Aged 12!?

"Hiroki! Hiroki! Wake up, we have to go meet that cold-hearted teacher!"

Early in the morning, Hiroki's bedroom door was pounded on forcefully. Uzumaki Kushina's energetic voice nearly pierced through the wood, carrying a hint of impatient urging.

Inside the room, Hiroki slowly opened his eyes.

[AM:7:03]

The Windows interface appearing first thing in the morning was so familiar that it almost made Hiroki forget yesterday, making him think he was still on Earth and hadn't transmigrated.

But the shouting outside the door pulled him back to reality.

Time to get up.

Hiroki thought to himself.

Hiroki glanced toward the door, where the knocking continued unabated, so he had to shout, "I know, I know! Let me put on some clothes."

The increasingly frantic knocking outside finally ceased.

When Hiroki opened the door, Uzumaki Kushina was holding up a fist, preparing for a new round of "attacks." Seeing Hiroki finally appear, she huffed and lowered her hand.

"You're too slow, bean sprout! We're ninjas now, and ninjas have to be punctual!"

Hiroki looked at her and asked casually, "So early? I thought you'd go to Mito first to study Fuinjutsu."

This sentence was like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing Uzumaki Kushina's burning fighting spirit. The excitement on her face collapsed immediately, and she puffed out her cheeks, kicking at the pebbles on the ground with some frustration.

"Don't even mention it!" she complained, "Grandma Mito said my chakra control is still too crude, like trying to embroider with a sledgehammer. She said I must become a Chunin first and master precise chakra manipulation before I can start learning the truly profound Fuinjutsu of the Uzumaki Clan. It's so infuriating!"

Hearing this, Hiroki actually thought it made perfect sense.

After all, in the original work, Fuinjutsu were very difficult techniques to learn, and aside from the Sealing Squad, few people knew them.

And the Fuinjutsu of the Uzumaki Clan seemed to be the most outstanding in the entire world of Hokage, so it was only natural that it required more precise chakra manipulation.

"Building a solid foundation is important too," he comforted her.

"...Ugh, but I want to get stronger quickly..." Uzumaki Kushina was a little unhappy, but she soon remembered the answer Hiroki had given her before: "Oh, right! Hiroki, how is that technique you said you were developing to make me stronger coming along?"

"Next month, it should be ready by next month."

"Next month... that's still such a long wait~!"

The two of them bought a rice ball each at a roadside stall and walked toward the direction of Training Ground 44 while eating.

At the entrance of the Forest of Death, the tall wire fences and warning signs looked exceptionally solemn in the morning mist.

When they arrived, they discovered that someone had already arrived before them.

Is that Tsunade!?

Beside her was a boy of similar age to them, who had spirited short brown hair and a bright, sunny smile on his face.

At this moment, Tsunade was carefully placing a necklace with a blue crystal around the boy's neck. Her movements were very gentle, and her eyes were filled with a tenderness and encouragement rarely seen on her.

"Nawaki," Tsunade flicked Nawaki on the forehead, "You have to work hard! This is Grandpa's necklace! You're 12 years old now, so from here on out, you can't be a crybaby anymore!"

The boy, who was Senju Nawaki, clenched his fists in excitement, nodded vigorously, and announced in a loud voice, "I won't be a crybaby! I will definitely wear this and become a Hokage that everyone acknowledges!"

This conversation made Uzumaki Kushina and Hiroki, who had just approached, stop in their tracks.

"Lady Tsunade..." Uzumaki Kushina greeted her in a low, somewhat awestruck voice; she knew Tsunade.

She had seen Tsunade at Grandma Mito's place.

Tsunade turned her head and noticed them.

Her gaze lingered on Hiroki for a brief moment before falling on Uzumaki Kushina, her expression becoming somewhat complex, though it quickly returned to normal.

No matter how she felt, she wouldn't get angry at a child who didn't know any better.

"You must be Uzumaki Kushina. Keep it up, and work hard to become a good ninja," Tsunade simply nodded, her tone offering encouragement without much emotion.

Uzumaki Kushina felt the sense of distance in the other party's attitude and answered somewhat reservedly, "Yes, Lady Tsunade!"

As for Hiroki, when he saw Nawaki, he suddenly realized something.

Nawaki... does this scene he is facing seem familiar?

Tsunade, Nawaki, the necklace...

And... 12 years old?

Wait, 12 years old?

Didn't he die at this age in the original work?

Hiroki couldn't quite remember, so he simply opened his memory folder and began to search.

And right in this somewhat subtle atmosphere, a figure appeared silently, as if sliding out from the shadows of the trees, without attracting anyone's attention.

It was Orochimaru.

"Tsunade, I didn't expect you to come and see him off yourself." Orochimaru's voice was hoarse, but he patted Nawaki on the shoulder: "Good luck, Nawaki-kun!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Nawaki was still full of excitement, "I'm going to become a ninja just like big brother Orochimaru!"

"He is my only younger brother! You must take good care of him!" Tsunade also patted Nawaki on the shoulder: "He is the most gifted among our new generation!"

There was a look of confidence on Tsunade's face.

"Mm." Orochimaru nodded.

"Since everyone is here and I have already tested all of you, let's not waste any more time and begin our mission." Orochimaru swept his gaze over the three of them and added: "You are Team 7."

Excitement and anticipation appeared on the faces of Nawaki and Kushina, while only Hiroki remained calm.

However, Orochimaru did not conduct the traditional internal squad fight or bell test like other jonin instructors. He simply turned around and began walking in the direction of the village.

"Follow me."

"What kind of amazing mission will we get!?" Kushina chirped incessantly along the way.

"It must be a super, super amazing mission!" Nawaki, who was also quick to make friends, quickly shared his intel with Hiroki.

"I know that D-rank missions are usually finding cats or weeding, while C-rank missions involve bandits or robbers! B-rank missions involve ninjas, and A-rank missions might involve toppling a small country! S-rank missions affect the relations between major powers!" Nawaki said with a look of anticipation: "Do you think we'll start at C-rank or B-rank?"

Hiroki did not participate in the discussion; he was still searching for the time of Nawaki's death.

They arrived at the mission assignment center in the heart of the village.

"As our team's first mission," Orochimaru's lips curled into a faint, inscrutable smile, "we will build team synergy. Therefore, we are going to find the lost pet cat of the Land of Fire daimyo's wife—'Tora'."

The air seemed to freeze.

The excitement on the faces of Kushina and Nawaki instantly collapsed. The two looked at each other and, almost in unison, shouted in disbelief:

"Find a cat--?!"

And just as the two of them shouted in unison...

Hiroki finally found it in his memory:

Wiki:

Nawaki, a character in the Japanese manga Naruto and its derivative works, is a new-generation ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village in the Land of Fire, the grandson of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, and the younger brother of Tsunade. He is kind-hearted, has ideals, and dreams of becoming Hokage.

During the Second Shinobi World War, he accidentally entered an explosive tag trap and was blown to death.

Birthday: August 9 (Leo)

Age at death:...

12 years old!!!