Late March, Konoha Year 42.
Spring was in full swing. The scent of damp earth and fresh foliage drifted through the air. The morning sun, carrying just the right amount of warmth, pierced through the dense canopy to cast shimmering, dappled light across the village streets.
It was the start of another school year.
"Kakashi, don't underestimate that boy. If he maintains that mindset and pushes forward, he will definitely surpass you one day."
Standing near the gates of the Konoha Ninja Academy, Sakumo Hatake—the legendary White Fang—leaned down to ruffle his son's hair. He watched the retreating backs of Might Duy and his son with genuine sincerity.
Kakashi remained entirely unconvinced.
He had only asked for Might Guy's name to humor his father. He didn't take the boy seriously, nor did he believe his father genuinely saw potential in him. As far as Kakashi was concerned, Guy was just a convenient prop his father was using to lecture him against arrogance.
"Let's see him pass tomorrow's remedial exam and actually get into the Academy first," Kakashi replied flatly. "Come on, Dad. Let's go inside and finish my enrollment."
Sakumo offered a helpless smile. Just as the father and son turned to enter the Academy gates, a sound interrupted them.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed from the street corner directly facing the school gates. Sakumo let out a soft sound of surprise, stopping in his tracks to look.
Annoyed by the delay, Kakashi frowned, but followed his father's gaze.
The footsteps grew closer, beating a dull rhythm against the dirt. A massive, shifting shadow rounded the corner first, followed by the appearance of a massive boulder.
A walking rock?
No.
Looking closer, one could see a pair of legs churning at a relentless, steady pace in the narrow gap beneath the stone.
It was a boy. He was lean, utterly ordinary in appearance, and carrying a boulder more than three times the size of his own torso. If you didn't look hard enough, it genuinely looked like a rock moving on its own.
Thick hemp rope bit deeply into the boy's frail shoulders. He was moving slowly, but every single step was planted with absolute absolute stability, leaving faint, damp footprints in the dirt. His dark hair was entirely plastered to his forehead with sweat, partially obscuring his vision, but he didn't seem to care.
His eyes were locked dead ahead. His lips were pressed into a thin, tight line. His breathing was heavy, yet perfectly metered.
"Whose kid is that?"
"Is... is that rock real?"
"Carrying something that heavy? That's reckless!"
The moment the boy and his boulder appeared on the street, they hijacked the attention of everyone at the Academy gates. Parents who had brought their children for enrollment began to whisper in shock.
"Show-off," Kakashi scoffed internally, taking in the awe and curiosity of the crowd.
He could carry that much weight right now, and he could run a lot faster doing it. Judging by the boy's height and build, Kakashi assumed he was a third- or fourth-year student. The local shinobi shops sold weighted gear that was far more scientific, ergonomic, and fitted.
Instead, this guy chose a massive, unwieldy rock. Worse, it was yellow sandstone—a low-density rock that looked incredibly massive for its actual weight. And he just happened to drag it past the Academy during the peak hours of freshman enrollment?
To Kakashi, it was a painfully obvious, meticulously planned PR stunt to grab attention.
"Kakashi," Sakumo said quietly.
His eyes were still locked onto the slowly moving boy, but his gaze had shifted, taking on a new depth.
"Watch closely," the White Fang murmured, his voice soft but firm. "That child... isn't using any chakra."
Kakashi's pupils contracted. He immediately refocused his attention.
Whenever chakra flows or a jutsu is cast, there are fluctuations in the air—sometimes strong, sometimes faint. Skilled shinobi use this to detect Transformation Jutsu or gauge an opponent's raw power.
Kakashi scanned the boy. He's right! There wasn't a single trace of manipulated chakra around the boy's body. That meant the crushing burden of that boulder was being sustained entirely by his raw, physical strength.
Even if it was low-density yellow sandstone, a rock of that sheer volume was incredibly heavy. To move it without a shred of chakra...
Kakashi processed this, then replied with forced calm, "He just has a bit more brute strength than average."
Sakumo didn't answer. His eyes flicked upward for a fraction of a second, then calmly lowered back down.
"Is that boy... Shinichi?" someone in the crowd asked.
"It really is him."
Several parents seemed to recognize the struggling child.
"He always said he had superhuman strength since he was little. I never believed it, but to see it exaggerated to this extent..."
"I heard him say he was coming to enroll today..."
"It's a shame. The world just lost a future master chef..."
"A chef? Doesn't he work part-time down at the blacksmith's?"
Hearing the gossip, Kakashi's eyes widened in genuine surprise. This guy is a freshman like me? He had been dead certain the boy was a senior student.
---
Kakashi!
I've finally found you!
As Shinichi dragged his boulder toward the Academy gates, his eyes flicked over the silver-haired, masked boy. A flash of well-hidden, burning excitement flared deep in his eyes, and his heart hammered against his ribs.
Five years! Kakashi, I've been waiting ever since the day I heard you were born!
Taking a deep breath, Shinichi smoothly averted his gaze. He trudged over to an empty clearing near the gates and finally dropped the boulder. After exchanging a few polite, breathless greetings with the parents he knew, he turned to head into the school.
As he walked past the Hatake father and son, he noticed Kakashi sizing him up.
Shinichi paused and offered Kakashi a smile.
It was a clean, radiant, sunlit smile. Despite his incredibly average face, the smile carried an inexplicable warmth that made people instinctively lower their guard and feel a sense of closeness to him.
Kakashi froze slightly. For some reason, that smile instantly reminded him of a certain senior shinobi—a man hailed as a true genius—whom he had bumped into at Ichiraku Ramen last month. He had the exact same clean, disarming smile.
[Affinity (White): Your words and actions make people feel relaxed and welcome. You easily gain favor and baseline trust during social interactions.]
Ignoring whatever reaction Kakashi was having, Shinichi simply nodded to the father and son as if they were just two ordinary people on the street, and continued walking.
Suddenly, Kakashi spoke up.
"Hey!"
Shinichi stopped and turned around, feigning mild confusion.
"If you want to properly train your physique," Kakashi said, his voice carrying the blunt, matter-of-fact tone inherent to prodigies, "you should buy professional weighted gear from a shinobi shop. Carrying an irregularly shaped rock like that is highly inefficient. The center of gravity is impossible to control, and you risk unnecessary muscle and bone damage."
Shinichi listened patiently, his warm smile never fading. He nodded. "You're absolutely right. Professional gear is safer and more efficient. I've actually looked around the shinobi shops."
His tone was mild, lacking any irritation at being lectured by a stranger.
"It's just that... I haven't quite found anything that completely fits my current needs yet. This rock might be clumsy, but once you get used to adjusting to it, it's not too much of a hassle. But thank you for the advice. I'm Shinichi Higashino. And you?"
How could a shinobi shop not have suitable gear? Kakashi frowned. He knew exactly what the stores stocked. Claiming there was "nothing suitable" was a massive stretch.
But then Kakashi realized he was the one overstepping. He had called out to a stranger for no reason; there was no point interrogating him now.
"Kakashi Hatake," he replied coolly.
"Kakashi, huh? I'll remember that." Shinichi nodded again and walked through the gates.
"That poor boy has had a hard life. Lost his parents when he was just a baby..."
"I heard he donates almost all the money he makes from his part-time jobs back to the orphanage..."
"Makes sense... he's a deeply loyal, good-hearted kid..."
The whispered conversations of the nearby parents drifted over.
Kakashi stared at the spot where Shinichi had disappeared, remaining silent for a long moment.
"Let's go enroll, Dad."
---
Walking down the Academy halls, Shinichi was completely unaware of the lingering effect he'd left behind. He was too busy replaying his brief conversation with Kakashi.
Professional weighted gear?
You make an excellent, logical point, Kakashi.
But...
If I don't carry a massive, eye-catching boulder... how is the rest of the world supposed to know I possess superhuman strength?
A faint, calculating smirk tugged at the corner of Shinichi's mouth. With a mere thought, a translucent, floating interface—visible only to him—materialized in his vision.
[Name: Shinichi Higashino]
[Class: Kenjutsu Apprentice]
[Traits: Clever (White), Diligent (White), Affinity (White), Robust (White), Glutton (White), Tenacious (White), Agile (White), Calm (White)]
[Draws Available: None]
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