The Ninja Academy operated on a three-term school year:
Term one started on April 1st and ended in mid-July.
Term two ran from early September until the end of December.
Term three began in early January and wrapped up at the end of March.
April 1st, Year 54 of the Hidden Leaf.
The Ninja Academy was once again starting its first term of the new school year.
Sixth-year students had already graduated by the end of March—
some became official Genin,
some stayed back to repeat the year,
some were specially recruited by certain departments,
and others dropped out and left the path of the ninja entirely.
As for the other grades,
today marked their formal promotion to the next level.
The now-empty first-year classrooms were about to welcome a new batch of students who had passed the entrance test.
Izayoi was one of them.
Unlike the other new students who arrived with parents or older siblings,
Izayoi was one of the few who came alone.
Also unlike the other students—who looked on in envy at their peers surrounded by family—
Izayoi showed no signs of envy or jealousy.
His eyes simply observed.
But he wasn't observing their appearances—
he was observing something only he could see.
[Ninja Aptitude (White)]
[Chakra Control (Green)]
[Chūnin Aptitude (Green)]
Whenever Izayoi stared at someone with focus,
bubbles would appear around them.
Each bubble came in different colors,
and inside the bubbles were words that matched the color.
Some people didn't have any bubbles at all.
That could mean they had no talent—
or that their talents weren't even high enough to register, like skills related to civilian life, which weren't included in this system.
This was Izayoi's cheat.
Izayoi had no surname—only a given name.
According to the director of the orphanage,
his name came from the night he was born: June 16th.
He lived at the orphanage until the age of three,
learning to speak, read, and pick up basic survival skills.
Then the director took him back to his home—
and brought him to the cemetery to meet his parents for the first and last time.
He was born into a ninja family.
Both of his parents had no clan name—they were orphans too.
His father had been a Chūnin in the village.
Unfortunately, during a mission, his entire squad was wiped out, including their Jōnin leader.
His mother died giving birth to him.
With her final breath, she didn't entrust him to his father or any close friends—
she asked the doctor to send him to the orphanage.
The orphanage was funded by the village,
so there was no worry of them scheming over Izayoi's inheritance.
And indeed, they never did.
Izayoi wasn't surprised by the fact that he had to learn to live independently at just three years old.
After understanding what kind of world he had crossed into,
Izayoi realized something important:
the chosen one of this world also lived alone at three.
That guy was even more badass—
taking a solitary walk through a snowy night at that age.
The world of Naruto.
Also known as: The Tale of Five-Village Brawls and Eye Battles or Black Zetsu's Search for Mom.
Even though this world revolved entirely around clan drama within the Ōtsutsuki family,
a world built on bloodlines and pedigree,
Izayoi wasn't afraid.
Though he was just a nameless orphan, without any Kekkei Genkai,
he didn't despair.
Because…
he had a cheat!
The Talent Perk System.
It awakened when Izayoi turned one.
Besides letting him see those bubbles above people's heads,
Izayoi could also summon a glowing screen in his mind,
one that only he could see—
a screen that didn't even show up in mirrors.
The screen displayed his personal information—
and a newbie gift pack.
Though he had already used the gift pack when he turned three.
Now, the info displayed on his screen looked very different—
and far more luxurious.
As Izayoi walked into the Ninja Academy,
he called up the screen in his mind.
[Host: Izayoi]
[Talent Perks: Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Red), Kage-Level Aptitude (Gold), Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (Purple), All-Attribute Constitution (Purple), Medical Genius (Blue), Chakra Control (Blue)]
[Points: 25]
While most people had one or two bubbles—
or even none—
Izayoi had six talent perks.
But back when he first awakened the system,
he only had one—[Chūnin Aptitude (Green)].
Everything changed at age three.
That year, Izayoi rewrote his fate—
and became the greatest natural talent of his generation.
When it came to raw potential,
there were only people as gifted as him—none better.
The talent perk levels were:
White, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, Red.
※ Note: This tier list wasn't provided by the system.
Izayoi figured it out himself.
And he was sure—
there were levels even beyond red.
He just didn't know what color came next.
The main function of the Talent Perk System was to let the host obtain other people's talent perks.
He figured out two ways to do it:
1. Defeat the target.
If both sides are evenly matched, there's a good chance of getting a low-level perk, and a small chance of a high-level one.
If you punch above your level and win, you'll almost certainly get a high-level perk, and guaranteed to get a low-level one.
If it's a total one-sided stomp, there's a tiny chance to get a perk at all—low or high.
2. The Newbie Gift Pack.
One-time use.
Lets you copy a talent perk from anyone of your choice.
When Izayoi realized he'd reincarnated into the world of his childhood obsession—Naruto—
and was born on June 16, Year 48 of the Hidden Leaf,
right in the same generation as the Nine Rookie Stars—
he didn't hesitate.
He planned to use the gift pack on Uzumaki Naruto.
After all, Naruto wasn't just the protagonist of the story—
he was also the reincarnation of Asura, the Sage of Six Paths' son,
the inheritor of the Sage's body,
a vessel for the untapped Uzumaki bloodline,
and the Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki.
Even though Naruto couldn't pronounce "chakra" properly,
even if he didn't know how to mold chakra,
his bloodline and the seal within him constantly pushed his chakra higher.
As long as Naruto had a perk related to Asura
—or the Sage's body—
Izayoi could copy it.
Instant potential boost.
Uchiha Sasuke was also a tempting candidate.
He too was a reincarnation—this time of Indra, the Sage's other son.
He inherited the Sage's eyes.
But just when Izayoi was searching for them,
he passed by a member of the Hyūga clan on the street—
and had a sudden epiphany.
He shelved the Naruto idea for now.
In this era of the ninja world,
Naruto and Sasuke truly were the top-tier talents.
Just like Hashirama and Madara before them,
they were both reincarnations of the Sage's sons.
Not only did they have Kage-level potential,
but they also had the Sage's divine plot armor.
Once they unlocked their potential,
they were guaranteed to become Kage-level powerhouses.
And if they gained the Sage's powers later,
they'd surpass even Hashirama and Madara—
and ascend to the legendary Six Paths level.
On Earth,
no one had greater potential than those two.
But…
what about beyond Earth?