'I'm grateful to have lived a second life, but it really had to be the world of Naruto, didn't it?'
Natsuki glanced at the Root shinobi wearing a green-striped mask not far away and could not help but sigh softly.
His parents had both died on a mission in the third year after his birth, and he had been sent to the Konoha Orphanage.
The Konoha Orphanage had now been secretly brought under the control of Root's leader, Shimura Danzō, becoming Root's training camp for young recruits.
But what could he do?
Kill himself and gamble on living a third life?
"I have to survive!"
Natsuki turned his head and looked at the little girl standing beside him.
She was six years old this year and was also a war orphan.
The difference was that she was highly talented and would become one of Konoha's best medical shinobi in the future.
She also had a famous adopted son, Yakushi Kabuto.
"Nonō, did you do what I told you during the test just now?" Natsuki asked in a low voice.
Nonō nodded obediently.
During these three years together, she had already grown used to listening to Natsuki.
"That's good."
A smile appeared on Natsuki's face.
Just then, the Root shinobi walked over to the director of the Konoha Orphanage, Mayū.
"All the children in this batch failed the test. Send them to the Ninja Academy and observe their performance at all times."
The Root shinobi's tone was cold as he said, "If any of them perform exceptionally later on, report it immediately."
"I understand."
Mayū replied helplessly.
The purpose of the Konoha Orphanage was to raise orphans who had lost their families.
But Root's leader, Danzō, had taken an interest in these orphans.
He controlled the Konoha Orphanage's funding, forcing Mayū to select talented children from among the orphans and send them to Root for training.
Root was rooted in Konoha's darkness, and its methods were extremely ruthless.
Shinobi who entered Root would be brainwashed, participate in training where survival was uncertain, and eventually lose their humanity, becoming Danzō's hounds.
Mayū did not want these orphans to join Root, but Danzō's influence in Konoha was at its peak.
He and the Third Hokage, Hiruzen, one in the shadows and one in the light, were the most powerful shinobi in Konoha.
Even the great shinobi clans had no way to refuse his orders. For example, the Aburame clan and the Yamanaka clan had both once been forced to hand over geniuses from within their clans.
If even geniuses from shinobi clans were treated this way, civilian geniuses had even less right to refuse.
Just like Nonō in the original work, she had joined Root from a young age.
But in the end, Danzō killed her on the grounds that she knew too much.
Natsuki and Nonō were the same age. After joining the Konoha Orphanage, they became familiar with each other.
During the Root entrance test just now, he had specifically told her to hide her abilities, which was why she had not been chosen by the Root shinobi.
As for him, he did not need to hide anything. He was already lacking.
Even if he performed normally, he did not have the qualifications to join Root.
Root belonged to Anbu and was made up of elites among elites. The threshold to enter was very high.
Natsuki looked at the departing Root shinobi, his brows tightly furrowed.
Always hiding one's ability was not a solution.
His old man once said that one had to use magic to defeat magic.
The only way to let Nonō escape Danzō was to have her gain Hiruzen's recognition.
More accurately, she had to become a shinobi of the Hokage's faction.
With Nonō's talent in medical ninjutsu, she could do it.
When the time came and she became a shinobi of the Hokage's faction, she would also be able to help Natsuki survive better.
The only pity was that the medical shinobi training class had not appeared yet.
In the original work, Hiruzen's student, Tsunade, proposed establishing a medical shinobi training system during the Second Shinobi World War.
The two most important points were the fixed inclusion of medical shinobi in shinobi squads and the opening of medical shinobi training classes.
But right now, there were still four or five years before the Second Shinobi World War.
If Nonō wanted to attract Hiruzen's or Tsunade's attention, she could only rely on her performance at the Ninja Academy.
But how to perform was also a problem.
If she could attract Hiruzen's or Tsunade's attention, she could also attract Danzō's attention.
"You all worked hard today. Rest well. The day after tomorrow, I'll take you to the Ninja Academy to register."
Mayū let out a breath and said.
"Yes, Director."
Natsuki and the others answered in unison.
Two days later, at the Ninja Academy.
Natsuki looked around and saw many children of the same age, as well as the parents who had brought them here to enroll.
Nonō stood beside him, also looking around curiously, her fair little face filled with curiosity.
"You don't need to send me to school. I'm not a three-year-old kid anymore. I'm already eight years old!"
A sudden voice came from not far away.
Natsuki subconsciously turned to look.
The one speaking was a little boy with short dark-brown hair.
Behind him stood a young woman.
She wore a Jonin vest, her entire body wrapped up tightly, giving off a heroic air.
It was Tsunade.
The granddaughter of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and the student of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
In the future, she would also become one of the famous Konoha Sannin alongside Orochimaru and Jiraiya.
Natsuki did not recognize her at first glance.
Because compared to her image in the original work, her current appearance was not iconic enough.
In particular, she was missing the tea-green haori printed with the word "gamble" and the diamond-shaped Strength of a Hundred Seal mark on her forehead.
Most importantly, she was not loaded enough.
But as one of her fans, Natsuki was very clear about the heights she could reach in the future.
"Why are you talking so much?"
Tsunade raised her hand and flicked Nawaki on the forehead, saying, "I came to send you to school. You should be grateful!"
"Ouch!"
Nawaki subconsciously covered his forehead.
"Stop pretending. I didn't even use any strength."
A smile appeared on Tsunade's face as she said, "I'll only send you this far. I still have a mission to do."
After she finished speaking, she turned and left.
Nawaki withdrew his gaze and soon noticed Natsuki and Nonō.
There was no helping it. The two of them stood out in the crowd because of their appearances.
"You two look unfamiliar. Did you just enroll?"
Nawaki took the initiative to walk up to them and said, "I'm Nawaki, a third-year student. Please take care of me."
He was quite naturally friendly.
Natsuki was not surprised either.
In the original work, although Nawaki did not have many scenes, his personality was very clear. He was a sunny and cheerful boy.
Natsuki nodded and said, "My name is Natsuki. Please take care of me, Nawaki-senpai."
When Nawaki heard the word senpai, his eyes immediately lit up.
He gripped Natsuki's hand with great satisfaction and said, "If you run into any trouble at school, you can come find me."
"Thank you."
Natsuki recalled Nawaki's information.
He was Tsunade's younger brother, meaning he was the grandson of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and Orochimaru's student. In Konoha, he could be considered a second-generation Kage descendant.
But this world was far too cruel.
Even Nawaki, who had such a background, died in the Second Shinobi World War.
At that time, he was only twelve years old.
After chatting with them for a bit, Nawaki went his separate way.
They were not in the same grade, so naturally, they were not in the same class.
Natsuki and Nonō were assigned to First-Year Class A.
The two of them walked toward the classroom.
The moment he entered the classroom, Natsuki's body suddenly trembled.
[Congratulations, host, on becoming a student of the Ninja Academy. The Multiverse Template System has been activated.]
After confirming that the words before his eyes were not an illusion, Natsuki let out a quiet breath.
In the world of Naruto, surviving without a cheat was nearly impossible, but he had still planned to become an ordinary shinobi and live as long as he could.
But now that it had come to this, there was no reason to refuse a cheat.
[You have awakened the Conan Template.]
(To be continued.)