The sun was just rising, and dewdrops quietly slid down the stems of the leaves. The soft drip made the morning air feel even fresher.
In the forest, a boy of about six or seven years old was doing deep squats while carrying a 20-kilogram sandbag on his back. His breath came in heavy gasps.
Perhaps because he was still so young, his cheeks had already turned red after only a short time. Tiny beads of sweat glistened on his pale forehead.
"Thirty… thirty-one… thirty-two… fifty!" the boy counted quietly. Only when he reached fifty did he slowly stand upright. He took a deep breath and sighed. "A ninja, huh? Hmph… you can only become one through effort. Still, I really can't figure out how that bushy-browed guy trains his taijutsu… It's just unimaginable!"
He chuckled lightly, then shook his head and started walking toward the street where his home was.
His mother wasn't a ninja, but ever since his father had died in battle, she'd been extremely strict with Uzumaki Tong. No—strict wasn't the right word. It was more like persistent encouragement.
Of course, Uzumaki Tong was quite hardworking as well.
At the very least, he had come in first in this year's school exams. But when it came to chakra refining and such, things were less than ideal.
He wasn't sure if it was because he had transmigrated to this world or for some other reason, but while other children had already begun refining chakra, he was still stuck. Like one of those taijutsu-only specialists—like the Bushy Brow clan—he hadn't sensed any chakra at all. Though at least those taijutsu fighters had basic chakra.
Uzumaki Tong, on the other hand, still had no idea what chakra even felt like.
That's right—Uzumaki Tong had transmigrated. In his previous life, during eighteen long years, he hadn't achieved anything meaningful. He gave up on school after junior high. He'd never held a job for more than three months. Parents? Well… he was an orphan.
His greatest passion, unsurprisingly, had been watching anime.
Before he came to this world, he had made a wish during a car accident. When he woke up, Uzumaki Tong had felt true fear—after all, this unfamiliar world wasn't something you could just "want" to adapt to and then magically fit into.
But when he saw his new mother, Uzumaki Keiko, holding his crying body and staying awake with him night after night, that deep emotional bond struck something in his soul, and he accepted this world.
And more importantly, he accepted his new identity.
He was an abandoned child of the Uchiha clan. Or rather, a failed experiment.
That's right—his father had been a man from the Uchiha clan. But he had married a stray member of the Uzumaki clan, trying to create the most powerful bloodline fusion.
Unfortunately, it failed.
And afterward, his father had died during a mission.
The remaining mother and child were stripped of all Uchiha clan privileges and forced to move to the slums among the commoners.
When he returned to his small, two-room house and saw his mother already preparing breakfast, Uzumaki Tong wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered, "Mom… let's leave Konoha."
Uzumaki Keiko, who was making rice balls, instantly paused. Her thin shoulders trembled slightly. Then she gave a bitter smile and asked, "Have you ever seen the world outside?"
Tong froze, then shook his head.
Come to think of it, based on what he remembered from watching Naruto, the outside world was indeed chaotic. Especially places like the Mist Village of the Land of Water or Nagato's Rain Village—those places were practically living hells.
By comparison, Konoha—the strongest of the five great nations—was relatively peaceful. But even so, moving to another ninja village would only invite more discrimination.
"In Konoha, we're at most rejected by the Uchiha clan. But if you go to another ninja village, or other towns… and with that kind of power you carry..."
She stopped herself, then smiled. "Anyway, eat your rice balls and head to school. I need to get to the stall."
She patted Uzumaki Tong's head and smiled sweetly.
No matter what, she still had her son. As long as she had him, she could go on living.
Maybe that was the only reason this beautiful woman could still smile like that.
As a transmigrator, Uzumaki Tong didn't have any achievements in chakra refining. But thanks to his skills with kunai and his taijutsu training, he ranked near the top among kids his age.
If the school exams were judged purely on those skills, he'd take first place—just like last time.
Still, despite taking class seriously and training hard, every time he tried to refine his chakra at home, that same bitter sense of failure hit him.
He slung on his well-worn schoolbag and slowly made his way toward his mother's stall.
As usual, there had been no progress.
Chakra… chakra? If he remembered correctly, it was energy extracted from cells. So what—did his cells not have chakra?
He shook his head. That's impossible!
How could someone who was a blend of Uchiha and distant Senju bloodlines not be able to extract chakra?
It just didn't make sense!
Lost in thought, he soon arrived at his mother's stall—only to be greeted by a scene that made his blood boil.
"Those Uchiha Police again?" he growled, frowning. He looked furious.
Uzumaki Keiko quickly covered her son's mouth, looked around nervously, and whispered, "Keep your voice down! If they hear you, you'll get beaten again!"
It was true. Before he started school, Tong had often helped his mom at the stall and had become a favorite target of the Uchiha Police's bullying.
Even now, many of the scars on his body were from that time.
He gave a bitter smile and looked at his worried mother. "Should we talk to the Third Hokage? Maybe he can help us."
The moment he spoke, an angry voice rang out:
"Oh? A little brat trying to snitch already? Hahaha, you little mutt—today I'm gonna kill you!"
With that, the man punched straight toward Tong's head.
Keiko reacted instinctively, trying to shield him, but Tong twisted away and dodged the punch. He leaped up and delivered a spinning kick straight at the ninja.
Smack! The ninja blocked it easily and grabbed Tong's ankle midair. With a swift motion, he lifted the boy and slammed him down hard.
THUD!
Dust flew. The ninja laughed mockingly.
"Hmph, a brat who hasn't even graduated from the Academy dares to fight back? What, you think life's just a ninja game?!"
Tong's head hit the ground. Blood flowed from his forehead and eyes, but he still tried to get up. He clenched his teeth and glared at the Uchiha Police officer.
Just one move.
That was all it took to defeat him. This small, weak body had no kekkei genkai, no Jinchūriki resilience—only some skill in taijutsu.
In front of a full-fledged chūnin, he was just a child.
He took a deep breath and shouted, "Just wait! When I grow up, I'll beat you!"
"Oh? Is that so?" The chūnin smirked and began walking toward him.
Keiko immediately threw herself in front of her son, shielding his body with her own.
"Please… I beg you! Don't hit him anymore! If you want to hit someone, hit me instead!"
"Heh. A failed product of the Uchiha clan… a filthy mutt. Tch. Hitting him would only dirty my hands. But you want to report this to the old Third Hokage, huh? Then I'll make sure you both suffer!"
With a cruel grin and mocking eyes, the man moved forward. Keiko gripped her son tightly, as though afraid he'd be killed if she let go.
Just then, a cold voice rang out.
"Bullying a child—how impressive. If that's the Uchiha's way, you'll disgrace the whole clan."
Though only a few people had gathered nearby, none dared intervene—they were too afraid of the Uchiha Police. They merely whispered from a distance.
But this voice didn't sound older than Tong's. It was still a child's voice.
They turned to see a boy wearing a short-sleeved black ninja uniform and black pants. His hair was tied in a ponytail, and the dark shadows under his eyes gave off a haunting loneliness.
"Itachi," the chūnin spat. "He insulted the Uchiha and tried to snitch. Their very existence is a disgrace to the clan!"
"That's still better than you bullying a child. Look around. How do the people see us?"
The boy was Uchiha Itachi—already famed alongside Shisui as a genius, a source of pride for the Uchiha clan.
Though his voice still sounded young, it carried an undeniable weight.
The chūnin gritted his teeth but said nothing. As the clan leader's son and a peerless talent, Itachi was untouchable.
He didn't dare provoke Itachi—let alone continue harassing Keiko and Tong.
With one last hateful glare, the chūnin slunk away.
"As a member of the Uchiha clan," Itachi said with a deep bow, "I sincerely apologize for his actions. I'm sorry."
Tong was stunned.
Even Keiko was caught off guard. After all, they had never seen a Uchiha like this before.