In April, the climate in Konoha Village was most comfortable—not too cold and not too warm. A gentle spring breeze stirred the cherry‑blossom branches, and pink and white petals drifted down like rain, attracting passersby who paused to admire. This was truly the best season for flower‑viewing.
Yet not everyone had the leisure time to go on excursions and enjoy the blossoms. It was the annual admission season at the Konoha Ninja Academy. The flood of enrollment forms that descended like snowflakes had exhausted all the teaching staff.
Students graduated in March, and new students enrolled in April…these two months each year were the most tiring.
"Hey, have you heard? That Nine‑Tails freak is enrolling this year."
"Seriously? Letting a monster like that into Ninja Academy… My son is enrolling this year too… What the heck are those people upstairs thinking?"
"Shh!"
"Lower your voice. Don't gossip. The Hokage must have a purpose. Just make sure your kid avoids that monster."
At the Academy's gate, parents and relatives grouped in twos and threes. Soon the news spread among most of the parents: a boy possessed by that Nine‑Tails was enrolling. Especially when that blond boy appeared on the street in front of the school gate, the atmosphere turned strangely tense.
They directed looks of disgust and disdain was so evident that they could almost be heard. The boy lowered his head and trudged heavily toward the school.
"Big brother, hurry up! We'll be late!"
"There's no way we'll be late! Look—the little kid up ahead just arrived too. Fujika, don't pull on my sleeve so hard; you're going to tear it!"
At the end of the street, a little girl tugged her brother's sleeve like a rocket, intent on dashing forward.
Absorbed in his own grey thoughts, the boy walking ahead didn't notice the sudden attack from behind. Caught off guard, the girl collided with him, and he went face‑first into the ground, his rear end sticking up in the air—a sorry sight indeed.
"See? Fujika, I told you not to run. Now look—you've knocked him down. What'll you do?"
"How could I have damaged him? Stop trying to scare me."
The girl lifted her foot in displeasure and kicked her brother's calf.
"Stop, stop, Fujika! I'm sorry. Don't kick me; I think you'll break my bones." Uchiha Rēn raised his hand in surrender, hopping and springing to evade his sister's attacks.
"Hey, are you okay?"
Fujika turned away from her mischievous brother and looked at the fallen blond boy.
"…I'm fine."
The boy got to his feet. He didn't press any claims—he just dusted himself off, turned, and started walking away.
"Where are you going? Are you also a new student today?"
Uchiha Fujika called after him.
"…You're not afraid of me?"
The boy reached up and scraped the messy blond hair on his head, staring at the girl before him in surprise.
Furrowing her brow at his irrelevant response, the girl shot him an annoyed glance. "Who'd be afraid of you? You're clearly a boy—and shorter than me, easy to bully… How about this: as compensation for knocking you down, I'll watch over you at Ninja Academy from now on. If anyone bullies you, just tell me, I'll beat them up."
"Oh?"
The boy stood frozen, as if he still hadn't processed what just happened.
"Why the stare? If you don't hurry, we'll be late."
Fujika sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. *This first 'little brother' she's recruited looks a bit slow—doesn't seem very smart!*
"Yo, Fujika, you're already recruiting followers?"
Uchiha Rēn sized up the boy.
His blond hair was a tangled bird's nest. His eyes were pale blue. He had three whisker‑like marks on each cheek and wore a black T‑shirt and white shorts. If one looked closely, a powerful sealing mark was visible on his body.
Uzumaki Naruto, the third Nine-Tails Jinchūriki of Konoha.
"Brother, you're so annoying! Go back now, we don't need you here." Uchiha Fujika pushed away her prank‑happy brother. "Hurry up and go! Don't forget the enrollment gift you promised me."
"You haven't forgotten? I only said it offhand. And what does a five‑year‑old need with a short sword? I'll carve you one from wood later."
"I don't care—once you promise something, you better keep your word. If you dare lie to me, I'll go tell Mom that you're bullying me."
"…Fujika." Rēn's voice suddenly dropped to a low tone. He placed a hand on his sister's shoulder and said in all seriousness, "Remember: tattling is a child's privilege. Now that you're entering Ninja Academy, you're a trainee ninja. If the classmates know about childish behavior like that, they'll mock you."
"Promises must be kept—that's what Grandpa said. Don't try to fool me; I'm not that easy to trick!"
One learns from one's losses. Having been fooled too many times, the girl had developed resilience.
Fujika made a silly face, grabbed her newly found "little underling," and dashed into the school together with him.
"Don't run so fast—be careful not to run into people… you really have no memory!" Rēn stood at the gate and watched the pair disappear into the hall of the school building before slowly lowering his stretched neck.
Today was the first day of school. To help students adjust quickly to academy life, parents were no longer allowed past the gate. The gate was the limit.
"Big brother Rēn."
"Brother Rēn."
A familiar voice spoke from behind.
Rēn turned and saw two familiar silhouettes, one tall and one short.
"It's Itachi! Are you… seeing Sasuke off to enroll?" Standing before him were the Uchiha clan leader's two sons, Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha.
"That's right, Brother Rēn you are…" Itachi began but Rēn cut him off.
"Fujika and Sasuke are the same age, right? Oh, Sasuke—you're in Class A too?"
"Yes, I'm in Class A."
"That's perfect. I want to entrust you with a task—do you dare accept?"
Rēn crouched to meet Chibi‑Sasuke at eye level.
"What task? Just tell me—I promise to complete it!"
The little Shinobi was excited. A boy that age loves playing shinobi games, and this was a task given by the famous Brother Rēn. He didn't hesitate and accepted it without even asking what it was.
Good kid!
At this age, this ray of sunshine was still a proper, pure Uchiha clan kid, untouched by mouth‑jutsu toxicity—far more adorable than his brother, who always prioritizes the greater over his own family.
"This is a long‑term task."
Uchiha Rēn cleared his throat. "This year, only you and Fujika from our clan are entering Ninja Academy. You and Fujika bear the honor of the Uchiha clan at the Academy; Fujika is a girl… So, Sasuke, don't hold back—use your strength to show those school kids that we Uchiha are the strongest in Konoha!"
"Y‑yes!!!"
Sasuke's little face flushed with excitement. He nodded vigorously, puffed out his chest, and made his promise. "Brother Rēn, you can count on me—I will never disgrace our Uchiha clan."
But at that moment, Itachi Uchiha frowned slightly.
"Oh! Some ambition."
Rēn patted Sasuke's shoulder encouragingly. "Sasuke, if you can take first place in every Ninja Academy exam this year, I'll give you a chakra‑infused weapon!"
"Really?"
"Haha I never lie!."
A chakra‑infused weapon is one that contains special metals capable of absorbing, conducting, extending, amplifying, or conserving chakra. Due to their high forging difficulty and wide demand, a good chakra weapon is extremely valuable— even ordinary Jonin couldn't afford one.
Though only five, Sasuke understood the value of a chakra weapon from his clan's teachings.
Just get first place? He'll beat those idiot classmates.
Excited, Chibi Sasuke dashed onto campus.
Only Rēn and Itachi remained at the school gate.
"Brother Rēn."
"What is it?"
"The identity of a Nine‑Tails jinchūriki is sensitive. As a clan, we… we should avoid too much contact."
"Hmm… Itachi, you've grown up, huh! Already instructing me how to handle my affairs?"
"It's not what I meant honestly— I just…" Itachi tried to explain.
"Haha, just joking." Rēn laughed. "Don't worry—I'm not interested in the Nine‑Tails jinchūriki. But I also won't stop Fujika from making friends. Since the Hokage allowed the jinchūriki into Ninja Academy, kid friendships shouldn't matter, right?"
"… Brother Rēn, I spoke out of turn."
"That's fine! You're just concerned for the clan."
Rēn maintained his false smile and waved his hand.
"Itachi, if you have things to do, go ahead—I'm just wasting your time standing here."
"Then… excuse me." Itachi politely excused himself and left—heading in the direction of the Hokage building. Watching his small figure fade out of sight, Rēn's smile gradually disappeared, leaving only a biting chill behind his gaze.
Itachi Uchiha, In his memory, was the cold‑blooded monster who, to protect his brother and the village, massacred an entire clan… without mercy.
Know that the Uchiha clan wasn't all arrogant jerks; there were many elders and children. There were ordinary people who never became shinobi. They were not a monolith.
Yet regardless of gender or age—whether a sixty‑something elder or a six-week-old toddler—they were all wiped clean from the face of the earth.
For this cold‑blooded junior, aside from cautious loathing, Rēn could not muster a shred of goodwill…
If he'd started as an orphan bullied by the clan, that'd be one thing. With a golden finger, he could've faked his death, hidden from the two cold‑blooded monsters—Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi, who killed their masters and parents—in another place, grown at his own pace, and then avenged the fallen clan.
But…
His parents were still alive. He had many relatives. A warm and harmonious family. And a super‑cute little sister… This was his second chance at life, and he might never get another one.
He could not escape.
There was nowhere to hide.
And there wasn't much time to fight against the clan's tragic fate.
The little seedlings of Konoha had all officially started school. The night of the clan massacre… was not far off. History had indeed changed somewhat because of Rēn, but the change was small. Uchiha Obito still died heroically in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge. The Fourth Hokage couple still died with the birth of Naruto.
At the time of the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, nine‑year‑old Rēn was just a newly promoted Chūnin fighting in the Eastern front. He had no influence on the Northern front.
On the night of the Nine‑Tail's attack. That night, not a single member of the Uchiha clan was able to leave their compound to support the Fourth Hokage. Ninjas from ANBU and Root surrounded the Uchiha clan's district heavily.
Five years passed in a flash from that night.
During these five years, through relentless effort and with the help of a golden finger, he became a strong figure in the clan, on par with Uchiha Shisui.
Oh, by the way—
His golden finger was the innate skill "Mana Emission (Flame)" and the Noble Phantasm "A Knight Cannot Die Bare‑Handed."
It sounded like a strange blend of things—and in truth, that's exactly what it was. Compared to those universal systems, his golden fingers… weren't weak—it was just that they took time to develop.
But in any case, it was much better than starting from zero.
When he was seven, he went to the battlefield and fought. Over eight years of bloody battles, he improved the power of Mana Emission (Flame) considerably. Without a system screen, it was hard to judge his exact power level.
As for "A Knight Cannot Die Bare‑Handed":
This invisible Noble Phantasm was quite useful—it can bestow D‑rank Noble Phantasm attributes to weapons in hand and can manipulate them. It only works on anything recognizable as a "weapon", meaning kunai, shuriken, short swords…even rocks or trees can be transformed into a D‑rank Noble Phantasm for use.
Of course, wielding a tree is awkward and far less practical than a shuriken.
A shuriken given D‑rank Noble Phantasm attributes gains enough destructive power to shatter mid‑level Chūnin‑class defensive jutsu. Combined with the Sharingan and the Uchiha shuriken-jutsu, honestly, relying solely on that shuriken technique, as long as he didn't face monsters or get ganged up on, he could survive on the battlefield.
However—
That was not enough!
Far from enough!
No matter how others praised his strength, Rēn—still with only the three‑tomoe Sharingan—had little confidence against the future cold‑blooded monsters Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito. Their Mangekyō Sharingan's unique dōjutsu and the so‑called 'Divine Power' Susanoo…were not things he could easily shatter with just his two golden fingers.
He needed greater power!