"Coo, coo..."
A small sparrow in its nest, neck tucked in, eyes closed.
In its dream, it was in a golden wheat field, pecking at endless grain.
"One, two, coo! So tasty..."
The little sparrow smacked its beak, feeling quite content.
Behind it, from the shadows obscured by the tree trunk...
A blood-red eyeball, about the size of a fist, floated out silently, its crimson pupil fixed intently on the sparrow's back.
Thud—
In the silent forest, the clear sound of flesh being crushed rang out.
Telekinesis accelerated two rigid, transparent Reflect walls, instantly compressing the sparrow into a zip format.
[RIGHT EYE (LV. 5) USED REFLECT × 2]
[RIGHT EYE (LV. 5) USED TELEKINESIS]
[IT'S SUPER EFFECTIVE]
[WILD PIDGEY (LV. 1) WAS FLATTENED]
[RIGHT EYE EXP +1]
"Does it only give experience if I kill the opponent now?"
Lost in thought, Motomu looked at the system prompts.
Just now, he had tried manipulating the Big Eyeball; defeating a Level 1 Pidgey no longer yielded experience.
Only a kill provided a single point. Motomu's dream of being a max-level beginner zone hero was hitting a snag.
Fortunately, the natural resources of the Ninja World were quite abundant. Pidgeys were as common as Pikachus by the roadside.
At the very least, there were plenty in the clan compound's starter village. Clearing them out should be enough to get the Big Eyeball to Level 6.
"A little is better than nothing. Safety first until I have more room for error."
The next day.
The Big Eyeball reversed into Motomu's eye socket. Since it had grown, it seemed a bit difficult; it took a few wiggles to squeeze back in.
"Big brother, time for school..."
The younger brother's hand swiped through the air as the door opened just before he could knock.
Closing the door behind him, Motomu took the steamed buns his grandmother had made from Obito's hands.
"Whoa, brother, you look terrible!"
"Secretly training at night is something only bad students do."
Looking at Obito, who was yawning and equally listless.
Three black lines slid down Motomu's forehead.
So you're saying only you are allowed to put in extra training?
'This kid is devious. He must be planning to act like a slacker on the surface while plotting to ambush Kakashi and win Rin's heart.'
'Typical Uchiha thinking.'
"Heh, secret training... I wonder which girl Obito is trying to impress?"
"It's so hard to guess!"
"Ah! Haha!"
"Brother, I don't know what you're talking about! I just want to crush Kakashi, that's all."
Seeing Obito laugh it off, scratching his head in embarrassment after being found out.
Motomu didn't bother arguing with him.
'Using a crush to boost academic performance—it's not like I haven't seen that in my past life.'
On the streets of Konoha today, Obito was held up by a lost black cat.
Motomu walked on alone, not waiting for Anko.
After Anko's whirlwind evening of being taken in and apprenticed by Orochimaru, he figured Orochimaru would personally take her to the Academy to announce their master-disciple relationship.
As expected, at the Academy entrance, a group of kids was gathered, watching in envy.
Seeing Motomu arrive, Orochimaru beckoned him over.
Looking at Orochimaru's pale, sinister face, a line of lyrics popped into Motomu's head.
'I, who should cooperate with your performance, choose to look away...'
He shook his head to clear the stray thoughts.
Motomu forced a smile and approached warmly.
"Sensei, you're here early."
The crowd went quiet for a moment, then erupted in excitement once they realized what was happening.
"What! Lord Orochimaru took two disciples?!"
"You know Namikaze Minato, right? As Lord Jiraiya's disciple, he's barely graduated and he's already famous among the Jonin!"
"As disciples of Lord Orochimaru—who's even stronger than Jiraiya—the future of these two..."
"Damn it! Why do some people get all the luck!"
Jealousy and shock spread among the children.
Having a father with a bigger reputation than the Sannin, Kakashi walked through the crowd with his usual dead-fish eyes, seemingly uninterested.
He suddenly turned his head as Guy, who was watching the master and disciples, became hyper-energetic as if injected with adrenaline.
The thick-browed boy locked onto him from across the crowd.
"This... this is youth!"
"Kakashi! I challenge you to a duel!"
The two of them, one chasing and the other fleeing, vanished into the school building in the blink of an eye.
"Motomu-kun, I will be heading out on a mission today."
Motomu pulled his gaze back from the green youth and the white-haired masked boy.
He turned to Orochimaru.
'Hah, voluntarily telling me you're gone... are you trying to see if I'll slip up?'
Motomu's eyes flickered as he asked with concern.
"I understand, Sensei. When will you be back?"
"I'm not sure. However, you should think about what Ninjutsu you want to learn when I return."
Ninjutsu, huh?
Looks like he's laying out bait.
Since it's bait, I might as well eat it. I just have to avoid the hook.
Motomu recalled Orochimaru's signature jutsu from the original series: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands.
The jutsu itself wasn't much.
But it was directly related to the Ryuchi Cave Summoning Jutsu.
Now that was a god-tier skill.
'If I learn Summoning, couldn't I just summon experience packs?'
'If I can really use summons to farm XP...'
'The snakes in Ryuchi Cave are high-level and plentiful. I could farm forever!'
'I'd be invincible!'
Under Uncle Snake's watchful gaze, Motomu and Anko entered the school.
In the classroom, Teacher Oki cleared his throat.
The chattering children fell silent.
"Yesterday's test results are in."
"By the decision of our honorary principal, the Third Hokage..."
"Our class has been designated as the Academy's Elite Class."
"The curriculum pace will be adjusted..."
"Alright, turn to the first page of Basic Three Jutsu Fundamentals."
As soon as the lesson began.
Endless drowsiness began to assault Motomu's eyelids.
He opened his textbook and propped it up on the desk.
Once his familiar preparations were complete, Motomu, unable to hold out any longer, fell into a deep sleep.
...
"Motomu! Motomu, school is over!"
Motomu felt like he was on a boat, with an endless storm tossing the small vessel high into the air.
He opened his eyes.
Inside the clock above the blackboard, the hour hand pointed to four in the afternoon.
To his left, a 'kappa' was pushing him.
"Guy, let me test you. What did we learn today?"
His seatmate, Might Guy, froze. He didn't seem to expect someone who had slept all day to try and test him.
But then he thought about it and had a realization.
'Of course!'
'Motomu is the disciple of Sannin Orochimaru. He must have mastered the Three Basic Jutsu long ago!'
'Is this a genius testing me?!'
"Motomu! You truly are the genius I must strive to catch up to!"
Motomu: "..."
"My notes! Please, Motomu-san, you must accept them."
Oh, Guy... you're so quick on the uptake. I'm touched.
But I just wanted to know what we learned so I could go ask Anko for her notes!
Knowing that girls' handwriting was usually better, Motomu reluctantly took the notes under Guy's expectant gaze.
Seeing Guy still hesitating as if he wanted to say more, Motomu asked awkwardly.
"Uh, Guy, is there something else?"
"Motomu-san! I challenge you to a duel!"
"Our 30:1 record hasn't changed in a long time."
Guy shouted the record loudly in the classroom.
Obito, who was just about to find Motomu to head home together, immediately turned his head toward the window upon hearing 30:1.
He pretended to admire the scenery, even whistling a little tune.
Kakashi, who was packing his bag to head home, stopped.
Visible beyond his mask, his dead-fish eyes couldn't hide his shock.
After many duels.
Kakashi knew Guy's strength all too well.
Even he could only barely maintain an even record with Guy.
He never expected Motomu to be so strong—strong enough to suppress Guy for 30 matches!
Curiosity began to spread in Kakashi's heart.
Kakashi, who never believed anyone in the Academy could surpass him in strength, felt his conviction waver for the first time.
'Is Motomu really a genius even greater than me?!'