The Transmigrators

Hearing his name, Ito Makoto and Sakura stepped out of the crowd together and stood in front of the ninja calling names.

Ito Makoto's assigned instructor was a ninja who looked far too young, apparently only fifteen or sixteen. A horizontal scar crossed his nose. His long hair was tied back.

He should be Umino Iruka from the original story, the teacher of the protagonist Naruto Uzumaki and the other rookies, Ito Makoto thought.

But with Iruka and Sakura both here, did that mean all the characters from the original story would show up?

Sure enough, after a few more names, a familiar one came over the loudspeaker.

"Naruto Uzumaki—"

A blond boy in a white T-shirt grinned as he joined the line.

As soon as he appeared, the parents around them all wore looks of disgust.

"Honestly, how can they let even the Demon Fox take the test?"

"That monster should just hurry up and die."

"The Third Hokage is far too kind, letting a monster like that take the ninja exam."

The whispers rose and fell, their malice undisguised.

The blond boy's smile turned a little strained, but he still kept smiling as he stood in line.

What disgusting political tactics. Ito Makoto watched it all. To win Naruto Uzumaki's affection, they had deliberately spread this propaganda to isolate a child—a child who was the descendant of the hero who had once saved the village.

It was revolting. The Third Hokage was a real hypocrite, too.

As the proceedings continued, one familiar name after another reached Ito Makoto's ears.

"Uchiha Sasuke—"

"Hinata Hyuga—"

"Inuzuka Kiba—"

"Nara Shikamaru—"

One familiar face after another joined the line, and Ito Makoto took the opportunity to commit them to memory. It seemed the assigned instructor would become their teacher—their homeroom teacher—after the test. This class was the protagonist's class from the original story.

However, Ito Makoto hadn't expected the names that followed to be so unusual.

"Yamanaka Ino—"

"Yamanaka Masami—"

Who the hell was Yamanaka Masami? Ito Makoto was baffled. Were there other Yamanaka Clan students in the protagonist's class in the original story?

He looked at the two girls as they joined the line. They looked exactly alike, with blond hair and emerald-green eyes. From their clothes to their appearance, they were practically identical.

They were clearly twin sisters. But Yamanaka Ino had been an only child in the original story. Where had this sister come from?

Ito Makoto's alarm bells rang. Something he'd long since stopped thinking about had suddenly come back to the forefront.

This Yamanaka Masami was a Transmigrator.

He'd discovered earlier that Uchiha Itachi was a Transmigrator, but had still thought there probably weren't many of them. He hadn't expected another to turn up during a single entrance test.

Just how many Transmigrators were there in this world? What were their circumstances? What were they thinking? Did they want to stir up trouble, or keep the peace?

He had no way of knowing.

Ito Makoto fell into thought, but another name interrupted him.

"Senju Kotoha—"

Hearing the name, Ito Makoto nearly cursed aloud.

What did Kotoha mean? Had Kotoha from a school romance crossed worlds to hunt him down, determined to cut off Makoto's head? But he wasn't that scumbag Ito Makoto—he was the honest kind of Makoto.

After a moment of confusion, Ito Makoto finally noticed the girl's surname: Senju.

What was going on? Ito Makoto was puzzled. He was a descendant of the Senju Clan himself, and according to his mother, the Senju Clan had already disbanded. Even if someone was descended from the Senju Clan, they wouldn't have the Senju surname. So why was this girl called Senju?

The moment the Senju surname was mentioned, it stirred a flurry of discussion among the people around them.

In Konoha, the Senju surname represented the family of the First and the Second Hokage, one of the two great clans that had founded the village. In Konoha, that surname was practically equivalent to the royal family of a feudal dynasty from his previous life.

As Senju Kotoha's name was called, a girl with a blond ponytail stepped out of the crowd and joined the line.

"This girl looks just like Lady Tsunade did as a child!" an older parent suddenly exclaimed.

"True. She's almost exactly like Lady Tsunade was when she was young."

"And her surname is Senju. Could she be Lady Tsunade's illegitimate child?"

"That's quite possible. The Senju Clan has already disbanded, after all."

Everyone began talking at once.

"What are you people talking about?" A ninja in an Anbu uniform suddenly appeared and shouted.

"Miss Senju Kotoha is the descendant of a hero of the Senju Clan who gave his life for the country. Her parents are both dead, and she has no other relatives. Out of consideration for the hero's descendant, the Third Hokage has specially allowed Miss Kotoha to reclaim the Senju surname."

"So that's what happened!" After hearing the Anbu Ninja's explanation, the crowd gradually quieted down. In Konoha, ordinary people almost blindly trusted the Hokage. The Third Hokage was the ultimate authority.

But Ito Makoto wasn't so easy to fool. Familiar with the original story, he was convinced that Senju Kotoha was another Transmigrator.

Just one entrance ceremony had caused such a stir. If a character like her had existed in the original world of Naruto, how could she have gone completely unmentioned in the story?

Ito Makoto was secretly alarmed. So far, just in the Konoha Hidden Village, there were three known Transmigrators besides himself. There were four other countries in this world. Just how many Transmigrators were there in the current ninja world? Were they friends or enemies?

It seemed he'd have to be cautious at school from now on. With so many Transmigrators around, one of them might get it into their head to create a ninja world where they were the only Transmigrator and start killing everyone else.

The better he hid during this time, the less likely he'd be discovered—and the more Transmigrators' hostility he could avoid.

Ito Makoto made up his mind. He would keep his head down until the very end. At the very least, he'd hold off until his Rinnegan had fully matured. Until then, he absolutely couldn't make a scene.

The names called after that were uneventful. None belonged to anyone surprising or gave away that they were a Transmigrator.

Once all the examinees on the list had gathered, Iruka led them into the examination hall.

At the designated testing ground, they began with a chakra extraction test.

For this test, examinees had to gather chakra in the palms of their hands. They passed if they could make it glow blue-white.

Of course, those who wanted a better score could also use a technique.

To keep himself hidden, Ito Makoto naturally didn't use a technique. He simply released an ordinary glow of chakra and passed the test.

Sakura's test went smoothly, too. She had mastered chakra six months ahead of time, and under Ito Makoto's instruction, she could now even use a simple Transformation Technique.

As for Naruto Uzumaki, while other people might still have to learn how to use chakra, the Nine-Tails inside him constantly released chakra, so it was no different from being born with it.

For the sake of a good score, Uchiha Sasuke used the Great Fireball Technique. The fireball was small, but he'd still managed to perform it successfully.

Even Iruka thought Sasuke's talent was astonishing.

However, one boy apparently couldn't stand Sasuke showing off and did something astonishing.