Jiogan

Konoha 20, a time of reconstruction. Under the leadership of the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, Konoha had just emerged from the shadow of the First Hokage Hashirama Senju's passing and had emerged victorious from the First Great Ninja War.

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

Jiogan was merely a commoner. His father, Takoyakiwan, came from a long line of fishermen in the coastal regions of the Land of Fire, which was the origin of his name. Despite his family's history as fishermen, Takoyakiwan had always yearned for the profession of a ninja. During the Warring States period, when ninja clans were rampant, it was incredibly difficult for an ordinary commoner to become a ninja. It was only when the First Hokage Hashirama Senju pacified the chaotic world, ended the Warring States period, and pioneered the new era of shinobi villages that Takoyakiwan saw his chance. He joined Konoha, gaining access to the method of refining Chakra and the opportunity to learn Ninjutsu. However, his talent was limited; at twenty-seven, he was only at the level of a Chunin.

Having luckily survived the First Great Ninja War, perhaps realizing that his talent could only take him so far, Takoyakiwan seemed to accept his fate. Fortunately, he had the good fortune to meet Mieko. The two met, understood, and fell in love, eventually leading to the birth of our protagonist, Jiogan.

Mieko, Jiogan's mother, had moved to Konoha with her parents after the village was established. She was not a ninja, but a commoner with no ninja ancestry, and she ran a fruit shop in Konoha. She and Takoyakiwan had met by chance and fallen in love while he was recovering from his injuries.

After Jiogan was born, Takoyakiwan planned to retire, run the fruit shop well with his wife, and send his child to the newly established Ninja Academy once he was older. He still harbored a fixation, believing his child would have more talent as a ninja than he did and would be able to go much further.

Our protagonist, Jiogan, was indeed not ordinary, for he was a transmigrator from the Blue Star. He had died suddenly from a cerebral hemorrhage while pulling an all-nighter watching the Naruto anime, never expecting to transmigrate into the show itself. The timing, however, was unfortunate; he arrived in Konoha 20, even older than the father of the series' protagonist, Naruto Uzumaki. Indeed, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze had not even been born yet.

In Konoha 22, two-year-old Jiogan lay on his floor, looking at the Japanese-style decor around him, and sighed.

He had not expected to truly transmigrate. For the first two years, he had been too young, his mind constantly foggy and prone to sleep. Only now, with his body somewhat developed, could it fully contain the soul of a transmigrator.

The problem was that his arrival time was off. He was not in a period he was familiar with, and he knew too little about the events and relationships of Konoha's early days. Furthermore, aside from a strong soul, he had found no sign of a Golden Finger.

One cannot rely on heaven or earth; one must rely on oneself. Even as a transmigrator, he could not escape the fate of a worker—he had to strive on his own.

At this thought, Jiogan sat up.

He really didn't know what his father had been thinking, giving him such a name. But then he remembered his father's name was Takoyakiwan, and he sighed; that naming talent was truly something else. Still, sharing a name with a traditional medicine from the Blue Star gave him a small connection to his homeland, making him less resistant to the name Jiogan.

"Jiogan, oh Jiogan, from now on, you are the Jiogan of Konoha, the Jiogan who will one day shake the Ninja World!"

"Jiogan-chan, come and eat!" his mother Mieko's voice drifted in from outside.

"Got it, coming right away!"

Jiogan replied. He pulled himself together, opened the door, and headed toward the dining room.

His family's circumstances in this life were quite good for commoners. His father was a Chunin with decent mission pay, and although his mother wasn't a ninja, the fruit shop did well. Even if he couldn't become a ninja, he could live a comfortable life just by inheriting the shop.

However, since he had already walked the path of the Ninja World, how could he not participate in the journey of a ninja himself?

In some respects, Jiogan was just like his father; he had an obsession with becoming a ninja.

"I'm digging in."

Jiogan said to his mother before he began to eat.

"Mom, this is Dad's last mission, right? Let's have a big feast when he gets back."

"That's right. Your father is retiring, and our family won't have to be separated anymore."

As a commoner, Mieko had no grand ideals. Her only wish was to be with her husband and watch their child grow up in peace.

Yet, reality was always cruel. Takoyakiwan sacrificed his life on his final mission. Having escaped death in the Ninja World War, he ultimately could not escape the fate of a ninja.

All that remained were a broken body, a few scrolls, and some inheritance.

Watching Takoyakiwan being buried at the Memorial Stone, Jiogan didn't know how to feel. His cheap father was gone. Looking at the cold tombstone and his weeping mother, all he could do was grip her hand tightly 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 his father's footsteps, wishing only for his safety, but she knew her husband's ideal. He had hoped his child would become a ninja—a stronger ninja than he had been. So, when Jiogan proposed that he wanted to attend the Konoha Ninja Academy, she remained silent for a moment, clenching her fists before relaxing them, and ultimately did not object.

But Jiogan saw the crystalline tears sliding down her cheeks as she walked out of the room.

"Mother, I will become strong, and I will live well," Jiogan promised, clenching his own fists.

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 no capital and no resources, living the life of an ordinary commoner. He helped his mother in their shop, and when he wasn't busy, he went fishing by the river. He often had a bountiful harvest and had even mastered the art of grilling fish, which his mother praised endlessly.

His father had not left behind the method for refining Chakra, only a few Ninjutsu scrolls. He would have to wait until he enrolled to get the method from his instructor. Compared to the children of other ninja clans, he was already behind.

Because of their business, Jiogan often came into contact with people from ninja clans and even delivered fruit to some of their compounds. He had seen children his own age, like Dōton Akimichi, already able to perform Ninjutsu within their own compounds. However, the Chakra refining techniques of ninja clans were closely guarded secrets. During this period in Konoha, the clans were still very exclusionary, so even though his family had some goodwill in the village, as a commoner, he had no chance of obtaining their refining techniques.

His father had only obtained his technique by chance from a small ninja clan back in the day. He had intended to teach it to Jiogan himself, but unfortunately, he had neither the chance to teach him nor the opportunity to leave behind scrolls for self-study. That small ninja clan had vanished during the First Great Ninja War.