What year of Konoha is it? What day is it today?
How many times had it been?
He had long since lost count!
Shangguan Huaiyu tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle, tears streaming down his face in waves like spicy beef noodles. His Chakra refinement had failed yet again!
Shangguan Huaiyu—or rather, he was now called Tenzawa Kiyotaki.
In his previous life, he had secretly read the Naruto manga during break time at school on Blue Star. Just as he was immersed in it, the demonic homeroom teacher's furious roar exploded beside his ear, nearly scaring him into wetting himself! His soul had been thrown into disarray, and when he came to his senses, he found that he had transmigrated into the Hokage World and become a child.
Ever since he learned that he had transmigrated into the Hokage World, Tenzawa Kiyotaki had been constantly anxious. This was a world of ninjas plagued by endless warfare!
What was worse, he had not been reborn into one of Konoha's great clans. He was merely a civilian child.
One had to understand how insignificant a civilian family was in the Hokage World. During wartime, they were nothing more than cannon fodder. Tenzawa Kiyotaki's parents had both died in the war.
Fortunately, he had not been reborn into the unfortunate Uchiha Clan. Being reborn into a civilian family at least meant he could live an ordinary life. If he had been reborn into the Uchiha Clan and still managed not to die, he would inevitably have met a miserable end.
"Hey, brat, did you fail at refining Chakra again?"
Nohara Kazuki asked as he passed by on his way home from drinking. The stench of alcohol still came from his mouth.
Nohara Kazuki had been comrades-in-arms with Tenzawa Kiyotaki's parents. He had injured one eye and lost one hand and one leg during the Third Shinobi World War, and only then had he retired from being a ninja. He had opened a small convenience store in Konoha.
After Tenzawa Kiyotaki's parents died, he had taken good care of him. He had also been the one to teach Tenzawa Kiyotaki how to refine Chakra.
After obtaining the Chakra refinement technique, Kiyotaki refined Chakra day and night.
Unfortunately, up until now, he still had not refined even a trace of Chakra.
All the children his age had already entered the Ninja Academy. Because he could not refine Chakra, he had been refused admission and was even called the greatest waste in Konoha's history.
Tenzawa Kiyotaki clenched both fists and gritted his teeth, his expression resolute.
"Uncle Kazuki, I'll definitely succeed in refining Chakra!"
Kazuki nodded, clearly approving of Kiyotaki's attitude.
"As a ninja, you must endure what ordinary people cannot endure! Kiyotaki, I believe you can succeed!"
Kiyotaki nodded at Kazuki and once again entered a state of Chakra refinement.
The sun was setting, and the Ninja Academy had already let out. Groups of children either went home accompanied by their parents or headed home in twos and threes with their classmates.
Only a lonely little figure remained unwilling to leave on the swing. Around him came curses from both children and adults.
He envied the children who had families. He envied their warm homes. Yet at the same time, those curses, filled with extreme hatred, stabbed into him like cold blades.
In the end, only he remained at the school gates, all alone...
Kiyotaki awoke from refining Chakra, the golden glow of the setting sun shining across his face.
As expected, he had failed yet again!
He was not discouraged in the slightest. He was already used to it. He rose and started for home.
"Is that Naruto?"
"The son of the Fourth Hokage!"
Kiyotaki looked at Naruto, sitting alone on the swing in the distance.
"He's a pitiful person too."
His father had once been Konoha's highest leader, a hero who had protected Konoha with his life. His mother had been one of Konoha's richest women. And from the moment he was born, Naruto himself had become the vessel used by Konoha to seal the Nine-Tails.
Little Naruto was the son of a hero and a hero in his own right, yet he had ended up in such a state. He suffered the village's hatred, loathing, curses, and bullying. No one helped him, and no one cared about him. He had no money, no friends, and was subjected to cold stares everywhere he went.
How pitiful!
Kiyotaki gave an helpless smile. His own situation was hardly any better. He simply did not know whether Naruto was aware that a group of children in Konoha called the two of them the "Twin Disgraces of Konoha."
One was a waste, and the other was a monster.
"Sigh!"
Kiyotaki sighed and smiled helplessly. He did not go over to disturb Naruto, turning around and heading home instead. No one knew how many Anbu and Root ninjas were watching Naruto from nearby.
Kiyotaki's home was a small house in the civilian district. Along the way, Kiyotaki kept greeting people.
"Hello, Grandma!"
"Hello, Auntie!"
The people returned smiles to the handsome, adorable, polite, and well-mannered Kiyotaki. Everyone liked a good-looking, sensible, and courteous child.
"Oh! Little Kiyotaki's back!"
Aside from the occasional contempt from children, the others were fairly friendly toward Kiyotaki. After all, this was the civilian district. Everyone here was from the bottom rung of society, so no one looked down on anyone else.
Naruto's circumstances were different. After everyone else had dispersed, he returned home alone, enduring the villagers' cold stares all the way.
When he got home, he opened a packet of instant noodles and took out a bottle of expired milk. That would have to serve as dinner.
There were no instant noodles left in the box. He crossed his arms, rested one hand on his chin, and pondered for a moment.
"Hmm! I need to buy some more instant noodles tomorrow!"
As he spoke, he rummaged in the corner and pulled out a handful of crumpled silver bills.
That afternoon, Uncle Kazuki went to drink with his friend again and asked Kiyotaki to watch the store for him.
Before you continue