Smooth. A clan tries to rebel against the Hokage, and it's swept under the rug. But a family dies for the entire village's sake, and their child is branded a demon," Daniel thought, leaning back in his chair. "Granted, they're being deceived, but it's nonetheless saddening," he added, balancing his pencil on his lips. This was the reason why Daniel would always acknowledge Sakura for her skills and achievements but would never really like her. Though Hinata was not defensible either, given how much of a waste she was of her potential. And it's not like he could train her too; he wasn't a charity. With the Hyuga, it was more of a clan problem rather than a few people, and he couldn't just train them all.
"Haaa," he sighed, lost in his thoughts.
"Daniel! Is my lecture really that boring for you to sigh so heavily?" Iruka asked, frustrated by Daniel's laxness in class. "Maybe you should teach in my stead," Iruka added.
"Haha. It's not like that, sensei. It's just I've been thinking why some of us are treated so cruelly compared to others, even if we're somehow in the same situation," Daniel replied, referring to Naruto and Sasuke and how differently they were treated. But the students didn't catch on, not even Naruto, who was unusually quiet today in class. Usually, he and Daniel were the troublemakers.
"Out," Iruka said, not wanting to entertain the topic. He simply kicked Daniel out. "We'll talk later," Iruka added as Daniel walked out, as cheerful as ever.