Bab 1: Chapter 1: Being popular is also a problem
Chapter 1: The Troubles of Being Popular
Konoha Village.
Ninja Academy.
Inside one of the classrooms, a chunin instructor was standing by with a form in hand.
"Next, Ryo Hatake."
At the sound of the instructor's voice, a calm boy with short silver hair walked up to the podium. His fingers danced, forming a quick seal in front of him.
*Bang!*
With a burst of white smoke, a clone identical in appearance and posture to Ryo appeared beside him.
This display caused many of the girls in the classroom to gasp, not just because Ryo successfully executed the clone jutsu on his first try, but also because of his good looks, which ranked among the top in the class.
"95 points, well done."
The chunin teacher gave Ryo a slight nod and recorded the score. A flawless performance with barely any mistakes—this score would easily place him in the top ten of the class. Yet, there was no excessive praise in the teacher's eyes.
The reason was simple: Ryo had a younger brother named Kakashi Hatake, who had applied for early graduation at the age of five, passed, and became a chunin at the age of six. His extraordinary talent had made him famous throughout Konoha, seen as the heir to the legacy of the "White Fang."
In comparison, Ryo seemed rather ordinary.
Although Ryo was also one of the top students in the class, excelling in every subject, the difference in their accomplishments was striking. At the age of eight, Ryo was still following the normal curriculum of the academy and had never displayed the kind of stunning talent that Kakashi had.
While the chunin instructor remained indifferent, whispers started to rise in the classroom.
"Ryo, you're amazing!"
"95 points, that's probably the highest score, right?"
Several girls gazed at him with admiration.
Having transmigrated into this world and inherited the bloodline of the White Fang, Ryo looked very similar to Kakashi. However, unlike Kakashi, Ryo didn't wear a mask and wasn't as aloof, making him a central figure among the girls in class.
Ryo walked back to his seat, smiled at Kurenai Yuhi, who was sitting nearby, and said, "It's nothing. Clone jutsu isn't that hard. Just focus, and you'll get it."
Two years ago, he had arrived in this world, becoming Kakashi's older brother. Unfortunately, he had come a little too late to prevent the death of their father, Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang of Konoha.
That incident had a profound impact on Kakashi, who applied for early graduation less than a month later.
As a transmigrator, inheriting the White Fang's bloodline, Ryo naturally wouldn't be outclassed by Kakashi. However, he thought that graduating early was a foolish decision and disapproved of it.
What was the point?
Wasn't it better to steadily progress through the academy, improving slowly? Why rush to graduate?
Especially considering that it was now the 42nd year of Konoha, and if he remembered correctly, the Third Shinobi World War would officially break out next year. The entire ninja world was in turmoil.
In times of peace, graduating early as a genin might be fine, with most missions being simple. But in these pre-war times, even genin often took on dangerous combat missions.
Kakashi's early graduation at five and promotion to chunin at six might seem dazzling, but to Ryo, it was just reckless. Not only were the missions for chunin far more dangerous, but showing such exceptional talent also attracted the attention of enemy villages.
And these were troubled times.
The Hidden Cloud, Mist, Sand, and Stone villages were all making moves against Konoha. A prodigy like Kakashi would certainly become a target, which wasn't a good thing.
"If I had the strength of a jonin, early graduation wouldn't be a problem..."
Ryo mused to himself.
Unfortunately, he didn't yet have the strength of a jonin. Although he was confident he could defeat his younger brother Kakashi, at best, he was only at the level of an elite chunin, and that was only because he possessed a special ability.
After all, at the age of eight, his body was still growing. For a ninja, true physical maturity and stability wouldn't come until around sixteen.
Speaking of which, his special ability was worth mentioning.
It was something he had discovered after transmigrating, an ethereal clock that appeared in his mind whenever he closed his eyes.
This clock resembled Kurumi Tokisaki's "Zafkiel" from the Date A Live world. So far, however, the only ability he had unlocked was time acceleration.
It was somewhat similar to the time manipulation in the Fate universe.
This time acceleration only affected him.
When activated, his movements, taijutsu, and hand seals all became faster. This was one reason he could outmatch his younger brother Kakashi.
Currently, Ryo could accelerate time up to twofold, meaning his speed during time acceleration was twice as fast as normal!
"Ryo... um, I brought two bento lunches today. Would you like to eat with me later?"
As Ryo was lost in thought, a girl sitting in front of him turned around, her cheeks slightly flushed, and nervously asked him.
This immediately drew the ire of the other girls nearby, including Kurenai, who was sitting beside Ryo. The atmosphere instantly became tense, as if a battle was about to break out.
Seeing this, Ryo could only helplessly sigh.
He now understood why Kakashi wore a mask. It was probably to avoid situations like this. It didn't help that the other boys in the class weren't much competition either.
Although this class had some big names—Obito Uchiha, Rin Nohara, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi—Obito was currently at the bottom of the class. And the others, like Asuma, were just average in terms of both looks and performance.
Itachi Uchiha wouldn't enter the academy for a few more years, and Shisui Uchiha had already graduated, two years below him, so there really wasn't anyone who could challenge him.
If Kakashi hadn't graduated early, maybe he could have shared some of the attention.
*Sigh.*
Being too popular was its own problem.
Ryo sighed inwardly. He used to envy scenes like this, but now that he was experiencing them firsthand, all he could do was silently sigh. Besides, it seemed that girls in the world of *Naruto* matured even faster than he had expected.
Looking at these eight- and nine-year-old girls already competing for attention made that clear.
It wasn't just the girls either; the boys were maturing quickly as well.
Around Ryo, many of the boys were already glaring at him with jealousy, some even clenching their fists in frustration.
"That bastard..."
"He's so annoying. I really want to punch him."
"But you can't beat him, right?"
"Shut up!"
Among the boys gritting their teeth and clenching their fists was Obito Uchiha, as Rin Nohara was also one of the girls gathered around Ryo.
Ryo didn't care much about the rest of the class. The only ones he paid any attention to were Might Guy and Obito Uchiha, though only the "dark" version of Obito concerned him. Before that transformation, Obito was just a harmless underachiever.
(End of Chapter)
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An: You can read 30+ advanced chapters on patre-on (for now there are only 10 but I'll post the remaining parts later)
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