Himegami

"Haa~"

Another boring day at school, and Yueshu was yawning out of sheer boredom.

It was the same old Konoha, the same old weather, and the same old sleep-inducing class time.

Yueshu even felt that perhaps the system's missions existed solely to keep him from being so bored.

He hadn't felt much before, but once the system mission appeared and his goal shifted to graduating early, that sense of dull, monotonous days began to well up.

"Yueshu, Yueshu."

"Hmm? Is school over?"

Having let his guard down, Yueshu had succumbed to his drowsiness and fallen asleep, only to be woken up by a voice after a while.

"School isn't over yet, but the teacher seems to be calling for you."

Opening his eyes, the first thing that came into view was that familiar strand of red hair.

That's right, it was Kushina, who sat at the desk in front of Yueshu.

"The teacher? What for?"

"I don't know. Why don't you go find out? You'll know once you go."

Kushina shook her head.

Sighing, Yueshu had no choice but to get up and go find the teacher.

To be honest, he felt it would have been better to just keep sleeping; guiding the two girls through special training for the past few days had been somewhat tiring.

Although he felt a bit ashamed admitting it, since it was the two girls doing the training and not him, it wasn't as if he should be tired.

Setting that aside, Yueshu walked out of the classroom while yawning.

"He looks really tired."

Mikoto walked over from the side, stood next to Kushina, and watched Yueshu's retreating back.

"Tired my foot. What's he tired from? We're the ones doing the training, while this guy just sleeps all day and only wakes up occasionally to teach us a thing or two."

Kushina complained. They had been sweating through special training for the past few days, while Yueshu had been sleeping soundly on the sidelines.

"Haha, that's true."

Mikoto chuckled softly.

"But he's very reliable, you know. Whenever we need help, he's never been asleep."

"Hmph, I suppose he's passable, at best."

Yueshu had no idea that Mikoto and Kushina were talking about him behind his back; he had already reached the teachers' office.

He pushed the door open, and the scene inside the office came into view.

"Eh?"

"Yo, long time no see, Yueshu."

Yueshu was stunned. Even he hadn't expected to find Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze in the office.

"How's it going, kid? Is school life treating you well?"

Jiraiya spotted Yueshu as well, turning his head to speak to him.

"It's the same as always. Wait, no!"

"Why are you two here?"

Yueshu quickly scanned the room, but he didn't see anyone else besides Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze.

"No need to look around; I'm the one who called for you."

Jiraiya's voice reached his ears, and Yueshu focused his gaze on him.

"Catch."

Jiraiya tossed something over, and Yueshu instinctively caught it.

"Alright, that's done. Let's head out, Minato."

"Huh?"

Seeing Jiraiya and Minato Namikaze preparing to leave just like that, Yueshu immediately spoke up.

"What's going on? This thing—"

Just as he wanted to reveal what was in his hand to take a good look at it, Jiraiya's voice stopped him.

"I think you should look at that by yourself later."

As Jiraiya's voice trailed off, Yueshu stopped his movements.

"What do you mean?"

Yueshu's voice grew colder, and he cast a sidelong glance at Jiraiya.

"That's your business. See for yourself."

Jiraiya finished speaking and walked out of the office.

Minato Namikaze followed behind him, offering an apologetic gesture.

"I'm sorry, I don't really know either. Master Jiraiya hasn't told anyone."

Minato Namikaze spoke softly, but with Jiraiya urging him from outside, he had no choice but to hurry after him.

As the sound of footsteps faded away, Yueshu slowly unfolded the object in his hand.

What came into view was a token. It felt substantial in his palm, looking incredibly ancient to the naked eye, steeped in the scent of history.

Yueshu's breathing grew heavy.

It wasn't because he was looking at an antique, but because of the characters carved into the token.

Himegami!

That was the surname of the body Yueshu now inhabited.

The token bore the two characters for Himegami, with a dark shade of red staining a third of its surface, covering the carved characters themselves.

Yueshu stood frozen, remaining that way for a long while before a self-deprecating smile tugged at his lips.

Hey, hey!

Lord God, is this really Naruto?

For the first time, such a thought crossed Yueshu's mind.

The things he had previously ignored and refused to dwell on were finally laid out before him.

When exactly had he transmigrated here? What was the reason?

Why was his name the only thing he remembered upon arrival? After all, in his past life, Yueshu had never heard of the surname Himegami in Naruto.

At first glance, he might have just been an ordinary commoner, but now, that theory had been shattered.

Without a doubt, the body Yueshu currently possessed was no ordinary vessel, though as for what it actually was, Yueshu had no clue.

Since he had transmigrated, up until his first battle, Yueshu had encountered many strange things.

When he had sent that Rain Ninja to his grave, Yueshu had felt the true reality of this world in his heart.

This wasn't the so-called anime Naruto; this wasn't a Naruto separated by a screen and a dimension. This was a world he stood in, a world that truly and genuinely existed.

"Yueshu, how did it go? What did Master say?"

While Yueshu was lost in his wild thoughts, Kushina had already found him.

"Eh? Kushina, why are you here?"

"Why? School is already out, and we're supposed to go for special training. Honestly, I don't know what you're doing, just standing here when there's no teacher around."

Yueshu quietly tucked the token away. Kushina saw nothing, only noticing Yueshu standing there in a daze.

"Is school already out?"

"What else would it be?"

"Then let's go to special training. We don't have much time."

Ignoring Kushina, Yueshu moved to slowly push her along.

"Wait."

Kushina was pushed along passively, completely confused by the situation.

"You're actually taking the initiative to drag us to special training?"

Kushina's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Although it was Yueshu who had suggested they graduate early, he spent half of their training time sleeping, which made this behavior seem incredible to Kushina.

"Why wouldn't I? Let's go, let's go."

Yueshu gave a weak reply and pushed Kushina away.

Kushina was helpless and could only let Yueshu push her along.

What she didn't know was that Yueshu, behind her, no longer wore his usual lazy expression, but a calm one.

There seemed to be a light in Yueshu's eyes as he stared fixedly ahead, his gaze holding more than just the red-haired figure before him.

Departing from the original plot, with things never described in Naruto, Yueshu couldn't quite put his finger on his own mood.

Even though this body didn't strictly belong to him, there was a persistence in his heart.

A persistence that came from the depths of his soul.

It became even more pronounced after seeing the token carved with the name Himegami.

Yueshu could clearly feel his heart pounding, beating faster than it ever had before.

Yueshu took a secret, deep breath, and finally, he made his decision.

He had to get to the bottom of the Himegami mystery. If this persistence belonged to the original owner of this body, then Yueshu had the obligation to help him fulfill it.

With his mind made up and his goal set, the next step followed naturally.

It was simple: Jiraiya, who had given him this token, definitely knew something. Even if it was very little, it was still more than what he had.

Thinking this, Yueshu's eyes became uncharacteristically serious, even if only for a fleeting moment.