Tsunade and Nawaki

"I am overjoyed to have lived a second life, but why did it have to be in the world of Naruto?"

Natsuki glanced at the Root ninja wearing a green-striped mask not far away and couldn't help but let out a deep sigh.

In this dangerous world where bloodlines reign supreme, he was neither a Senju, an Uchiha, nor a Hyuga, and his talent was utterly mediocre.

Worst of all, his parents both died on a mission three years after he was born, and he was sent to the Konoha Orphanage.

The Konoha Orphanage had now been secretly controlled by the Root leader Shimura Danzō, serving as a training camp for Root.

But what could he do?

Should he commit suicide and gamble on living a third life?

The odds of that were as slim as the national football team winning the World Cup.

"Hehe, I must survive!"

Natsuki turned his head to look at the little girl standing beside him.

She was six years old this year and was also a war orphan.

The difference was that she had high talent and would eventually become one of the most outstanding medical ninjas in Konoha.

She also had a famous adopted son, Yakushi Kabuto.

"Nonō, did you do as I said during the test just now?"

Natsuki asked in a low voice.

"Mm."

Yakushi Nonō nodded obediently.

Over the three years they had spent together, she had grown accustomed to listening to Natsuki.

"That's good."

A smile appeared on Natsuki's face.

Just then, the Root ninja walked up to the director of the Konoha Orphanage, Zhenyou.

"This batch of children all failed the test. Send them to the Ninja Academy and observe their performance at all times."

The Root ninja said in an indifferent tone, "If any show outstanding performance later, report it immediately."

"I understand."

Zhenyou replied helplessly.

The purpose of establishing the Konoha Orphanage was to raise orphans who had lost their families.

But the Root leader Shimura Danzō had set his sights on these orphans.

He controlled the funds of the Konoha Orphanage, forcing Zhenyou to select the geniuses among the orphans and send them to Root for training.

Root, rooted in the darkness of Konoha, operated with extreme ruthlessness.

Ninjas who entered Root would be brainwashed, forced to participate in life-or-death training, and ultimately lose their humanity to become Shimura Danzō's lackeys.

Zhenyou did not want these orphans to join Root, but Shimura Danzō was at the height of his power in Konoha.

Together with the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, one in the shadows and one in the light, they were the most powerful ninjas in Konoha.

Even the great ninja clans could not refuse his orders; for instance, the Aburame Clan and the Yamanaka Clan had both been forced to hand over the geniuses of their clans.

If even the geniuses of ninja clans were treated this way, commoner geniuses had even less power to refuse.

Just like Yakushi Nonō in the original story, she had joined Root from a young age.

But in the end, Shimura Danzō killed her on the grounds that "you know too much."

Natsuki and Yakushi Nonō were the same age, and they had become close after joining the Konoha Orphanage.

During the recent Root recruitment test, he had specifically instructed her to hide her abilities, which was the only reason she hadn't been selected by the Root ninja.

As for him, there was no need to hide; he was mediocre by nature.

Even performing at his normal level, he didn't qualify to join Root.

Root was a branch of the Anbu, consisting of the elite among the elite, and the threshold for entry was very high.

Natsuki watched the departing Root ninja, his brows tightly locked.

Hiding his abilities forever was not a solution.

His old man used to say that one must use magic to fight magic.

The only way for Yakushi Nonō to escape Shimura Danzō was to gain the recognition of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

More accurately, to become a ninja of the Hokage's faction.

With Yakushi Nonō's talent in medical ninjutsu, this was achievable.

Once she became a ninja of the Hokage's faction, she would also be able to help Natsuki survive better.

The only pity was that the medical ninja training class had not yet been established.

In the original story, Hiruzen Sarutobi's student Tsunade proposed the establishment of a training system for medical ninja during the Second Shinobi World War.

The two most important aspects of this were the mandatory inclusion of a medical ninja in every ninja squad and the opening of medical ninja training classes.

However, there are still four or five years left until the Second Shinobi World War.

If Yakushi Nonō wants to attract the attention of Hiruzen Sarutobi or Tsunade, she can only rely on her performance at the Ninja Academy.

But how to perform is also a question.

Attracting the attention of Hiruzen Sarutobi or Tsunade could also attract the attention of Shimura Danzō.

"You all worked hard today. Get some good rest; I'll take you to register at the Ninja Academy the day after tomorrow."

Zhenyou let out a breath and said.

"Yes, Director."

Natsuki and the others replied in unison.

Two days later, at the Ninja Academy.

Natsuki looked around and saw many peers and the parents who had brought them to register.

Yakushi Nonō stood beside him, also looking around, her fair little face filled with curiosity.

"There was no need to send me to school. I'm not a three-year-old anymore; I'm already eight!"

A sudden voice came from not far away.

Natsuki instinctively turned his head to look.

The speaker was a little boy with short, dark brown hair.

Standing behind him was a young woman.

She was wearing a jōnin flak jacket, wrapped up tightly, and exuded a heroic spirit.

It was Tsunade.

The granddaughter of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama and a student of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.

In the future, she would become one of the legendary Sannin alongside Orochimaru and Jiraiya.

Natsuki didn't recognize her at first glance.

Because compared to her appearance in the original work, her image at this moment wasn't quite iconic enough.

In particular, she was missing that tea-green haori with the character for "gamble" on the back and the diamond-shaped Yin Seal mark on her forehead.

Most importantly, she wasn't quite as generous yet.

But as a fan of hers, Natsuki knew very well the heights she would reach in the future.

"Why are you talking so much?"

Tsunade raised her hand, flicked Nawaki on the forehead, and said, "I came to send you to school, you should be grateful!"

"Ouch!"

Nawaki instinctively covered his forehead.

"Stop pretending, I didn't even use any force."

A smile appeared on Tsunade's face as she said, "I'll leave you here; I have a mission to attend to."

After she finished speaking, she turned and left.

Nawaki withdrew his gaze and soon noticed Natsuki and Yakushi Nonō.

There was no helping it; their appearances stood out quite a bit in the crowd.

"You look like newcomers. Are you just starting school?"

Nawaki took the initiative to walk up to them and said, "I'm Nawaki, a third-year student. Nice to meet you."

Quite the extrovert.

Natsuki wasn't surprised.

In the original story, although Nawaki didn't have much screen time, his personality was very clear: a sunny and cheerful boy.

Natsuki nodded and said, "My name is Natsuki. Nice to meet you, senior Nawaki."

Upon hearing the word "senior," Nawaki's eyes lit up immediately.

He shook Natsuki's hand with great satisfaction and said, "If you run into any trouble at school, you can come find me."

"Thank you."

Natsuki recalled the information he had on Nawaki.

He was Tsunade's younger brother, the grandson of the First Hokage Senju Hashirama, and a student of Orochimaru; he could be considered a second-generation elite in Konoha.

But this world is far too cruel.

Even with such a background, Nawaki still died during the Second Shinobi World War.

He was only twelve years old at the time.

Nawaki chatted with them for a moment before they parted ways.

They were not in the same grade, so naturally, they were not in the same class.

Natsuki and Yakushi Nonō were assigned to Class 1-A.

The two of them walked toward the classroom.

As he stepped into the classroom, Natsuki's body suddenly jolted.

[Congratulations to the host for becoming a student at the Ninja Academy. The Lord of Myriad Worlds System has been activated.]

Six years—do you have any idea how I've spent these past six years?

After confirming that the text before his eyes was not a hallucination, Natsuki couldn't help but hum to himself.

In the world of Naruto, how could one survive without cheats?

The two protagonists, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto, were the biggest cheaters of all.

In his past life, when Natsuki saw the Sage of Six Paths forcibly infusing them with chakra, he had been left dumbfounded.

Ōtsutsuki Kaguya: I want to check the cards!

But... then again, who could refuse a cheat?

Bring on the cheat!