The road to Konoha was quieter than Kamui had imagined.
When he watched Naruto as a teenager, the village had always felt alive.
Ninja leaping across rooftops, merchants shouting in the streets, children chasing each other through the market…
Now that he was actually here, the silence between those sounds was what stood out the most.
“…So this is Konoha.”
He stopped on top of a low hill overlooking the village.
The Hokage Monument watched over the forest, the afternoon sun painting the carved faces in gold.
For a long time, Kamui simply stood there.
He had imagined this moment more times than he could count.
Back on Earth, Naruto had been more than an anime to him.
It had been something he returned to whenever life became difficult.
Whenever he thought he couldn’t keep going, there was always that loud blond idiot refusing to stay down.
Now…
That loud idiot was somewhere inside the village.
A real child.
Not a drawing.
Not a voice through a screen.
A lonely boy who didn’t know his own parents.
Kamui let out a slow breath.
“…Don’t get ahead of yourself.”
He slapped both cheeks with his palms.
“You’re not here to play hero.”
He laughed at himself.
“And stop talking to yourself.
People are going to think you’re crazy.”
“…Although…”
He scratched the back of his head.
“They’ll probably think that anyway.”
Grinning, he started walking.
The guards at Konoha’s gate looked him over from head to toe.
Young.
Maybe nineteen or twenty.
Travel-worn clothes.
A backpack slung over one shoulder.
No forehead protector.
No visible weapon besides a plain staff tied across his back.
One guard stepped forward.
“State your name.”
“Kamui.”
“Family name?”
“…Long story.”
The guard waited.
Kamui waited too.
The two men stared at each other.
Finally, Kamui smiled sheepishly.
“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask that.”
The older guard sighed.
“You a missing-nin?”
“No.”
“A mercenary?”
“No.”
“A merchant?”
Kamui looked at his nearly empty backpack.
“…Definitely not.”
The younger guard rubbed his forehead.
“So what exactly are you?”
Kamui thought about it seriously.
Then his face brightened.
“A traveler.”
“…”
“…”
The older guard looked ready to send him away.
Fortunately, another shinobi approached carrying a stack of documents.
“Problem?”
“Another drifter.”
The newcomer glanced at Kamui.
“You have money?”
“A little.”
“Any skills?”
“I can work.”
“What kind of work?”
Kamui grinned.
“I’ll find out.”
The three shinobi looked at each other.
The answer somehow sounded honest enough to be believable.
After several more questions and a temporary visitor’s permit, the older guard handed him a small wooden tag.
“Cause trouble and you’re out.”
Kamui accepted it with both hands.
“I’ll do my best.”
The guard frowned.
“‘Do your best’ to stay out of trouble?”
Kamui laughed.
“I was talking about surviving.”
The older man stared at him for a second…
…then snorted despite himself.
“Get moving.”
“Yes, sir.”
As Kamui walked through the gates, he couldn’t help smiling.
His first conversation in Konoha hadn’t gone according to plan.
Actually…
He’d never had a plan.
That was fine.
Plans changed.
People changed.
What mattered was taking the next step.
The village spread out before him, busy with ordinary life.
A woman hung laundry outside her home.
Two children argued over a wooden toy.
A blacksmith hammered glowing steel.
None of them knew the names Madara Uchiha, Pain, or Kaguya.
None of them knew what the future held.
Kamui’s smile slowly faded.
“…Let’s keep it that way for as long as we can.”
He tightened the strap of his backpack and disappeared into the streets, looking for the cheapest place to sleep and the first job he could find.
He didn’t know it yet.
But before this village ever called him a hero…
Before children would run after him laughing…
Before one loud blond boy would begin calling him his big brother…
He would have to earn the right to belong here.
One ordinary day at a time.