My Dream Is World Nuclear Peace

That night, after eating Ichiraku Ramen alone, Hideki returned home, took a bath, and felt somewhat tired.

Looking at the brand-new forehead protector by his bed, Hideki felt the urge to find that strange old man and share the good news.

But he quickly suppressed the impulse. He was not some childish brat like Obito.

"Forget it. It's only Genin—hardly an achievement worth bragging about." Hideki raised an eyebrow.

Rather than showing off to the old man, Hideki felt it would be better to hurry up and master chakra nature transformation.

The first stage of Hydrogen Release was already complete, whether he used it independently or in combination ninjutsu.

What he needed to do now was solve chakra fusion as soon as possible—in other words, develop the so-called "Hydrogen Release Chakra."

Of course, according to their agreement, once he mastered chakra nature transformation, he could inherit the old man's Earth Release as well.

The return on that investment was absurdly generous.

"I wonder how Kakashi's dad is doing," Hideki muttered.

If White Fang could avoid choosing suicide, it would be greatly beneficial to both Kakashi and him.

Not to mention the bond they had built from skipping classes together for so long. Wouldn't clinging to such a powerful backer be easy?

Getting by in Konoha, getting by in the Shinobi World—having someone powerful behind you really did make things more reassuring.

Like the Legendary Sannin, currently on the Sunagakure front lines and soon destined to go their separate ways.

Back when they were not yet the Legendary Sannin, they had fought their way to Hanzo of the Salamander, the "Demigod" and leader of the Land of Rain. They had clearly been no match for him, yet they survived and even earned the title of the "Legendary Sannin."

Why?

Wasn't it because the three of them had a Hokage teacher in his prime behind them?

Though their teacher was the future Yellow Flash, that was still the future, wasn't it?

If White Fang stayed alive, even Minato would have to call him senior.

As Hideki let his thoughts run wild, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

But just as he was about to battle Madara for three hundred rounds in his dreams, a frantic knock sounded at the door, nearly making him lose!

"Damn it!" Hideki sprang upright. If it was Obito knocking, he would turn Obito into Obitwo tonight!

"Fuck!"

Cursing as he went, Hideki rushed to the door.

However, when he opened it, there was no one outside, and a gust of wind blew past him.

That familiar feeling inexplicably calmed his irritated heart. The corner of his mouth lifted as he turned to look inside.

Sure enough, a drunken figure lay there. Who else could it be but the old man?

"You're here?"

"Hmph! You ungrateful brat... You graduated and didn't even tell me? Were you planning to secretly keep the mission rewards for yourself?"

The old man immediately started with a string of venomous remarks.

Hideki put on an indifferent expression. "It's only Genin. It's no big deal."

That caught the old man off guard. After a long while, he took another large swig of alcohol, then gave a soft chuckle.

"Tch... You're young, but you talk big. Still, you're right. Genin are nothing more than the most common trash in the Shinobi World. On the battlefield, they're cannon fodder. It really isn't anything special."

Hideki did not mind. He had long since grown used to the old man's sharp tongue.

Honestly, he was rather happy the old man had come.

The old man had a bad temper, hit too hard without restraint, had a poisonous mouth, and did not like keeping clean...

But all in all, he still felt rather familiar.

Hideki had come alone to this strange world, and there were not many people he cared about. This strange old man counted as one of them.

"Here, take this."

Suddenly, the old man rummaged through his robes and tossed a tightly wrapped object to Hideki.

Hideki caught it. It was somewhat heavy, and from the feel of it, it seemed to be a weapon—yet it was far too light.

Hideki immediately thought of the chakra short sword Kakashi's father carried. He had heard that the higher-grade the weapon, the lighter it was?

Hideki instantly grinned from ear to ear. "Look at you. You came all this way, and you even brought a gif... Hm?"

But when Hideki opened the wrapping and saw what was inside, his expression immediately turned strange.

It was not a chakra short sword. It was not even a kunai. It had nothing to do with a weapon at all.

What the old man had given him was a scroll, an extremely ancient-looking scroll with an unusual texture, somewhat like hard wood.

"This is..." Hideki was curiously about to open the scroll when the old man cleared his throat. Hideki paused and looked over at him.

"Before you open that scroll, I want to ask you something... Brat, are you sure you want to become a ninja?"

The old man had suddenly shed his usual persona of a scammy old geezer. He was exceptionally solemn and serious, which made Hideki somewhat unaccustomed to it.

But Hideki still answered without hesitation, "Of course!"

"Why?" The old man's gaze turned scrutinizing, and he suddenly seemed like some wise elder of life.

Hideki frowned. "Huh?"

"Why do you want to become a ninja?" the old man asked, emphasizing his words. "Or rather, are you prepared to face everything that might happen after becoming a ninja? Death, betrayal, conspiracies?"

"..." Hideki fell silent.

That was right... In the Shinobi World, being a ninja was an extremely dangerous profession.

Konoha had fought three Shinobi World Wars in just over forty years since its founding, and countless ninjas had died.

With his omniscient perspective, he naturally understood how difficult it was to make a name for himself in this Shinobi World without any cheats.

Rather than facing all those dangers, living safely and waiting for the ending might not be a bad choice either.

But...

The corner of Hideki's mouth rose. Having transmigrated into another life, if he really spent it in bland mediocrity, that would be far too wasteful...

Hideki looked up at the old man. His eyes were clear, filled with unwavering conviction and the resolve to forge ahead. He spoke:

"Though I haven't experienced the things you mentioned, I've definitely thought about them... The ninja path is certainly not an easy one. I've spent time at Konoha Hospital, so naturally I know how dangerous it is. If I could, I really would want to be an ordinary person."

"Farming every day, hoeing the fields, or becoming a forest ranger, scamming some ignorant little kids, living by the sea with spring flowers blooming."

The old man frowned. "Then you..."

"Because I have a dream, Grandpa." Hideki's lips spread into a confident smile as he answered as though it were only natural.

That smile seemed magical, and the old man could not help asking, "A dream?"

"Mm." Hideki gazed up at a forty-five-degree angle toward the ceili... ceiling. "My dream is world nuclear peace."

The old man: "..."

The air instantly became awkward.

Looking at Hideki's confident expression, the old man suddenly felt that his questions and worries had been unnecessary.

Meanwhile, while the old man was stunned, Hideki quietly opened the scroll.

The moment he opened it, Hideki blurted out, "Holy shit!"

What entered his vision was an unfamiliar yet familiar emblem.

It was so familiar that Hideki had seen it before—not just once. Even if he closed the scroll and waited another decade or two, he could still draw it.

Yet he was certain this was the first time he had seen that symbol since transmigrating here.

And beneath that symbol was a line of ancient-looking words.

Mori Clan—Chakra Refinement Technique.

------End of Volume One------