Yakushi Hane

The autumn wind swept through, and fallen leaves formed a sea.

The evening sunset dyed the sky of Konoha a deep red.

This, the most prosperous ninja village in the ninja world, was rendered exceptionally serene.

A child with hair as pale as moonlight stood alone with his eyes closed in a crude training ground, facing six targets surrounding him.

"Swish! Swish!"

He carefully recalled the shuriken techniques of Uchiha Itachi from his memories.

Suddenly, the white-haired child opened his eyes and flicked both hands upward.

Between the fingers of his small, delicate hands, three sharp kunai were gripped in each.

Immediately after, he leaped high into the air from the ground!

His body, yet to reach puberty, stretched out as much as possible in mid-air.

The six kunai in his hands instantly transformed into black streaks of light, shooting toward the six targets surrounding him.

"Clang! Clang!"

Two crisp sounds of collision rang out in the air.

Two of the kunai actually struck the other four from behind, instantly refracting their trajectories.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

In the end, all six kunai hit the bullseyes without exception!

Perfect!

For a child who looked no more than four or five years old, such shurikenjutsu was undoubtedly breathtaking.

"What's the point of practicing this crap!"

"What use is it even if my shuriken skills are good?"

Despite displaying such exquisite shurikenjutsu at such a tender age, the child sighed and plopped down onto the ground, his face filled with frustration.

"No Sharingan, no Byakugan, let alone Rinnegan or Tenseigan..."

"I don't even have a decent Kekkei Genkai..."

Looking down at his own small, delicate hands, the child couldn't help but sigh at the sky.

"What can I do? I'm desperate too!"

The child was five years old this year.

His name in this life was Yakushi Hane.

He was a war orphan picked up by the ninjas of the Konoha Medical Corps from the battlefield of the Battle of Kikyo Pass.

He had no parents, no name, and no country.

It wasn't until he was classified as a war orphan by Konoha and entrusted to the hands of Yakushi Nonō, the director of the Konoha Orphanage, that he was given the name Yakushi Hane.

As a transmigrator, Yakushi Hane knew deeply that this world of Naruto was one that placed extreme importance on bloodlines.

The bloodline of the ancient progenitor of chakra, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, and the God Tree had directly derived all the abilities and ninjutsu in this world.

Hane was well aware that in the future of this ninja world, everything would revolve around powerful bloodlines capable of destroying the world, such as the Sharingan, Rinnegan, and Tenseigan.

Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, Kotoamatsukami, Izanagi, Susanoo, Shinra Tensei, Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion...

Whenever he thought of the heaven-defying, powerful skills that would appear in the middle and later stages of this world, Hane felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

"Without a Kekkei Genkai, what can I do in this world where geniuses are everywhere and cheaters are as common as dogs?"

Thinking of the future development of this ninja world, Hane felt his prospects becoming increasingly bleak, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips. "No, even if I had a Kekkei Genkai..."

"If it's not the direct bloodline of the Ōtsutsuki, at best, I'd just be a slightly higher-level piece of cannon fodder..."

After all, Hane was well-versed in the plot of the Naruto world.

If one did not rely on the bloodline passed down from the Ōtsutsuki clan and the God Tree, even the strongest normal human could at most reach the level of the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Why could Uchiha Madara look down upon the world and stand proudly over the ninja realm?

Why could Senju Hashirama pacify the Warring States period and end the chaotic times?

Why could Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke cheat infinitely?

It was simply because all four of them were the reincarnations of Indra and Asura, the two sons of the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo, and they came with the protagonist's halo.

Therefore, in this ninja world, no matter how talented or hardworking others might be, they could never compete with them.

In Yu's eyes, the reality of this world was just that cruel.

Forget it, no point thinking about it so much.

If I don't train hard without a cheat, I might not even last until the plot begins before I'm sacrificed in this war.

After pondering for a long while.

Yu, whose mind had been occupied by negative and pessimistic thoughts, shook his head vigorously.

Standing back up from the ground, the flames of fighting spirit began to burn in his eyes once more. "Heaven never closes all doors; at worst, I'll just follow in the footsteps of the future Might Guy..."

"I'll train hard in the Eight Inner Gates! Even if it means burning my life away, I won't end up as a background character!!"

"Do you crave power?"

Just as Yu stood up, intending to continue his diligent training.

A strange voice rang out in his mind without any warning.

It was both seductive and enchanting; Yu didn't know how to describe such a voice.

Yet, it bypassed all obstacles and drilled directly into the depths of his mind and soul.

No! I crave milk...

Suddenly hearing this strange, seductive voice, Yu almost blurted it out as a reflex.

"Strange..."

"Could it be that I'm hallucinating from training too hard?"

But after regaining his composure, Yu looked around his surroundings with a vigilant gaze.

Looking at the empty forest where the wind blew through the grass, Yu scratched the back of his head with a bewildered expression.

Aside from himself, where was there even a shadow of another person?

"Do you crave power?"

Just as Yu thought he was hallucinating.

The seductive, enchanting voice rang out once again in the depths of Yu's soul.

"Who is it?!"

"Stop acting sneaky! Come out!!"

Hearing this strange voice sound again.

Yu's small, youthful hands suddenly produced several sharp shuriken as if by magic, his little face scanning his surroundings with a wary expression.

In this ninja world filled with slaughter, especially in this era of war.

These most basic ninja instincts had long since become second nature to Yu, who had been training for a year.

"Yo, yo, yo..."

"At such a young age, you already have the bearing of a ninja..."

Seeming to be able to see Yu's fully alert posture at this very moment.

The exceptionally seductive voice continued to ring in the depths of Yu's soul like a persistent ghost.

"Although you don't have a cheat..."

"You do have a handsome face!"

The seductive voice felt like a pair of gentle hands stroking Yu's cheeks.

It was true; although the heavens hadn't granted him a powerful bloodline limit in this life, they had given him a beautiful appearance.

Hair as white as moonlight, a fair and handsome face even more delicate than a girl's, and a pair of amber eyes like magnificent gemstones.

Even in Konoha village, Yu was the little boy most popular with the young girls and aunties.

However, possessing the soul of a middle-aged man, he often had to endure the pinching and squeezing from those girls and aunties, and Yu's heart was practically on the verge of collapse.