It had only been a week since Akio started attending the academy, but already, the quiet rhythm of Konoha was beginning to unfold before him like the pages of a worn scroll.
For the first time in his short new life, he was seeing the world outside the Tengetsu compound not as a mystery—but as a pattern.
People moved differently here. Shinobi passing through the markets walked with tension beneath their steps. Civilians bowed when they saw flak jackets. Children laughed, but even they knew which alleys not to enter after sunset. This village, for all its color and life, was stitched together by unspoken laws. Rules that Akio could see—if not yet fully understand.
And it all began with the academy.
🏫 Konoha Ninja Academy – MidweekAkio sat by the window, second row from the back. He liked this seat because it gave him a full view of the roomwithout drawing attention to himself.
Naruto was two rows ahead, already half-standing on his chair, waving his arms dramatically about ramen or something else Akio didn't care about. Sasuke, off to the side, sat with arms folded, face neutral. His chakra pulsed with sharp control, the kind of restraint Akio could respect.
It was strange.
When he was alive in his last world—whenever that truly was—he had only heard of Naruto and Sasuke. He never really knew them, not deeply. Now, they were classmates. Children. Still rough around the edges. Still human.
Iruka-sensei clapped his hands. "Alright, settle down. Today's lesson: chakra control and cooperation drills."
Groans filled the room.
Akio stayed quiet.
His Uchūgan wasn't active now—he didn't need it. He could see enough through body language alone. This wasn't about chakra control. This was a group test in disguise. See who followed instructions. Who worked well with others. Who stood out for the wrong reasons.
Classic shinobi training.
"Pair up," Iruka said.
Before Akio could move, he heard it.
"Oi, you! Purple-eyes!"
He turned.
Naruto grinned at him, already halfway over.
"You're Tengetsu, right? What's your name again? Uh… Akiri?"
"Akio."
"Right! Cool. Let's team up!"
There was no hesitation in the boy's words. No suspicion. No second-guessing like many of the others. Naruto didn't care about clan politics or bloodline secrets. He just saw a kid his age and decided they were already halfway to being friends.
Akio found it… strange. But not unpleasant.
"…Alright."
They were assigned a simple task: transfer a leaf between hands using only chakra, balancing it in mid-air while moving in step. Most pairs failed in the first ten seconds.
Akio and Naruto failed in five.
"Try again!" Naruto said cheerfully, plopping the leaf back into his palm. "You do the chakra thing better than me. I'll just copy you!"
"That won't work."
"Why not?"
"Because you're not watching the chakra—you're just pushing."
"Pfft. Whatever that means. C'mon, one more time!"
Akio sighed but complied.
They tried again. This time, the leaf floated for nearly half a minute.
Naruto whooped. "We're doing it! Hey, hey, Akio—your hands are like, crazy stable. Are all you Tengetsu people like this?"
"Not all," Akio said.
He didn't mention the hours spent meditating under the cedar tree back home. Or the dozens of chakra threading drills Riku made him do until his fingers bled.
But as they worked together, something clicked. Naruto wasn't disciplined, but he was determined. He wasn't smart about chakra—but his instincts were good. Very good.
Akio adjusted his breathing to match Naruto's, syncing their rhythm.
The leaf didn't fall again.
After class, Naruto stuck by him.
"You're not bad," he said, casually tossing a stone into the academy pond as they walked the outer path.
"You're loud," Akio replied flatly.
Naruto laughed. "Yeah, Iruka-sensei says that too. I dunno—sometimes I feel like if I don't say stuff, no one hears me. You get that?"
Akio paused. He looked out over the pond. The reflection of the Hokage Rock shimmered faintly in the water.
"…Not really," he said.
Naruto laughed again, slapping him lightly on the shoulder. "You're weird, man. But I like you."
Akio didn't reply.
But a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Later that evening, as the sun dipped below the village skyline, Akio sat beneath the same cedar tree with his notebook open.
Observation Log:
Naruto Uzumaki — unpredictable, highly instinctive, prone to sudden bursts of chakra
Cooperation: High (if guided)
Sasuke Uchiha — observant, quiet, chakra pressure subdued but coiled
Rival potential: Medium
Conclusion: I'm learning more here than I expected.
Over the following weeks, Akio continued attending academy half-days, splitting his time between clan duties, Uchūgan control, and basic shinobi theory. It was strange, balancing normal life with something as immense as the Eye of the Universe.
He didn't mind being average in class. He didn't mind that others saw him as quiet, even strange.
What he did mind—was the eyes watching from above.
The Root operatives didn't come close. They didn't speak. But he felt them—always lingering beyond the rooftops, signatures faint and careful. It wasn't just him they were watching now.
It was the whole clan.
One morning, a hush spread through the Tengetsu courtyard.
An elder from the Hoshitsuki Clan—the moon branch—had arrived in secret. She was older than anyone Akio had seen before. Wrinkled like bark, with a milky eye and a voice that seemed to hum at a frequency deeper than chakra.
She knelt before Hiroshi and handed him a scroll sealed with violet wax.
Hiroshi broke it open in silence. Then he looked at Akio.
"You'll come with me," he said.
They entered a room in the inner archive—where records of past Uchūgan users were stored, carved in obsidian and preserved with chakra.
The scroll contained a warning.
"The veil weakens.
The ones who remember the Core have begun to move.
Earth and Moon must not forget their shared shadow."
Hiroshi's expression tightened.
Akio looked at the symbols etched along the scroll's edge.
They matched the ones engraved in the Celestial Tablet beneath the Tengetsu shrine.
Something ancient had stirred.
As the chapter closes, Akio walks alone through the compound at night, the wind rustling faintly against the paper lanterns.
His Uchūgan wasn't active. Not visibly.
But behind his quiet purple eyes, it pulsed faintly.
Watching.
Listening.
Waiting.
[End of Chapter 4]