Konoha Year 41, Ninja Academy Opening Day.
Class 1-A was noisy, packed with kids chattering away.
A boy with spiky hair and goggles resting on his forehead was cowering in a corner seat, his eyes darting toward the desk diagonally ahead of him.
This was none other than Obito Uchiha, who in later years would shake the entire Ninja World.
And the spot he was staring at was where Rin Nohara sat.
“What are you looking at, Obito?” A voice suddenly chimed in beside him.
Obito jumped.
Turning around, he saw three boys from his clan surrounding him without him even noticing.
The leader was Aoki Uchiha, someone who had bullied him quite a bit back in the clan.
“N-nothing…” Obito shrank back slightly.
“Nothing?” Aoki sneered, poking Obito’s shoulder with a finger.
“I say, how did you end up in the same class as us?
A dead-last belongs in a dead-last class, doesn’t he?” The two lackeys beside him chimed in immediately: “Yeah, I heard you can’t even throw a basic shuriken properly!” “Don’t embarrass the Uchiha!” The classroom gradually quieted down.
Quite a few students glanced in their direction.
Their classmate Might Guy stretched his neck to look, Kurenai Yuhi frowned, while Asuma Sarutobi rested his chin on his hand with a look of genuine interest.
Obito’s face flushed bright red, his fists clenching tight.
He had originally wanted to endure it.
Truly.
But out of the corner of his eye, he caught Rin turning her head, looking over with worry.
At that moment, the string labeled “endurance” inside Obito’s head snapped with a loud crack.
“You guys—” “Hey.” Just as Obito was about to explode, a voice cut in—neither loud nor quiet, but just enough for the entire class to hear.
Everyone turned their heads in unison.
Standing by the wall near the back door was a black-haired boy around six years old, wearing standard Uchiha clan clothes, his hands shoved in his pockets.
Most striking was his expression.
It didn’t belong on a child at all, but rather resembled an adult who had grown tired of watching a trivial show.
Makoto Uchiha.
“Aoki,” Makoto said lazily as he strolled over.
“This is the academy, not the clan grounds.” Aoki blinked in surprise, then flared up in anger.
“What’s it to you?
We’re teaching this dead-last a lesson!” “That’s why I say it’s embarrassing,” Makoto interrupted, casting a glance over the surrounding classmates.
“Is it something to be proud of, letting outsiders watch the Uchiha fight among themselves?” Hearing this, Aoki’s face shifted.
Makoto stepped between them, perfectly cutting off Aoki from Obito.
He lowered his voice, but in the quiet classroom, everyone could still hear him clearly: “If you want to fight, go to the training grounds after school and fight all you want.
Right now, get back to your seats.” Aoki opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but met Makoto’s unsettlingly calm eyes.
Noticing the kids from the Hyuga, Sarutobi, and Yuhi families staring at him as well, he ultimately let out a cold snort and slunk off back to his seat with his lackeys.
Makoto rolled his eyes in his mind.
The Naruto world really lived up to its reputation as a haven for bullies—he ran into them wherever he went.
Clan bullying, village bullying, international bullying…
was this a traditional skill of the Ninja World or what?
He turned around to face Obito.
The spiky-haired boy was still frozen in place, his eyes wide behind his goggles.
“Th-thanks…” Obito stammered.
“Don’t worry about it.” Makoto waved his hand and turned to leave.
“Wait!” Obito suddenly called out to him, jumping up from his seat and rushing over in a few steps to catch up to Makoto’s side.
“Um, I remember your name is Makoto Uchiha, right?
Let’s be friends!” Makoto paused in his tracks.
Obito scratched his head, grinning somewhat foolishly.
“I feel like you’re different from the other Uchiha!” Makoto turned back, staring at Obito for two seconds.
“Different how?” he asked suddenly.
“Huh?” “You said I’m different from the other Uchiha,” Makoto leaned in slightly.
“Specifically how?
Am I rich?
Strong?
Or unusually handsome?” Obito was completely dazed by this barrage of questions, his goggles shifting crookedly onto one side.
“No…
I mean, you…
you have the Will of Fire!
You care about your companions!” Silence.
Three seconds later, Makoto gave him a massive eye-roll and turned to walk away.
“Hey!
Makoto!
Don’t go!” Obito quickly chased after him, sticking behind Makoto like a tail.
“I’m serious!
Look, we’re both Uchiha, and we’re both orphans.” “Stop right there.” Makoto turned around abruptly, and Obito nearly crashed into his back.
“We can talk about being friends later.” Makoto crossed his arms.
“Let me ask you: do you want to train together tonight?” Obito’s eyes lit up instantly.
“Train?
With you?” “Who else?
Aoki?” “Yes, yes, yes!” Obito nodded like a woodpecker, his entire body buzzing with excitement.
“I’ve wanted to get stronger for a long time!
Really!
Look at Rin…
cough, I mean, as a ninja, of course I have to train hard!” Looking at his simple-minded reaction, Makoto found it a bit funny.
Sure enough, he had the exact flavor of the hot-headed idiot from the original story.
“Then after school, at Training Ground 3.” Makoto turned to leave again after speaking.
“Wait!” Obito called out to him yet again, this time rubbing his hands together in embarrassment.
“Um…
Makoto, how strong are you, really?
I’m not doubting you!
Just curious!
After all, you dared to talk to Aoki like that…” Makoto stopped in his tracks.
Here it came.
This was exactly the line he had been waiting for.
Although the classroom had returned to its general noise, several people at nearby desks had their ears perked up.
Guy, Asuma, Kurenai, and Rin—who had turned her head back but was clearly listening in.
Makoto took a deep breath, and then!
In a voice clearly audible to the entire class, he spoke with absolute clarity: “To beat those three, one hand is enough.” The moment the words left his mouth, half the classroom fell dead silent.
Obito’s mouth gaped open.
Not far away, Aoki shot up from his seat, his face turning green with rage.
“Makoto Uchiha!
You—” [Ding!
Target ‘Obito Uchiha’ trust evaluation towards the lie “I can beat those three with one hand”: 50%] [Manifesting lie “To beat those three, one hand is enough”: 25%] [Manifestation starting…
Manifestation degree is influenced by character weight and trust…] [Manifestation complete.
Host gains strength boost.] [Hint: Today’s ‘Lie to Reality’ ability usage limit reached (1/1).]