Disclaimer: I own nothing. This is purely for entertainment purposes, and I am making no profit off of this.

"Why do you sleep so much?"

My head rose, and my eyes blearily focused on the person speaking, an Akimichi boy who was around my age. Perhaps a bit older.

I had tried to cut back on training, as too much training was almost paradoxically limiting my training. Instead of continuously training, I read books and studied to give my body a rest.

So, while I wasn't perpetually exhausted anymore, it was still good to grab as much sleep as possible. And, now it was almost a habit to sleep whenever I could.

"Seriously, you're like a Nara."

The loud combination of music and conversation grated on my ears and I winced.

I disliked combined clan gatherings. They were loud, miserable, and, most importantly, cut into time that I could be either studying or training. The noisiness of the gatherings made it nearly impossible to focus on books while I was there, and I disliked talking with people.

But I couldn't just skip them.

Combined clan gatherings were a monthly occasion, and they were mandatory for all members who didn't have some pressing concern, like a mission or whatever.

Apparently, training that would literally save my life later down the line wasn't considered a 'pressing concern.'

'... and… are you even listening?"

I blinked sluggishly and yawned, "Sorry. Tired. And distracted."

I wished that this kid would just go away, but telling him to do so would undoubtedly upset him. I could picture the scenario in my mind. He'd go to his parents, and his parents would go to my parents, er, parent. Singular parent. Then my mother would nag and I would look at her with indifference. Then, my sister would try to reason with me, and I'd give her a the same bland look. Then, I'd try to edge out of the room, only for…

In short, it would be a huge pain in the ass.

"Oh. What are you doing so much that makes you so tired?"

"Training."

"Training?" The Akimichi boy looked at me incredulously, "Why would you ever do that?"

I gave him a blank stare.

The Akimichi boy was quick to cover things up, "I mean, not that training is bad or anything. Training is important and stuff, but why would you train to the point where you're tired all the time?"

"Because otherwise, I will die."

The boy's eyes widened, "Die! How're you gonna die if you don't train?"

"No training means no strength. No strength means weakness. Weakness is a sickness. Sickness will kill me. So I will die."

I idly watched the Akimichi boy. He clearly thought something was very very wrong about my logic. Probably because there truly was something very very wrong. But he just couldn't put a finger on what exactly was wrong about it.

"That doesn't make any sense!"

Ah. A child's default counter to any argument.

For the first time in a while, a smile appeared on my face. It was a cold smile, lacking any real emotion, and it was making the boy very uncomfortable.

But it was a smile nonetheless.

"It doesn't have to make sense. Train. Stay alive. Do what you are told. Do what you are told until you are the one telling others what to do. That is the philosophy by which the strong live."

The child looked as though he wanted to protest again. The explanation that I had given him was perhaps even less comprehensible than the original one.

And my smile became sour.

"Unfortunately, I don't want to be just strong."

The child looked at me, still just very much confused.

"I want to be invincible. I want to be a legend."

"Yamanaka Chisei?" The Academy instructor called out attendance.

"Present," I said, raising a hand.

Our instructor, Sato Daizou, continued with attendance. The man had a slightly strict air to him. Those were the sorts of teachers that I liked. They were strict enough to keep order in the classroom but not strict to the point that they felt like a dictator.

The few classes that I had had with him so far had painted him as that sort of teacher in my mind. I liked the guy, and he was a good teacher.

Unfortunately, however, he was entirely useless to me.

It was rather evident that, at least on the Academic end of things, there was nothing that I would learn here. I had already studied everything, in much more detail, back in the Yamanaka clan library.

I was hoping that the shurikenjutsu and taijutsu portions of the Academy training would be somewhat worthwhile, but I wasn't exactly holding onto very much hope.

Each of my thrown kunai and shuriken hit the target boards exactly in the centre. The Academy teachers had just started their shurikenjutsu lessons, and the results of my training were becoming rather apparent.

I was so much better than these children that it was almost hilarious.

No. Scratch that.

It was hilarious.

But it was also expected. These children were undisciplined. The blunt practise weapons that they held clumsily looked so out of place in their small, chubby hands that it made me laugh internally. I was immediately sobered by the thought that training with this sort of weaponry was actually required for them to survive in the future.

This was a violence filled world.

I was immediately reminded of what I had told that Akimichi kid just yesterday at the clan gathering.

Train. Stay alive. Do what you are told. Do what you are told until you are the one telling others what to do. That is the philosophy by which the strong live.

But…

That wasn't quite true.

It didn't have to be like that. Though this world was full of violence and hate and rivalries that stained the ground red, it didn't have to be like that. This world needed revolution. Things could not remain as they were. Children shouldn't have to become soldiers.

The shinobi world needed change. It needed someone, or a group of someones to be that change.

…

But I would not be that someone.

It was easy to say that you would accomplish change. It was easy to talk about morals and ideas of peace. It was easy to convince yourself that you would bring a revolution.

It was easy to say that you would be good.

But it was much harder to actually go through with whatever you thought of. It was easy to say. It was much harder to be.

But some things were comparatively easy to be. For example, I told myself that I would be strong. And here I am, taking some of my first steps to becoming strong.

But bringing change, bringing peace.

That was something much harder to do. The system by which the entire world functioned would need to be entirely overhauled. Massive tidal waves of change would need to be made; I didn't even know where to start with something like that.

So I wouldn't.

I wouldn't even start.

I wouldn't even try.

There were others who would bring change. Change and peace were Naruto's job. They were things that he would eventually establish, sort of.

I personally didn't care.

Sure, things didn't have to be like they were, but I had already settled into my role. I would not be known for anything other than crushing strength. Naruto could be recognised as the Saviour of This World or whatever, but I resolved to be recognised as strong.

No training means no strength. No strength means weakness. Weakness is a sickness. Sickness will kill me. So I will die.

I didn't need peace. I needed strength.