” “Hoshi!
If you dare get even a single point wrong on that ‘Human Meridian and Tenketsu Chart’ again, you can go sleep with the pig in the tavern’s backyard tonight!” Tsunade’s piercing roar instantly shattered the peace of the early morning.
At this moment, Hoshi was squatting in the hallway of a shabby tavern in Tanzaku Town, cradling a roll of yellowed medical notes in his hands.
Due to long-term malnutrition and just recovering from his heavy injuries, his face still bore a sickly pale hue.
Yet, his eyes were incredibly bright, sparkling with the fire of a transmigrator’s soul frantically absorbing the knowledge of a foreign world.
“Master, I’ve already memorized it three times.
The sixty-seven tenketsu of the Bladder Meridian of Foot-Taiyang, and I’ve even simulated the chakra feedback frequency of each spot on a surgical fish.” Hoshi looked up and gave a helpless, bitter smile, muttering his catchphrase under his breath, “Holy crap…
only you could come up with this kind of devilish training.” “Cut the crap!
Medical Ninjutsu doesn’t need excuses, it only needs precision!” Tsunade pushed open the door and stepped out, carrying the smell of a hangover’s alcohol with her.
Her mood was obviously terrible.
Last night at the gambling den, her almost cursed gambling luck had struck again—she lost thirty-two consecutive hands, blowing through all her cash and even leaving behind an IOU of five hundred thousand Ryo.
Hoshi glanced askance at the empty wallet clutched tightly in Tsunade’s hand, his mischievous nature flaring up instantly.
“Master, based on my calculations, the thugs from the creditor ‘Yamato-ya’ will reach the back door in fifteen minutes.
If you don’t want to be surrounded and called the ‘Legendary Sucker,’ I suggest we leave right now.” “You brat…” Tsunade’s face flushed in embarrassment.
In her annoyance, she roughly messed up Hoshi’s short black hair.
“When did you learn how to do bookkeeping?” “Following a ‘financial genius’ like you, I’d find it hard not to learn how to keep accounts.
Unlucky, unlucky, unlucky…” Hoshi sighed, but practically hoisted up a backpack that was wider than his own body.
Shizune, cradling Tonton, looked at the young child with a touch of pity.
“Hoshi, let me take the heavy things.
You don’t have much chakra, and you still have to train later.” “I’m fine, Sister Shizune.
This is called weight-bearing training.” Hoshi grinned.
His bright, clean smile caught Shizune slightly off guard, and it also brought a hidden flicker of sorrow to the depths of Tsunade’s eyes.
That silly, innocent smile was far too similar to Nawaki, who had died in the explosion.
The three of them quickly darted through the bustling market, slipping into the dense forest before the creditors could arrive.
At dusk, a campfire was lit in a clearing in the woods.
Tsunade drew a sealed transparent glass jar from her robes.
Inside, a pair of dark crimson eyeballs floated quietly in a light-green saline solution.
Because the dense ocular power had not yet fully dissipated, the surface of the liquid occasionally rippled with an eerie shimmer.
“Hoshi, your father left this behind.” Tsunade’s tone softened for once, carrying a hint of gravity.
“Before he died, your father awakened the Mangekyo—an ominous and taboo power.
It should have been turned over to the village, but I kept it for myself on my own authority.” Hoshi took the glass jar, the icy sensation traveling through his fingertips straight to his heart.
In that instant, he seemed to hear his father’s roars amid the sea of fire.
“The Sharingan is the pride of the Uchiha,” Tsunade said, staring at Hoshi, her amber eyes filled with unprecedented seriousness.
“I am giving it to you not so you can drown in hatred, but to make you remember how much your life is worth.
Before you grow strong enough to protect these eyes, you absolutely, under no circumstances, must reveal your bloodline to outsiders!” “I understand, Master.” Hoshi tucked the jar safely against his chest, feeling the chill radiating from it.
“Until I have the strength to tear those prying eyes apart, I am just Hoshi—an ordinary street urchin.” “Hmph, at least you have some sense.” Tsunade took another swig of sake.
“Starting tomorrow, I will teach you the basic chakra manipulation of the Yin Seal.
It is my exclusive Secret Technique.
If a mischievous brat like you can’t master it, you can pack your bags and become a waiter in a casino!” Hoshi subconsciously touched his forehead.
There was no mark there yet, but he knew it would be the key to walking sideways in the ninja world in the future.
This was the jutsu that every transmigrator who wanted to apprentice under Tsunade desired most—an all-purpose technique for youth preservation, energy storage, and life-saving.
“Right, Master.
Everything you say is correct.
But…
could you first teach me how to shatter rocks with a kick?
I feel like that would be much more useful for fending off your creditors later on.” “Get lost and practice your meridian chart!” The boy’s miserable cries and the woman’s laughing scolds echoed through the forest.
Over the next few years, Hoshi’s life was filled with three things: memorizing texts, getting beaten up, and making money.
He discovered that while Tsunade was an absolute loser at the gambling table, she was indeed an excellent master.
To train Hoshi’s chakra precision, she had him support his entire body weight on a single finger, doing push-ups over a ground littered with thorns, all while treating him with medicinal wine and ninjutsu while he lay “fast asleep.” “Chakra isn’t just energy; it is your will!” Tsunade stood nearby, casually waving her fist.
“If you can’t even control your body’s balance, how do you expect to precisely heal shattered internal organs?” Under this almost abusive tutoring, Hoshi’s growth was nothing short of miraculous.
He discovered that the spiritual energy brought by his transmigration, combined with the copy-perception abilities of the Sharingan, not only gave him a photographic memory but also granted him a beast-like intuition for the subtlest shifts in chakra.
He could precisely slice drifting fallen leaves with a Chakra Scalpel mid-leap.
He could hear the exact numbers of the dice shaking inside the cup amidst the chaotic noise of a casino, helping Tsunade win back a few days’ worth of food money (though she ultimately lost it all anyway).
It wasn’t until the spring of the sixty-second year of Konoha that a letter bearing the Hokage’s exclusive wax seal was delivered to Tsunade’s drinking table by a Ninja Hawk.
Tsunade set the letter down, a complex light flickering in her eyes.
“Hoshi, you are already twelve years old.
You can’t keep wandering around outside with a rotten gambler like me forever.
Konoha’s Ninja Academy is where you belong.
There are peers, rules, and trials there that you must experience as a shinobi.” Hoshi stopped his weight training.
His short hair, gilded by the sunlight, looked exceptionally dazzling.
Years of nomadic life had stripped away the panic of his early transmigration, replacing it with a restrained, sharp edge.
“Master, are you coming back with me?” “Tch, why would I go back to that boring village?” Tsunade waved her hand.
Though her tone was dismissive, Hoshi could clearly see a trace of longing for her hometown in the depths of her eyes.
“Hoshi, remember this.” Tsunade suddenly gripped Hoshi’s shoulder with staggering force.
“Once you return to the village, your identity is ‘Hoshi’—an orphan stranded outside due to the war.
Unless you face a life-or-death crisis, you are not allowed to activate your Sharingan.
In that village…
there is an Uchiha survivor.
If you have time, you can interact with him more.” “I understand.” Hoshi flashed a textbook sunny smile.
“I will obediently play the part of an ‘ordinary’ student.
But Master, if you lose everything out there and go completely broke, remember to come to Konoha and find me.
With my current business mind, I can definitely support you and Sister Shizune.” Tsunade, who originally wanted to give Hoshi a tight bear hug, instantly blew her top and gave him a few hard knocks on the head.
“Get lost!” With three bumps stacked on his head, Hoshi hoisted his backpack and began walking toward the place where the story of the Hokage began…