Jiogan

In Konoha 20, everything was in ruins and awaiting renewal. Under the leadership of the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, Konoha had just emerged from the shadow of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju's death and won the First Great Ninja War.

Our protagonist, Jiogan, was born that very year. Yes, you read that right—his name was Jiogan, the same name as that well-known herbal medicine.

Jiogan was just a civilian. His father was named Takoyakiwan, and his family had been fishermen along the coast of the Land of Fire for generations, which was also the origin of Takoyakiwan's name. Though his family had fished for generations, Takoyakiwan had always admired the profession of shinobi. During the Warring States period, ninja clans stood everywhere, and it was difficult for ordinary civilians to become shinobi. Fortunately, the First Hokage Hashirama Senju pacified the chaos, ended the Warring States period, and ushered in a new era of shinobi villages. Seizing that opportunity, Takoyakiwan joined Konoha and gained the method for refining Chakra as well as the chance to study Ninjutsu. However, his talent was limited. At twenty-seven, he was only at the Chunin level.

Having narrowly survived the First Great Ninja War, perhaps after realizing that his talent could take him no further, Takoyakiwan seemed to have accepted his fate. Fortunately, he met Mieko. The two came to know and love each other, and eventually, the protagonist of this story, Jiogan, was born.

Mieko, Jiogan's mother, had moved here with her parents after Konoha was founded. She was not a shinobi, merely a civilian, and there had never been shinobi in her family. She ran a Fruit Shop in Konoha, and she and Takoyakiwan happened to meet and fall in love while he was recovering from his injuries.

After Jiogan was born, Takoyakiwan began considering retirement. He wanted to run the Fruit Shop properly with his wife and send their child to the recently established Ninja Academy once he was older. He still hoped his child could become a shinobi. Deep down, he remained obsessed with the idea that his child should possess greater shinobi talent than he did and go further than he ever could.

And Jiogan, our protagonist, truly was no ordinary person. He was a transmigrator from Blue Star. He had suffered a sudden cerebral hemorrhage and died after staying up all night watching the Naruto anime, only to unexpectedly transmigrate into that very world. It was just that his timing was terrible. He had arrived in Konoha 20, making him even older than Naruto Uzumaki's father. That was right—the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze had not even been born yet.

In Konoha 22, two-year-old Jiogan lay on the floor of his room, gazing at the Japanese-style decor around him and letting out a sigh.

So he had really transmigrated. During the first two years, he had been too young. His head had always felt muddled, and he had been extremely sleepy. Only now, with his body having developed somewhat, could it fully bear the soul of a transmigrator.

It was just that the time he had transmigrated to was all wrong. It was nowhere near the period he knew well, and he understood far too little about Konoha's early events and character relationships. Moreover, aside from having a powerful soul, he had not discovered any Golden Finger of his own.

Relying on heaven and earth was worse than relying on himself. Even after transmigrating, he still could not escape the fate of a working stiff. If he wanted to fight for his future, he could only rely on himself.

With that thought, Jiogan sat up.

What had his father been thinking, giving him such an awkward name? Then again, his father's name was Takoyakiwan. Sigh, his naming talent truly was something else. Still, his name was the same as a certain herbal medicine from Blue Star, which gave him a small reminder of his hometown. He no longer resisted the name Jiogan quite so much.

"Jiogan, Jiogan. From now on, you are Konoha's Jiogan—the Jiogan who will one day shake the Ninja World!"

"Jiogan-chan, come eat!" his mother Mieko called from outside.

"Got it! I'll be right there!"

Jiogan replied. Gathering his thoughts, he opened the door and headed toward the dining room.

His family's circumstances were considered fairly good among civilians. His father was a Chunin, and the rewards from missions were quite generous. Although his mother was not a shinobi, her Fruit Shop did good business. So even if he could not become a shinobi, he could still live well just by inheriting the family Fruit Shop.

But since he had already come to the Ninja World, how could he not personally experience the path of a shinobi?

In some ways, Jiogan was just like his father. He harbored an obsession with becoming a shinobi.

"Thanks for the meal."

Jiogan said to his mother before digging in.

"Mom, this is Father's final mission. When he comes back, let's go have a big feast."

"Sure. Your father is going to retire. From now on, our family won't have to be apart anymore."

As a civilian, Mieko had no lofty ambitions. All she wanted was to stay with her husband, safe and sound, and watch her child grow up.

Yet reality was always cruel. Takoyakiwan died on his final mission. Though he had escaped disaster during the Ninja World War, he ultimately could not escape the fate of a shinobi.

All he left behind was a mangled corpse, a few scrolls, and some inheritance.

As he watched Takoyakiwan be buried beneath the Memorial Stone cemetery, Jiogan did not know how he should feel. His bargain-bin father was gone. Looking at the cold tombstone and his crying mother beside him, all he could do was tightly hold her hand and remain silent.

Time flew by. In Konoha 26, Jiogan was six years old and about to enter the Konoha Ninja Academy. Mieko had not wanted her child to follow in her husband's footsteps; she only wanted him to live safely. But she knew her husband's dream. He had hoped his child would become a shinobi, one stronger than himself. Therefore, when Jiogan said that he wanted to study at the Konoha Ninja Academy, she fell silent for a moment, clenched her hand, then loosened it. In the end, she did not object.

But when his mother walked out of the room, Jiogan saw the glistening tears slide down her cheek.

"Mother, I will become stronger. And I will live well." Jiogan clenched his hand.

Over the years, Jiogan had not been like other transmigrators, refining Chakra at two, becoming a Genin at six, and crushing Chunin upon graduation. He had neither capital nor resources, and had simply lived the ordinary life of a civilian. He usually helped his mother at the family shop. When he was free, he went fishing by the river, often bringing back plentiful catches. He had even developed superb grilled fish skills that earned endless praise from his mother.

His father had not left behind the method for refining Chakra, only a few Ninjutsu Scrolls. He could only wait until after enrollment to obtain it from his class instructor. Compared to the children of other ninja clans, he was already behind.

Because his family ran a business, Jiogan often came into contact with members of ninja clans and had delivered fruit to some clan compounds. He had seen children his own age already capable of using Ninjutsu within their clan grounds, such as Dōton Akimichi. But the Chakra Refining Techniques of ninja clans were closely guarded secrets. During this period, Konoha's ninja clans were still highly exclusionary. So even though his family had some goodwill in the village, as civilians, they could not possibly obtain their Chakra Refining Techniques.

His father had also obtained a Chakra Refining Technique from a small ninja clan through a fortunate coincidence. He had originally planned to teach it to Jiogan himself, but unfortunately, he had neither managed to teach him nor left behind a scroll for him to study on his own. That small ninja clan had vanished during the First Great Ninja War.