Rikuya Hayashi walked slowly into the training ground.
"So handsome!"
"Tch, he's dead last in class. No way he'll pass."
"Really?"
"Of course! If the Uchiha clan hadn't forced him into the Academy, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to become a ninja. Hmph!"
…
As one of the "famous" names in the Academy, Rikuya was instantly recognized.
The last match of the day—of course.
It looked like the higher-ups were determined to make the Uchiha look bad.
Rikuya ignored the jeers around him.
Tch, what do you people know? Acting useless is the only way to live the easy life I want.
If he actually performed well, the Hokage would be knocking at his door with "friendly" invitations, and Danzo's Root division would be investigating him in no time.
Who could survive that kind of attention? Certainly not him.
The real problem was—the Naruto world was just too rude.
It hadn't given him any cheats.
No pay-to-win system, no daily sign-in rewards.
Not even a basic stat point panel. Under those conditions, lying flat was his only choice.
Honestly, he was an embarrassment to transmigrators everywhere.
Other transmigrators became clan heads in a year, village leaders in two, and rulers of the entire shinobi world in three.
If this were some other webnovel, the MC would've conquered the world in fifty chapters and been fighting aliens by chapter one hundred.
But him? Two and a half years of ninja training, and he still wasn't even an apprentice ninja. Pathetic.
Still… after today, he could finally be free.
When the examiner attacked, he'd just collapse right there.
Let them see the full extent of his "professional deadweight" skills.
Better to lose face now than lose his life later on the battlefield.
…Wait a second.
"What's going on?"
Rikuya frowned as the chūnin examiner walked away.
Shhhk!
A small figure appeared in his place—wearing a mask, a short sword strapped to his back, and spiky white hair like a snowdrift.
Seeing him, Rikuya's expression changed drastically.
My opponent is Kakashi?! What do I do? This is urgent!
He had never expected this.
"Why is it Kakashi?"
"You still don't get it? This is an early graduation exam request."
"Rikuya Hayashi's son is finally taking the stage. Time to see Konoha's strongest prodigy in action!"
"Applying for graduation after only one year at the Academy… as expected of that man's child!"
…
The crowd was buzzing.
For anyone else, this wouldn't be such a big deal.
But Kakashi was different.
Not only was he a genius—his father was Rikuya Hayashi, the blade master whose skill had terrified all the Great Shinobi Villages.
With a short sword in hand, Rikuya Hayashi had made even the Legendary Sannin pale in comparison. He'd been chosen as the Hokage's right hand, recognized as the next Hokage in waiting.
But just recently, he had committed suicide after a failed mission.
Now his only son, after just one year at the Academy, was applying for graduation. No wonder so many had come to watch.
Most spectators didn't realize the test had already been heavily altered.
But one man absolutely knew.
"Danzo!" Hiruzen Sarutobi turned his head at the edge of the field and spoke in a low, sharp tone. "What exactly are you trying to pull?"
Only Danzo could change the exam setup without the Hokage knowing in advance.
"Danzo, this is not the time for games!"
Homura Mitokado, a middle-aged man with short gray hair and glasses, also spoke up in warning.
The village was already tense after Rikuya Hayashi's death.
If something happened to his only son now, the fallout would be disastrous.
"I know," Danzo replied coldly. "Kakashi requested early graduation, so I paired him with an Uchiha dead last in the class. Surely you're not worried he can't handle that?"
Of course, the exam was just a cover.
The real goal was to use Rikuya Hayashi's son's victory—or better yet, the Uchiha boy's death—to tarnish the Uchiha clan's reputation.
If the victim were a real, respected Uchiha, the backlash would be severe.
But a boy who only carried the surname—someone disliked even within his own clan—was a much safer target.
If he died, Kakashi would be pushed further into darkness with no way back, and the Uchiha's image would take another hit.
It was a win-win.
Danzo felt a flicker of pride. Teacher, don't worry. I'll handle the evil Uchiha for you.
"You'd better," Hiruzen warned before turning his eyes back to the match.
If he had known what orders Danzo had given Kakashi, he wouldn't have been so calm.
But with the Hokage silent, no one else dared to interfere.
The exam went on.
Four masked ANBU—Danzo's Root operatives—suddenly appeared around the training ground, forming hand seals.
"Four-Sector Sealing Formation!"
With a sharp shout, strange tadpole-like symbols spread into a transparent barrier that enclosed the entire field.
The spectators exchanged puzzled glances.
This kind of barrier was normal for two jōnin fighting, but for two Academy students—one of them a genius—it was… excessive.
"Danzo!"
Hiruzen could feel something was wrong.
"It's just to prevent the Uchiha from interfering," Danzo said smoothly. "And it's too late to change anything now, isn't it?"
The barrier meant no one could leave the field or surrender.
It also prevented any Uchiha from stepping in.
With Kakashi's talent, crushing the class dunce would be trivial. There was no way this could go wrong.
Once Kakashi had blood on his hands, he'd never be accepted back into the light.
A genius on par with Rikuya Hayashi would become Root's ace weapon.
Hiruzen's expression was sour, but the Uchiha had been restless lately.
Maybe a little pressure wouldn't hurt. He continued watching.
On the field, Rikuya could tell something was off.
The previous exams hadn't had a barrier—and the examiner definitely wasn't supposed to be swapped out for this opponent.
Against any other student, he wouldn't worry.
But Kakashi… was dangerous.
The boy's father had just died, and he was in a cold, merciless state. If Kakashi killed him by "accident," no one would raise a fuss.
Even with the Uchiha name, Rikuya knew his worth.
If not for a few special circumstances, the clan would've stripped his surname and kicked him out long ago.
If he died here, the Uchiha wouldn't go to war for him.
If they could get some compensation, they'd probably pretend nothing had happened.
Only by living in the real Naruto world could you see how exaggerated the anime's filter was.
The future Uchiha might be victims, but they weren't innocent lambs—they had plenty of dirt on their hands.
Right now, though, he needed to survive this match.
"Is it too late to surrender?"
Rikuya asked hopefully, looking down at the white-haired boy who was shorter than him by a head but radiated an icy, bone-deep killing intent.
Shhhk!
Kakashi drew the short blade from his back.
The cold gleam of steel was all the answer he gave.
Damn!
Rikuya cursed inwardly. He could see it clearly now—he'd been dragged into something.
This had Danzo's scheming all over it. The "gentlemanly" Third Hokage would never be this crude.
If Kakashi killed him here, the boy would be bound to Danzo for life.
Killing outsiders might make you a hero—but killing someone from your own village, especially in front of this many witnesses, would get you ostracized.
And Rikuya's death would be another stain on the Uchiha's reputation.
As for him?
In an age where life was worth less than grass, his death would earn little more than a mild scolding for Danzo and a token "three-cup penalty" at the Hokage's dinner table.
The real-world Third Hokage was nothing like the saintly figure in the anime.
Think about it—he was the leader of the strongest ninja village, with a daily job of killing, spying, and sabotage.
A genuinely kind person could never hold that position.
Anime was anime.
If you tried to treat this world like the show, you'd be fertilizer before you knew it.
(End of Chapter)