The next few months passed uneventfully.
“Shizuku.” She looked up from the small picture book she had been pretending to read.
Her father stood near the front door, already dressed in the standard uniform of the Konoha Military Police.
“I’m heading into the village to pick up a few things.
Want to come?” She nodded immediately.
Seeing more of Konoha was always interesting.
Her father smiled before lifting her onto his shoulders.
“Hold on tight.” The streets outside the Uchiha district were busy.
Far busier than they had any right to be.
Merchants beckoned to passersby to buy their goods.
The smell of grilled meat drifted through the air.
People from many different clans walked the streets.
Hyūga.
Akimichi.
Nara.
Yamanaka.
As they walked deeper into the village, Shizuku noticed something else.
The Academy.
It wasn’t one small building.
Several large buildings surrounded an enormous training yard where hundreds of children could be seen practicing.
Some were throwing wooden shuriken.
Others were learning taijutsu.
Teachers walked between groups, correcting stances and answering questions.
Thousands of students…
It really wasn’t a plot hole after all.
Though this might not be the same world as the Naruto anime.
Her father noticed where she was looking.
“Maybe you’ll go there one day.” She smiled with a hint of malice.
The indoctrination academy spouting bullshit about protecting the newer generation, but instead sending them to die.
Eventually, she’d enter that death trap.
It would be better to join the police force after graduating.
As they continued walking, two civilians stood outside a shop talking quietly.
“…The Police force were here again this morning.” “Really?” “Apparently, someone stole from one of the merchants.” “So what happened?” “They questioned half the street.” The second man snorted.
“Typical Uchiha.
They think that crest gives them the right to do whatever they want.” Her father didn’t react.
He simply kept walking.
Shizuku glanced up at him.
His expression hadn’t changed.
But…
his shoulders had stiffened.
“Do you want to get any food?” her dad asked with a stiff smile.
Shizuku seemed to think for a moment, then said, “You choose what we get.” They stopped at a small food stall.
Her father bought two skewers.
One for himself.
One for her.
She happily accepted it.
Not because she was especially hungry.
Mostly because grilled meat tasted incredible.
As they ate, a group of shinobi walked toward the village gates.
Some laughed.
Others looked nervous.
One little girl ran after a man and hugged his leg.
“When are you coming home?” He knelt beside her.
“I’ll be back before you know it.” She smiled.
“I’ll make you a drawing!” “I’ll be looking forward to it.” He kissed her forehead before standing and joining the others.
The gates slowly closed behind them.
Shizuku watched until they disappeared from sight.
…How many of them were lying?
Not intentionally.
But statistically…
some wouldn’t return.
The Second Great Ninja War was in full swing, so a large percentage of ninjas who fought would end up dead.
Somewhere beyond those walls, shinobi were dying every single day.
If I remember correctly…
by the time I graduate from the Academy, the third war should be nearing its halfway point.
That means I’ll likely become a genin during wartime.
…Great.
A child soldier.
She let out a quiet internal sigh.
Surviving long enough to become a jōnin will be difficult.
But surviving wasn’t just about becoming stronger.
Politics mattered too.
She knew things the people around her didn’t.
The village leadership was rotten to the core.
Danzō would gladly turn talented children into tools.
And the Third Hokage would cover for everything he did, and when exposed, would give him a slap on the wrist and make him hide it better.
People’s opinions varied back in her old world on how bad they thought the Third was, depending on whether they believed he knew everything Danzō was doing or not, and if he did things like letting Sakumo and the Uchiha die purposefully.
There were also many other things that people speculated he had done.
She didn’t think she was talented enough at acting to fool someone like Hiruzen for long enough to become strong.
He had lived for decades.
He’d seen countless people try to deceive him.
Trying to make a man like that believe she loved the village and would help the village over the clan sounded nearly impossible.
If Hiruzen became suspicious of her…
things could end very badly.
…Fugaku.
Her thoughts shifted toward the future head of the Uchiha.
If she could earn Fugaku’s attention while she was still young…
that alone would make her far more difficult for Danzō to touch.
The head of the Uchiha Clan taking an interest in her wouldn’t guarantee her safety.
But it would increase her chances exponentially.
And in a world like this…
even a small increase in the odds of surviving was worth pursuing.
Her thoughts drifted toward the future.
Toward the Kage-level fighters she might go against.
Pakura — one touch from her Scorch Release could reduce someone to a dried corpse.
Rasa — his Gold Dust had restrained a tailed beast.
Chiyo — the ten puppets technique.
The third Kazekage.
The Third Mizukage.
The Third Raikage.
The Sannin.
Minato.
Then…
further still.
Nagato.
Madara.
Obito.
Finally…
the Ōtsutsuki.
She looked down at her tiny hands.
Right now…
a normal bandit could probably kill me.
She wasn’t discouraged.
It was simply a fact.
Strength wasn’t something she just wanted.
It was something she needed.
Not for glory.
Not for recognition.
Not even to protect people.
But to survive.
At that moment, she thought of a quote from her past life: “Not wanting to be trampled on, there are two ways.
One is to become strong, strong until no one dares to step on you.
Another is to turn into dog shit, something no one would want to step on.” To live, I must become strong, so strong that no one would dare step on me.
On the walk home, they passed several Academy students practicing outside.
Some couldn’t even hit a target ten meters away.
One boy tripped over his own feet while trying to throw a shuriken.
His friends burst into laughter.
The embarrassed boy laughed along with them.
Most of them would graduate in only a few years.
Many would become genin.
Some would become chūnin.
Most of them would die early.
Such was the tragic fate of the ninja world.
As they reached the entrance to the Uchiha district, her father smiled.
“Did you have fun?” Shizuku nodded.
“I thought so.” He gently patted her head.
“I’m glad.” She looked up at him for a moment before looking away.
I wonder if my parents will live through this war.