Kirito Tonsaka

Konoha, late afternoon, on the outskirts of the northwest corner, where the Orphanage was located.

An old wooden house and a courtyard enclosed by brick walls—that was what Konoha's Orphanage currently looked like.

The Orphanage's director was an elderly woman with a kind, gentle face. She sat on the porch outside, using needle and thread to mend a somewhat faded garment. Every so often, she paused to watch the children in the courtyard playing Ninja Game.

Whenever she saw the innocent smiles on the children's faces, a delighted smile would appear on her own, soothing her heart.

However, when she looked at the little boy beside her who was seriously reading a book, her relaxed brow furrowed slightly again.

She was not worried that the little boy was unsociable. Rather, she feared that studying too hard would cause his eyesight to deteriorate too soon.

The boy's name was Kirito Tonsaka. He was an ordinary orphan whose parents had been common civilians in the Land of Fire. They had come to live in the Hidden Leaf Village with him, only to encounter bandits on the way. Had they not luckily run into Konoha ninja afterward, he might have died like his parents long ago.

Kirito Tonsaka had arrived at the Orphanage at the age of five and had lived there for a year. Though he was not especially cheerful, he was not unsociable either. He was merely somewhat dull, usually quiet and prone to staring blankly into space. Overall, he was still a very kind child.

But not long ago, after Kirito Tonsaka had suffered a severe illness that had nearly taken his life, he changed. It was as though something had clicked in his mind. He was no longer dull; he became sharp and clever, as well as exceptionally sensible. He often helped her with whatever tasks he could manage.

This change comforted her.

Recently, because he wanted to read, he had even taken the initiative to ask her—the only literate person in the entire Orphanage—to teach him how to read. He learned incredibly quickly. In less than a week, he had learned over a thousand characters and could now read on his own.

The old director did not find Kirito Tonsaka's obvious recent changes strange, because the children in the Orphanage generally matured early.

Kirito Tonsaka had witnessed his parents being killed by bandits with his own eyes. He himself had nearly been killed, then had nearly died of illness afterward. His life had undoubtedly been full of hardship, so it was not strange for his personality to mature rapidly.

During the Warring States period, she, someone fortunate enough to have survived those years, had seen far too many children like Kirito Tonsaka.

As an utterly ordinary transmigrator, Kirito was greedily using books to understand this world, completely unaware of the old director's pitying gaze.

After a month, he had already understood that he had transmigrated into the world of Naruto. The current time was Konoha Year 30, and his new identity was that of an orphan with no one to rely on.

It was a terrible new identity. Kirito Tonsaka discovered that this status alone made it impossible for him to attend the Ninja Academy.

By asking the old director, he learned that attending the Ninja Academy required money; it was not free. Unless one's parents were martyrs who had contributed to the village, villagers had to pay tuition to study at the Ninja Academy.

Besides that, there was another very important requirement: possessing ninja aptitude.

Kirito Tonsaka already met that important requirement. After absorbing the original owner's memories, he learned that the ninja who had rescued the original owner had only brought him back to Konoha because he discovered that the original owner possessed ninja aptitude.

Originally, that ninja had intended to adopt Kirito, but unfortunately, he had died on the battlefield half a year ago. Naturally, his inheritance had gone to his relatives.

Therefore, what Kirito Tonsaka currently lacked was tuition.

He had asked the old director about it and learned that it cost one hundred thousand a year.

Since the Orphanage's monthly expenses were only ten thousand, Kirito Tonsaka knew it was unrealistic to rely on the Orphanage to fund his enrollment. He could only rely on himself.

But how could a child of only six earn one hundred thousand?

"Director, look! Look! We caught so many fish!"

Suddenly, a cheerful voice came from the direction of the courtyard gate.

The old director immediately turned toward the sound. A fair-skinned, strikingly beautiful blonde girl came into view, happily carrying more than a dozen fish strung together with grass rope. Two younger boys stood beside her, each holding more than a dozen fish as well.

The three of them immediately drew the attention of the children in the courtyard. Seeing the fish in their hands, the children ran over in delight and surrounded them, staring at the fish with curiosity and longing.

Kirito Tonsaka also turned his attention toward the three of them—more precisely, toward the plump-looking fish in their hands.

He closed the boring book in his hands, titled "Will of Fire," and followed the others over.

No surprise there would be fish for dinner tonight.

"Nonō, where did you find so many fish? Don't tell me you went to catch them in the river?"

The old director quickly walked over to the blonde girl and questioned her. There was not the slightest hint of joy on her face; instead, she looked worried.

There were indeed many fish in the river near the Orphanage, but many dangerous creatures lived there as well, such as enormous snakes and fish that could swallow a person whole in one bite.

Ninja could naturally deal with such large creatures easily, but for ordinary people, encountering one meant almost certain death—let alone several children with little fighting ability.

"Grandma Director, don't worry. We caught them with traps in the shallow waters downstream. It wasn't dangerous."

Yakushi Nonō looked at the old director with clear eyes and smiled.

"With traps?"

The old director asked doubtfully.

"That's right, Grandma Director. Nonō is really smart. She used stones and branches to make a fish trap in a narrow, shallow stretch of water. Those fish swam right into it on their own. From now on, we can eat fish every day."

One of the boys said excitedly.

The other boy hurriedly nodded as well, then began boasting about how they had made the trap.

After hearing the two boys' explanation, the old director immediately believed them. Yakushi Nonō was an exceptionally clever child, dexterous and full of her own ideas, while the two boys were both straightforward, good children who could not possibly lie to her.

"You've worked hard. Tonight, we'll have fish soup and grilled fish."

The old director said with gratification.

Hearing that they would have fish soup and grilled fish that evening instead of flavorless wild vegetable rice balls, the children immediately cheered happily. Everyone wore delighted smiles.

At that moment, Yakushi Nonō secretly glanced at Kirito Tonsaka and winked at him.

Kirito Tonsaka's expression remained unchanged, but he held up two fingers toward Yakushi Nonō. She nodded lightly.

In the blink of an eye, night fell.

The Orphanage rang with the children's happy laughter. They chatted and laughed as they ate a delicacy they rarely got to enjoy. Though it was only a grilled fish and a bowl of light fish soup, they ate with great delight.

After Kirito Tonsaka finished his grilled fish, he picked up his bowl of fish soup.

Since no ingredients had been added to remove the fishy smell, the steaming soup carried an extremely strong fishy odor.

Even so, Kirito relished it. He drank every drop of soup in the bowl and finished all the fish meat inside, still looking unsatisfied afterward. His eyes unconsciously drifted toward the blonde girl across from him and her bowl of fish soup.

Yakushi Nonō was the first friend he had made at the Orphanage after transmigrating.

Kirito did not know much about this friend. He only knew that she would eventually be recruited into Root by Danzo. However, because she was kind by nature and could not bear the darkness within Root, she would leave voluntarily, become the director of an Orphanage, and later take in Kabuto Yakushi, one of the major villains of the later story.

Her ending was tragic. She was plotted against by Danzo and died at Kabuto's hands.

Her death had an enormous impact on Kabuto's life.

As her friend, Kirito hoped she could have a good ending, because he had discovered that she was truly reliable. Not only was she pretty, she was also very smart.

Take the fish trap, for example. He had only briefly explained how to make one today, and she had successfully built it. As for reading and writing, he had the soul of an adult and learned over a thousand characters in a week, yet she had done the same in five days.

She was unquestionably a civilian genius. As long as she was given a few resources, becoming a ninja capable of standing on her own would not be a problem in the future.

Kirito absolutely did not want such a reliable friend to be ruined in Danzo's hands.

Nonō quickly noticed Kirito's gaze. She decisively picked up her fish soup and, under his expectant eyes, drank it all in one gulp. Then she gave him a happy smile and continued slowly eating her grilled fish.

"I'm full."

Kirito stuck out his tongue at Nonō and said.

This friend was not reliable at all.

After reading this, I hope everyone will vote for this book and invest in it. If you can spare some monthly tickets and rewards, Haruko would be immensely grateful. It's too difficult for a newcomer with a new book.