Chapter 1.1
Year 42 of the Hidden Leaf Village, Ninja Academy.
A middle-aged man wearing a white Hokage robe and a Hokage hat was delivering a passionate speech:
"Where the leaves dance, the fire burns eternally. The flame will continue to illuminate this village and cause new leaves to sprout..."
The speaker was none other than the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
At that moment, he was in his prime, his voice powerful and full of conviction.
The students below were filled with excitement, their eyes brimming with admiration and anticipation for the future.
Among them, a bored five-year-old boy, dressed in a stylish white shirt, yawned lazily.
The red and white fan symbol on his back revealed his identity—Uchiha Haneda.
"How long is this boring 'Will of Fire' speech going to last..." Haneda muttered inwardly, glancing sideways at another boy with the same clan emblem—Uchiha Obito.
Obito looked exactly as he did in the anime: spiky hair, goggles, and a gaze full of admiration as he stared at the Third Hokage on the stage.
"Obito was kinda cute as a kid, just like the original series described him—a boy with dreams of becoming Hokage."
"Too bad he's such a hopeless romantic..."
Haneda shifted his gaze without a trace of emotion, turning to another boy with white hair, half of his face covered by a black mask.
Those iconic dead-fish eyes gave away his identity instantly—Kakashi Hatake, known as the man who could take on anyone equally.
Just as Haneda's gaze landed on Kakashi, the latter looked back.
'As expected of Kakashi, a genius among geniuses—his senses are good.'
Having been caught staring, Haneda didn't feel the slightest embarrassment. Instead, he boldly continued to size Kakashi up.
Currently, his biggest targets were these two—Kakashi and Obito. Of course, there was also Might Guy, the future "Blue Beast of the Hidden Leaf."
In *Shippuden*, Might Guy almost ended the story with one kick after opening the Eight Gates, earning him the title of the strongest man from the dance master.
But for now, Guy was standing a few meters behind Haneda, since he had joined later and stood toward the back.
The reason Haneda was focused on these three was thanks to a typical perk granted to most transmigrators—a system.
This system was grandly named the "Strongest Invincible Favorability System." The name was flashy, but the functions... well, not so much.
When Haneda first crossed over and received the system, he was full of ambition, planning to compete with Naruto and Sasuke for the title of "King of Cheat Abilities."
But once he really studied the system, he couldn't help but sigh...
The true core of the system lay in the word "favorability."
In essence, it was about Haneda's relationship with the original characters.
The better his relationship with them, the more of their abilities he could gain.
For example, Obito's ninjutsu, taijutsu, chakra, and even his Sharingan's Kamui ability.
However, to obtain Kamui, Haneda figured he'd need to form a bond as close as the one between Kakashi and Obito in the future.
As for being friends, mentors, or any other relationship—yeah, not so much...
In the original story, Obito ended up killing his mentor, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, along with his beloved teacher Kushina Uzumaki.
To top it off, Obito orchestrated the Nine-Tails' attack on the village and even tried to kill the newborn Naruto, placing explosive tags on him as a "gift."
Talk about a grand entrance!
But Obito's ultimate goal was to create a world where Rin existed. In the face of such grand love, it was hard to say much.
After all, here's a guy who couldn't even confess his feelings, yet was bold enough to declare war on the entire world for the sake of his love. It's kind of touching when you think about it.
Though, why didn't he just go for "Resurrect, my love" or something?
In short, Haneda didn't have high hopes for Kamui. His goal in befriending Obito was just to gain a bit of Sharingan power.
Among the Uchiha clan, Obito was by far the easiest to get along with.
The others? Too proud, too stoic, or downright insane.
Most Uchiha who awakened their Sharingan were obsessively paranoid.
Haneda genuinely didn't want to interact with his fellow clan members, despite being an Uchiha himself.
After what felt like an eternity, the Third Hokage finally wrapped up his "Will of Fire" propaganda (brainwashing), and the students began to disperse.
"Hey, Haneda! How did you call me yesterday, you bastard?!"
The speech had barely ended when Obito grabbed Haneda angrily.
"Dead last, Obito. You came in last place on yesterday's test—'dead last' sounds fitting, doesn't it?"
Haneda teased with a grin.
"Hmph! As if you're much better, second-to-last!"
"That's more than enough, still better than a certain dead last." Haneda laughed.
"You... You!!" Obito pointed at Haneda, his face turning red, struggling to find a comeback.
At this moment, Kakashi coldly interjected:
"What's there to argue about between two dead lasts?"
"Shut up, stupid Kakashi!!" Obito turned to Kakashi immediately, gritting his teeth.
Haneda, on the other hand, didn't mind Kakashi's jab at all, merely chuckling.
Honestly, like Shikamaru once said, coming second-to-last was something Haneda did on purpose; it didn't mean he lacked skill.
After all, being second-to-last made it easier to bond with the dead last.
For now, Haneda's plan was to milk as much favorability from Obito as he could before the latter's inevitable dark turn.
Over the past few years, Haneda had already gained Obito's one-tomoe Sharingan, several ninjutsu techniques, and even occasional glimpses of a Sage-like physique.
Compared to Kakashi or Guy, Obito undoubtedly had the highest return on investment.
"Let's go, Obito. You don't want to be late for this class too, do you?"
"The teacher will call you out by name, and I don't want to get dragged into it."
Haneda stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting for Obito. But seeing that Obito was still arguing with Kakashi, he couldn't help but remind him.
"I know, second-to-last!"
"Good, then. Dead last."
Just as Obito was about to start arguing with Haneda again, Rin appeared in front of them, smiling at the trio:
"Let's go, Obito. Hurry up, or we'll be late! Don't mind Haneda and Kakashi; they're just looking out for you."
Hearing Rin speak, Obito immediately abandoned Haneda and Kakashi, running over to her. Then, he stopped abruptly, his face turning slightly red as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly:
"Ahaha, it's because Haneda and Kakashi keep calling me dead last..."
Rin covered her mouth and smiled, saying nothing as she pulled Obito along toward the classroom.
As for the single guy left behind, he muttered under his breath:
"Stupid love-struck fool... Abandoning your long-time brothers for a girl..."
Kakashi, with his enhanced hearing, caught Haneda's muttered complaint despite himself.
"How boring," Kakashi said coolly, hands in his pockets as he walked past Haneda.
...
In the classroom.
Haneda sat in the back row by the window. He'd chosen this spot because, as a fan of certain stories in his previous life, he knew:
The back row by the window—that's where kings belong!
As a dignified transmigrator, the future protagonist, a man who "knows the plot and has his own system," how could he not claim this seat of power?
Ahem...
Okay, maybe he was getting carried away. That was just his imagination running wild.
The system was pretty weak early on, and its strength later depended entirely on how much favorability he could build.
As for Obito and the others, they were just like in the original.
Obito sat beside him, with Rin on the other side. In front of them was Kakashi.
It was a summer day, the wind gently blowing and the sunlight just right.
Combined with the teacher's soothing lecture, Obito—being the dead last—was already dozing off on his desk.
Haneda was used to Obito falling asleep in class. After all, there's a reason dead lasts are called dead lasts.
Though, could he at least put down some paper before sleeping? His drool was about to reach Haneda's desk!
Haneda shifted his seat slightly, just as the teacher glanced over.
Seeing Obito slumped on his desk, the teacher frowned and instantly threw a piece of chalk at him.
Unsurprisingly, it hit him squarely on the forehead.
***
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