In a house belonging to the Uchiha Clan in Konoha Village, a four-year-old boy stared intently at himself in the mirror, especially at the beautiful eyes within his own, before letting out a long sigh after a long while.
Just five minutes prior, he had awakened memories of his past life. It was an unremarkable life, and the only thing that could benefit him in this life was having watched the anime "Naruto" in his previous life.
Due to the significant Chakra depletion, he had to stop examining his beautiful one-tomoe Sharingan. People always possess a strong ability to adapt; since he was here, he would make the best of it, and he had to figure out how to plan his future path right now.
This seemed simple, but it was actually quite tricky. This was a world fraught with danger. Watching the anime, he only felt how exciting it was, but in reality, this was a world where children had to enter a paramilitary academy at a young age, and go to the battlefield to kill enemies after graduating from elementary school. To say this world was dark was a mild assessment; to call it cruel and lawless was not an overstatement.
Moreover, even if they survived the Shinobi World War, the Uchiha Clan still faced the crisis of annihilation. Against someone with two and a half Mangekyo Sharingan, no one could guarantee their survival.
Just as he was pondering the significant life question of “to be or not to be,” a violent knocking sound suddenly rang out: “Mukaku, you little brat, are you done yet? I can barely hold it in!”
Uchiha Mukaku, whose thoughts were interrupted, sullenly opened the bathroom door. His cheap dad immediately rushed into the toilet like a gust of wind, followed by a torrent of excretion sounds.
Back in his room, Uchiha Mukaku wrote down his disadvantages in his notebook: young age, lack of strength, and little influence.
Then, in the advantages column, he wrote: outstanding appearance, possession of a Bloodline Limit, and knowledge of historical trends.
This made Uchiha Mukaku feel a pang of frustration. Although he knew the historical trajectory of the Ninja World, this knowledge was useless unless he was in a high position. While a good appearance was nice, it was of no help to a Ninja's work.
Possessing a Bloodline Limit was indeed good; the Sharingan was already a unique and powerful force in the Ninja World, but his opponents also possessed it, and they might even have the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Thinking of this, Uchiha Mukaku threw down his pen and stared at the ceiling, contemplating. The only thing he could do now was to improve his basic strength; otherwise, all plans would just be pipe dreams.
However, Uchiha Mukaku did not believe he could surpass those true geniuses by relying solely on his own efforts. He had to receive a tilt in family resources and focused training to truly strengthen himself.
Thus, he wrote down Kakashi Hatake's name in his notebook. The fastest way to become a genius was to defeat another genius. Kakashi Hatake graduated from the Ninja Academy at 5, became a Chunin at 6, and was promoted to Jonin at 12. This was an extremely rare achievement in Konoha Village's history, unsurpassed to this day.
According to his memories, Uchiha Mukaku found that he was the same age as his opponent. As long as he could defeat this genius, he would definitely receive strong support from the Uchiha Clan.
Thinking of this, Uchiha Mukaku immediately took action. With a year to prepare, he would definitely not be inferior to Kakashi Hatake.
This was not because Uchiha Mukaku considered himself exceptionally talented, but as an adult who had awakened memories of his past life, he had many advantages in basic learning. For instance, he had stronger intrinsic motivation, was more self-disciplined, and had clear goals—all qualities that children lacked.
After finalizing his plan, the cunning Uchiha Mukaku immediately began training. His first step was to run through the Uchiha Clan's independent commercial street.
That's right, he wanted everyone to see his diligent efforts, to establish an image of hard work from a young age, paving the way for his future rise to prominence.
Uchiha Mukaku did not hesitate at all, immediately setting off, opening the door and heading out into the yard.
His father, Uchiha Yukio, looked at his son rushing out the door with a puzzled expression, secretly wondering what the little brat was up to now.
At noon, seeing his son return somewhat disheveled and alone, Uchiha Yukio couldn't help but show a pained expression. He didn't say much, just quietly prepared the meal and sat by, waiting for his son to come to the table. Watching his son gobble down his food, Uchiha Yukio proactively asked, "Did you go out to play today?"
Uchiha Mukaku, who was wolfing down his food, mumbled in response, "I'm exercising!"
This surprised Uchiha Yukio. Although he had started teaching the child early, children usually lacked the patience to settle down and study. He hadn't expected the child to suddenly take an interest in exercising today.
This made Uchiha Yukio's heart sink. Their family's situation was rather peculiar. His father, Uchiha Setsuna, was extremely dissatisfied with Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's policies towards the Uchiha Clan, and had always yearned to reclaim sovereignty from the Senju Clan, making him a hawk within the Uchiha Clan.
Later, his father's actions of inciting Uchiha Clan members to rebel were discovered by the Second Hokage. Ultimately, Setsuna was arrested by Anbu members dispatched by the Second Hokage and imprisoned.
Although the Second Hokage did not involve others, this led to Uchiha Yukio's lineage being greatly neglected. He had few friends when he was young, and he never expected his son's situation to be even worse than his own.
After the child finished eating, Uchiha Yukio, who had been silent for a long time, asked, "Why are you exercising?"
Uchiha Mukaku raised his eyes and answered very seriously, "I want to become the strongest person in the world!"
The old father, feeling guilty towards his child, felt another pang of sadness upon hearing his son's forceful reply. However, he concealed it well, pausing slightly and adjusting his emotions before saying, "Oh, that's a grand ideal, but it won't be easy to achieve!"
"It's okay, I can endure hardship!" Uchiha Mukaku's eyes sparkled as he replied firmly.
"Then let me help you. Don't you dare give up easily, you little brat!" Uchiha Yukio said with a smile.
"Eh, Dad, aren't you busy?" Uchiha Mukaku asked curiously.
"I still have time for this." Uchiha Yukio gently stroked his son's head, replying very gently.
Uchiha Mukaku slapped his hand away, pouting, "I'm not a child anymore!"
Uchiha Yukio burst into laughter, replying, "Yes, with your own ideals, you've grown up!"