Konoha: Nobody knows I can use Wood Release! Author: Shitian Feng
Araki unexpectedly transmigrated into the world of Naruto, becoming an obscure child in Konoha with no family background or supporting system. All he received was a Wood Release Kekkei Genkai he could not control.
To survive in the brutal Shinobi World filled with slaughter and suffering, he worked hard to train his body, accumulate chakra, and quietly develop while keeping a low profile.
Until he had enough strength, he would never reveal his Wood Release talent, lest he be studied as an experimental subject. Just imagining Orochimaru's gaze terrified him.
He had thought he could keep training in peace and only reveal himself to the world once he had fully mastered Wood Release. Yet just as he approached graduation from the Ninja Academy, he unexpectedly acquired a troublesome roommate...
Chapter 1: The eccentric homeowner (please bookmark this new book)
Deep in the mountains, towering trees filled the dense forest, their branches swaying amid the magnificent woodland.
Brilliant sunlight filtered through gaps in the foliage, casting dappled patterns over the fragrant path and lending it an air of leisure and languor.
At that moment, two figures strolled along the forest path, their steps unhurried, with none of the haste of travelers rushing to their destination.
On the left walked a woman of about forty. Her face was composed, her expression solemn, and her brown hair was neatly gathered into a bun behind her head. She wore a forehead protector bearing Konoha's symbol, and there was a faint coolness about her eyes.
On the right was a girl who looked eight or nine, her long, silky red hair falling loosely down her back. Her sparkling eyes kept surveying the scenery along the way, revealing bursts of anticipation and longing, along with a trace of poorly concealed anxiety about the future.
"Kushina, Konoha is just up ahead. It's where you'll be living from now on. If anything happens, you can always come to me."
The middle-aged woman's voice was even and steady. Her words conveyed her wish to take extra care of the girl named Kushina, but whether because of her personality or her circumstances, her tone still failed to fully express what she felt inside.
"Okay!"
Kushina nodded emphatically. Konoha Ninja had escorted her throughout the journey, only handing her over to the middle-aged woman before her when they were nearly at Konoha.
From the woman's introduction when they first met, she had learned that her name was Biwako Sarutobi and that she held an extraordinary position in Konoha: she was the wife of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Having someone of Biwako Sarutobi's standing come to greet her personally left Kushina feeling rather overwhelmed by the honor. She was still a little dazed as they walked.
"Kushina, don't feel pressured. Konoha and Uzushiogakure have been friends for generations. Just think of Konoha as your own home."
Seemingly feeling that she had been acting a little cold, Biwako Sarutobi deliberately forced a smile to make herself look kinder. Even so, she retained the stern air of someone high up in the establishment.
"I understand!"
Kushina nodded again, looking particularly well-behaved. She treasured the chance to live in Konoha.
"Oh, right..."
Suddenly, as though something had just occurred to her, Biwako Sarutobi immediately turned to look at Kushina beside her.
"Since you aren't familiar with Konoha yet, we've decided to arrange accommodations for you closer to the Ninja Academy."
Biwako Sarutobi paused briefly, giving Kushina a chance to respond. When the girl showed no intention of speaking, she continued.
"The house isn't property belonging to Konoha. It belongs to a child your age. He's a pitiful child, too, really. His parents died on a mission, leaving him only a house. To make ends meet, he entrusted the bedroom in the house to someone to rent out. That's the bedroom we've rented for you."
"That must be a big house!" Kushina exclaimed. Before she left Uzushiogakure, the villagers had told her that Konoha was more prosperous and wealthy.
"Well... not really." Biwako Sarutobi hesitated, then shook her head.
"Does it only have two bedrooms?" Kushina froze for a moment, intense curiosity shining in her innocent eyes.
"Well... just one." A trace of embarrassment appeared on Biwako Sarutobi's stern face, then vanished.
"Oh!" Surprise flickered in Kushina's eyes. This was not quite what she had imagined, but she was a child who had only just arrived and could hardly make unreasonable demands. Going along with it, she said, "It'll be nice to meet a girl my age, too. She can help me get used to the village and fit in at school sooner."
"Well... the homeowner is a boy..." Biwako Sarutobi's face was already darkening. Konoha's finances were tight, and providing Kushina with a house of her own would cost too much. Since they already had to pay the child a living allowance, they might as well treat it as rent and requisition his bedroom. He did not use it anyway.
"Huh?"
Kushina's pretty brows shot up, her dark eyes widening in utter shock.
A boy?!
Born into a ninja world plagued by constant war, she already understood many things.
Even if she was still little...
Sharing a bedroom with a boy...
That wasn't really appropriate, was it?!
Kushina's little red lips moved slightly. She wanted to voice her doubts but did not know how to begin. Several times she started to speak, only to stop, and in the end she said nothing.
"I know what you're worried about."
Just then, Biwako Sarutobi spoke slowly, her tone steady and grave as she tried her best to reassure Kushina.
"Actually, that boy has a rather peculiar personality. His parents' deaths dealt him a tremendous psychological blow, to the point that he has a hearing impairment and can't clearly understand what other people say. He also has trouble expressing himself and often fails to get his meaning across. As a result, he rarely speaks, keeps to himself, and has almost no friends. Most importantly, he never sleeps at home at night. Instead, he goes running in the woods or swimming in the lakes. According to Hiruzen, he's probably trying to ease his depression that way."
In earnest tones, Biwako Sarutobi described a child who seemed to have some psychological problems.
Cases like this were not uncommon in the ninja world.
After all, pain and suffering unfolded almost every moment, and misfortune would always descend on the unlucky.
Of course.
None of that mattered.
What mattered was that the boy was particularly easy to fool.
Not only could they save some money, but he would not leak anything about Kushina, either.
"Oh... I understand!"
Kushina's eyes suddenly lit up as she instantly grasped what the woman meant. Perhaps she wanted her to help comfort this emotionally wounded boy. It gave her a sense of mission, as though coming to Konoha now held another kind of value.
"Oh, right, I nearly forgot to tell you. That boy's name is..."
Biwako Sarutobi's steady, solemn eyes looked ahead, where Konoha's gates were faintly visible. She knew very well that once Kushina passed through those gates, Konoha would enter a new era.
"Araki!"
Chapter 2: Wood Release Kekkei Genkai
Araki!
That was an easy name to remember!
Kushina silently repeated it a few times and soon committed it to memory. At the same time, she grew intensely curious about the eccentric homeowner her age.
It seemed...
Coming to Konoha to attend school...
Would be pretty interesting, too!
As Kushina listened to Biwako Sarutobi introduce various things about Konoha, her mind had already drifted far away. She began imagining what it would be like to get along with the boy named Araki.
Before long, they passed through Konoha's gates. With Biwako Sarutobi leading the way, they encountered no obstructions whatsoever.
"So this is Konoha?!"
Once inside Konoha, Kushina was captivated by the scenery. The first thing she saw was three heads carved into a mountainside, majestic, imposing, and quite commanding. Neatly laid stone paving covered the ground, and lush greenery lined the way. Although she was inside a village, she felt as though she were in a forest.
It felt different from Uzushiogakure. Trees, lakes, mountains, buildings, and other elements blended seamlessly together, as though she were surrounded by nature, without pollution or damage to the original environment.
It wasn't quite what she had imagined!
Kushina looked around as she walked. It was almost dismissal time at the Ninja Academy, and there were not many people out and about in the village, leaving it relatively quiet.
"The Ninja Academy is just ahead."
Biwako Sarutobi raised a hand and pointed toward the wooden building within the enclosing walls at the end of the tree-lined avenue.
The building's overall design featured an oval roof, and it was painted fiery red, creating a welcoming feeling.
"We won't go to the Ninja Academy just yet. Classes are almost over, so you can report in tomorrow. I'll take you to your accommodations first."
Biwako Sarutobi made her arrangements methodically. Steady and meticulous by nature, she had already planned everything here in great detail before Kushina came to Konoha.
Of course...
There was still one little problem.
It simply did not count as a problem in her eyes.
Namely, she had not told Araki in advance that they would be requisitioning his bedroom.
Because she felt Araki would not understand anyway!
Ring, ring, ring-
As a sharp but not grating bell rang, the teacher at the Ninja Academy's lectern bowed to the students in the classroom, then walked toward the door, bringing the day's lessons to an end.
In an instant, the classroom grew noisy. The students packed their belongings and chatted casually with their friends nearby. The end of school was their favorite time.
Toward the back of the classroom by the window, an unremarkable figure remained slumped over the desk with both arms resting on it. Only after his closed eyelids trembled slightly did they slowly lift, revealing sleepy eyes.
Another day gone.
Araki silently sighed to himself. His quiet figure was thoroughly inconspicuous in the noisy classroom, even out of place. Few glances ever fell his way.
After all, everyone in class knew he had trouble hearing and expressing himself, making normal communication impossible.
Over time, he had ended up without friends.
Araki was quite happy with that. He was not here to make friends, but to learn.
That was right!
He was one of the few who genuinely came to school out of a heartfelt desire to learn!
He simply did not look particularly studious!
With practiced movements, Araki closed the book lying open on his desk. He had pressed it into a crumpled mess while sleeping.
Unlike the other students, however, Araki only did this to hide the fact that he had read the book many times in private.
On the surface, Araki slept through class and did not pay attention. In reality, he had gone through these textbooks more times than he could count and long since learned them by heart.
It's been almost three years now, hasn't it?
Watching the figures leaving the classroom one after another, Araki silently sighed to himself, then followed the crowd out and headed home.
In fact.