Harboring the worry that he might have transmigrated into the body of an idiot, Kaito found his dinner of chicken and fish completely tasteless.
After dinner, he left with a quick “I’m going back to my room to refine chakra” and sprinted off.
Uncle Takumi and Aunt Shu exchanged glances, muttering gossip about how ‘the boy has grown up’ and ‘he’s a bit precocious.’
“Kakashi, Kakashi…” Kaito frantically searched his memories in his room.
“Graduated at five, became a Chunin at six.
Unless it’s anime filler, how could Kakashi possibly be in my class all the way up to the third year?
“He’s a year younger than Obito, which means he’s a year younger than me.
At seven years old, he shouldn’t still be in the Ninja Academy…”
The more he thought about it, the more something felt wrong.
“Could it be because of anime filler?
In the filler, Kakashi did take the Chunin Exams with Obito when Obito was nine…”
“But even then, he couldn’t possibly be a dead-last.” Kaito continued to sift through the memories left by his younger self, his expression growing increasingly bizarre.
“What is going on?”
Early the next morning, Monday.
First thing in the morning, Kaito spent five minutes using the bathroom and eating breakfast, then another five minutes parting his hair neatly at a four-to-six ratio.
Shouldering his small backpack, he rushed off to the Ninja Academy in a flurry of motion.
Finding the student on duty in the classroom—a boy named Tanryo who had similar grades and a decent relationship with him—Kaito pondered for a moment before asking, “Do you know where Kakashi sits?”
Tanryo held a broom, sweeping the dust off the steps stroke by stroke.
His eyes were half-closed, his expression wooden.
The student on duty had to arrive at school half an hour earlier than the rest of the class.
In his eyes, losing half an hour of sleep at his tender age was nothing short of torture.
Being on duty on a Monday was even more horrifying!
Hearing someone ask a question, he finally twitched his half-closed eyelids and mumbled, “Oh, it’s you, Kaito.
Who are you asking about?
Kakashi?
Ugh, he isn’t here yet.
Wait, why isn’t that bastard here yet?
He’s on duty with me!
Damn it!”
Kaito breathed a sigh of relief.
*’I’m not an idiot!’*
“Ah, wait, you asked where Kakashi sits?
What do you want?
To switch seats with him?” Tanryo suddenly snapped mostly awake, asking warily, “Don’t tell me you like Rin too?”
Kaito paused.
*’Too?’*
*’Wake up, Tanryo, you’re just a background character!’*
“Never mind her for a second.
Didn’t I beat Kakashi in the practical combat drill at the end of last semester?”
Tanryo looked at him like he was a fool and said speechlessly, “Did you sleep your brains away?
You forgot even that?
Yeah, you won, but beating him is no big deal.
“Sure, Kakashi used to always be in the top two of our class, and he was universally recognized as number one in combat.
“But ever since Lord White Fang committed suicide half a year ago, Kakashi has been completely devastated.
He doesn’t even fight back anymore.
Who couldn’t beat him?”
Kaito fell silent.
Kakashi had been devastated since the White Fang’s suicide?
Right, that matched the memories the younger Kaito had left him perfectly, but…
*’Where did things go wrong?’*
*’Did I transmigrate into the wrong version of Naruto?’*
*’A fanfic version?
The Infinite Tsukuyomi version?
Ninja Master version?
Ultimate Ninja Storm version?
The mobile game version?’*
Question marks practically popped up above his head one after another.
Just then, Tanryo’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He shoved Kaito aside with one hand and flashed a brilliant smile.
“Good morning, Rin!
You’re here so early.”
Rin?
Kaito snapped out of his daze and immediately turned around.
A cute girl with short brown hair and large, deep brown eyes came into view.
On both sides of the girl’s cheeks were two prominent purple markings.
This rare feature made her identity crystal clear—Rin Nohara!
She had probably run all the way here, as she was panting slightly.
Hearing his greeting, she replied apologetically, “Good morning, Tanryo, Kaito.
I’m the one who’s late.
I forgot that I swapped duty shifts with Kakashi earlier.
What’s left to clean?
Leave it to me.”
Tanryo froze, then hurriedly shook his head.
“Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine, Rin.
It’s just a little bit of work, and I’m almost done anyway.
You don’t need to do anything, really, hehehe…” He smiled radiantly, acting like a completely different person from the one who had just been complaining about Kakashi being late.
*’Tch!’* His disdain for Tanryo suppressed his excitement at seeing a living, breathing Rin Nohara.
Kaito successfully resisted the urge to step forward, pinch Rin’s cheeks, and see what kind of material those purple markings were drawn with.
“I don’t think the windowsills have been wiped yet.”
Rin blinked, then nodded repeatedly.
She quickly ran to her seat, dropped off her small pink satchel, and went to wash a rag, leaving Tanryo staring in dumbfounded silence.
Soon after, Tanryo shot Kaito a look of utter contempt.
He opened his mouth to speak, but then shook his head and went to sweep near the windows.
“So precocious,” Kaito sighed softly.
He was naturally interested in Rin as well, but it was a different kind of interest.
After all, at this age, he hadn’t even hit puberty yet.
What was the point of chasing girls?
Besides, right now, Kaito was far more interested in Kakashi than in Rin.
So Kaito found a seat near the door, his eyes fixed intently on the entrance.
As time passed, he saw many acquaintances.
When it came to famous figures in Naruto, his current class had even more than Naruto’s generation.
His classmates included Obito, Ebisu, Tobichiku Tombo, Kurenai, Asuma, Mizuki, Rin, Shizune, Guy, and others.
Fourth-year seniors included Ebisu, Aoba Yamashiro, and Genma Shiranui.
First and second-year juniors included Kotetsu Hagane, Azuki, Izumo Kamizuki, and Hayate Gekko.
When Kaito searched through his younger self’s memories, all these people had appeared.
He had even interacted and spoken with half of them.
Because Monday morning was a major joint class—a mandatory course that every student from first to fourth year had to take—all these people gradually filed into the classroom under Kaito’s watchful gaze.
Kaito tried his best to suppress his emotions, but his intense staring still made some of them look uncomfortable and utterly baffled.
It wasn’t until two minutes before class started that Kakashi finally arrived…
If it weren’t for the mask, Kaito would hardly have recognized him.
His white hair was as messy as a bird’s nest, his eyes were lifeless, and there was even visible sleep crust in the corners of his eyes.
He dragged his feet, shuffling toward his seat like an exhausted peasant woman wandering through a market.
As he passed by, Kaito noticed that the short sword strapped to his back was completely crooked.
That was his father’s sword, the blade of the White Fang of the Hidden Leaf.
For some reason, Kaito suddenly felt an unprovoked surge of anger and frustration, along with an inexplicable sense of disappointment at seeing someone fail to live up to their potential.
It was roughly the same emotion one felt when attending an anime convention and seeing a cosplayer with an incredibly low-quality costume.
*’Trash cosplayer, ruining my Kakashi!’*
Acting on a sudden impulse, he crossed his legs, his toe accidentally brushing against Kakashi’s pant leg and leaving a prominent streak of dust.
Kakashi paused his steps and turned his head to look at him.
Kaito raised an eyebrow, lowered his voice, and said with a cheeky grin, “Sorry about that, accidentally bumped into you.
Want me to wipe it off for you, loser?”
Kakashi frowned slightly, then turned his head and continued walking toward his seat, leaving behind a single word: “No.”
Watching Kakashi’s gait, which remained exactly the same as before, Kaito breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Having taken a life before, he really was different now.
If Kakashi had retaliated with a couple of punches, he probably would have had to drop to his knees and beg Kaito not to die, right?
Still, Kakashi really did have a massive problem.
Even after being maliciously provoked, he only got slightly annoyed.
Why was there such a huge deviation?
*’Does this Kakashi need to be corrected?’*
As an internet warrior who usually only fought verbal battles and corrected trolls online, the prospect of having the chance to correct a real person actually made him a little excited.
Right at that moment, two lines of text suddenly floated past Kaito’s eyes:
‘Kakashi Correction Progress: 1%’
‘Obtained Free Attribute Point * 1.’
Kaito was stunned.
He blinked, his heart racing, and only managed to suppress his shock after smoothing down his bangs.
*’Is this a wish-granting system or something?’*