Childhood: Reincarnation?

"Congratulations, it's a boy!"

"Really? It's really a boy? That's wonderful! You worked hard, honey. I love you!"

"Looks like that master's prediction was... off. Our first son is clearly very healthy..."

This was...

My vision was incredibly blurry. I couldn't see my surroundings at all, as if I were wearing glasses clouded over with fog.

It was so noisy around me, but the atmosphere seemed joyful. Was this a banquet? No, there was crying born of happiness too. It seemed like something deeply moving had happened. Had someone proposed?

I remembered being at a friend's engagement party. He had asked me to dress as handsomely as possible, so I had cosplayed Rudeus. Then it seemed like someone had burst into the banquet hall and done something...

Was everyone moved because lovers had finally ended up together?

At last, my vision cleared, and my hearing was no longer muffled. Before me was a man with tears streaming down his face, making a silly expression.

That man had something on his forehead... a forehead protector?

Who still dressed like that these days? Wait, wasn't that the symbol of Konoha Village from Naruto? Had someone else come to the engagement party in cosplay too?

Looks like I had found a fellow enthusiast. I should try asking him for his contact information. My friend was about to start a family, so I couldn't keep relying on him. I really needed to look ahead.

"Waaah, waaah, waaah..."

Huh? Was that my voice? I... couldn't speak anymore?

When I tried to reach out and touch the man, I saw a pair of tiny hands before my eyes, just like a baby's.

A bold thought immediately surfaced in my mind, and I suddenly recalled the final scene at the engagement party.

My friend's fiancée's ex-boyfriend had rushed into the hall with a knife, aiming to stab my friend. At a loss, I had chosen to dive in front of him to block the blade. In the end, I missed miserably, crashed onto a table, and got repeatedly smashed in the head by plates and wine bottles.

I vaguely remembered a piece of cake flying beneath the attacker's feet and making him slip. My best friend should have been fine. Yeah, that was enough.

After all, he had been my only friend. I had no lover, and my family never stopped fighting. I had long since had enough.

Had I been reincarnated into the world of Naruto to begin a second life?

Interesting. I hoped I could be a really handsome guy this time, someone lots of people liked.

[Request received. Reshaping host's genes... Complete.]

This was a dangerous world, after all. Having some kind of cheat ability would be nice. Otherwise, I'd definitely get kicked to death like some stray dog by the roadside.

[Request received. Loading system panel... Complete.]

If there was a system, it would be best if it were a beautiful, sweet-voiced young woman. If it was, I would definitely fall in love with her.

[Request received. Loading emotional system for system panel... Suitable soul located. Complete.]

Ah, I couldn't remember much about Naruto cheats. It would have been nice if this were One Piece instead. Give me a Mythical Zoan, and I could freely roam the seas.

[Request received. Selecting a suitable Mythical Zoan Devil Fruit for host... Dog-Dog Fruit, Fenrir Form... Complete.]

I hoped I could truly live this second life well. This time, I would definitely show what I was capable of!

[Request received. Performing final ascension for host... Complete. Talent level increased. Wishing host a perfect second-life journey.]

[The Creator God's voice ends here. From now on, I will accompany you through this second life. My name is Hill. Please take care of me, Lord Qingyue.]

In a blur, around seven or eight months passed, and I finally became able to crawl freely around the house.

Ugh, the whole process had been so hard. Being reborn with my ability to think intact and returning to infancy was practically torture.

Fortunately, my intelligence had been preserved, and I had no trouble understanding the language.

From my parents' conversations, my father seemed to be an outstanding Jonin. He was a commoner with no clan name, and he was particularly skilled with the sword.

My great mother had no clan name either, but her bearing never quite felt like that of a commoner. As a Jonin, she excelled at delicate chakra manipulation and was a support-type ninja.

This should have been the brief period of peace before the Third Shinobi World War, the war that would produce the greatest number of geniuses.

Though they were Jonin, my parents were commoners without much of a family foundation, so our home was extremely simple, with only one floor.

Still, it was quite comfortable and felt warm.

My dad seemed to be very popular. People were always coming to visit him, especially ninja from the Sarutobi Clan who came to drink with him.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was still the Hokage, so my family was clearly aligned with the Hokage's faction. That probably meant the rest of my life would be worry-free.

Still, this was really hard to endure... I wanted to speak, but I couldn't. Fortunately, my system told me how to refine chakra.

Unlike other babies, I was a great reincarnator. Ignoring the fact that my brain was still developing, I had already begun training in chakra.

Every day, I opened my eyes, cried symbolically a couple of times to get my diaper changed, then drank milk. Once I was full, I began refining chakra.

By the time I was four, I could walk down the street with both hands behind my head.

I had finally booted up properly and bid farewell to that babbling infant stage.

At the same time, I noticed that I didn't seem to be an ordinary reincarnator.

[Isn't that right, Teacher Hill?]

[That is correct, Lord Qingyue. You are now the eater of the Dog-Dog Fruit, Fenrir Form, Mythical Zoan. You can already undergo preliminary physical enhancement.]

That lively female voice, intelligent yet soft and sweet, had been with me for a long time. She had suddenly appeared on the second day after I realized I had been reincarnated. She was presumably my cheat ability. She was always urging me to train, practically more motherly than my actual mom.

Still, Hill was quite conscientious as a teacher.

With her help, I now possessed strength no weaker than a Genin's.

[It would be nice if I could run into some kind of fateful encounter. There are quite a few pretty girls in Naruto. Those around my age during this period... some Konoha ghost girl?]

[I don't want to share Lord Qingyue's beauty with anyone else.]

That wasn't a joke. Seriously, this cheat ability called Hill wanted my body!

The reason might have been that I had wished to be a little more charming back then, so my appearance ended up resembling that of all you readers—Rudeus Greyrat.

[I'm still a four-year-old baby, Teacher Hill. How long have you lived? You shouldn't even think about that, right? Besides, you don't even have a physical body.]

A romance between a human and an AI... Yeah, that was a little bizarre.

[Lord Qingyue, do you mean that if I had a body, you would consider me?]

Had I said that?

Forget it. I shouldn't make Hill unhappy, or it would be over if my cheat ability stopped paying attention to me.

At the time, I thought it was just a joke, so I casually made that promise.

I wandered around without any particular destination, and before I knew it, I had triggered the perfect protagonist quest...

In an alley, two children who looked seven or eight were bullying a little boy wearing orange goggles from a position of superiority.

A brown-haired girl with short hair and purple markings on her cheeks stood protectively in front of him.

So this was why Kamui was so good at hiding tears that he fell in love with the Konoha ghost girl? If I wasn't mistaken, a handsome white-haired guy wearing a mask should show up soon to help them.

Mm, that had to be it. Watching a good show here would be pretty nice.

But...

Although there was an order to everything, and one should rather tear down a temple than break up a marriage, there was also an ancient saying: "I was here first."

Obito, man, you wouldn't get the chance to be with Rin later anyway. And she would like Kakashi for a long time in the future.

Since you couldn't have her, Kakashi didn't want her, and she would die in the end, why not give her to me instead?

No sooner said than done. Using the method Hill had taught me, I controlled my chakra and concealed the sound of my footsteps. After scrambling over walls and rooftops, I kicked and punched from their blind spots, easily taking down those two "big brothers."

[As expected of Lord Qingyue. You easily accomplished something ordinary children could never do.]

[I'd say there's no need to force that kind of praise...]

"Um, you... you are..." Rin Nohara had yet to recover from the shock and could only stare at me hesitantly.

Looking closer, young Rin had a round little face with a trace of baby fat. Her eyes were large, her lashes long, and they were truly beautiful eyes. Her skin was fair and tender, while the two purple markings didn't look out of place at all. Instead, they gave her a distinctive charm.

She wore a simple, slightly loose black long-sleeved V-neck top, with a white... apron below?

Just looking at her made it feel like she would become a virtuous wife and loving mother in the future. She really was the heart-fluttering type. Please, by all means, become my wife!

"I'm just a passing masked... Ahem, ordinary child. Are you two all right?"

"Mm... Mm, thanks to you. Thank you for helping us." Rin looked at me as though she admired me a little.

"So amazing... And he looks about the same age as me." Obito's face was full of unwillingness.

That handsome white-haired guy on the rooftop... had left after I stepped in. What an unlovable yet handsome kid.

"What happened? Why were they bullying you?"

Although I could more or less guess what had happened, I asked anyway for the sake of moving the plot along.

"It was... it was because I said I wanted to become Hokage. They laughed at me... Then I attacked them, but I couldn't beat them, and they knocked me down." The more Obito spoke, the less confidence he had.

Looking at it that way, Obito had definitely been wrong for throwing the first punch.

But honestly, I could still tell what mattered more between reason and getting involved with main characters.

"I think someone with the courage to protect his dream is very cool. But compared with someone who only uses his fists to argue back, I think someone who strikes back with achievements is even cooler."

Thinking back, I had been like that as a child too. Whenever someone denied me, I wanted to fight back. Only after growing up did I understand that answering with concrete actions and results was the right way.

Though after truly growing up, you no longer fought or competed over such things. At least, that was how I was.

Seemingly thinking I had made a lot of sense, the two little ones, Rin and Obito, immediately had stars in their eyes as they gazed at me eagerly.

Ah, cut it out. Even if you two tried to flatter me, I wouldn't be happy, you bastards.

"Mm, you're right! Once I become Hokage, I'll settle the score with them! You're a pretty good guy! When I become Hokage, I'll make you my advisor!"

Okay, so that had all been for nothing!

Annoyed, I punched Obito in the head. Since he couldn't phase through things yet, I had to hit him a few more times while I could.

"Why did you hit me?!" Obito winced in pain, tears appearing at the corners of his eyes.

"I think he didn't mean that you should settle the score with them using your status as Hokage, Obito. He was probably telling you not to act impulsively when faced with doubt and slander. Instead, you should carry those things with you as you fulfill your dream and use that reality to prove yourself."

As expected of Rin. No wonder Obito liked her so much. She was gentle and cute, considerate, and smart.

But the children in this world were all so mature. Not that I had any right to say that.

"That's right. Being Hokage is a great thing, and there will be countless hardships on that path. If you start fighting people over something this small, you won't become Hokage."

The black-haired, spiky-headed Uchiha brat before me raised his head to look at me, then stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes.

"Mm, I understand!" Obito said, extending his right hand again. "My name is Obito Uchiha. One day, I'll wear my goggles and have my Sharingan appear alongside them on Hokage Rock!"

"My name is Rin Nohara. I don't have any special dreams for now. I just feel uneasy when someone around me is so reckless."

"My name is Qingyue. My dream is..."

Heh heh, don't be too shocked by my dream!

"To marry an ordinary wife and have children! Make a little money, make lots of friends, and live comfortably!"