Hyuga Mirai

If you never take a shot, you'll never know you're useless!

Hyuga Mirai wasn't useless, but after passing the Ninja Academy entrance assessment, he clearly recognized that he was no genius—especially with that ugly mark on his forehead.

The Caged Bird Seal was a mark exclusive to the Branch Family. When Hyuga Mirai first saw the Curse Mark in the mirror, he had even thought it looked rather nice. But once he recalled the pain his predecessor had endured beneath it, that thought vanished from his mind.

That's right!

Hyuga Mirai was a transmigrator. He had arrived in the Naruto World less than half a year ago, only to be forced into the world's largest pyramid scheme organization's youth training base.

It was July of Konoha Year 41.

Hyuga Mirai was five years old. His father had been a Branch Family Guard Jonin and was now dead. As for the original owner's mother, no memories of her remained; she had likely died in childbirth.

With his Branch Family status, mediocre talent, failure to enter the elite class, and a Golden Finger that had yet to activate, Hyuga Mirai was nearly maxing out his cannon fodder buff.

"The class assignment list is out."

The people waiting at the Ninja Academy entrance hurried over upon hearing the shout, searching for their names. Many had adults helping them, while orphans like Hyuga Mirai could only wait until the crowd dispersed before taking a look.

But from what he had observed earlier, he definitely had no chance of getting into the elite class. He just didn't know which cannon fodder class he would be assigned to.

Unless the Ninja Academy increased the elite class to a hundred students. Then Hyuga Mirai might still have a sliver of hope.

"Hyuga, aren't you going to check the class assignment list?"

A gentle voice sounded beside him. Hyuga Mirai immediately turned his head and found that the one speaking to him was an "acquaintance" he had chatted with not long ago.

Kato Shizune.

She was the same age and grade as Hyuga Mirai and had just completed the Ninja Academy selection as well. During the physical test, Hyuga Mirai had seen Kato Shizune slowing down, so he had moved closer and quietly encouraged her.

"Come on, Kato."

Kato Shizune had turned her head and smiled at Hyuga Mirai, then immediately picked up her pace and finished among the top thirty.

Meanwhile, Hyuga Mirai, whose stamina had given out, had risked his life and only barely placed somewhere around fortieth or fiftieth.

The clown had turned out to be himself!

Kato Shizune hadn't been running out of stamina at all. He had just overthought things.

Hyuga Mirai gestured at his height and helplessly said to Kato Shizune, "I'm too small. I'll get hurt if I squeeze in with them."

"I was hoping I'd end up in the same class as you, Hyuga."

Hyuga Mirai nodded and perfunctorily replied in all seriousness, "Me too. Aren't you going up to take a look, Kato?"

Wasn't Kato Shizune being a little too enthusiastic? Still, after discreetly studying her a few times, Hyuga Mirai guessed that she probably just wanted to find a familiar classmate to befriend before school started, so he stopped paying attention to her.

The physical test before enrollment had been meant to select a group for the elite class.

Hyuga Mirai was among those who had been filtered out. Getting into the Academy wasn't a problem, but the teachers would be different from those in the elite class.

The elite class might have three or four Elite Chunin as instructors, while a regular class had only one—or even several classes sharing one teacher—for cramming education before joining the cannon fodder army as soon as possible.

Only after the crowd had dispersed did Hyuga Mirai go to the class assignment list to look for his name.

First Year, Class B. That wasn't too bad.

It wasn't the elite class, but it ranked first among the cannon fodder classes. He had probably only been assigned to Class B because of the Hyuga Clan's name.

After checking the class assignment list, Hyuga Mirai turned and headed back. He needed to prepare the things required for school. Those with parents would have everything ready when they got home, but someone like him could only prepare it himself.

Within the Hyuga Branch Family, although his father had been a Branch Family Jonin, he had been taciturn and had few close friends. Thus, after becoming an orphan, Hyuga Mirai had only seen a Branch Family elder once.

That time, a Branch Family Guard Captain had come to confirm whether Hyuga Mirai could live independently. Once that was confirmed, he repossessed his father's independent courtyard and reassigned him a small single-family apartment.

Such practices were common in the Branch Family. Those who were strong and valuable were put to good use. Hyuga Mirai was unlike his father and had no right to occupy a home with a courtyard.

Did he think everyone was the Branch Family Patriarch's son, with an uncle who was the Main Family Patriarch!?

There was a monthly subsidy, and together with the savings his father had left behind, it was enough for Hyuga Mirai to grow up healthily until adulthood. Aside from changing residences, he had suffered almost no losses. Even his father's training notes had been given to him.

However, after the Branch Family Guard Captain handed over the cultivation notes left behind by Hyuga Mirai's father, he had specifically warned him not to rush into training. Even if he truly wanted to train as a ninja, it would be best to do so with others his age in the clan.

Naturally, Hyuga Mirai agreed without hesitation. He also knew that childhood foundations were the most important, so he planned to eat more meat, eggs, and milk, diligently train his body, and accumulate medical knowledge.

That's right, Hyuga Mirai planned to become a medical-nin. Of course, he had no intention of abandoning the clan's Gentle Fist either.

The Third World War would break out in a few years. That would be when the cannon fodder classes made their dazzling debut. If Hyuga Mirai became a medical-nin, he would remain in the rear even after going to war, raising his chances of survival somewhat.

After returning to a home one-fourth the size of his former one, Hyuga Mirai took some money and went out to buy the things he needed for school. He then purchased enough meat, eggs, and milk for several days before returning home to begin making a plan.

Survival plan!

Ninja training in Konoha was generally a six-year program. But if war broke out, the time spent in school would be shortened. As for how many years it would be reduced to, that depended on how brutal the Third World War became.

By Hyuga Mirai's estimate, no matter how shameless Konoha was, it wouldn't send seven- or eight-year-old children to the battlefield. Even if ninja could be trained quickly, they wouldn't harvest a crop every three years.

In other words, Hyuga Mirai had at least four to five years of safety to work hard, become stronger, and gain the ability to survive on the battlefield.

"Good. I should have cast off my lazy habits from my previous life. From now on, I must strictly follow the plan."

Hyuga Mirai looked at the packed schedule before him and couldn't help encouraging himself.

It couldn't be helped. This world was too dangerous. If he slacked off even a little today, it might cost him his life in the future.

Come to think of it, if Konoha couldn't even guarantee children's safety, what future did Konoha have?

No wonder it had grown weaker and weaker. Later on, Orochimaru alone had thrown Konoha into a panic.

"First, I'll prepare what I need for school tomorrow. Then I'll train."

Hyuga Mirai liked to prepare everything in advance. He packed textbooks and the like into his schoolbag, placed it on the cabinet by the door, and began today's training.

Since he was still young, the training wouldn't go beyond his limits.

He ran two laps around the training ground, did sit-ups, push-ups, frog jumps, and more. There were many exercises, but the number of repetitions remained within what Hyuga Mirai could handle.

After half a day of training, Hyuga Mirai dragged his exhausted body back home.

Dinner was boiled chicken, eggs, rice, and a glass of milk. It didn't taste particularly good, but with some soy sauce, it was still edible.

After finishing his meal, Hyuga Mirai frowned slightly and thought, I should treat myself once every ten days from now on. Otherwise, my sense of taste might deteriorate after a few years.

After eating, Hyuga Mirai seemed to regain some energy. He then looked through the cultivation notes his predecessor's father had left behind, from Chakra extraction to Gentle Fist training. Only when drowsiness overtook him did he set an alarm and drift off to sleep.

Tomorrow would be the first day of school!