Chapter 8: After School, My Room
Beep beep beep—
A soul-piercing alarm shattered the peace.
Yuchuan's arm shot from the blankets, slapping the clock silent.
Konoha's tech tree was weird—computers, fridges, even AC existed, so alarms were no surprise.
6:00 AM.
While part of him wanted to see "Konoha at 4 AM", he was still a growing child needing proper sleep.
He dressed and stepped outside.
The plan: 30-60 minutes of jogging, pacing himself.
Going from zero to hero overnight?A one-way ticket to the afterlife.
With such a perfect start, he wasn't about to throw it all away in three days.
Dawn Patrol
Yuchuan hit the empty streets, his sneakers slapping pavement.
At this hour, only delivery ninjas and insomniacs were awake—no obstacles.
Minutes ticked by.
His breaths grew ragged, sweat drenching his shirt, vision blurring at the edges.
Then—a green glow bathed his face.
Yuchuan blinked.
Did I wake up too fast?
Since when do legsfloat mid-air?
He rubbed his eyes—Might Guy was sprinting upside-down on his hands.
"You jog too?!" Guy's voice boomed with excitement.
He'd found a kindred spirit!
In the shinobi world, taijutsu specialists were the bottom tier, mocked for their "primitive" ways.
Even his father,Might Dai—the man who'dsoloed the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—died agenin.
Yuchuan nodded weakly, too winded to speak.
"You look familiar," Guy squinted, then lit up. "Yesterday's transfer student! Yu-something!"
"Yu… Yuchuan…" he wheezed.
"What-chuan?" Guy cupped his ear.
"YU. CHUAN."
Now he understoodKisame's pain.
"Yuchuan! I'm Might Guy!" Guy's teeth sparkled. "Call me Guy!"
"Mm."
Yuchuan paused—his system had pinged.
"You go ahead… I'll rest."
Aside from hitting his limit, the notification demanded attention.
"Youth waits for no one!" Guy saluted, zooming off.
(Had Yuchuan beenKakashi, he'd have been dragged until collapse.*)
"Alien physiology," Yuchuan muttered, watching Guy sprint one-handed.
He collapsed onto a bench, pulling up his trait panel:
[E-Rank Trait: Sturdy Build (Locked)]
[Condition: Reach baseline genin physicality]
[Progress: 1%]
"Baseline" likely meantaverage, notNaruto-tier.
Achievable—just neededconsistency.
Wiping sweat, he closed his eyes—
"Yuchuan! I'm back!"
Guy's voice echoed, now frog-hopping past him.
Yuchuan waved weakly.
Once Guy vanished, he staggered home, detouring past the Konoha Knowledge Bookstore—his future spy rendezvous.
Too risky to enter now.
At a dango stand, he bought takoyaki, remembering Kurenai's sweet tooth.
Homecoming
Yuchuan returned to find Yuuhi Shinku at the door.
"You… ran?" Shinku eyed his drenched, heaving form, stunned.
This level of driveat six years old?
Coupled with hisYin Release talent… this boy wouldgo far.
"Morning, Shinku-san," Yuchuan panted. "Just… fixing my weak stamina."
Nearby, a door creaked open.
Yuuhi Kurenai stumbled out, hair a bird's nest, barefoot on the tatami.
"Yawn… Why're you… up so early?" she mumbled.
"Learn from Yuchuan," Shinku scolded. "No more sleeping in."
"Eh?"
Kurenai blinked owlishly, looking like a confused kitten.
What dimension had she woken up in?
"I got you takoyaki," Yuchuan offered the box.
Never thought he'd become"that exemplary child".
"Good. You're learning… little brother."
Kurenai's eyes sparkled at the fried octopus balls.
"...?"
Shinku's face twitched.
Was someblonde bratwooing his daughter?
No—just kids being kids.
"Just repaying your study notes," Yuchuan said smoothly.
"Mmphf blargh," Kurenai mumbled through a full mouth.
On anyone else, it'd sound cursed—on her, adorable.
Schoolbound
After breakfast, they walked to the academy.
"Yuchuan," Kurenai turned, "did you finish yesterday's homework?"
"Need to copy?" He smirked.
"As if!" She puffed her cheeks. "I meant… if you're stuck, I'll help."
"Actually, I am stuck."
He'd learned to indulge her tsundere tendencies.
"Since you asked so nicely…"
Kurenai's smug grin could power Konoha for a week.
They reviewed problems as they walked.
Two months behind, Yuchuan had guessed most answers (shortest option when in doubt).
But Eiichirō would go easy on him.
"Get it now?" Kurenai licked sauce off her lips.
"Kinda. Not really."
"That's normal at first," she said, suddenly sage-like. "After school, come to my room. I'll teach you properly."
Dear god, no—
Yuchuan took his seat, greeting Shizune before checking his system:
[E-Rank Trait: Top Student (Locked)]
[Condition: Rank #1 in first-term theory]
[Progress: 1%]
Triggered by theirstudy session, no doubt.
But what did "Top Student"do in the ninja world?
In the original story, Haruno Sakura aced exams yet remained useless until Tsunade's training.