Ninja Academy

"You want to go to school?"

Tsunade stared at the little guy bowing before her, momentarily stunned.

Having returned to Konoha just two days ago, Yueshu, as a war orphan, should have been living in an orphanage or a similar facility. However, because Yueshu possessed a temperament so similar to Nawaki's, Tsunade had kept him by her side.

"Yes, please."

Yueshu remained bowed. The reason this was happening was entirely because the system had suddenly triggered a mission.

"Mission Triggered: Enroll in the Ninja Academy. Mission Completion Reward: One lucky draw."

Setting aside the reason for the mission, Yueshu had intended to attend school anyway; now, with the mission, it was killing two birds with one stone.

The system was his golden finger, his means to stand firm in the world of Naruto, and every lucky draw was an opportunity to grow stronger.

"Hmm—"

Tsunade scratched her hair, looked at Yueshu who was still bowing, and could only sigh helplessly.

"Fine, fine. I'll go talk to the Third Hokage about it in a bit."

"Really?"

Hearing Tsunade's words, Yueshu immediately lifted his head, his face full of excitement.

"Rest assured, would I lie to you?"

Tsunade felt like laughing; it was just school, yet the brat before her was this excited.

Yueshu smiled to himself. This way, he would have the chance to come into contact with characters from the original story, and he would gain another opportunity for a lucky draw.

Tsunade took all of this in, not even realizing that her own mood had improved.

True to her word, Tsunade went to inform the Third Hokage that very day, and as a result, Yueshu received a notification the next morning.

The notice informed him to report to school the following morning.

At this moment, the system also signaled that the mission was complete. Yueshu now had three lucky draw opportunities saved up, and he planned to use them all at once before starting school.

"System, initiate lucky draw."

Yueshu sat in his room; he was currently living in Tsunade's home.

"Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Sword Mastery (C-rank), Three-Tomoe Sharingan (B-rank), Senju Bloodline (Unawakened) (A-rank)."

The electronic voice rang out in his mind, and Yueshu was momentarily dazed.

It wasn't for any particular reason, but he hadn't expected his triple draw to be unexpectedly good; he could almost be called a lucky god.

A single triple draw had yielded the bloodlines of the two most monstrous clans in Naruto. Although neither was in its complete form, he could already be considered incredibly fortunate.

Before long, Yueshu could feel the changes in his body.

His vision had sharpened, a surge of energy flowed through his limbs, and his mind was flooded with knowledge of sword techniques.

A wave of excitement washed over Yueshu. Ignoring everything else, he rushed straight into the bathroom.

A handsome face appeared in the mirror. Beyond his refined features, the most striking aspect was those blood-red eyes.

Three tomoe swirled around his pupils, looking incredibly cool.

"I guess I'm a member of the 'red-eye disease' club now, too."

Yueshu chuckled, then blinked, and the Sharingan vanished, returning to his normal black pupils.

The Sharingan was the unique bloodline power of the Uchiha clan. Since he wasn't an Uchiha, he couldn't let this be seen.

Just as Yueshu was making his plans, the door was suddenly pulled open.

"What are you doing in your room, Yueshu? Come on, I'm taking you out for a meal."

Yueshu sighed. He didn't need to look; he knew from the voice who it was—none other than Tsunade, who had taken him in.

"You're starting school tomorrow, so it's the perfect time to celebrate."

Tsunade didn't wait for Yueshu's input; she simply tucked him under her arm and headed out of the house.

"Hey! If we're going, we're going, but stop carrying me like a sack! Don't grab my neck! I'm going to die!"

Yueshu struggled to pry Tsunade's hand away, finally managing to catch his breath.

"Oh?"

Tsunade released Yueshu and scanned him from head to toe.

"What is it?"

Yueshu felt a chill under her gaze and asked.

"You've gotten quite a bit stronger."

"Just a little bit."

Since he couldn't hide it from Tsunade, one of the Sannin, Yueshu simply admitted it.

"Well, you've still got a long way to go."

Tsunade gave Yueshu a light chop on the head, then clapped her hands together with a smug look on her face.

"Let's go, time to eat."

Yueshu offered a helpless smile, rubbed his head, and followed after the boisterous Tsunade.

Tsunade had not yet left Konoha, nor had she become the gambling addict seen in the original story. She was at the perfect age, possessing both the appearance and the mindset of a young girl; everything about her was just right, much like a crisp, slightly tart red apple.

She hadn't sent him to an orphanage and treated him with genuine care. Although Yueshu didn't know the reason—and clearly, Jiraiya's words alone weren't enough to warrant such treatment—Yueshu kept this kindness close to his heart.

As it turned out, this outing for dinner brought a pleasant surprise.

As everyone knows, Ichiraku Ramen was already in existence, but the person Yueshu encountered wasn't the legendary Otsutsuki Ichiraku, but rather his father. The man who would become the hidden master of Konoha was, at this moment, just a boy a little older than Yueshu.

The day passed, and Yueshu finally welcomed the start of his school life.

He woke up early the next morning and prepared himself, while Tsunade was still fast asleep nearby, showing absolutely no signs of being a guardian. It took Yueshu calling out to her to wake her up.

"Then, this little brat is in your hands."

"Rest assured, Lady Tsunade, I will do my best to teach him."

After Tsunade dropped Yueshu off at the academy and spoke with the teacher, Yueshu's school life officially began.

"We have a new student joining our class today. Let's invite him in to introduce himself."

No sooner had the teacher finished speaking than Yueshu walked into the classroom.

As he entered, every eye in the room focused on him, and Yueshu swept his gaze across the classroom in return.

I have to say, it was truly beyond Yueshu's expectations; he saw someone he hadn't anticipated.

Golden hair, a soft face, and eyes filled with a gentle warmth—a boy who looked like a little sun imprinted himself into Yueshu's vision.

Yueshu was very familiar with this boy; anyone who had watched Naruto knew exactly who he was.

Minato Namikaze, the future Yellow Flash and Fourth Hokage, a ninja prodigy, and the protagonist's own father.

Yueshu truly hadn't expected to run into Minato Namikaze, let alone be in the same grade as him.

But it didn't matter; if anything, Yueshu's future life had just become a lot more interesting.

The Yellow Flash, huh?

Yueshu looked at Minato Namikaze. Right now, he really wanted to test Minato's strength, if only to gauge what level he himself had reached.

After a simple self-introduction, Yueshu happened to take a seat not far from Minato.

He locked eyes with Minato once more; this time, Yueshu nodded, and Minato responded in kind.

Just as Yueshu had noticed Minato, Minato had noticed Yueshu. He could sense that Yueshu was different from the others—a formidable rival—which made Minato pay a little more attention to him.

After the first theory class, as if by rule, the students in the class flocked toward the "transfer student," Yueshu.

Yueshu had no intention of making things awkward with his classmates, so he managed to handle them all fairly well.

"Himegami-kun, nice to meet you. I'm Minato Namikaze."

A while later, Minato approached him, greeting Yueshu with a bright, sunny smile.

Yueshu naturally returned the smile. With that exchange, a connection was formed between Yueshu and Minato.

The first day of class was nothing special, not much different from before he had transmigrated; it was just a tedious process. Perhaps because the term had only just begun, they were mostly covering history, and they hadn't even touched upon chakra refinement yet.

"How was it? The academy."

Back at home, Tsunade was sipping on some sake, her face already slightly flushed.

"Don't drink too much."

Yueshu reminded her before heading into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Before he had transmigrated, Yueshu had lived alone, so he was quite capable of cooking. To avoid being a freeloader, he had volunteered to take on the cooking duties.

"The little guy is barely a sprout and he's already learning to boss people around."

Tsunade took another small sip and let out a hearty laugh.

"There's no benefit to drinking too much. School wasn't anything special today, though I did meet a decent classmate."

"You're so young."

Tsunade set down her cup and lay back on the tatami mat, her flushed cheeks making her look incredibly alluring.

"You're only in your twenties and you're already calling yourself old."

Yueshu replied while cooking, grateful that the kitchen and living room were right next to each other.

"Twenty-something isn't young anymore; it's quite old. Being a ninja isn't exactly a long-lived profession, you know."

"I think it's fine, actually. It's just right, isn't it? Twenty-something."

This kind of aimless chatter was part of Yueshu and Tsunade's daily routine. It was very mundane, but Yueshu loved it.

Tsunade didn't respond again. Yueshu paused for a moment, the sound of Tsunade's soft, steady breathing reaching his ears. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, and his hands moved more gently as he chopped the vegetables.

The sun had begun to set, and the rays of the twilight cast a glow over the room—warm yet slightly cool. A blanket was draped over Tsunade, and the soft sounds from the kitchen drifted out, mingling with the fragrant aroma of the food.