Early summer, the 32nd year of Konoha.
The Ninja Academy training grounds were already buzzing with noise.
On the high platform stood the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, clad in his ceremonial robe, a pipe held in his hand. His mouth opened and closed rhythmically as he delivered a speech filled with passion.
"Where the leaves dance, the fire will burn…
The light of the fire will illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout…"
Below the platform, a group of newly graduated brats clutched their forehead protectors, their blood boiling with excitement. Their eyes shone brightly, as if they couldn't wait to charge onto the battlefield and spill their blood for Konoha.
In the very back row, however, Uchiha Tobirama yawned, his eyes full of helplessness.
How many years had Hiruzen Sarutobi been repeating this same speech?
Didn't he ever get tired of it?
This wasn't the "Will of Fire." It was clearly a top-tier pyramid-scheme brainwashing session of the ninja world.
It only worked on kids who had never seen blood.
As a transmigrator, Tobirama understood this far too well.
The Second Ninja World War had already begun. The front lines were stretched thin, and that old man was eager to shove this batch of freshly graduated genin onto the battlefield as cannon fodder.
Calling them "new leaves" was just a prettier way of saying "fresh meat."
"Tch, what rotten luck…" Tobirama touched his forehead protector, grumbling inwardly.
Being reborn as an orphan of the Uchiha Clan was bad enough. Landing smack in the middle of this chaotic era was even worse.
Fortunately, his talent in this life was decent. At twelve, he had already awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan and had been praised as a "genius" by several clan elders.
But that was all it was—a genius.
On a battlefield where human lives were worth less than grass, geniuses who hadn't fully matured died the fastest.
Just as Tobirama was pondering how to survive the coming carnage, a clear "ding" suddenly echoed in his mind.
[Ding! Host resentment detected. Conditions met. Hokage King System successfully bound!]
[Beginner gift pack issued. Would you like to claim it?]
Tobirama froze for a heartbeat—then the corners of his mouth curved upward uncontrollably.
The cheat had arrived.
Survive? To hell with that. He was going all in.
"Claim!"
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Three-Tomoe Sharingan (Instant Evolution)!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Uchiha-style Shuriken Jutsu (Max Level, God-like Proficiency)!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Fire Release Ninjutsu Compendium (Mastery)!]
[Ding! Congratulations to the Host for obtaining: Lightning Release Ninjutsu Compendium (Mastery)!]
Boom!
A warm current surged through his limbs and bones.
Tobirama felt as if his eyes were scorched by fire—burning hot, aching—then suddenly, everything became incomparably clear.
The world transformed before his eyes.
The flow of the wind, the subtle tremble of distant leaves, even the pores on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face atop the platform were all perfectly visible.
Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
This was a realm that many Uchiha would never reach in their entire lives—yet he had stepped into it instantly.
As for the vast ninjutsu knowledge flooding his mind, it felt less like memorization and more like instinct, as though it had been carved directly into his bones.
At that moment, Tobirama wanted nothing more than to laugh toward the heavens.
Cannon fodder? Humans have limits—but from today onward, he was a cheater.
"All right, dismissed!" Hiruzen Sarutobi finally concluded. "Follow your respective jōnin instructors and begin your missions!"
Cheers erupted across the training grounds as instructors began gathering their teams.
A chūnin holding a roster called out, "Team 7! Uchiha Tobirama, Tanaka Jiro, Suzuki Ai. Follow me."
Suppressing the wild excitement in his heart, Tobirama followed them back to the classroom.
The room was noisy, filled with excited speculation about who their jōnin instructor might be.
With a loud bang, the door was kicked open.
A beautiful woman with wavy blonde hair stepped inside.
Even dressed in a loose combat uniform, her voluptuous figure was impossible to hide—especially the armor over her chest, stretched taut and eye-catching.
It was Tsunade.
She wasn't yet the infamous gambler who lost every bet. This was Princess Tsunade of Konoha, fresh from carving her name into the battlefield.
Her gaze swept the room, pausing on Uchiha Tobirama for a full two seconds before her brows knitted tightly.
"Team 7," she said coldly. "You're with me."
Her tone was sharp, as though everyone present owed her five million ryō.
Tanaka Jiro and Suzuki Ai—two civilian-background kids—turned red with excitement and hurried after her.
Tobirama followed at the rear, muttering inwardly. Had the Third Hokage lost his mind?
Assigning an Uchiha to be trained by a Senju?
That was like tossing a lit cigarette into a powder keg.
Everyone knew the Uchiha and the Senju were sworn enemies. Even if open conflict had ended, the undercurrents never disappeared.
"Is he trying to win me over… or have Tsunade keep an eye on me?" Tobirama sneered as he stared at her back.
Either way, as long as his fist was strong enough, every scheme was nothing but paper.
Meanwhile, Tsunade was in just as foul a mood.
"That old man really is senile," she fumed.
Two civilian deadweights were bad enough—but adding an Uchiha on top of that?
And an Uchiha named "Tobirama," no less.
That was her second grandfather's name.
How much did this brat's parents have to hate the Senju to name him like that?
"Just looking at that fan crest irritates me," Tsunade ground her teeth, fists cracking.
If it weren't for the village's situation, she would've tossed him straight back to the Uchiha compound.
Training Ground Three—a dense forest with a clearing at its center.
Tsunade turned around, arms crossed, her presence crashing down on them like a physical weight.
"Introductions," she said arrogantly.
"I'm Tsunade. I like gambling—ahem—I like things that are straightforward. I hate indecisive people, and I hate the old man. Since you're on my team, don't expect me to babysit you."
Tanaka Jiro rushed forward nervously. "I—I'm Tanaka Jiro! I like ramen, and my d-dream is to become Hokage!"
Suzuki Ai followed, face flushed. "I'm Suzuki Ai. I like flower arranging… and I h-hate bugs."
Textbook cannon fodder.
Tsunade didn't even bother listening. Her eyes locked directly onto Uchiha Tobirama.
Unfazed, Tobirama stepped forward with a faintly playful smile.
"Uchiha Tobirama."
"I like beautiful things—powerful ninjutsu, beautiful… scenery."
"I hate things that irritate me. Especially pointless probing."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed.
This brat was arrogant—blatantly so.
"Very good," she sneered, rolling her wrists.
"You know the situation on the front lines. I don't have time to play house."
"And I certainly don't have time to teach you how to throw shuriken."
"Today's test is simple: attack me with the intent to kill."
"If you can force me to take even half a step back, or last ten minutes without falling, you pass."
"You have five minutes to discuss tactics."
With that, Tsunade leaned against a tree, closed her eyes, and ignored them entirely.
Tanaka Jiro and Suzuki Ai panicked instantly.
"A jōnin? This is the survival drill, right?!"
"We're dead—we can't beat her!"
Their eyes turned helplessly toward the only clan-born member on the team.
Tobirama remained calm. "Simple."
"When it starts, you two stay back. Throw feints if you can. I'll handle the main attack."
"Huh?!" Tanaka Jiro gaped. "W-Will that even work?"
"Otherwise you'll just get yourselves killed. Don't get in my way."
Without waiting for their response, Tobirama turned to face Tsunade.
"We're ready."
Tsunade opened her eyes, gaze sharp. "Then begin."
The words had barely fallen when—
Swish! Swish!
Two figures were sent flying.
Before they could even see Tsunade move, Tanaka Jiro and Suzuki Ai were already dangling from a distant tree branch, eyes rolled back, foam at their mouths.
Instant defeat.
That was the brutal gap between jōnin and genin.
Only Uchiha Tobirama remained.
Tsunade dusted off her hands. "The clutter's gone. Your turn, Uchiha brat."
Her lips curved slightly. "Let's see if you're worthy of that name."
Tobirama inhaled sharply. Chakra erupted within his body.
His black pupils instantly turned blood-red.
Three black tomoe spun slowly, radiating an eerie light.
"Three tomoe?!" Tsunade's eyes tightened.
He was twelve—hadn't the report said two?
Before she could process it, Tobirama vanished.
"Body Flicker Technique!"
Fast—terrifyingly fast.
Lightning Release chakra stimulated his cells while the Three-Tomoe Sharingan tracked every movement. His speed burst past normal jōnin limits, brushing the edge of Kage-level.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
Midair, his hands blurred—six hand seals in a single second.
A massive fireball over five meters wide roared forward, heat waves rolling violently.
This was no genin-level technique.
"Interesting!" Tsunade barked, advancing instead of retreating.
No hand seals. Chakra gathered instantly in her heel.
"Heavenly Foot of Pain!"
The ground exploded.
Gravel and stone burst upward like shrapnel, forming a wall that violently smashed the fireball apart.
Smoke and dust filled the clearing.
"It's not over," Tobirama's cold voice rang out.
"Shuriken Manipulation Technique: Phoenix Sage Fire!"
A dozen flame-wreathed shuriken curved through the air, attacking from every blind spot.
Nearly invisible steel wires linked them together.
"Tch. Child's play."
Tsunade twisted through the air with inhuman agility, dodging every strike.
Exactly as planned.
Tobirama yanked the wires.
Zzzzt!
Lightning surged across the steel.
"Lightning Release: Spider Web!"
A technique born from experience and mastery. Dodge, and you'd fall straight into the net.
Tsunade felt the air grow numb—and her expression finally changed.
This wasn't the combat sense of a fresh graduate.
Fire to bait. Shuriken to control space. Lightning to seal the trap.
Layered, ruthless, precise.
"Enough!" Tsunade snapped.
Anger flared.
Being pushed this far by a twelve-year-old—how could she tolerate that?
She slammed her fist into the ground.
"Super Strength Punch!"
Power detonated outward.
The earth warped as if crushed by a giant hand. Trees shattered. Steel wires snapped. Everything was annihilated.
The shockwave hurled Tobirama away.
He flipped several times before landing firmly, carving two deep trenches into the grass beneath his feet.
Blood surged in his veins.
So this was Tsunade—one of the future Sannin.
A living tyrannosaurus.
If that punch had landed cleanly, he would've been reduced to paste.
The dust settled.
Tsunade stood amid the ruins, clothes dusty, hair slightly disheveled—but uninjured.
Her eyes, however, had changed.
No longer those of an instructor.
But of a combatant.
"Uchiha Tobirama…" she murmured.
"Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Fire and Lightning mastery. Combat intuition far beyond his age."
"Seems the old man didn't screw me over after all."
"He sent me a monster."
Tobirama straightened, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
This—this was what he wanted.
Fists against flesh. Life and death. Pure, unfiltered combat.
Even in this brief clash, every cell in his body was screaming with excitement.
The Sharingan spun wildly, recording every one of Tsunade's movements.
"Hey, Tsunade-sensei," Tobirama suddenly laughed—the unmistakable arrogance of an Uchiha.
His hands formed an unfamiliar seal.
Chakra compressed violently, emitting a sharp, chirping cry—Lightning Release pushed to its extreme.
"Warm-up's over, right?"
"Now I'm getting serious."
"Don't disappoint me."
Veins bulged on Tsunade's forehead.
"You little brat!"
"You dare look down on me?!"
"If I don't beat you into the ground today, I won't be called Tsunade!"
Boom!
Her chakra exploded outward, dense and terrifying, as if solid.
The ground beneath her feet collapsed once more.
The next second—
Two figures collided like meteors, crashing together in the heart of the training ground.