“Sakura, you seem to be in quite a foul mood today.” During breakfast, Mebuki Haruno carefully studied her daughter.
The worry written across Sakura’s face was impossible to miss.
“Hm?
Could it be that our little Sakura has already fallen for someone?
Young people really do have restless hearts!” Kizashi Haruno burst into hearty laughter.
“Dad, seriously?
That joke was so bad it was practically frozen solid!” Sakura sighed.
Sakura sighed.
Her father had a great personality, but there was one thing she couldn’t stand about him—he loved making terrible dad jokes that were cold enough to freeze someone to death.
“I just feel like the pressure is a little too much!” “Huh?
A lot of pressure?
Why?” Mebuki looked puzzled.
“I’m obviously just an ordinary person, but somehow I’ve suddenly become the savior of the world.
The lives and deaths of everyone in the world are resting on my shoulders.
This feeling really isn’t pleasant.” Sakura rested her chin in her hands and sighed.
“I used to think heroes were really cool.
But now that I’ve suddenly become one, I’ve realized something.
Being a hero isn’t cool at all—it’s hard!” “You silly girl, what are you talking about?” Kizashi laughed and ruffled Sakura’s hair.
“Protecting the world is something the Hokage and the other shinobi will take care of.
You’re just a little girl who hasn’t even entered the Academy yet.
It’s far too early for you to talk about protecting the world!” He simply assumed Sakura had been playing too many ninja games.
“Sure enough, ordinary people can never understand me.” Sakura spread her hands helplessly, feeling like a true master without equal, the swordsman who stood at the pinnacle and found himself without an equal.
“Ah!
That hurts!” The very next second, Sakura clutched her forehead, tears welling up in her eyes as she glared at the culprit.
“A child should act like a child.
Don’t go around looking like a gloomy old man all day!” Mebuki withdrew her finger and continued, “After breakfast, you’re going outside to make some friends.
You are not allowed to come home until you’ve made a few friends your own age.
Understand?” “Yes, I understand!” Sakura immediately sat up straight, not daring to offer the slightest objection.
In this household, anything Mebuki said was practically a royal decree.
After finishing breakfast and saying goodbye to her parents, Sakura left the house.
She planned to find a patch of grass and lie down in the sun.
As someone who had been a shut-in in her previous life, she really wasn’t very good at making friends.
And now that she was only four years old, making friends with children her own age was even more troublesome.
How was she supposed to join in with a bunch of little kids playing around?
That wasn’t something she knew how to do.
“What dazzling sunlight…” Lying on the grass, Sakura could see a clear river flowing nearby.
The trees around her were filled with the sounds of insects and birds, while the scent of soil and fresh grass filled the air whenever she breathed.
The natural surroundings made Sakura feel extremely comfortable.
The only problem was that the sunlight overhead was a little too bright.
“Well, this is a perfect opportunity to test the power of the Infinity Stones…” As she spoke, Sakura raised her right hand.
A flash of red light appeared within her emerald-green eyes.
The power of the Reality Stone activated, and an oil-paper umbrella slowly materialized in her right hand.
“With the ability to turn imagination into reality, even if I can only use a tiny fraction of its power right now, creating an oil-paper umbrella shouldn’t be a problem!” Sakura planted the umbrella created by the Reality Stone into the ground beside her, then lay down beneath its shade.
At four years old, her small body was perfectly suited to using the oil-paper umbrella as a parasol.
In such a peaceful environment, Sakura’s mind gradually became hazy.
A wave of drowsiness washed over her.
However, just as she was about to fall asleep, a noisy commotion suddenly woke her up.
“What kind of brats are these?!” Sakura opened her eyes and sighed helplessly.
Back in her previous life, when her parents had still been alive, she had more than once been tormented by the troublesome children of relatives.
She had never expected that even after transmigrating to another world, she’d still have to deal with noisy brats disturbing her sleep.
“Hey, Forehead!
I like your umbrella.
Give it to me quickly, and I’ll let you play ninja games with us!” A group of children ran over.
At the front was a girl who looked about five or six years old.
The moment she arrived, her attention immediately fell upon Sakura’s oil-paper umbrella.
Worse, she opened her mouth by calling Sakura a nickname that nearly made her lose her temper.
“Forehead?!” Sakura hadn’t expected that nickname to appear after all.
She had assumed that transmigrating into this world would cause the nickname associated with the original Sakura to disappear.
Yet here it was.
For a moment, Sakura felt as though some malicious force from the universe itself was hovering around her.
“Hey, Forehead!
Are you even listening to me?” The girl planted her hands on her hips, putting on the air of a little gang leader.
“Give me the umbrella obediently.
From now on, you can join our group.
I’ll protect you.” “My brother has already graduated from the Academy and become a genin.
As long as you listen to me, I guarantee nobody will dare bully you!” “I…” Sakura simply stared at the girl.
Inside, she rolled her eyes helplessly.
This girl was so young, yet she already knew how to form cliques and throw her weight around.
The people of this world really did mature early.
“Forehead, what’s with that expression?
Are you looking down on me?” Because she had a brother who was a shinobi, Masami Koizumi had always been an object of envy among the civilian children.
Sakura’s reaction today, however, made Masami feel as though her dignity had been challenged.
“Your imagination is really something, isn’t it?!” Sakura stood up from the grass and pulled the umbrella out of the ground.
She really wanted to hit the girl.
But considering that her opponent was still a child, Sakura was worried that she might lose control and accidentally kill her.
That was the only reason she had been suppressing her anger.
“Hey!
Are you trying to run away?” Seeing Sakura turn around with the umbrella in hand, Masami immediately became anxious.
“You can leave, but leave the umbrella behind!” “Why are you so obsessed with my umbrella?” Sakura looked at her in confusion.
“Hmph!
Because I like it!” Masami folded her arms across her chest.
She had fallen in love with the umbrella at first sight.
Having grown accustomed to being the center of attention among the children around her, she naturally felt no hesitation about simply taking what she wanted.
“…” Sakura stared deeply at her.
Yep.
A brat was still a brat.
She wanted someone else’s belongings simply because she liked them.
However, when Sakura looked up at the oil-paper umbrella she had created, she couldn’t blame Masami for falling in love with it at first sight.
The umbrella was predominantly white.
Around its outer edge was a pattern of cherry blossoms.
Inside the circle was a depiction of the Nine-Tailed Beasts.
All nine were drawn in an adorable chibi style, with cute, rounded appearances.
It really was the sort of design that children would love.
“I’m sorry, but if you like it, you can go to a shop and have the owner make one for you.
I’m not giving mine away!” Sakura rejected her without hesitation.
This umbrella wasn’t merely something she could use to keep out the sun or rain.
She had put a great deal of thought into creating it.
Although it looked ordinary on the surface, its durability was actually comparable to steel.
And Sakura planned to continue strengthening it in the future.
Once she officially graduated from the Ninja Academy, she intended to use this umbrella as her weapon.
“Forehead, so you really won’t hand it over?!” Masami’s face twisted with anger.
“Then don’t blame me for taking it by force!” “I don’t want to fight you.
Don’t push me!” Sakura stood there with the umbrella in hand, her expression completely unchanged.
Even though she was only a four-year-old child, possessing the power of six Infinity Stones meant there was no way a few ordinary children could defeat her.
“Hey!
How dare you bully someone?!
Be careful, or I’ll tell your parents!” Just as Sakura was preparing to knock the children down and find somewhere else to sleep, a little girl with blonde hair suddenly ran over and stood in front of her.
“Hmph!
It’s you again.
Let’s go!” Masami glared angrily at the blonde girl standing in front of Sakura.
In the end, she could only storm away with the other children.
Her genin brother was no match for the blonde girl’s family.
Even at such a young age, Masami understood that she couldn’t afford to provoke them.
“Hey, are you okay?” The blonde girl turned around and looked at Sakura.
“My name is Ino Yamanaka.
What’s yours?” “I saw everything.
You were really brave!” “Uh… does this count as brave?” Sakura couldn’t help laughing.
They were only a few children.
What was there to be afraid of?
“Of course!” Ino nodded seriously.
“You didn’t back down at all even when you were facing enemies stronger than you.
You’re definitely going to become a very powerful shinobi in the future!” “My name is Sakura Haruno.
You can call me Sakura!” Sakura smiled.
So this was the fateful meeting that would eventually change both of their lives.