After one quiet night at home and a quick goodbye to Shikamaru, Nara Shikage took the fat "living expenses" envelope from his parents, bought a full wilderness survival kit, and headed straight into the Naka River forest.
The Naka River stretch had been prime Uchiha territory since the Warring States period.
Naka Shrine especially—their ancestral hall and the place the whole clan met to decide big moves.
Decades ago the forest still saw regular foot traffic.
But after the Uchiha got squeezed out by the rest of Konoha, plus their own prickly attitude, outsiders stopped coming altogether.
Perfect for him. Fewer eyes, fewer problems.
He picked a solid campsite, then mapped out his "terrain recon" plan.
"I remember Shisui's suicide spot was a sheer cliff drop."
"Follow the river current from there and I can narrow down exactly where the body would wash up."
Scanning the Konoha map for every possible drift point, Shikage locked in his route.
No time to waste. He took off at a run toward the nearest stretch of river.
While moving he mentally pulled up the panel. A semi-transparent window instantly appeared.
[Daily Quest — The Road to the Strong]
[Objectives:
Physical Training Set (0/50)
Weapon Training Set (0/50)
Ninjutsu Training Set (0/50)]
[Note: Failure to complete will trigger corresponding punishment]
This new daily block had unlocked when he woke up this morning.
Three brutal categories. Each one packed with high-intensity drills.
Physical: running, sit-ups, push-ups, squats.
Weapons: kunai, shuriken, short-blade mastery.
Ninjutsu: random rotation of every technique he knew.
All of it max effort. Even as a top-tier chūnin it was going to eat serious time.
Shikage didn't mind. Hell, he was pumped.
"Harder quest, sweeter rewards. Right?"
"Might as well knock the whole thing out while I'm scouting anyway."
The punishment? He wasn't sweating it.
If memory served, failing just dumped you into a penalty dungeon for a stretch.
Actually sounded like decent training… but with his current strength he wasn't risking it yet.
One blink and the panel vanished. In that same heartbeat his speed surged.
He became a sleek shadow, slicing through the Naka River forest like he owned it.
...
While Shikage spent every second sharpening himself, the Ninja Academy was running its yearly final exams.
For the first-years it was simple stuff: basic theory plus a kunai-throwing test.
But none of the kids took it lightly. This was their first real "ninja exam." It basically decided if they had the stuff to become shinobi.
Everyone was hyped, itching to come out on top.
After another student finished, the whole crowd started buzzing.
Off to the side, Uzumaki Naruto stared at the kunai buried dead-center in the ten-meter target and the girls swarming the shooter. Jealousy flared in his chest… then instantly flipped into pure fighting spirit.
He wiped his nose and muttered to himself:
"Damn, that's Uchiha Sasuke for you!"
"But I'm still gonna beat you!"
A couple of boys turned, eyes dripping with mockery.
"You?"
"A dead-last who can't even use one jutsu thinks he can beat Sasuke?"
"Just quit the Academy already. You're not ninja material."
Naruto was used to the venom, but his fists still clenched hard.
"Don't look down on me!"
The tension spiked. First-year teacher Iruka cut in.
He looked at Naruto—at those six whisker marks—and a flicker of buried hate flashed in his eyes.
Thinking of his own murdered parents, Iruka kept his professional mask… but his voice still came out cold.
"Knock it off, Naruto."
"Your turn."
Naruto dropped his gaze, biting his lip.
"Got it, Iruka-sensei…"
He walked to the line. All those mocking stares and Iruka's cold look made his hands shake.
The kunai left his fingers… and missed everything.
"Hahahahaha!"
"This idiot didn't even hit the outer ring!"
"I'm dead!"
Laughter rolled over him in waves. Naruto's shoulders curled in.
Sasuke, already finished with perfect scores, watched and felt annoyed… but stayed silent.
He just wanted to run home and show his dad and big brother his results.
If they'd just praise me for once… The thought made the corner of his mouth twitch upward.
Right as Naruto's eyes started to sting, a sharp voice cracked through the noise:
"Quiet! Mind your own damn test!"
"Look at your own scores first. What gives you the right to laugh at someone else?"
First time anyone had ever defended him. Naruto lifted his head, stunned.
It was a teacher he'd never seen before.
"Iruka, is this how you run your class?"
Faced with Mizuki's glare, Iruka opened his mouth… then closed it.
He knew he'd failed Naruto. At least on this.
Mizuki snorted, walked straight past Iruka, put a hand on Naruto's head, and gently pulled him aside.
"Sorry about that, Naruto…" (a thousand words of warm comfort followed)
Naruto, who had never felt real kindness like this, finally let the tears spill.
Looking at the crying boy, Mizuki's mouth curved in a thin, crooked smile. He lowered his voice:
"Naruto, I know a shortcut to get way stronger. Want me to tell you?"
...
After school let out, Mizuki stood on the upper walkway, waving back at Naruto with a perfect fake smile.
He stroked the black curse seal on his right forearm, eyes narrowing as memories from a year ago played on loop.
"Orochimaru… don't you dare disappoint me."
He hadn't wanted to reach out this soon.
But yesterday's humiliation at Shikage's hands kept replaying, burning him alive with jealousy and hate.
Orochimaru needed the Scroll of Seals. Mizuki had zero access.
The only play was using the kid the Third Hokage had personally warned everyone about.
It was risky as hell… but he was done waiting.
—Why the fuck can't I beat him?
—He's twelve. I'm twenty.
—Just because he's the Nara clan heir he gets every jutsu, every secret art, every top teacher?
—Uchiha Itachi. Hatake Kakashi.
All those genius stories flashed through his head, stabbing the ugly inferiority buried deepest inside him.
—This isn't fair.