Raito walked toward the academy, quietly observing his surroundings.
The Nine-Tails attack happened just last year. That means I'm six years older than Naruto. I have around twelve years before the main story begins, and roughly fifteen to sixteen until Shippuden… so I do have time. I should be around Itachi's age, but I don't remember him ever being mentioned in our academy, he calculated.
He arrived at the academy and entered Class 1-D. Taking one of the back seats, he pretended to be absorbed in a book.
Soon after, their instructor entered. Kenta, a chunin and noted ninjutsu specialist—enteredthe room.
"Quiet down," he said to the students who were chatting loudly, before beginning the lesson.
Just like that, the school day passed uneventfully. Once classes ended, Raito slipped away quickly and made his way to an empty training ground behind his home, a spot he had found while cleaning.
First, I'll focus on leaf concentration, he decided.
He placed a leaf on his forehead, channeling chakra toward it to prevent it from falling.
It dropped instantly.
Raito tried again and again, and eventually managed to hold it in place for around five seconds.
Wiping the sweat from his brow, he muttered, "Guess it's time to move on to the physical portion of training."
He began running laps around the training ground, but not empty-handed. He had stored small rocks in his shadow, increasing the burden and difficulty. The original Raito had already been something of a taijutsu enthusiast with above-average physical conditioning, so this additional weight made the challenge worthwhile.
The exertion even contributed micro-progress to his template, though it was practically negligible.
After hours of training, noon arrived and Raito headed out to eat.
He grabbed a free meal from a nearby orphan canteen, then returned to the training ground. Forming hand seals, he extended his shadow.
Two creatures emerged from it.
One—a pitch-black dog adorned with jewels embedded in its forehead. The other,pure white, with identical jewel markings.
Both dogs stared at Raito, anticipation gleaming in their eyes.
I can't be certain no one's watching… but I don't care, he thought.
If I live with constant paranoia, I'll never grow stronger.
He pointed toward a nearby tree. "Attack."
With a ferocious leap, the dogs slashed into the trunk, utterly shredding it with their claws.
They're… strong, Raito noted, stunned by the tree's destruction.
The dogs turned back to him, awaiting their next command.
And so, Raito trained alongside them until his chakra was completely depleted.
This is painful… just summoning them takes around 40% of my chakra. I can only sustain them for about an hour. Now I'm out of chakra—and the will to live, he groaned internally.
Without even bothering to wash off the sweat, he collapsed onto his bed.
[Megumi Fushiguro: 6%]
_________________________________________________________
Just like that, six months passed.
Raito continued his daily routine without fail, increasing the physical strain whenever his body began to adapt. His discipline was absolute.
He had pushed the Megumi Fushiguro template to approximately 18% and could now maintain leaf concentration for a full ten minutes. His physical condition had improved drastically—by his own mental estimation, he was easily the strongest student in his class.
He sat in his usual spot, dozing through another academy lecture, while the students nearby chatted among themselves.
The one thing he appreciated: as long as he didn't approach others, they didn't approach him either. Peace through distance.
"A kid from a ninja clan is harassing Kuro!" one student suddenly shouted.
Again? It's only been three days since the last incident… Raito thought, opening his eyes lazily.
Their class consisted solely of orphans, including Raito himself. Kuro acted as the unofficial leader of the group. He had tried befriending Raito once but never made the attempt again after being turned down.
Kuro had a bad habit of provoking clan kids, which often resulted in fights. He was strong—strong enough to hold his own against most in a one-on-one—but clan children rarely fought fair.
"It's the Uchiha, Mogi Uchiha!" the student yelled again.
Everyone rushed outside to help Kuro. Raito rose from his seat and followed casually.
This might be entertaining, he mused.
Standing among the gathered students, Raito watched as Kuro was surrounded by three second-years.
Hard to believe it takes three second-years to handle a first-year, he thought.
"You should've known your place! How dare you insult a great Uchiha!" Mogi yelled, holding Kuro up by his collar.
"What? Sorry, couldn't hear you from that far away—in the village," Kuro replied with a grin, blood staining his broken teeth.
Damn, Raito thought.
"Damn you!" the other two Uchiha snarled as they drove their fists into Kuro's stomach.
"ARGH!" Kuro cried, coughing up blood.
Didn't everyone come here to help him? Raito glanced around, only to find no one stepping forward.
I guess no one wants to risk offending a clan member.
Just then, Raito sensed another presence approaching.
Hmm?
A boy with white hair, a tanto strapped to his back, walked forward. His gaze locked onto Mogi.
"So this is what you've been up to."
"Listen here, you pathetic 'Uchiha this, Uchiha that' spouting retard," the boy snapped. "Because of you, our class ranking keeps dropping! Why are you picking fights with first-years?"
Before anyone could react, he disappeared from his spot and reappeared beside Mogi, separating Kuro from his grip.
Raito blinked. Body Flicker? That speed… I could barely track him.
"It doesn't matter," Mogi scoffed. "We're the best anyway."
"Our class is up for evaluation today," the white-haired boy, Hatake Ryumo said coldly. "I'd rather not be demoted because of you."
"Thanks," Kuro muttered weakly, exhaling in relief.
The orphans moved quickly to support him, escorting him toward the medical room. Everyone left, except Raito, who stood silently, observing the four figures.
"You think you're the Copy Ninja, Ryumo?" Mogi snarled, gritting his teeth as his Sharingan activated—one tomoe spinning menacingly.
A flicker of lightning ignited in Ryumo's hand. "Yeah. Got a problem with that?"
"Hey," Raito finally spoke, calm despite the situation. "How about we leave it at that?"
"Who the hell are you?" Mogi snapped, turning his Sharingan toward Raito.
What is that ominous chakra? Mogi's eyes widened.
His chakra reserves… they're greater than mine and Mogi's combined, Ryumo thought. Though he couldn't sense its nature, the sheer volume was unmistakable.
The other Uchiha quickly stepped forward, intervening before a full fight could erupt.
That was interesting, Raito thought, glancing at Ryumo and then at Mogi. A child from the Hatake clan… and a seven-year-old with a Sharingan.
Academy life is… intriguing.