Fame came quickly in the academy.
Not official rank.
Not graduation honors.
Just attention.
And three names dominated nearly every conversation:
Jiraiya. Tsunade. Orochimaru.
Jiraiya earned his popularity loudly.
Big personality. Bold declarations. Fearless sparring attitude. Even when he lost, he laughed it off and came back stronger. Other kids gravitated toward that confidence instinctively.
Teachers sometimes sighed.
Students admired him anyway.
Tsunade's reputation grew differently.
Precision chakra control already surpassed most classmates. Medical aptitude rumors started circulating early. Combined with her Senju lineage, it made her someone both respected and approached carefully.
She didn't encourage attention.
But she didn't shrink from it either.
Orochimaru became famous through mystery.
Quiet brilliance. Sharp analytical answers in class. An unsettling calm during sparring sessions.
Some students admired him.
Others kept distance without quite knowing why.
Kaen understood that instinct well.
Observation recognized observation.
Kaen watched all three without inserting himself.
Low-key strategy remained intact:
Perform well, but not exceptionally.
Participate, but never dominate.
Stay approachable, never memorable.
It worked.
Most classmates categorized him simply:
Quiet Uchiha orphan. Serious kid. Nothing dramatic.
Exactly the image he wanted.
The daily lottery system continued quietly in the background.
Some days yielded nothing notable — minor stamina boosts, small recovery perks, sensory sharpening fragments.
Useful.
Never flashy.
Which suited Kaen perfectly.
No visible anomalies meant fewer questions.
Hitomi adapted smoothly to academy life too.
Not as famous as Tsunade, not as loud as Jiraiya, not as enigmatic as Orochimaru.
Just steady.
Reliable.
And to Kaen, that reliability mattered more than popularity.
They still trained together occasionally — basic physical drills mostly, since chakra development had only just begun formally.
Those quiet sessions remained his anchor.
Politically, academy dynamics reflected the larger village.
Uchiha students clustered subtly.
Non-Uchiha students interacted politely but cautiously.
Teachers maintained neutrality outwardly.
Kaen sensed the undercurrents constantly.
Not hostility.
History.
And history had inertia.
One afternoon during sparring observation, Kaen noticed something small but important:
Orochimaru watching him again.
Not continuously.
Just intermittent glances.
Curiosity.
Analytical interest.
Kaen didn't react.
Reaction encouraged attention.
Nonreaction often dissolved it.
Still, he added a mental note:
Potential future complication.
Jiraiya eventually tried striking up conversation once.
"You're pretty quiet for an Uchiha," he said casually.
"Observation helps learning," Kaen replied.
Jiraiya laughed.
"Fair enough! Just don't stay boring forever."
Kaen allowed a faint smile.
Being underestimated was useful.
As weeks passed, the "academy celebrities" phenomenon stabilized.
Students idolized them.
Teachers monitored them closely.
Rumors about future greatness spread.
Kaen stayed comfortably outside that spotlight.
Training progressed steadily.
Lottery spins continued quietly.
Political awareness deepened.
And his long-term goal remained unchanged:
Strength first.
Position later.
That evening, walking home beside Hitomi, Kaen glanced briefly at the academy building behind them.
Three future legends rising publicly.
One future unknown rising quietly.
He preferred it that way.
Because sometimes…
The most influential figures weren't the ones everyone watched.
They were the ones no one noticed until it was too late.