Reborn as a Ninja Schoolkid

Land of Fire.

Konoha.

It was time for morning classes at the Ninja Academy, and many students were hurrying inside.

At that moment, two boys were walking toward the school with their arms around each other's shoulders, laughing and playing.

Behind them, other students pointed at the redheaded and blond boys up ahead, gossiping among themselves.

The two boys, however, paid no attention to what people around them were saying.

"Shinki, when do you think we'll finally graduate from the Ninja Academy?"

Naruto, a blond boy, asked with an arm around the redheaded Shinki beside him.

Naruto had asked his question.

The boy beside him suddenly froze and didn't answer for a long time.

The next moment.

The redheaded boy's body jolted!

For a moment, his eyes went blank.

Then they cleared again.

After coming to his senses, the redheaded boy looked around in confusion, then raised his fair, youthful hands, disbelief filling his eyes.

"Where am I?"

Shinki was an ordinary elementary school student from China.

He had been watching anime while walking when a speeding car hit him.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in this completely unfamiliar world!

Just as he was wondering what had happened.

Memories flooded into his mind like a tide!

This was the world of Naruto!

And he was an orphan a ninja had picked up from a battlefield.

The Third Hokage had given him his name, which was also Shinki.

Though they shared the same name, this Shinki had it much worse.

Despite having the Uzumaki Clan's distinctive red hair, he hadn't shown a hint of talent.

Five and a half years had passed since he entered the Ninja Academy at six.

In those five years, he had worked many times harder than most people, yet learned nothing...

Shinki turned and stared in shock at Naruto beside him.

He had transmigrated!

He really, truly had transmigrated into the world of Naruto!!

Naruto was one of the big three shonen manga and was famous far and wide, but he wasn't very familiar with it.

As an elementary school kid in China, he had spent his life attending all kinds of tutoring classes and competing relentlessly, leaving him no time to watch such a long anime, so his knowledge of Naruto was very limited.

Seeing that Shinki was acting differently, Naruto hurriedly asked with concern, "Hey, are you okay, Shinki? Why did you suddenly go stupid on me?"

Only then did Shinki hurriedly calm his shock and wave a hand to show he was fine. "I'm okay. Let's hurry inside for class, or Iruka-sensei will scold us again."

Naruto nodded and ran ahead.

Shinki watched Naruto's back thoughtfully.

The original owner of this body and Naruto were both orphans without parents, so they had become friends.

That gave Shinki a good foundation, too.

After all, Naruto was the crown prince and would accomplish great things in the future. If Shinki built a good relationship with him, his prospects would be bright!

Since he was here, he would make the best of it.

As he walked, Shinki digested the memories in his mind and adjusted to his new body.

After a while, he frowned and muttered, "The original owner's talent for cultivation really was a little poor. In all these years, he never managed to use a proper Ninjutsu even once..."

Up ahead, Naruto looked back and saw Shinki walking slowly. He called out, "Hey! Shinki, hurry up! If we don't get a move on, we'll be late!"

Shinki answered and quickened his pace.

Inside a Ninja Academy classroom.

The moment Naruto and Shinki walked in, a chorus of chatter broke out.

"Oh, look, Naruto and Shinki, the two dead lasts, are here."

"Heh, the final exam is only a few months away. There's no way those two dead lasts are graduating. They really are quite the pair."

"And look at them. Put them together and they're the spitting image of stir-fried tomatoes and eggs!"

Shinki and Naruto turned a deaf ear to the chatter and laughter.

According to his memories, this had been going on for years.

They were used to it!

Shinki raised his eyes and surveyed the people in the ninja class.

The first person he saw was Sasuke, sitting by the window. The guy looked effortlessly cool, leaning against the window and gazing gloomily at the shade of the trees outside. Shinki had no idea what he was thinking.

Sakura, who liked Sasuke, sat beside him, her eyes fixed on him the whole time without ever moving away.

Besides those two, Shinki spotted several other familiar figures.

Shikamaru, the brains of the group; Hinata, the shy girl with the Byakugan; Shino Aburame; Kiba Inuzuka; and others...

Most of the Konoha 12 were here.

These people would all become pillars of Konoha in the future!

Although he hadn't watched Naruto, he recognized these famous characters from it. After all, his classmates often played with their pictures and discussed them...

Just as Shinki was considering his next move.

Iruka-sensei came in from outside with a stack of books.

The moment the teacher appeared, the whole room fell silent. A pin drop could have been heard.

Iruka walked to the front of the class, cleared his throat, and began, "In a few months, you will all face the Ninja Academy's final exam. Only by passing it can you graduate from the Ninja Academy, receive a Forehead Protector, and become a true ninja of Konoha."

"So today, we'll review the Transformation Technique."

Iruka paced around the classroom as he spoke.

"The Transformation Technique is an E-rank Ninjutsu, the lowest rank. You only need a few simple Hand Seals to try it, but don't underestimate it."

"The Transformation Technique is extremely useful as a support technique. It can be used in combat, espionage, or to lure enemies."

"If you're skilled at it, you can turn into not only humans, but also animals, plants, weapons, and so on. It's very convenient."

"One thing to note is that a ninja who has mastered the Transformation Technique can make themselves indistinguishable from the person they're copying, including their physical details and overall bearing, whereas a beginner's Transformation Technique is easy to see through..."

"Teacher, you don't need to tell us all that. We learned the Transformation Technique ages ago."

A student in the class spoke up, stirring up a commotion.

"Yeah, teacher, you're explaining it just for that dead last, aren't you? How many times has it been? Why don't you stop wasting your effort? That guy's Chakra is pitifully weak, and whatever he transforms into doesn't look like anything it's supposed to!"

Another student chimed in.

The person they were talking about was Shinki.

Over the past five-plus years, even Naruto had managed to use the Harem Technique to turn into a beauty, but Shinki had never once performed a perfect Transformation Technique...

In response to the students' heckling, Iruka said righteously, "I'm a teacher. I will never give up on a single student."

"Shinki may have had trouble performing the Transformation Technique because he lacks experience or was nervous."

"As long as he's willing to work hard, he'll surely succeed someday."

Iruka offered excuses for Shinki.

As he spoke, he walked over to Shinki, gave him an encouraging look, and said softly, "Don't lose heart. I believe in you."

Iruka had a very good impression of Shinki.

After observing Shinki for years, Iruka had discovered something.

Though he was an orphan brought back from a battlefield, Shinki never felt sorry for himself.

He knew he lacked talent, so he practiced what he learned five or ten times harder than most people.

It was just a shame that, despite the boy's hard work, his talent and comprehension were truly too poor...

"He's been learning it for so many years. How could he still lack experience or be nervous?"

The ninja students shook their heads, speechless.

"Well, why don't we have him demonstrate the Transformation Technique one more time in front of everyone?"

A student suddenly made the suggestion with a smile, a flash of cunning and mockery in his eyes.

He was making fun of Shinki and wanted to laugh at him.

"I want to see if he can pull off a Substitution Technique, too."

Sakura joined in the heckling.

Seeing everyone in the class making a fuss, Hinata alone flushed red and said quietly, "We're all classmates. Stop it. This isn't right."

"Shinki, ignore them."

Naruto patted Shinki on the shoulder and spoke with concern.

Faced with the people laughing loudly at him and Naruto's concerned gaze beside him, Shinki thought for a moment and spoke.

"How about... I give it a try?"