=3rd Person POV=
Inside a brightly lit office sits a man in white garb layered over a red undershirt. Many proclaim him a protector, hero, and wise battle commander. Others fear the mere mention of his name. That man is Hiruzen Sarutobi, a veteran of decades of warfare, now staring in confusion at the unexpected report on his desk.
"I apologize, Shinra, but did you just say that a Nara took first place in points on the academy entrance exam?"
Nodding, Shinra Yakubo, the academy's second principal, replies, "You are not mistaken, Hokage-sama. Ashira Nara scored first place by a wide margin in both of the first two tests, while placing a respectable fifth in the second one, and got first in point overall."
"And have you noticed any other unexpectedly promising seedlings among this batch?" Hiruzen asks, nodding in acknowledgment.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. There is one Minato—no surname, an orphan, I believe—who scored fourth overall behind Fugaku Uchiha and the Senju heir, who placed second and third respectively. The child seems to have excellent motor reflexes and the agility to match. Other than him and Ashira, the results are as expected, with the majority of clan heirs and children placing in the top half of this year's batch."
Humming thoughtfully, Hiruzen nods. "Very well, you may go—but do keep an eye on those two."
"This is indeed worrying. A prodigal Nara appears right after their clan successfully procures a favorable Fuinjutsu trade deal with the Uzumaki?" says a gravelly voice once Shinra leaves the office.
Hiruzen sighs and turns toward the voice—a man in his thirties with shaggy black hair and a distinct X-shaped scar on his chin. "Be careful what you're implying, old friend. The Nara is a loyal clan of the Leaf and have answered her calls many times during the First War. Besides, with tensions rising, grudges unsettled, and the five major Daimyos calling for expansion, it will do us some good to have potential S-rankers in our roster for the eventual outbreak of the Second War," Hiruzen says, angered by Danzo Shimura, his longtime comrade. Though lately, he wonders if he truly knows Danzo anymore.
Scoffing at the soft-hearted rebuttal, Danzo replies, "It is my duty to suspect the worst in people. I am the shadow of the Leaf—the root of her people. You may play your role in the light as you wish, but do not tell me how to play mine in the dark."
Wood cracks, and the air grows heavy as sudden pressure fills the room, startling the hidden ANBU in the shadows. The source of this phenomenon—Hiruzen—growls, "I am the Hokage, Danzo. We may be comrades, but mind how you speak to me" as he loosens his grip on his chakra, before tightening it, letting the atmosphere settle.
Danzo scoffs with a slight tremble on his body. One hand retreats into his sleeve before he tosses a stack of papers onto Hiruzen's desk. "These are the files on Ashira Nara. I'm sure you'll find them an interesting read. After all, the kid is the son of that man." He leaves the office without another word.
Scrunching his eyebrows in confusion, Hiruzen reaches for the reports. The rustle of flipping pages fills the room as he skims through the information. An abnormally large chakra reserve—estimated at high genin level—at just five years old. Observed during the exam performing a rudimentary form of chakra sticking. Speculated to have been trained in secret by the Nara upper echelon. All signs point to the awakening of the infamous chakra chain construct from his father, Hashira Uzuaki, an A-rank shinobi known as the Crimson Chain Oni. More information to be added later, the document concludes.
Taking a deep breath, Hiruzen begins considering how to bring this young seedling—and by extension, his clan—fully into the fold.
=Ashira POV=
Bootlickers and ass-kissers—the whole lot of them. I mean, I get why most of the clanless kids would want to cozy up to the Senju clan's heir. Humans are social animals, after all. It's only natural for the weak to cling to the strong. But the shamelessness in how they do it is sickening. The kid sneezed once, and they all started clapping like he just sh*t gold.
Shaking my head, I scan the classroom, taking in my new environment. Cliques are already forming. Most prominent is a group of Uchiha clan kids surrounding Fugaku Uchiha on the right, sneering at Nawaki and his fan group. The Uchiha-Senju rivalry is still going strong I see, just before Fugaku turns to give me a nod. Hmm. Sharp senses, that one.
I nod back, then glance left to see the ever-serious Hiashi conversing with his "lackeys." None are branded—yet—but I'd bet my entire savings that some are branch clan and will be branded eventually, like Hizashi.
Scrunching my eyebrows in disgust, I look toward the last group—mostly girls—surrounding a prim and proper Mikoto. Hushed voices and excited whispers drift through the air as they keep mostly to themselves, aside from the occasional blushes and squeaks from making eye contact with their crushes. Said crush, unfortunately, happens to be me more often than not. Shaking my head in regret, I think, I really shouldn't have shown off during those first two tests. Publicly using Water Release—even if it's just a D-rank—didn't help either. I might be flattered if they weren't all five. Seriously, how can kids this young even have a crush?
There are exceptions to the rule, of course—like two lone kids. One with a blond mane, the other with shaggy brown hair and sunglasses. Minato "Namikaze" and Shibi Aburame.
And then there's our group—me, Shikaku, Inoichi, Choza, and now Tsume.
"You look troubled. Want some chips?" Choza asks, holding out his bag with concern.
I shake my head before Tsume cuts in. "That's because he's tired of those filthy skanks trying to get a piece of him."
Damn kid, you're five. How do you even know these things? She's been sticking with us—well, with me—since I bested her in the second test. In her own words, she considers me the alpha of the class and won't leave my side until she beats me. Damn Inuzuka and their animalistic worldview.
Shaking off my thoughts, I say, "I'm just a bit uncomfortable, that's all. Thanks, Choza, but I'm not hungry."
"That's what you get for showing off," Shikaku mutters with a lazy scoff, Inoichi nodding beside him with a hint of jealousy. Jeez, with friends like these...
"Thanks for your glowing support, cousin. But if you keep that lip up, I'll tell Auntie how you fell asleep during the exam."
A shiver runs down his spine as Shikaku sits upright and counters, "You wouldn't dare. Or I'm snitching to Aunt Yasuka about the time you tried to sneak into the shinobi training ground."
Back and forth banter continues until Jin-sensei walks in and starts our lesson.
~4 Hours Later~
Ughhh, worst school day ever, I think, after enduring hours of addition and subtraction. At least the history class was interesting. Did you know the One-Tailed Beast was captured by Reto, the first Kazekage, without Hashirama's help?
For a bunch of desert dwellers, the Suna guys are surprisingly badass. If only the lessons weren't soaked in propaganda. Blaming the entire Cloud village for Tobirama's death, when they lost their Kage in the same skirmish? Or how the other four villages are greedy, while our Hokage and Daimyo are saints? Yeah, right.
Internally scoffing, I think, It's more like those greedy Daimyo start wars to maintain power by thinning the shinobi ranks. I get it though—dehumanizing the enemy is step one in creating child soldiers.
Pushing those thoughts aside, I turn to Shikaku as we walk home. "Wanna go to the forest? I haven't seen Katsuko in a while."
"Sure. Neither of my parents are home anyway, so why not?" Shikaku answers after a moment.
Walking with a skip in my step, we arrive at the large Nara estate that guards the forest. We pass through and walk deeper into the open grassland.
"Katsuko! Natsuko! Shik and I are here!" I shout.
Rustling leaves answer as two young deer run out, cooing and nipping at us. Ahh, this is life—surrounded by fluff, cloud watching. The only thing that could make it better is summoning Salt, Pepper, and Mr. Buttercup. I would've made a damn good Nara, I think, if this world weren't so terrible.
"Hey Ashira, what are y'all hiding? You, Dad, Uncle, Auntie, and the other elders," Shikaku suddenly asks, curious.
I stilled at the unexpected question.
"I've seen the looks, you know. Everyone has. Uncle and Auntie look worried. The elders... they look at you like you're Hashirama reborn, like you are the hope of our clan. I'm the clan heir, and even I don't get those looks. That must be a lot of pressure. Just saying—if you ever want to talk, I'm here. It'll be a drag, but still, We're family."
Uncle and the elders are going to yell at me for this, but Shikaku's the heir. He'll find out eventually. Better he hears it from me than some official announcement.
Resigned to another round of beatings from Hanabei, I raise my hands and form the hand sign for the Divine Dog.
Shikaku stares slack-jawed as Salt and Pepper materialize.
"It's a new kekkei genkai. I can summon more, but these two will do for now," I say.
"Soft and warm, are they?" he asks, petting one.
"Chakra constructs, from what we know. I'm till learning, so can't really tell you how it works" I reply.
"I see," is all Shikaku says before we fall into a comfortable silence.
Here's my patreon
https://www.patreon.com/c/DannyPhantom7112
For those of you peeps who want to support me. No advance chaps yet, but there will be. Do note tho that this is not mandatory, and all of my contents will not be locked behind paywall. Patreon are just chapters that i haven't edited yet.