*Creak!*

The nearly rotten wooden door was slowly pushed open.

A dark-haired boy stood at the entrance.

It was already dusk, and the sun was nearly setting.

The last rays of sunlight cast a long, elongated shadow behind him.

On his back, he bore a red clan emblem the emblem of the Uchiha clan.

He stepped into the room, closed the door behind him, and sat down beside the bed.

Looking up at the mirror across from him, he muttered,

"Who would've thought… I've become the 'second protagonist'!"

In the mirror was the reflection of a boy with dark hair and a slightly melancholic gaze.

His flawless face, both handsome and cold, gave off a sense of detachment.

This was none other than a twelve-year-old Sasuke Uchiha!

Though undeniably handsome, he was an orphan.

Hailed as a genius, but still an orphan.

He possessed the rare and coveted bloodline trait of the ninja world, yet remained alone.

Perfect looks, talent, a notable background — yet he was an orphan.

"Being the 'second protagonist' isn't so bad, but ending up as a one-armed hero? Now that's rough."

A troubled expression crossed Sasuke's face.

"And even if I become a one-armed hero, marrying Sakura? Absolutely no way!"

Sasuke would rather die than marry Sakura.

He didn't care what the original Sasuke might have wanted.

In any case, this Sasuke had already been taken over by a soul from another world.

Marrying Sakura was simply out of the question.

"Under no circumstances will I marry Sakura even Ino would be better than her!"

But to avoid marrying Sakura, he'd first have to defeat Naruto.

And Naruto's incredible power-up was nearly impossible to beat.

If Naruto hadn't shared some of his perks, Sasuke wouldn't stand a chance.

They called Sasuke the 'genius of Konoha,' but in reality?

Compared to true geniuses like Itachi Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake, Sasuke was still far behind.

Without Naruto's power boost, the title of 'genius' would be pretty empty on him.

"Now, I am Sasuke, but I'm not the old 'second protagonist' anymore."

Sasuke stood, looking at himself in the mirror.

He exhaled softly, clenching his fists.

"Only seven days until the graduation exam."

"If I'm here as Sasuke, I'll become a different Sasuke!"

The original Sasuke, despite being motivated by revenge, lacked the strength to fully live up to it.

Whenever he tried to act tough, he'd end up embarrassed.

This version of Sasuke, however, would not accept failure.

"Training!"

"Hard work!"

"Push myself to my limits if I'm a genius, I'll have to work even harder than anyone else!"

To avoid marrying Sakura and to uphold his pride, Sasuke had no choice but to give his all.

However, Sasuke had only been in this world for three days.

He'd just finished absorbing all of the original Sasuke's memories.

With the village's intricate dynamics, he couldn't practice ninja techniques openly just yet.

The presence of hidden groups and powerful figures like Danzo made it wise to tread carefully for now.

He decided to stay home and focus on gathering his chakra.

Training could wait, but starting tomorrow, he'd double his efforts.

The original Sasuke trained hard, but his time was often consumed by the painful memories of his clan's destruction.

His resentment may have kept him from training as effectively as he could have.

But this Sasuke didn't believe in resting on his laurels.

Compared to the other twelve ninjas of the Leaf Village, he wasn't that much stronger.

'Genius'? Hardly.

As Indra's reincarnation, Sasuke was too weak at this stage.

His chakra reserves were low, limiting his use of techniques.

His Sharingan had only one tomoe, and his physical skills left him no match for someone like Rock Lee.

Some genius.

With this resolve, Sasuke set out to refine his chakra.

Though building up chakra was slow, as a so-called genius, surely he could manage some improvement.

With consistent effort, he was bound to see results eventually.

At the very least, he would surpass the original Sasuke's abilities.

Having absorbed his counterpart's memories, Sasuke felt at ease with chakra refinement.

However, he underestimated the challenge.

Combining physical and mental energy, hours passed.

Just as Sasuke hoped, he saw a slight improvement in his chakra reserves.

But he was already drenched in sweat.

"At this rate, it'll take ten years to boost my chakra even by ten percent!"

"I'm supposed to be a genius, right? Is this really all I can manage?"

Suddenly…

*[System activated]*

The weariness vanished from Sasuke's eyes as he sat upright.

After three days, he thought he'd come without any advantage.

Finally, it had arrived.

*[Scanning host]*

*Host: Sasuke Uchiha*

*Age: Twelve*

*Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (one tomoe)*

*Learned Jutsu: Basic Transformation Technique (beginner)*

*Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu (beginner)*

*Basic Taijutsu (beginner)*

*Illusion Techniques: None*

*Special Skills: Uchiha Throwing Technique (beginner)*

*Chakra Level: Minimal*

*Special Chakra: Indra's Chakra (not awakened)*

*Overall Rating: Inferior Genin*

Seeing this rating, Sasuke was speechless.

Him, a Leaf Village genius, reduced to an "inferior Genin"?

Well… truth be told, even he felt the title of 'genius' was a stretch.

*[Given the host's inadequacy, the God-Creation System feels insulted. Awarding novice bonus: Perfect Talent]*

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