· “Charmander!
Use Ember!” At Hideki Sato’s command, the small, lizard-like creature standing before him inhaled deeply, its tail flame flaring violently.
It snapped its jaws open, unleashing a concentrated stream of searing orange fire directly at a massive, ancient oak.
In a heartbeat, the vibrant canopy was devoured by the blaze.
The wood crackled and popped, catching like dry kindling.
It burned with a strange, otherworldly ferocity—the kind of intense heat that looked like it belonged in a different era entirely.
Within moments, the towering tree was reduced to a crumbling pillar of charcoal.
Its task complete, Charmander turned around, its large, reptilian eyes looking up at Hideki, practically begging for praise.
Hideki smiled, kneeling down to rub the smooth, warm scales on the Pokémon’s head.
“Great job, buddy.
Keep this up, and we’re going to redefine what it means to be the strongest.” In a literal sense, Charmander was already the strongest of its kind—mostly because it was the only one in existence.
This wasn’t the peaceful, structured world of Pokémon trainers.
This was the brutal, shadow-filled realm of shinobi: the Hidden Leaf Village.
Six years ago, Hideki had been a mundane college student until a fatal accident ripped him from his world and dropped him into this one.
Misfortune had followed him; his new parents, both ordinary Chunin, had perished on a border skirmish shortly after his arrival.
They had left him a modest home and enough money to survive, allowing him to avoid the village orphanage and raise himself.
But Hideki hadn’t been left entirely defenseless.
Bound to his soul was a mysterious dimensional wheel that allowed him a single lottery spin every month.
For years, it had yielded nothing but mundane trash—spicy snacks, tissues, and household goods.
But a few months ago, the wheel had finally spun a miracle.
It had given him Charmander.
Tomorrow was the Ninja Academy’s graduation exam.
While the other kids were frantically practicing shuriken throwing, Hideki had slipped away to the dense woods near his house to gauge his partner’s growth.
“Alright, time for conditioning.
Give me ten laps around the clearing,” Hideki instructed, leaning back against a nearby tree trunk to rest.
He didn’t possess the legendary bloodlines of the Uchiha or the Senju, nor was he a natural-born prodigy.
Six years of grueling Academy training had barely granted him mastery over the standard Three Basic Jutsu.
Straining his own body further felt like diminishing returns.
Instead, he placed his bets on Charmander.
Despite its small size, the creature’s innate elemental power and raw durability could easily pressure an average Chunin.
In short, Charmander was his ace in the hole.
And Hideki wasn’t worried about the exam in the slightest.
The Academy training grounds were packed, the air thick with tension.
Unlike the peaceful eras of the past, the rumblings of a Second Great Ninja War were echoing across the nations.
The Hokage wasn’t looking for kids who could just perform basic illusions; he needed survivalists.
The graduation exam was simple but brutal: survive ten minutes in combat against a seasoned Chunin examiner.
Hideki stood near the edge of the arena, analyzing the fluid movements of the proctors, when a sudden, heavy slap to his shoulder blades nearly sent him eating dirt.
“What’s with the serious face, Hideki?” a vibrant, melodic voice chimed beside him.
“With that bizarre summoning beast of yours, you could probably pass this test in your sleep.” Hideki straightened his jacket and turned to face Kushina Uzumaki, giving her a long-suffering look.
“He has a name, Kushina.
It’s Charmander.
And you might want to watch your tongue, or he might just mistake that red hair of yours for a fire hazard.” Kushina instinctively clutched her long, flowing crimson hair.
She absolutely loathed her nickname, “Tomato,” but she fiercely protected her locks.
She puffed out her chest, balling her pale hands into tiny fists.
“Hmph!
Let him try!
I don’t care if he’s a fire lizard or a water lizard—if he tries to flex on me, I’ll turn him into a roasted chicken!” Hideki couldn’t help but chuckle.
Their easy camaraderie had started years ago.
When Kushina first arrived in the village as an outsider, target to cruel bullying, Hideki had been the only one to stand by her.
More importantly, when Cloud Village ninja attempted to kidnap her a few years back, Hideki had used his knowledge to alert the Anbu immediately, intercepting the strike team at the border.
Because of his swift intervention, a certain yellow-haired prodigy named Minato Namikaze never got the chance to stage a romantic, midnight rescue.
As it stood now, Kushina viewed Minato as little more than a quiet, flashy show-off.
The future of the Uzumaki lineage had taken a massive detour.
“Sato Hideki!
You’re up next,” a Chunin instructor called out, clipboard in hand.
Kushina gave him another heavy thump on the back, offering a fierce grin.
“Go get ’em, underling.
When I become Hokage, I’ll make sure you’re my top advisor.” “I’ll hold you to that,” Hideki said, stepping down into the arena.
Up in the shaded spectator stands, Hiruzen Sarutobi took a slow drag from his pipe, his sharp eyes narrowing as Hideki took the field.
“Hideki Sato…” the Third Hokage murmured, the smoke curling around his standard hat.
“Is that the boy who sniffed out the Cloud infiltration a few years ago?
The one with the anomalous summon?” “Yes, Lord Hokage,” an Academy instructor replied respectfully.
“His physical combat metrics are thoroughly average, but his theoretical intelligence is unparalleled—he hasn’t missed a mark in three years.
More impressively, his grasp on the village ideology is profoundly mature.
The phrase circulating among the recruits—’Wherever leaves fly, flames will burn…’—that was originally recorded from one of his essays.” Hiruzen paused, a look of genuine appreciation softening his weathered features.
“A child who understands the essence of the fire at such a young age is a rare treasure.
And he holds a close bond with the Uzumaki girl, correct?
Fascinating…” Down below, oblivious to the eyes of the village leader, Hideki stood opposite his examiner.
With a swift flick of his wrist, a burst of smoke materialized, revealing Charmander, who let out a low, territorial growl.
Hideki raised his fingers, forming the Seal of Confrontation with the Chunin examiner.
The moment the proctor blurred forward, Hideki triggered a flawless Substitution Jutsu, vanishing in a swirl of leaves to re-appear several meters away.
He pointed a finger directly at the examiner.
“Charmander, pressure him!
Use Ember!” ( End of Chapter )