Chapter 1: Izayoi, the Talent Trait System
The Ninja Academy has three semesters in a year:
The first semester runs from April 1st to mid-July.
The second starts in early September and ends in late December.
The third runs from early January to the end of March.
April 1st, Year 54 of the Hidden Leaf Village (Konoha).
The Ninja Academy welcomes a new academic year and the start of the first semester.
The sixth-year students had already graduated by the end of March—some became official Genin (lower-rank ninja), others repeated a year, some were specially recruited by certain departments, and a few dropped out, choosing not to pursue the path of a ninja.
As for the other grades, students officially moved up today.
The vacant first-year classrooms were about to welcome new students who passed the entrance assessment.
Izayoi was one of them.
Unlike other new students who were accompanied by parents or older siblings, Izayoi was among the few who came alone.
Also, unlike other newcomers who looked on with envy at their classmates being escorted by family, Izayoi's gaze held no jealousy or longing—only observation.
And he wasn't observing their appearances.
He was looking at something only he could see:
[Ninja Aptitude (White)]
[Chakra Control (Green)]
[Chūnin Aptitude (Green)]
Whenever Izayoi focused his attention on someone, floating bubbles would appear around them.
The colors of the bubbles varied, and inside each was text matching the bubble's color.
Some people had no bubbles at all—either because they had no talents, or their abilities were too low to register. Talents related to non-combat roles, like civilian professions, were not included.
This was Izayoi's cheat ability—his "golden finger."
He had no surname, only the name Izayoi, which, according to the orphanage director, was because he was born on the night of June 16th.
After living in the orphanage until the age of three—learning to read, speak, and basic survival skills—he was sent home by the director and taken to visit his parents' graves.
It turned out he was born into a ninja family. Both his parents were orphans without surnames.
His father was a Chūnin of the village, who sadly died during a mission where the entire team, including their Jonin leader, was killed.
His mother died from childbirth complications. With her last breath, rather than entrust Izayoi to her husband or friends, she asked the doctor to send him to the orphanage.
The orphanage was run by the village, and wouldn't covet the inheritance left to Izayoi.
And so it was.
Izayoi wasn't surprised that he had to learn to live independently from the age of three.
After realizing the kind of world he had been reincarnated into, he knew that even the child of destiny in this world started living alone at age three.
In fact, that person was even more impressive—taking solitary walks in a snowy night at the age of three.
This was the world of Naruto—also known as "The Eye Technique Chronicles of the Five Village Wars" or "Black Zetsu's Search for His Mother".
Even though this world revolved entirely around the feuds of the Ōtsutsuki clan and valued bloodline supremacy above all else, Izayoi was not afraid.
Even though he was a nameless orphan without a Kekkei Genkai (bloodline limit), he did not despair.
Because… he had a cheat!
The Talent Trait System, which awakened when he turned one year old, was his golden finger.
In addition to seeing the bubbles around others, Izayoi could also access a holographic screen visible only to him—even mirrors couldn't reflect it.
The screen displayed his personal information and a beginner's gift pack.
He had already used that gift pack at the age of three.
Now, his personal info had changed drastically—and was nothing short of extraordinary.
As he walked into the Ninja Academy, he summoned the screen in his mind:
[Host: Izayoi]
[Talent Traits: Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Red), Kage-level Aptitude (Gold), Kekkei Genkai: Byakugan (Purple), All-Attribute Affinity (Purple), Medical Genius (Blue), Chakra Control (Blue)]
[Points: 25]
While others had only one or two talent bubbles—or none at all—Izayoi possessed a staggering six talent traits.
However, when he first obtained the Talent Trait System, he only had one trait:[Chūnin Aptitude (Green)].
But at the age of three, Izayoi completely defied fate—transforming into the most gifted prodigy of this era.
In terms of talent, there were those as gifted as him, but none more so.
The rankings of talent traits are:White, Green, Blue, Purple, Gold, and Red.
This classification wasn't given by the system—it was something Izayoi figured out on his own.
He was certain that there existed levels above Red, though he didn't yet know what colors or forms they took.
Talent Trait System Functionality
The main function of the Talent Trait System is to allow the host to acquire talent traits from others.
Izayoi figured out two known methods to obtain them:
Defeating opponents:
Equal strength battle: High chance of obtaining a low-tier trait, very small chance of gaining a high-tier trait.
Overcoming stronger opponents: Very high chance of gaining a high-tier trait, and guaranteed acquisition of at least a low-tier trait.
Crushing weaker opponents: Extremely low chance of gaining either a low- or high-tier trait.
The system's beginner gift pack:
A one-time free copy of another person's talent trait.
Upon realizing he had been reincarnated into the world of Naruto, a world he was obsessed with as a student, and that he was born on June 16th of Year 48 in Konoha—making him the same age as the "Nine Little Powerhouses"—Izayoi didn't hesitate to consider using his beginner gift on Uzumaki Naruto.
After all, Naruto was not only the main protagonist of this world and era, but also:
The reincarnation of Asura, son of the Sage of Six Paths
Inheritor of the Sage's body and chakra
A bearer of the Uzumaki bloodline, though not activated in the original
The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, with two nuclear reactors' worth of chakra inside him
Even if Naruto couldn't pronounce "chakra" correctly or didn't know how to use it, the seal and bloodline within him ensured his chakra reserves would continue to grow endlessly.
As long as Naruto had a trait related to Asura or the Sage's body, Izayoi could simply copy it and instantly gain tremendous potential.
Besides Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke was also a great option.
He too was a reincarnation of the Sage's son—inheriting the Sage's eyes.
But just as Izayoi was searching for them, a chance encounter on the street—brushing past a member of the Hyuga clan—sparked an idea and made him temporarily abandon that plan.
In this era, the strongest talent monsters in the ninja world were indeed Naruto and Sasuke.
Like Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha, they were reincarnations of the Sage's sons, born with Kage-level potential and destined to be supported by the Sage of Six Paths.
As long as they fulfilled their potential, they were guaranteed to become super-Kage-level powerhouses.
And once they inherited the Sage's legacy, they could even surpass Hashirama and Madara, reaching the Six Paths level.
On Earth, no one had greater potential than them in this era.
But then... what about beyond Earth?
(End of Chapter)