Altered History

"My name is Hikawa. I don't have many hobbies. As for my dream, I hope to become a ninja like the Hokage."

Hikawa's true dream was to survive, but that would have sounded too out of place.

So he gave the standard dream every Ninja Academy student was supposed to have: becoming Hokage.

It was no different from saying one wanted to become a scientist in his previous life.

And he had played a little trick with his wording. He had not said he wanted to become Hokage, but a ninja like the Hokage.

Now that Shimura Danzō had his eye on him, he could only temporarily seek refuge with Sarutobi Hiruzen. A wise man knew when to adapt; loyalty was the name of the game.

"The ninja who becomes Hokage in the end will definitely be me, Obito Uchiha!"

Obito Uchiha shot to his feet and declared proudly.

Rin Nohara instinctively tugged at his sleeve, but failed to stop him.

"Childish."

Hatake Kakashi spoke expressionlessly.

He was not some three-year-old child. He was already a grown-up five-year-old!

Even if he wanted to become Hokage, he would not argue about it with words. He would prove it through action.

Looking at Obito Uchiha, Hikawa suddenly recalled a dark joke.

If he could not become Hokage, then he would go become Hokage.

"What's so great about being Hokage?"

Sarutobi Asuma slowly rose to his feet and said in a deep voice, "I'm going to surpass the Hokage!"

The classroom instantly fell silent.

Everyone knew that he was the son of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Hikawa's expression became somewhat subtle.

As someone familiar with the original story, he knew perfectly well how unrealistic Sarutobi Asuma's words were.

His talent was quite limited. Even among jonin, he was not particularly outstanding, let alone capable of surpassing Sarutobi Hiruzen.

"Having dreams is a good thing, but if you want to achieve them, you need to study hard."

Eiichirō clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. "Hikawa, the seat by the window in the back row is yours."

The classroom desks seated three people each. Hikawa was a transfer student who had arrived two months late, so he could only sit in the last row.

But he did not mind much. A window seat in the back row was a good spot.

His deskmate was a little girl with short black hair. Meeting her gaze, Hikawa said, "Hello, I'm Hikawa."

As a spy, there were usually two paths.

Either become a nobody, or become a social butterfly.

But his cheat ability and looks would not allow him to become a nobody.

Too bad he was not from the Aburame Clan. Otherwise, he would come with natural aura concealment.

"I'm Shizune. Nice to meet you."

Shizune smiled.

Hikawa was immediately surprised.

It was actually Shizune? Was she still attending the Ninja Academy at this point?

In the original story, Tsunade developed hemophobia after Nawaki and Dan Katō died—a psychological disorder that made her afraid of blood.

For a Medical Ninja, developing hemophobia was a devastating blow.

Tsunade then took Shizune and left Konoha, wandering and gambling throughout the Ninja World.

Hikawa stroked his chin.

Was Tsunade still in Konoha?

Hikawa glanced around.

Directly in front of him sat Hatake Kakashi, Rin Nohara, and Obito Uchiha.

To his front left were Yuhi Kurenai, Sarutobi Asuma, and a little boy he did not recognize.

"Today's lesson is 'Konoha History.' Please turn to page thirteen."

Eiichirō's voice pulled Hikawa back from his thoughts.

He casually opened the book and paused at the table of contents for several seconds.

There were four main chapters: Sage of Six Paths, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Hikawa flipped to the first chapter, and a feeling of incongruity struck him.

Something was wrong. Ninety percent wrong—no, one hundred percent wrong.

It said that the Sage of Six Paths had created all kinds of ninjutsu and established the rules for Ninja Squads.

One of those rules was that, among a three-person team, it was best to have one Medical Ninja.

Hadn't Tsunade proposed that?

Had history been tampered with, or was something else wrong?

"The First Hokage established Konoha amid an age of war and wrote the Ninja Rules: no drinking or gambling during missions..."

Eiichirō lectured endlessly from the podium.

Hikawa came back to himself and inwardly mocked it. Was this some unofficial history?

It was not as wild as gutter literature, but Hashirama Senju was clearly proficient at both drinking and gambling.

He flipped to the end and discovered that Sarutobi Hiruzen had written the book.

Well, that explained it. This was his specialty.

He could already predict what the fourth chapter was about.

The bell rang to signal the end of class.

Eiichirō left with the textbook, and the classroom immediately became lively.

"Kurenai..."

Sarutobi Asuma had barely opened his mouth when he saw Yuhi Kurenai jump down from her stool and run over to Hikawa.

He instinctively clenched his fists. If this continued, he would lose everything, even his dignity!

"Hikawa, are you getting used to things?"

Yuhi Kurenai greeted Shizune before looking at Hikawa.

"Yeah."

Hikawa nodded.

As a university student, learning elementary-school material felt just like coming home.

In his previous life, he had joined an online tutoring platform and ruthlessly crushed elementary school students.

"This is for you."

Yuhi Kurenai took out a notebook and said, "These are the key points I wrote down over the past two months. They should help you."

"Thank you."

Hikawa replied with a serious expression.

"Then I won't disturb you. See you at noon."

Yuhi Kurenai waved her little hand and turned to leave.

"You know each other?"

As if she had discovered something, Shizune could not help asking curiously.

"Kurenai's father is my teacher."

Hikawa explained.

"A jonin teacher?"

Shizune's eyes widened.

Ordinary students had to wait until graduation before they were assigned a team leader.

Hikawa's situation clearly exceeded the bounds of her understanding.

"Do you know Tsunade-sama?"

Seeing her surprised expression, Hikawa had a thought and asked.

Shizune shook her head.

Hikawa once again felt that something was off.

He suddenly realized something.

In the original story, Tsunade and Dan Katō had become involved because of a jonin meeting discussing the inclusion of Medical Ninja in Ninja Squads.

But now the Sage of Six Paths had completed that task ahead of time.

It seemed that some unknown change had occurred in this world.

Could it have been the butterfly effect caused by his transmigration?

Hikawa could not figure it out, so he stopped thinking about it.

Noon arrived quickly. The students either went home or looked for somewhere to eat.

Hikawa closed his textbook and saw Yuhi Kurenai standing prettily before him.

Her ruby-red eyes gleamed in the sunlight, breathtakingly beautiful.

Not far away, Sarutobi Asuma watched with a resentful gaze.

"You two eat."

Shizune got up and went to find Rin Nohara.

Yuhi Kurenai naturally sat down in her seat.

"Are you and Asuma close?"

As he opened his bento box, Hikawa asked.

"Not really. We're just deskmates."

Yuhi Kurenai said with some annoyance, "But he keeps pestering me."

"I see."

Hikawa picked up his chopsticks and grabbed a piece of fried shrimp.

As a devoted pure-love warrior, he had never been one to play the homewrecker. Seriously.

But since they had no real relationship, he had no psychological burden.

There would be a reasonable explanation for the Sage of Six Paths later. It was not a bug, nor was it some parallel world or anything like that.