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Time flew by in a blink, and before anyone realized it, the forty-first year of Konoha was coming to an end.
In a small grove, under the shade of a tree, Evan stared at the small blue chakra sphere spinning in his palm. A warm, relieved smile spread across his face.
"Finally… I did it."
From March all the way to December—after nearly ten months of effort—he had finally mastered the Rasengan.
It wasn't because his talent was poor. Far from it. The reason it took so long was simple… he just didn't have enough chakra.
No shadow clones to cheat with, no endless time to devote solely to training.
Even though he technically had the chakra reserves of a teenager now, it still wasn't much. Each session drained him fast, forcing him to stop and recover over and over.
And so, bit by bit, month after month, he'd finally completed it.
Compared to Naruto, his progress was ten thousand miles behind—but that didn't matter. What mattered was that it was done.
"I wonder if Nagato's finished his Rasengan yet. If not, hehe…"
Evan's grin twisted into something a little too evil. He quickly caught himself, cleared his throat, and slammed the Rasengan into the tree in front of him.
Wood exploded.
The spinning chakra sphere drilled into the trunk like a power tool, boring a wide hole through it. With one final push, the Rasengan blasted through entirely, leaving a tree-sized crater in its wake.
"Impressive."
Evan muttered to himself, though his body already felt light and hollow. His chakra reserves were bottoming out again.
That tiny, pigeon-egg-sized Rasengan had taken nearly everything he had. Two of those, and he'd be flat on his back, unable to move.
"As expected… what limits most ninja isn't jutsu or talent—it's chakra itself."
He frowned, thinking hard. "I've got to find a way to increase my chakra. Otherwise, all this 'genius' talk will be just empty words. Even if I learn a hundred jutsu, they'll be useless without enough chakra to power them."
The first name that came to mind was Orochimaru. Then, the Tailed Beasts.
"Becoming a Jinchūriki's out of the question," he muttered. "With my chakra, I'd get eaten alive."
"Orochimaru, though…"
Cell transplants, body modification—even Living Corpse Reincarnation.
Evan grimaced. None of those options sounded pleasant. But at least, for now, he had time. No need to rush into madness just yet.
Packing up his things, he turned and headed home.
The next morning, just as he arrived at the Academy, Shizune came running up to him, looking excited.
"Kakashi applied for early graduation!"
Evan blinked. "Already?"
The guy had been at the Academy for less than a year. But, honestly, it wasn't surprising.
There was nothing left the school could teach Kakashi.
He'd mastered the Three Basic Jutsu, had excellent taijutsu and shuriken skills, could already use Earth Release chakra nature transformation, and even wielded the famed Hatake sword techniques.
For someone like him, staying in school was just boring.
Evan could tell—Kakashi might look calm and cold on the outside, the complete opposite of that ball of energy Might Guy—but deep down, he burned just as bright.
He couldn't stand wasting time. So of course he'd choose to graduate early.
"Evan, you're just as talented as Kakashi," Shizune said softly. "Are you going to apply for early graduation too?"
Evan shook his head. "Not yet."
Truth was, he didn't want to die young.
If he could stay safe for one more year, he would. Unless there was absolutely no choice, graduating early was not part of the plan.
Before long, winter break arrived.
That day,Evan, Shizune, Might Guy, Rin Nohara, and even Obito Uchiha were all standing outside the school gates.
Today was Kakashi's graduation exam.
They waited for half an hour before the doors opened—and Kakashi walked out, the gleam of a freshly issued ninja headband catching the light.
Rin visibly relaxed.
"Congratulations, Kakashi,"Evan said with a grin. "From today on, you're officially a ninja."
The others chimed in with their own cheers.
Kakashi nodded. "Evan, if you wanted to, I bet you'd pass the exam too."
Kurenai added, "You two are the Academy's brightest stars. Of course you'd both make it."
Then she tilted her head. "But wait, Evan, are you actually thinking about graduating early?"
Evan smirked. "Not yet. But how about a spar, Kakashi? I've just developed a new jutsu."
"You developed one yourself?"
Everyone froze for a second.
Obito snorted. "Yeah, right. You make it sound easy. What's next, calling shuriken throws a new jutsu?"
Even Asuma gave him a skeptical look. It wasn't that they doubted Evan's skills, but creating a new jutsu from scratch? That was no small feat.
Still, Shizune, Kakashi, and Guy didn't doubt him at all.
Guy pumped his fist. "Then let's have a youthful, fiery duel! Evan, I'm rooting for you!"
Shizune raised her tiny fists. "You got this, Evan!"
Soon, everyone gathered at the training field.
Guy acted as the referee. "Begin!"
With a sweep of his arm, the fight kicked off.
Evan and Kakashi clashed instantly, trading blows in a blur. After a dozen exchanges, Evan exploited a small opening and threw Kakashi back.
As Kakashi rolled, Evan raised his right hand. Chakra gathered at his palm, swirling into a tight, glowing blue sphere—the Rasengan.
Everyone froze, eyes wide.
"Incredible!" "What powerful chakra!" "So that is a new jutsu!"
Their voices overlapped in awe.
Even Kakashi, still on the ground, stared at the Rasengan in shock. "That amount of chakra… if that hits me…"
"Kakashi, look out!" Evan shouted, charging in.
None of them noticed the group of spectators standing quietly outside the training field—Sarutobi Hiruzen, Hatake Sakumo, and several Academy instructors.
When the Rasengan appeared, all of them showed clear surprise.
Sakumo blinked, then smiled. "So the boy really does have remarkable talent."
He'd heard his son mention Evan before, and had met the boy a few times. Even then, he'd sensed something special—and now it was proven.
"No seals… That's at least A-rank."
That came from Instructor Nemu.
Hiruzen nodded slightly. "Pure shape transformation. Chakra condensed to a dangerous degree. Very advanced work."
Then his tone shifted. "Sakumo, be ready—just in case things get out of hand."
Sakumo nodded, though his smile didn't fade. "I trust the boy. And my son."
At that exact moment, a deafening boom shook the training ground, followed by a wave of dust and smoke that swallowed everything from sight.
Nemu immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to appear at the scene, waving his arm to clear the smoke.
There stood Evan, panting lightly, a smoking crater in front of him—splintered wood scattered inside.
A substitution log.
Nemu exhaled in relief.
Not far away, Kakashi swallowed hard. That had been way too close.
"Holy crap…" Obito gawked, eyes wide. "That was insane!"
"..."
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