After the end of the Second Shinobi World War, the village experienced a baby boom. Now, several years later, that wave of newborns had grown up, forming a new generation of students entering the Ninja Academy.
Five and a half year old Kakashi was already standing at the entrance as the student representative, welcoming the new students.
"Hey! Kakashiii..."
A boy wearing goggles ran up to him. His expression looked nervous, completely different from his usual cheerful attitude.
Kakashi pushed him away slightly with a look of annoyance. "Idiot. Stay away from me."
Normally energetic and carefree, Obito now looked hesitant, as if he had something difficult to say. He stood there awkwardly, unsure whether to speak or leave.
"Obito, do you want to tell Kakashi something?" Said a girl with purple marks on her cheeks stepped forward. It was Rin Nohara, the future teammate who would eventually die during the Third Shinobi World War.
"Idiot, just say it already!" Rin urged. "The Hokage and the others will be here soon!"
The Ninja Academy didn't follow a fixed system. Instead, it operated on a six-month semester, and new students were admitted every semester. The length of a student's time at the academy was also uncertain. In most cases, it depended entirely on the situation on the battlefield. If there was no war, students could remain at the academy and continue studying for several years. But if war broke out, they would often graduate early and be sent to the front lines.
No matter how beautifully people tried to describe the Ninja Academy, the truth was simple. At its core, it was nothing more than an extremely efficient training facility for producing shinobi.
As if he had finally made up his mind, Obito leaned closer and whispered into Kakashi's ear.
"Kakashi… someone from my clan is enrolling. He… He's a terrifying person! And he especially likes to target me! Don't be fooled by his behavior, he's actually a really evil person! And… I heard the clan sent him to the academy this time specifically to deal with you.. ow!"
A small pebble struck the back of Obito's head with a crisp tap. "Goggles, talking about people behind their backs isn't a very good habit." If someone added background music and a few falling cherry blossom petals, the scene would almost look like a melodramatic story.
"Damn it! My name isn't Goggles! I'm Uchiha Obito!" Obito said angrily
"Alright, Goggles. I understand.... Goggles." said The boy who spoke had short, slightly curly black hair, bright sparkling eyes, and a smile that carried an air of innocent mischief.
"Goggles" Obito grouse.
Obito's face instantly turned bright red. If Rin Nohara hadn't grabbed hold of him, he would have already rushed forward and fought Uchiha Kagami to the death.
Uchiha Kagami was the boy's name, the same name as one of the subordinates of the Second Hokage. He had originally been an orphan from the Uchiha clan and was later adopted by Uchiha Kagami's widow.
She gave him that name to commemorate her late husband. Well… it had to be admitted that people here seemed to have a habit like this. Just like Uchiha Sasuke in the future, who borrowed the name of Sarutobi's father, Sarutobi Sasuke. In their tradition, it symbolized respect and remembrance. Of course, Fugaku doing this was probably a way of expressing submission.
Yes, Uchiha Kagami knew the trajectory of the future. After all, the day before he traveled through time, he had spent the entire night arguing with someone on a forum about the 'Konoha timeline.' In the end, both sides had presented a great deal of evidence, yet neither of them managed to convince the other.
It was simply too chaotic.
Originally, they had agreed to take a day off before continuing the debate. But Uchiha Kagami never showed up again. So he figure out what's really going on with this timeline himself.
Looking at the three children standing before him, Uchiha Kagami suddenly felt a deep surge of emotion. Even as an outsider, he could once joke about it 'Even divine power cannot hide tears.' But as an Uchiha…
It was no longer funny.
If the root cause of the Uchiha clan's destruction truly lay in the unresolved problems left behind when the village was first founded, then killing Obito or Itachi alone would never stop the outcome.
"Kagami, you must not bully Obito!" said the elderly woman who approached while holding a baby in her arm, a child who already had a round little nose despite being so young.
The baby was Uchiha Kagami's step brother, who in the future would become Shisui of the Body Flicker.
"Grandma, I was just giving him an affectionate nickname, but look how fierce he is, like he's about to charge over and smash my head!" said Kagumi
"Ahhh! Rin! Let go of me! I'm going to kill him!" Obito grouse.
"Hey, beautiful lady, let him go. I'd like to see how he plans to beat me to death." said kagami mockingly.
Watching the two of them argue at the academy gate, Kakashi shook his head helplessly. "Uchiha Kagami, right? Calm down and prepare for the welcoming ceremony. The Hokage and the others will arrive soon."
The maturity of children in the ninja world was truly astonishing. In another world, children of five or six could barely express a complete idea, yet those who matured early here were already beginning to learn how to kill and burn.
Uchiha Kagami looked Kakashi up and down with clear interest. "Dead fish eyes… and broom headed? "
A large vein bulged on Kakashi's forehead as he clenched his fists tightly. "I am Kakashi Hatake!" Kakashi emphasized every word clearly. This was practically bullying through nicknames! And that nickname was even worse than being called an idiot!
Obito, whose face was normally a reddish-brown color, now turned an entirely different shade of red. "Hahahaha! Dead fish eyes and a broom head!! Hahaha.. ugh" Nohara Rin quickly covered his mouth, nodded apologetically to the others, and dragged the overly delighted Obito away.
Anger, joy, happiness… tsk tsk. Who knows, perhaps if he were provoked just a little more, he might even awaken his eyes.
Uchiha Kagami walked toward Kakashi step by step, patted him on the shoulder, and gave him a harmless smile. "See you again, Kakashi-kun. Grandma, please take Shisui home quickly, bye!"
***
After all the children for this semester had arrived, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was still quite young, stepped onto the stage to give his speech. It was still the same Will of Fire, passed down from the First Hokage without any real changes. A set of ideals that were vague and somewhat contradictory.
The longer he listened, the more bored he became. Uchiha Kagami narrowed his eyes, and his mind slowly sank into his inner world.
Inside a cube, shaped spiritual space dominated by dark crimson, a bright red iron fence divided the area into two halves. The sharp stench of blood filled the air, seeping through the tightly sealed iron bars.
Above countless dried corpses, a creature floated over a sea of blood.
Two Faces and Four Arms Sukuna.
The name came from a legendary demon with two faces and four arms, who was once a real human. A thousand years ago, during the golden age of sorcerers, he single handedly defeated every sorcerer who challenged him. He was the symbol of evil, the extremely ferocious King of Curses.
Now, two souls from different times and places had met in the ninja world.
"Good morning, four armed monster!" said Kagami.
On the other side of the seal, a massive shadow flickered in and out of existence, and a pair of glowing red eyes radiated a savage light. "Kid… I already told you… Don't look at me without permission!"
Terrifying darkness surged forward, yet it could not penetrate the seal in the slightest.
Uchiha Kagami simply smiled and looked up, completely ignoring Sukuna's threat. At first, he had indeed been a little afraid. But after several attempts, Sukuna still couldn't break the seal and had only ended up injuring himself.
This battlefield was already familiar territory for Uchiha Kagami. They insulted each other like people arguing behind a screen. What was there to be afraid of?
Besides, as he grew older, he had begun to realize that he had gained a certain degree of control over the seal…
"You should be grateful you can hide inside my body. I heard Kakarot is already tracking you outside." said Kagami evenly
"Who was Kakarot?" King of Curses intrigued.
Uchiha Kagami raised his small hand and punched forward. "Just someone who can blow up the Earth with a single punch."
Sukuna was laughed.
"Kid, in all of history there has never been anyone that strong. What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Your loss, dont tell me I dont warned you" Uchiha Kagami sneered as he waved his hand dismissively. "Forget about Kakarot. The people of this world forcibly dragged you here and sealed you. Do you know what that means? It means there's a group of people here, each of whom could easily capture you and beat you senseless…" He keeps lying through his teeth evenly, perhaps some of it its true.
The real Sukuna would never lose his composure so easily, but the situation now was different…
This cursed seal meant he had absolutely no chance of taking over the boy's body. He couldn't even understand what was happening in the outside world.
He had just killed Gojo Satoru, and before he could even deliver a victory speech, he was thrown into this cursed place!
Damn it, could the side effects of that spatial slash really be this powerful?!
In a tightly sealed corner, Uchiha Kagami noticed a faint trace of black energy leaking out before the space closed again.
He easily caught the small wisp of black energy and swallowed it, while several slashing techniques flashed through his mind. "Alright, that's all for today's rent payment. I'll come back after I finish processing everything."
"You bastard! Get back here!!" Said Sukuna with raged.
In the darkness, the two faced Sukuna burned with helpless rage.
***
Uchiha Kagami still couldn't absorb too much of Sukuna's power, for the same reason as Naruto and Kurama. They were still too young; their bodies had not fully developed yet.
If the Nine-Tails had been inside him, Uchiha Kagami would definitely have tried to make peace with it.
But Sukuna…
He was a true egoist, fundamentally evil and someone who found pleasure in killing women and children.
Uchiha Kagami had a clear understanding of Sukuna. For him, Sukuna was nothing more than nourishment for his own growth.
Compared to Sukuna, it was obvious that his own Uchiha bloodline was far more worthy of development.
The ultimate manifestation of Yin Release was spiritual energy that governed imagination, creating form from nothingness. Once the Mangekyō was awakened, one could even possess the power to distort space and time!
The cursed power was actually a manifestation of Yin Release.
Simply put, Yin Release and Yang Release represent spiritual energy and physical energy.
Uchiha Kagami originally possessed the soul of an adult, and with Sukuna serving as the source of his Yin Release power, his spiritual energy was extraordinarily strong. If he hadn't consciously begun physical training and controlled the growth of his mental energy since the age of two, he might have already developed a Mangekyō by the age of eight.
In Uchiha Kagami's view, unless absolutely necessary, awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan too early was not a good thing, because it placed far too much strain on the body.
The illness Uchiha Itachi suffered, was most likely related to the fact that he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan before his body had fully developed. Unfortunately, Shisui died before any side effects could appear. Otherwise, having another example would have made it easier for Uchiha Kagami to make a judgment.
Did Obito's half White Zetsu body have affect for Mangekyō. No… wait. On second thought, maybe it is possible…
Just as Uchiha Kagami was thinking about how to prepare his body to have Mangekyō, the teacher's voice suddenly sounded from the podium. "This afternoon will be a practical class, the new students will be tested on their shuriken throwing ability."
The Second Hokage pioneered the ninja academy system, but during his time it was still in its early stages, more like a single Jonin leading a large group of students. The education system was truly established and expanded to include all the ninja clans during the reign of the Third Hokage. It even produced elite ninja such as the 'Legendary Sannin'.
More importantly… Orochimaru and Jiraiya were both are not from ninja clans, and the implication of that was obvious.
No matter how many mistakes Hiruzen Sarutobi would make in the future because of his fear and the weakness he called 'forgiveness', the Professor at this time had not yet grown completely old.
Hashirama Senju had been invincible, conquering the best territories, but after his death the world fell into two Shinobi World Wars.
Konoha was the victor in both Shinobi World Wars.
People could say the Third Hokage had his flaws, but you couldn't call him incompetent. As an Uchiha, Uchiha Kagami did indeed view the Third Hokage's as a potential enemy, but he did respect him.
Having grown up without parents, he had experienced the warmth of a 'family' for first time here, and he could not allow the future destruction of his clan to happen.
He would not blindly trust the development of the original timeline; both he and Sukuna were variables, and it would be foolish to cling rigidly to the original course of events. Aside from certain events whose timing was already fixed and beyond anyone's control, everything else should be selectively forgotten so it wouldn't influence his own judgment.
"Kagami kun, what are you thinking about?" said Kurenai Yuhi, who was sitting beside him, gently tapped his shoulder.
'I'm thinking about how to wipe out the criminal gang led by the Third's Generation, with your father's group acting as their accomplices.' Kagami mused. Uchiha Kagami turned his head away and ignored her. Compared to Uchiha Sasuke, who was one of the few 'normal' people in the Uchiha clan, his personality was actually more like Itachi's.
Proud and arrogant, believing they could bear all consequences alone.
Itachi would destroy his clan for the village, while Uchiha Kagami was willing to destroy the village for his clan.
Without the Uchiha clan, would Konoha even need to exist?
Therefore, Uchiha Kagami did not want to form any bonds with these people; they were like poison to him.
Obito was ruthless enough to wipe out his clan, yet he didn't take back Kakashi's eyes, leaving his title as copy ninja intact. Sasuke met Naruto, that tireless troublemaker, and told him that he wouldn't be getting his arm back to atone for his sins and for destroying his arm. Look what a bonds did to them
Little Kurenai leaned in closer "Your hair's a bit curly too, is that natural?". Girls the more you ignore them, the more they're drawn to you. Of course, the catch is that you have to be good looking.
Uchiha Kagami rose with a look of unreadable and went off to find a place to eat his bento box.
Although Uchiha Kagami could mostly ignore the others easily, but Kurenai yuhi have talent of rivaling a Mangekyō user using conventional mean!
Only a small girl remained, slightly offended, quietly feeling confused. She could sense that Uchiha Kagami doesnt like her. Had she done something to make him angry?
Her curly hair looked pretty good… didn't it?
***
When Uchiha Kagami opened the bento box his grandmother had prepared under the tree, a few boys gathered around him.
"You arrogant kid from clan of Uchihas" said Asuma, a boy with a toothpick in his mouth, approached. "Kurenai is my good friend? What are you do to make her sad"
Uchiha Kagami ate his meal voraciously and said casually, "Not only good friend, but you'll also get married and have children in the future."
Asuma, who was ready to attack, was completely shocked by this, and his face turned bright red. "What… what are you saying! What… marriage… that's... But you, Uchihas the way of your talk…"
"By the way, the child doesn't look like you, but like Uchiha," Uchiha Kagami interrupted him.
"Aaah!! Catch him! Hit him!"
***
'A moment later'
Sitting on Asuma's back, Uchiha Kagami continued eating his meal. "Now I'll answer the question you asked earlier." Placing his feet on Asuma's hands, Uchiha Kagami said calmly, "You right we 'the Uchihas' are arrogant clan and I'm not the type to wear protective goggles."
"Ah!! Let me go if you dare! I'm not ready!!" The commotion attracted a lot of attention, and Asuma's face turned even redder as he noticed the growing crowd.
"Do you think you have second chance if this is real fight not just a childish fight?" After finishing his lunch. Uchiha Kagami stood up, pressing Asuma's hands against the ground.
A soft cracking sound echoed, as if a bone had broken.
Kagami turned, his cold gaze making Asuma too afraid to move. "If this were a battlefield, and you attacked me, I could kill you." The killing intent pierced Asuma's nerves.
Glancing at the growing number of children around them, Uchiha Kagami quickly suppressed his killing intent and quietly walked through the crowd, which deliberately made way for him. He didn't pretend to be kind or try to build friendly relationships with his classmates.
He wasn't certain that he could fool even three generations of those seasoned elders, if he masquerade as someone harmless. To them, this is just how Uchiha are 'quick to anger'.
'Pretending to be a coward?' That's something only Fugaku could pull off. The geniuses of the Uchiha clan were truly destined to be arrogant!
The relationship between the village and the Uchiha clan wasn't bad enough to make young geniuses to be kill by each other; otherwise, Kakashi and Shisui wouldn't have survived past the age of ten.
When the time truly came…
The madness lurking in Uchiha Kagami's eyes even surpassed Sukuna's own insanity. Only a monster can control another monster.
***
"Uchiha Kagami is hailed as a genius of the Uchiha clan, appearing only once every few decades!"
A group of kids had gathered, with Asuma 'face bruised and swollen' listening intently.
Although Obito Uchiha didn't like Kagami Uchiha, and Kagami didn't like him either, but he felt a sense of pride for his clan because the Third Hokage's son get beaten.
"I heard his Uchiha kata have reached the level of a chunnin, and he has also mastered fire style ninjutsu!"
Kakashi, who hadn't paid much attention before, was now somewhat intrigued.
Many members of the Uchiha clan didn't participate in the village ninja ranking exams, but if they could become Military Police, they were considered to have combat abilities on par with a Chunin.
Could a five or six year old reach that level?
However, thinking about himself, Kakashi realized it wasn't impossible. He had already planned to apply for early graduation, and his father also believed he had abilities comparable to an average Chunin.
The afternoon practical class was mandatory for all students. To give everyone a chance to recover from the war, the Third Generation decided to change the original three year system into a six year system.
However, this group was mostly born after the Second Great Ninja War, and they were generally only five or six years old, with very few older children. Moreover, a few years later, the Third Great Ninja War broke out, and the six year period was reverted back to three years.
***
Asuma was clearly not the type to complain after being beaten; he wanted to take revenge himself.
"Asuma, Kagami won't be participating in the combat training." While bandaging Asuma's wounds, Nohara Rin kindly reminded the two, who were scheming something. "He's a new student; today he's only going to demonstrate shuriken throwing. Besides… you were wrong to provoke him from the start, so just let it be."
"How can we just let it go!" Asuma groaned in frustration. If he had only been beaten, that would have been enough. But that guy really insulted Kurenai! Absolutely unforgivable!
***
"Next match: Kakashi vs Obito Uchiha!" During the break, the teacher began taking attendance.
Kakashi felt somewhat helpless, why did he always end up paired with Obito and Guy? He wasn't fond of these boring direct combat drills, and he always ended up with two people losing.
Unlike Kakashi, Obito immediately perked up when his name was called. "Oh!! This time I'll defeat you, Kakashi!!"
"Wait a moment."
Suddenly, a voice rang out, and Uchiha Kagami stepped out of the crowd. "Sensei, request to take Obito Uchiha's place."
"Huh? Kagami Uchiha, you're a new student…"
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Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below as we get started on this very exciting new ride and journey!