Uchiha Reki scratched his head. "Alright."
The Uchiha senior sighed and gently patted Uchiha Reki on the shoulder.
Logically speaking, being a descendant of both the Senju and Uchiha clans meant his bloodline was completely maxed out. Even if he wasn't invincible among his peers, at the very least he should be able to trade blows evenly.
Yet Uchiha Reki's actual performance had left his fellow clansmen utterly flabbergasted.
During the Ninja Academy tests last time, Uchiha Reki had been beaten so badly by someone from the neighbouring Hyuga family that his eyes literally rolled back into his head.
The time before that, he had been bitten by that dog-taming kid and left howling at the moon.
The time before that, he had been subjected to a one-sided beatdown by a member of his own clan.
And the time before that...
Regarding Uchiha Reki's situation, Uchiha Fugaku had even brought it up seriously at the monthly clan meeting.
He believed that since Uchiha Reki was the first descendant of a marriage between the Senju and Uchiha clans, his circumstances might be somewhat unique, making it temporarily difficult for him to control the chakra within his body.
Consequently, he had assigned an Uchiha senior to tutor him individually, ordering extra coaching sessions after class.
That Uchiha clansman had patted his chest and sworn a solemn oath that he would definitely cultivate Uchiha Reki into an outstanding member of the younger generation.
Then... there was no then.
Aside from the Will of Fire classes, Uchiha Reki's other performances could only be described as utterly pathetic.
His Fire Release was hardly any larger than a cooking flame, and his taijutsu combat was no better.
Not to mention the Sharingan of which the Uchiha clan was so proud.
Eventually, the Uchiha simply gave up and adopted a relaxed educational approach for Uchiha Reki.
If he wanted to practice, fine; if he didn't, screw it.
If he really couldn't graduate, he could just head back to the clan district and set up a street stall—at least he wouldn't starve.
"That's that, I'm heading out."
"See you tomorrow, senior."
After the senior left, Uchiha Reki returned to his room and opened his system interface.
[Name: Uchiha Reki]
[Age: Ten years old]
[Chakra Natures: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water, Yin, Yang]
[Ninjutsu: Wood Release: Wood Clone, Wood Release: Wood Transformation, Wood Release: Wood Substitution, Wood Release, Four-Pillar Prison, Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees — wait, Wood Release: Advent of a Pillar House, Wood Release: Wood Wall, Wood Release: Silent Murder Binding Technique... plus other utterly mediocre techniques like Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique]
[Taijutsu: Senju Clan Strength Enhancement, Uchiha Style Taijutsu]
[Bloodline: Senju Sage Body, Uchiha Bloodline]
Looking at the panel, Uchiha Reki couldn't even keep a straight face.
Apart from the rewards given by the system, it turned out he didn't know a single thing on his own.
After closing the system interface, Uchiha Reki stopped chatting with Senju Hashirama.
He dove straight under the covers and enjoyed a wonderful night's sleep.
Early the next morning, Uchiha Reki arrived at the Ninja Academy right on time.
Because he carried half the bloodline of the Senju clan, Uchiha Reki's status within the Uchiha clan was extremely awkward, and quite a few clansmen looked down on him.
Yet at the academy, Uchiha Reki's popularity was actually not bad.
The moment he walked through the gates of the Ninja Academy, several classmates took the initiative to greet him.
A pretty little red-eyed girl even scampered over in a few quick steps.
"Morning, Reki."
"Oh, it's Kurenai. Morning."
Blushing slightly with shyness, Kurenai Yuhi pulled an exquisite bento box out of her backpack.
"Uchiha Reki, please have this bento."
Uchiha Reki froze, instinctively taking the bento box.
Before he could even express his thanks, Kurenai turned and ran off with a blushing face.
Hey wait, why on earth are you blushing like that?
Did Hinata possess you or something?
Cough, cough, cough. Look at this mess you've made—that delinquent punk Asuma is watching right over there! Aren't you just setting me up to make an enemy?
What am I supposed to do if this Hokage's kid decides to make my life difficult?
Uchiha Reki raised his head and swept his gaze across the surroundings, promptly spotting the hostile look on the face of the rebellious Hokage's son, Asuma.
For an Uchiha loser to get so close to Kurenai—this was simply a blatant disregard for him.
If there weren't so many people around right now, Asuma would have really liked to roll up his sleeves and give Uchiha Reki a severe thrashing.
He thought to himself that if he drew Uchiha Reki's name in the upcoming sparring matches, he would definitely pound him until he was howling in pain.
Uchiha Reki waited for a long time, but the system still didn't pop up with any notifications.
It seemed that simply irritating Asuma wasn't quite enough yet.
He quietly surveyed his surroundings, calculating the targets who could bring him rewards.
First was the genius youth Hatake Sakumo — wait, Hatake Kakashi, who had already graduated and was standing quietly atop the high platform.
This silver-haired youth only needed to stand there quietly to cause a sensation.
Then came Might Guy, the good buddy clad in a green full-body spandex suit who wanted to challenge Kakashi at every turn.
Finally, there was Uchiha Obito—the rising morning sun wearing goggles, shouting about defeating Kakashi, and currently a total idiot.
As for the higher-ups, they were still beyond Uchiha Reki's reach with his current strength.
Still, it didn't matter; sooner or later, these people would come looking for him on their own.
Watching the bustling Ninja Academy, the Senju Hashirama residing within Uchiha Reki couldn't help letting out a sigh of admiration.
"As expected of Tobirama, he really has protected the children well."
As the First Hokage, he held special feelings for the descendants of Konoha.
During the period when Konoha was first founded, the sentiment that resonated most deeply with people was spoken by him:
"The purpose of establishing a village is to allow our descendants to be born in peace and grow up freely until the age when they can taste fine wine."
Senju Hashirama sat cross-legged on the ground, letting out a heartfelt laugh.
"That kid Tobirama really is better suited to be Hokage than I am."
"By the way, Reki, who is the current Hokage?"
Uchiha Reki replied, "Lord Hashirama, the Third Hokage is Lord Sarutobi Hiruzen."
Senju Hashirama nodded. "Ah, the Monkey. He's not bad either; after all, he was Tobirama's prized pupil."
"If I get the chance, I really want to see what the Monkey looks like wearing the Hokage robe."
Uchiha Reki scratched his head and remained silent.
If Senju Hashirama knew that Hatake Sakumo had been driven to suicide, that Orochimaru and Danzo were colluding to conduct human experiments, and that Sarutobi Hiruzen was growing more muddle-headed by the day, he would probably be angry enough to resurrect on the spot...
Just as the young children were romping around, the chief proctor Miyagi Shunsuke clapped his hands.
"Alright, you brats, quiet down! The first round of practical combat tests is about to begin."
"We will base our decision on your performance to determine whether you qualify to graduate."
In the current era, the graduation system of the Ninja Academy was extremely flexible.
As long as students believed they met the conditions, they could submit an application to the Ninja Academy.
For example, the genius youth Kakashi had already graduated at the age of five and quickly promoted to Chunin.
The moment he appeared just now, he had immediately drawn exclamations of awe from quite a few classmates.
Compared to him, Uchiha Reki, who was already ten years old, looked entirely inadequate...
At that moment, Miyagi Shunsuke drew the first slip of paper.
"The first to take the stage is Uchiha Reki."