Reborn as Danzō’s Grandson, Must I Offend the Entire Ninja World?

Uchiha Izumi, a girl who truly lived up to her name.

She had a gentle personality like a spring breeze, a voice as soft as flowing water, long black hair, and a teardrop-shaped mole at the corner of her eye.

One day, she would undoubtedly grow into a rare beauty.

She was also Yami's childhood friend, whom he had met the previous year.

He had witnessed the Nine-Tails Rebellion firsthand.

The colossal fox, towering like a mountain, had rampaged outside the village, leaving destruction in its wake.

At the time, Yami had been escorted to an underground shelter by several guards, where he happened to encounter a panicked Uchiha Izumi.

Naturally, he had stopped the little black-haired girl in her tracks.

Originally, Yami had only possessed a Wind affinity and a latent Yang attribute. His current Fire affinity had come from Izumi.

"Yami."

Izumi's face was flushed, her voice tinged with grievance. "What were you doing over the break? Why didn't you come to see me?"

"I was busy training, Izumi." Yami sighed dramatically, then shifted his gaze to the figure who had entered the room alongside her. "After all, there's a genius like Uchiha Itachi in our class. I have to work hard so I don't bring shame to the Shimura clan."

The one who had come in with Izumi was none other than Uchiha Itachi, the ninja world's most devoted filial son.

There were many orphans in the shinobi world, but Uchiha Itachi was unique in how he actively made himself one. Yami had to respect the dedication.

"You're a genius too, Yami!" Izumi quickly encouraged him, her tone full of admiration.

She wasn't wrong. Before Itachi awakened his Sharingan, Yami might have even been stronger than him.

But after unlocking his eyes, Itachi had become a cheat, skyrocketing to Kage-level in just a few years.

Uchiha Itachi frowned slightly. He had always sensed a certain hostility from Shimura Yami.

Disdain toward the Uchiha clan was common, especially after the Nine-Tails attack. Many people had seen the Sharingan reflected in the beast's eyes, further fueling their suspicion.

But Yami was different. His hostility seemed directed at Itachi alone rather than the entire Uchiha clan. Otherwise, he wouldn't get along so well with Izumi.

"You're not inferior to me in strength, Shimura. We should both continue to work hard and contribute to the village as soon as possible."

Itachi paused briefly before offering these polite words and continuing on his way.

Yami watched his retreating figure, unable to determine whether it was the real Itachi or just a Shadow Clone. He felt the urge to test it.

"Yami, what are you looking at?" Izumi asked curiously.

"Nothing." Yami turned back to her with a smile. "I wasn't able to spend time with you last weekend. How about we go fishing together next week?"

Izumi's eyes immediately brightened, her attention successfully diverted.

"Where should we go? How about the river in Training Ground 35? The scenery there is really nice!"

"I'll leave it up to you," Yami replied with a grin.

Danzō didn't particularly like his close relationship with Uchiha Izumi. They had even argued over it before. But since Yami insisted, Danzō had refrained from using any underhanded methods to interfere.

Perhaps, in his eyes, a marginal Uchiha like Izumi was insignificant, someone harmless who couldn't affect the grand scheme of things.

Even so, he never missed an opportunity to indoctrinate Yami with the belief that the Uchiha clan was inherently evil. Yami had long grown tired of hearing it.

Not long after, the school bell rang, and their homeroom teacher, Kazama Shuichi, walked in.

"Alright, class. Today, we'll be learning how to throw ninja tools…"

Kazama Shuichi wasted no time with pointless lectures or propaganda.

Unlike in the future, where the academy's curriculum shamelessly brainwashed students into believing that the Third Hokage was the strongest in history, the current era was still a time of war.

Minato Namikaze's ascension to Hokage in Konoha Year 50 had only marked the end of large-scale battles.

In reality, aside from the utterly defeated Sunagakure, the other villages had never truly stopped fighting. Although outright wars had ceased, small-scale skirmishes remained constant, keeping the shinobi world in a state of tension.

These students were future military assets, so there was no time for empty rhetoric. The instructors focused on teaching real combat knowledge and survival skills.

Kazama Shuichi scribbled formulas on the blackboard, breaking down the parabolic trajectories of thrown weapons while explaining various shuriken throwing techniques.

The first class was all theory. The second was a practical session, also taught by Shuichi.

Yami led his classmates out of the classroom toward the training grounds for their hands-on practice.

Since there weren't enough targets for everyone, the students paired up. Naturally, Yami was partnered with Izumi.

Itachi, on the other hand, was paired with some random classmate. He picked up three shuriken and casually flicked them forward.

Clang!

The projectiles collided mid-air, ricocheting off each other before embedding into the bullseye in a strangely precise pattern, causing a wave of admiration from the students.

"Amazing! He hit all three!"

"As expected of an Uchiha. He's so strong!"

"Itachi is so cool… Who should I pick, him or Yami?"

"You? Please. You've been eating too much candy lately. I can't let you get carried away. Who's going to knock some sense into her?"

"…"

Izumi ignored the chatter, focusing on her own technique. Though she didn't show off like Itachi, she still landed her shuriken perfectly in the red circle at the center.

"Not bad, Izumi."

Yami praised her sincerely. The little girl beamed with delight and stepped aside.

"You're even better than me, Yami."

"That's right. Watch closely."

Yami smiled as he retrieved a shuriken from his pouch. Their instructor, Kazama Shuichi, also turned his attention toward him.

Shimura Yami and Uchiha Itachi were considered the top two geniuses in their class, both hailing from prestigious clans.

Itachi had just demonstrated his impressive skill. Now, it was Yami's turn.

One second later.

Boom!

Several targets suddenly exploded, sending students into a panic.

Kazama Shuichi's eyes bulged in shock.

"Why… why was there an explosive tag on your shuriken?!"

He had seen it clearly, Yami's shuriken had barely grazed the target, but the explosive tag attached to it had detonated, destroying several nearby targets in the process.

Yami looked completely unfazed.

"It increases the margin for error. If I miss my target, the explosive tag still ensures I hit something."

He turned to Shuichi, his expression calm.

"So? Did it hit or not?"

Kazama Shuichi: "…"

(To be continued.)

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