NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Chapter 1
**Konoha, 41 Years Ago**
After the Second Ninja World War, a baby boom occurred, and this timing coincided with the arrival of a new batch of young students at the Ninja Academy.
Kakashi, now five and a half years old, had already been chosen as a student representative to welcome the new students.
"Hey! Kakashi..."
The childhood version of Runto, with goggles, approached the brooding young boy with dead fish eyes and messy hair.
Pushing Obito away with mild distaste, Kakashi said unhappily, "Idiot, stay away from me."
Obito, usually carefree, seemed to have something on his mind. He hesitated, not wanting to speak up or leave.
"Obito, is there something you want to say to Kakashi?" A girl with purple markings on her cheeks asked.
This was Rin Nohara, the only member of Minato's team who would tragically lose her life in the future Third Ninja World War.
"Idiot, if you have something to say, just say it! Hokage-sama and the others will be here soon!"
The Ninja Academy didn't have a very strict system. Each semester lasted about six months, and new students joined every term. The duration of their studies also varied, generally based on battlefield conditions.
If there was peace, students could study for a few more years, but in times of war, graduation was pushed forward.
After all, no matter how you dressed it up, the Ninja Academy was essentially just a killer training institution.
After a moment's hesitation, Obito leaned close to Kakashi's ear and whispered:
"Kakashi... one of my clan members is enrolling today, and he..."
"He's a scary guy! He especially likes to target me!"
"Don't be fooled by his behavior, he's actually a very bad person!"
"Plus... I heard the clan let him into the Academy just to deal with you... Ouch!"
*Clatter...*
A stone rolled down the back of Obito's head with a crisp sound.
"Goggles, it's not a good habit to talk bad about people behind their backs."
If there had been some dramatic background music and the sound of cherry blossoms falling, it would've felt like a pure love drama.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
"Asshole! My name isn't Goggles! I'm Uchiha Obito!"
"Okay, goggles, I get it, goggles."
The boy who spoke had short black curly hair, bright eyes full of life, and a smile that revealed his youthful innocence.
Obito's eyes immediately turned red. If Rin hadn't held him back, he would have rushed at Uchiha Kagami to fight him.
Uchiha Kagami was the boy's name, the same as the late second-generation master's subordinate. He was originally an orphan of the Uchiha clan, adopted by Uchiha Kagami's wife.
She named him in honor of her late husband.
It's a common practice for people here to adopt names in memory of others, similar to how Uchiha Sasuke later took the name of Sarutobi Hiruzen's father, Sarutobi Sasuke, as a sign of respect.
Of course, Fugaku probably did this to express his submission to the cause.
Uchiha Kagami knew well enough where the future was headed. After all, just the night before he traveled through time, he'd been arguing for hours on the forum about the "Konoha timeline."
In the end, both sides had presented plenty of evidence, but neither convinced the other.
It was too messy, impossible to make sense of.
They'd agreed to take a break, but Uchiha Kagami had broken the truce.
...
Well, he wanted to see what exactly was going on with this timeline!
Looking at the three young kids in front of him, Uchiha Kagami felt somewhat nostalgic.
As an outsider, he could joke about how "it's difficult to hide tears despite divine power."
But as an Uchiha...
It wasn't funny.
If the main cause behind the Uchiha clan's downfall wasn't rooted in a deep-seated issue that had existed since the village's creation, eliminating Runto wouldn't have stopped things from unfolding the way they did.
Uchiha Kagami had long considered eliminating him.
"Kami, don't bully Obito!"
An old woman, holding a baby with a small nose, approached. The baby, though still young, already had the beginnings of what would become his distinct features.
This baby was none other than Uchiha Kagami's sworn brother, who would later be known as Shisui.
"Ah~"
"Grandma, I was just teasing him out of affection. Look how fierce he is. He looks like he wants to punch me!"
"Ah!!! Rin! Let me go! I'll beat him to death!"
"That beautiful lady, please let him go. I want to see how he'll try to beat me to death."
Looking at the two bickering at the school gate, Kakashi shook his head in resignation.
"Uchiha Kagami, right? Quiet down and prepare for the entrance ceremony. Hokage-sama and the others are coming soon."
The maturity of children in the ninja world was extraordinary. While children in the original world had trouble expressing themselves at such a young age, those who progressed quickly here were already engaging in battles and killings.
Uchiha Kagami glanced at Kakashi with interest. "Dead fish eyes and broomhead Kakashi?"
*Stretch...*
A large bump appeared on Kakashi's forehead, and he clenched his fists tightly.
"I am Hatake Kakashi!" he emphasized, each word sharp and full of frustration.
This was already considered bullying by nickname! It was worse than Obito's nickname!
Obito, once flushed, now had a deep red hue on his face.
"Hahahaha! Dead fish eyes and broomhead!! Hahaha... um—"
Rin Nohara covered her mouth, nodding to a few others, before happily dragging Obito away.
Rage, excitement, happiness... Tsk, if Obito were stimulated just a little more, he might even open his eyes.
Walking closer to Kakashi, Uchiha Kagami patted him on the shoulder with a harmless smile. "Please take good care of me in the future, Kakashi-kun."
"Grandma, please take Shisui home quickly!"
---
Once all the children had arrived, Sarutobi Hiruzen, though no longer young, took the stage and began his speech.
It was the same old "Will of Fire," unchanged since the first generation, a vague and contradictory set of values.
The more he listened, the more bored he became. Uchiha Kagami narrowed his eyes and sank into his mental space.
---
In the dark red-toned cubic mental space, a vermilion iron railing divided the room.
A strong smell of blood pervaded, emanating from the sealed area.
Above the countless dried corpses stood a god of death, soaring through the sea of blood.
"Two-faced Sukuna."
This name belonged to a two-faced, four-armed mythical figure who had once been human. A thousand years ago, during the peak of sorcery, he defeated all the sorcerers by himself.
He was the symbol of evil, the extremely cruel King of Curses.
Now, two souls from different times and spaces met in the Ninja World.
"Good morning, four-armed monster."
On the other side of the seal, a massive shadow loomed, a pair of scarlet eyes glimmering with fury.
"Little devil... I told you..."
"Don't look at me without permission!"
The horrific darkness swept across the space, but it could not breach the seal.
Uchiha Kagami smiled up at the seal, completely ignoring Sukuna's threat.
Though he'd been frightened at first, after several failed attempts, Sukuna couldn't break the seal and take control.
And as Kagami grew older, he discovered he had a degree of control over the seal.
"You should feel lucky to be hiding in my body. I heard that some guy named Kakarot is coming to beat you."
"Who's Kakarot?"
Uchiha Kagami raised a hand and punched the air.
"Just like that. He's the guy who can blow up the earth with a single punch."
Sukuna scoffed, furious.
"Little ghost, there's never been such a powerful man, ancient or modern. What nonsense are you spewing?"
"You have short hair and little knowledge," Uchiha Kagami sneered, waving his hand dismissively.
"Don't even mention Kakarot. Everyone here can beat you without breaking a sweat."
"Shut up!"
The original Sukuna would never have lost his composure so easily, but now things were different.
This damned seal made it impossible for him to even glimpse the outside world.
Damn it!
He had just defeated Gojo Satoru and hadn't even had the chance to gloat before being tossed into this hellish place.
Damn it, was Space Slash really that strong?
In the sealed corner, Uchiha Kagami saw a faint trail of black smoke seeping through the seal and quickly sealed it again.
He gathered the black energy and swallowed it easily, feeling techniques related to slashing form in his mind.
"Okay, I'll take today's rent here. I'll be back when I'm done."
"Goodbye~"
---
"Asshole! Come back here!!"
In the darkness, Sukuna fumed with helpless fury.