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Currently, we see a group of 9-year-olds gathered in a training ground just adjacent to the academy.
They were all focusing on the fight between two of the kids, one with black hair and the other with brown hair. The group had varying reactions: while the girls were cheering for the brown-haired boy, the boys were silently praying for the victory of the black-haired one.
"Go, Souta-kun!!" one of the more vocal girls yelled. The boy in question, now identified as Souta, smirked as he taunted the black-haired boy. "Huh, did you actually think you could be my opponent? That's almost an insult to me. How could I, the future Hokage, lose to someone like you, Kazuki?"
Kazuki, the boy in question, stared blankly at Souta. His face seemed frozen, as a multitude of thoughts processed in his mind. Seeing this, Souta's smirk deepened as he continued, "Are you so scared that you can't move? I don't like bullying the weak, so if you beg me, I'll let you off the hook," he said in his childishly deep voice.
Hearing Souta's remark, many of the girls unlocked their masochistic side, while others simply cheered. The boys, on the other hand, gritted their teeth at seeing the "bad boy" garner so much attention from the girls.
At Souta's comment, Kazuki regained his composure as his thoughts solidified. *Headband—check. Ninja academy—check. Ninjutsu—check...*
He grew excited as his thoughts continued. *So, I've actually reincarnated into the Naruto universe. Does that mean this fight is some sort of tutorial for me to awaken my cheats? But I shouldn't get too arrogant, since... this is my curse, my blessing. With great power comes great responsibility.*
Contrary to his righteous thoughts, his expression twisted more and more as time passed, creeping out some of the students, raising eyebrows from their Chunin instructor, and making Souta angry.
Then, Kazuki, who was on cloud nine, said with a smug expression, "Bring it on..."
A few moments later, we see Kazuki covered in bruises, beaten down to a pulp. Souta, on the other hand, was surrounded by the girls, being cheered on.
Kazuki's Chunin instructor approached him with a look of pity and escorted him to the academy infirmary. As the instructor was about to leave, Kazuki suddenly remembered his name from his memories and thanked him, "Thanks, Kakibo-sensei."
Kakibo stared at him for a moment before sighing. "You don't have to thank me, Kazuki. It was my fault this happened to you. I shouldn't have pitted the dead last against the rookie of this section. I just wanted you to gain some motivation from this fight." With that, he left the infirmary.
Soon, a medical ninja arrived and began healing Kazuki with medical jutsu. Kazuki watched in awe as the green energy healed his injuries. In just two minutes, Kazuki was fully healed—injuries that would have taken months to heal on Earth were gone in a matter of minutes.
As Kazuki left the academy, his feet seemed to guide him toward his apartment. While walking, he resumed his thoughts.
*That brat was quite cruel in the fight. The speed and strength he showed were something even the strongest man from Earth wouldn't be able to match. The fact that he's not even close to Sasuke, who is the best in Class 5-A, just shows how far behind I am.*
Walking quietly for a while, I contemplated my position. *So, I'm in Class 5-C, meaning I have no connection to any of the Konoha-12.*
- *I'm the dead last of my class, and I'm not very liked due to my loner personality.*
*So, basically, I'm Kakashi without his talent,* I thought with a deadpan expression.
- *Contrary to canon, this world has set the graduation age to 10. I started at the academy at the age of 5, and I've almost achieved nothing.*
- *Surprisingly, I do know the basic three Ninjutsu and the Shadow Clone Jutsu, inherited from my parents after their death.*
- *I'm really done for in the taijutsu section, and the original me had no brain to utilize the substitution jutsu during sparring.*
- *But what surprised me more were the things that canon never showed. Even Class 5-A has civilians, but only Teams 7, 8, and 10 were formed. Other classes don't even get teams. They are directly declared Genin and can accept their own tasks, meaning no Jonin sensei and a very high possibility of death.*
- *The promotion of these Genin depends on their achievements and is decided by the Shinobi Management Office.*
- *From this, I can conclude that teams are only assigned to those with political influence or Kakashi-level talent. Jinchuriki count, right?*
Soon, Kazuki, lost in thought, reached his apartment. It was small, even smaller than Naruto's apartment. Kazuki's father was of unknown origin, and his mother died during the Nine-Tails incident. He lived in an orphanage for four years, and then, to make room for other toddlers who had unfortunately lost their parents, he was given his own apartment along with a monthly allowance to survive.
*Tomorrow will be the start of my journey.* With this thought, sleep finally overtook him.
To be continued...
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A/N: Please share your thoughts on this chapter and the 'read me,' as I don't want to make any mistakes. Your opinions might help me remove any potholes before they cause problems in the future. Thanks!