Iruka stood at the podium and tapped the blackboard with a piece of chalk.
"Three days from now, the whole class will have a team survival exercise. Three to a team. Choose your own teammates."
The classroom immediately erupted. The kids, who had only started school recently, were as excited as if they were going on a field trip. Only Shikamaru, in the corner, muttered, "What a drag."
Takuma leaned back in his chair. He didn't take the initiative to find teammates. Instead, he stayed where he was and waited to see who would get left out. He didn't have high expectations for his teammates.
"Um... Morimiya, I'm Yamada Kenta. Are you still looking for teammates?"
Takuma gave him a once-over. He wasn't a named character from the original story. An extra for a teammate, confirmed.
"What are you good at?" Takuma asked.
Yamada visibly relaxed and quickly answered, "I passed all the basic Three Body Techniques! I'm best at the Substitution Technique. I'm still a little short on the Transformation Technique, and I can just about make two clones with the Clone Technique..."
He sounded like a textbook theory student. The Three Body Techniques were the most basic fundamentals at the Ninja Academy, so passing all of them meant he wasn't stupid, at least. Takuma was about to nod when another voice cut in.
"Making a team? Count me in."
The speaker walked straight over from nearby and grinned. "Sato Jiro. I'm pretty good at throwing Shuriken."
"Sure. The three of us, then." Takuma stood and bumped fists with them both.
Yamada visibly relaxed, his whole body loosening up. Sato, on the other hand, looked eager to get started. He pulled a practice Shuriken from his pocket and twirled it between his fingers with a flourish.
"What are you good at, Morimiya?" Sato asked.
"Taking hits."
The Shuriken slipped from Sato's hand and hit the ground.
Yamada opened his mouth. "...Huh?"
"I'm joking." Takuma waved a hand. "I'm decent at Taijutsu, and I have a lot of chakra. That's about it."
It wasn't entirely a lie. His Senju Bloodline's chakra reserves and healing ability really were his biggest assets at the moment. As for Ninjutsu—he hadn't had a chance to learn much.
After school that afternoon, the three met at the training ground behind the school for their first practice together.
"Let's try some basic teamwork first." Takuma stood in the middle of the field. "Sato, throw practice Shuriken at that log. I'll charge in at the same time. Let's see if we can get the timing right."
"Easy!" Sato hooked a finger, holding three Shuriken between them. "Keep your eyes open."
He took a deep breath, twisted his wrist, and sent all three Shuriken flying.
Takuma was about to move at the same time when something felt off—danger, to his left and behind.
He instinctively turned his head.
A Shuriken whizzed past the back of his head and embedded itself in the tree behind him, its tail still vibrating with a buzz.
The training ground fell silent for two seconds.
Sato's expression froze.
The Kunai fell straight from Yamada's hand.
"You—" Takuma slowly turned to look at the Shuriken that had nearly split his head open. "Where were you throwing that?"
Sato's face visibly paled. His fingers were still held in the throwing position. "No... I was aiming at the log... You were standing in line with it..."
"So my head looks like a log?"
Who knew if his healing ability could repair his brain? He wasn't keen to find out for himself.
"Never mind. Let's keep going. This time, make sure you're aiming carefully."
Sato looked as if he'd been pardoned from execution and vowed that it would never happen again. This time, he moved to the side to make sure Takuma wasn't in the Shuriken's path before throwing. The three Shuriken traced three arcs through the air and all struck the log, forming a crooked triangle.
Takuma shook his head and turned to Yamada. "Your turn. Try using the Substitution Technique to match my timing as I close in—you draw their attention with the substitution, and I'll come in from the flank."
Yamada nodded seriously and formed Hand Seals. The Substitution Technique was his best of the Three Body Techniques, and he could use it quickly and discreetly. The technique took effect, leaving a section of log behind as he appeared two meters away.
"Not bad, Yamada!"
"More reliable than Sato." Takuma nodded in approval.
After a few more rounds, their teamwork began to take shape.
As dusk fell, the three packed up and went their separate ways. Sato kept muttering, "Tomorrow, I'll hit the mark every single time," as he left. Yamada earnestly promised he'd go home and practice the Substitution Technique's Hand Seals a few more times.
Takuma didn't go home. Instead, he headed straight to Tenten's family Ninja Tool Shop. Row upon row of shelves were packed with all kinds of ninja tools—Kunai, Shuriken, Senbon, scrolls, Explosive Tags. It was so well-stocked it could've passed for a small armory.
Tenten was standing on a little stool, struggling to place a bundle of practice Kunai on the highest shelf.
Takuma leaned against the doorframe and watched for a while before he couldn't help asking, "Don't you have a ladder?"
Tenten jumped at the sudden voice and nearly fell off the stool. Several of the Kunai in her arms scattered. She steadied herself, turned to see Takuma, and immediately rolled her eyes. "Oh, it's you. You scared me."
"You still haven't answered my question."
"The ladder's in the back storeroom. It's too much trouble to bring it over." Tenten tried again but still couldn't reach. "Don't just stand there watching. Help me put these up."
Takuma resigned himself to walking over and easily placing the Kunai on the top shelf. Tenten jumped down from the stool, dusted her hands off, and gave him a once-over. "What brings you here today? Come to borrow a book?"
"Come to mooch some ninja tools."
Her expression switched in an instant from "Welcome" to "In your dreams."
"Trying to freeload again?" She planted her hands on her hips.
Takuma replied without a hint of shame, "When you're childhood friends, it's not freeloading. It's sharing resources."
"Who's childhood friends with you? We've barely known each other for—"
"Close enough. We practically grew up together."
Tenten was momentarily stumped by his warped logic. Then she pulled a bundle of practice Kunai from the bottom shelf and tossed it at him. Takuma caught it one-handed and weighed it in his palm. It was enough to last him a while.
"Don't get yourself killed too soon." Tenten turned to tidy another row of shelves, her voice as casual as if she were talking about the weather.
Takuma chuckled, pushed open the shop door, and headed out, ready to go home for dinner.
Then he stopped.
At a fork in the road not far ahead, a silver-haired man leaned against a tree branch, holding a little orange-covered book. His gaze was so focused, you'd think he was reading some peerless manual. The black mask that had covered half his face for years didn't move at all; only his fingers shifted now and then as he turned the pages.
Takuma instinctively quieted his breathing. Hatake Kakashi, Konoha's Copy Ninja and the future instructor of Team 7.
Judging by how focused he was, he might've been even more serious than when he was on an Anbu mission.
A system prompt suddenly rang in his mind.
[Event detected: Konoha's Technician reading Icha Icha Paradise] [Event level: Everyday classic moment] [Witness status: Confirmed] [Witnessing complete—Rewarded with 1 draw]
Takuma was taken aback. Then he quickly turned into the alley beside him. After making sure no one was around, he took a deep breath and opened the draw screen.
The wheel spun rapidly. A flash of silvery-white light passed, and a thin piece of fabric fell into his hand. Its soft material shimmered like liquid mercury in the moonlight, with a faint pattern of fine lines shifting across the surface. It felt cool to the touch.
[Congratulations, host. You have received: Harry Potter's Invisibility Cloak (single-use item)] [Item description: Grants 30 minutes of invisibility upon use, covering the user and any items they are carrying. Cannot be used partially. The timer starts upon activation and cannot be paused.] [Note: Don't think about using it to spy on women in the bath. It won't work.]
Takuma looked down at the silver Cloak in his hand and fell silent for a long moment. Not a shred of trust, huh?
An Invisibility Cloak. A genuine magical artifact from the world of Harry Potter. It was incredibly useful—invisibility for 30 minutes could let a ninja do so much: sneak in, escape, assassinate, gather intelligence. It would be a top-tier support tool for any of those. Who would use it for something like that... No, there really were people who would.
How many worlds did his system's prize pool connect to? Marvel, Harry Potter, and last time, Hulk's leg hair and milk that never expired. Would he pull a Transformer next time?
Takuma folded the Invisibility Cloak and carefully tucked it into the deepest part of his ninja tool pouch. No matter how wildly the worlds clashed, this was one of the most useful support items he'd received so far. He couldn't afford to waste it.
As he left the alley, he glanced up at the tree. Kakashi was still in the same spot, though his page-turning had slowed noticeably—he'd probably reached an especially important chapter.
Takuma turned his gaze away and quickened his pace home.
Three things occupied his mind along the way. First, he and Yamada still needed to practice for the survival exercise in three days, especially to hammer the basic idea that "your teammates aren't targets" into Sato's muscle memory. Second, he had to figure out how to use his new Invisibility Cloak. Thirty minutes wasn't long, but it wasn't short, either; used at the right moment, it could have an amazing effect, but used carelessly, it would go to waste. Third, if witnessing Kakashi read Icha Icha Paradise could trigger the system, its criteria were broader than he'd thought. He'd need to keep an eye out for unusual things around him from now on.
The smell of dinner wafted through the bookshop as he opened the door. His mother poked her head out of the kitchen and told him to wash his hands and eat. His father sat behind the counter, flipping through the old book he never seemed to finish. He looked up at Takuma, his gaze lingering for a moment on the ninja tool pouch.
"Been training?"
"Yeah. We have a survival exercise in three days, so I practiced teamwork with my classmates."
Morimiya Kazuki nodded, closed his book, and stood. As he passed Takuma, he lowered his voice and said, "Come to the backyard after dinner."
Takuma paused with his chopsticks in hand.
It looked like dinner wouldn't be the only thing happening tonight.
Before you continue