"Welcome to Konoha Tachibana-kun." the polite sagely old man with a goatee and a smoking pipe in his hands, Hiruzen Sarutobi, greeted calmly.
Tachibana gave him a short nod with only a few polite words, "I'm happy to be here Hokage-sama." He didn't bow towards him not because of any personal likes or dislikes about him based on the show, but because of his position as the Daimyo's heir.
If Tachibana bowed to him it would be like saying that the Daimyo was lower than the Hokage in stature when it was generally considered to be the opposite by the public.
"I'm glad you're happy. May I know about your perspective on the life of shinobi Tachibana-kun?"
"Ah…" Tachibana was a little surprised by the direct question but he responded nonetheless.
"I haven't interacted much with the lives of shinobi as I've lived in the capital all my life. But from what I've observed when my father had the twelve guardian ninjas is that they're all duty-bound and have ideals they aspire to make true in the world."
Hiruzen closed his eyes and breathed out some smoke from his nostrils as if in deep thought about what Tachibana had just said.
He slowly opened his eyes and nodded, "True. Duty-bound and ideals. They are words even I would use to describe shinobi who are part of the cream of the crop. But I would also like to add something else."
Tachibana raised his eyebrows, "And what would that be Hokage-sama?"
"Tenacity, or their ability to repeatedly stand up after being knocked down."
There was a short silence as Tachibana mulled over the Hokage's words and Hiruzen inhaled smoke from his pipe.
Before Tachibana could speak however Hiruzen continued, "I want you to know these three terms Tachibana-kun. They are what encompass the life of a truly great Shinobi. Only by knowing the core of these three words will you be able to understand us."
'Ah, I see…so he's worried that I'm spying on them for dad and will probably tell him something strange which might impact them negatively.'
Tachibana nodded and spoke to quell Hiruzen's worries, "Worry not Hokage-sama, I will only make any conclusions about the world of those that protect us from the shadows when I've truly qualified to be one of them."
Hiruzen smiled at that and nodded. He *tapped* his pipe on the table to clear the ash that had formed in it a little and then spoke calmly.
"I suppose you'll be needing a teacher to help you become a shinobi?"
Tachibana nodded, "If it isn't too much trouble I'd like you to assign someone to help me begin walking on this path."
"Haha~ I appreciate your humbleness Tachibana-kun. I will assign you to someone who can help you become your very best." Hiruzen said with a smile.
Tachibana nodded once again and Hiruzen pressed a button on his table.
"I've called someone to take you to your residence during your stay here at Konoha. I hope you're satisfied by the comfort. Although we cannot match the royal palace we've done our best."
Tachibana smiled and nodded politely, "I will be in your care then Hokage-sama."
Just then there was a *knock* on the door and Hiruzen spoke out loud "Come in."
Tachibana turned around to see a man wearing nose sunglasses peek inside the and then walk in after Hiruzen nodded.
"You called for me Hokage-sama?" The man asked after kneeling on the floor.
Hiruzen spoke happily, "Could you direct Tachibana-kun here to the residence I had you prepare earlier Ebisu?"
"Yes! Hokage-sama! Consider the job done."
Ebisu then stood up and bowed politely towards Tachibana and spoke calmly, "Could you please follow me Tachibana-san?"
Tachibana nodded and began to follow Ebisu out of the room, right as he fully stepped out however, Tachibana turned back towards Hiruzen and spoke in a tone that was as calm as a lake reflecting the sky in it.
"Although your health will give you as long as you've lived, a mistake from the past that occurred due to your strength will hunt you down sooner than later."
With those words, before Hiruzen could respond or stop him, Tachibana left the room and shut the door behind him.
Hiruzen was frozen in his seat as he looked at the spot Tachibana had just been standing at while speculating about what Tachibana had just said.
'A mistake from the past that occurred due to my strength?'
'Aren't there several of them?'
'I heard he was a fortune teller, so why's he giving out such ominous predictions!?'
'Isn't that bad for business?'
'Hopefully, his reports to the Daimyo don't affect the already tight finances of Konoha.'
'If things keep going as they are I will have to kick out several shinobi who work in the management department.'
'Wait! Can't I just cut finances to Danzo?'
'He'll try to dance on my head for the pay cut but I guess he can earn them through 'other' means.'
'Might as well kick out a few of the shinobi in the management department after the chunin exams. There are too many of Tsunade's bills that I have to settle.'
'Too bad I sold away all the Senju properties to fund Danzo's weird experiments. Who'd have thought even after growing up so much Tsunade would still be so fervent with her gambling.'
'Tsk. If only she didn't gamble so much Konoha's finances would be in the green.'
As Hiruzen complained about various things, Tachibana had reached the home on the outskirts of a lush forest.
"Here's the assigned home Tachibana-san. Should you need help with anything, please send a message to the Hokage tower and I'll be at the provided location."
"Thank you Ebisu-san." Tachibana said with a soft smile as he nodded at Ebisu.
"I hope you enjoy your stay, Tachibana-san." And with a puff of smoke, Ebisu vanished from his spot.
Tachibana looked at the door of his 'new' house and found that it was marked with a symbol. A symbol that he recognised easily.
'Is this a home in the Senju territory they repurposed for me?'
Tachibana then opened the door and entered inside.
'Quite clean.'
Since he was quite tired from walking around all day Tachibana entered the bath to relax his muscles.
Inside the bath, Tachibana clicked his molars twice to activate spirit vision.
'About three shinobi keeping a constant watch.'
'Is it for my safety or to keep track of my actions?'
After confirming there was no one inside the house though, Tachibana called out for the system inside his mind.
'Status.'
[ Name : Tachibana Rei.
[ Age : 12 ]
[ Sequence : 9, Seer ]
[ Digestion : 99% ]
[ Beyonder Skills : Tarotmancy, Spirit Pendulum Divination, Dowsing Rod Seeking, Dream Divination, Spirit Numerology, Astromancy Method, Astrolabe Divination, Ritualistic Magic ]
Looking at the Ninety-nine percent digestion percentage Tachibana closed his eyes and began to consolidate all the rules of being a Seer that he'd practiced himself over the last few months.
'A Seer possesses reverence toward fate.'
'To help others interpret revelations and guide them in a better direction; yet constantly maintain one's fear and respect towards fate. One cannot be too egoistical, too proud, or blindly believe one's interpretations.'
'Divination isn't all-powerful.'
Suddenly Tachibana felt an egg crack inside himself.
It felt as if he'd been reunited with something he'd long missed.
He suddenly felt whole and full.
Opening his eyes Tachibana's eyes came upon the notification that had popped up in front of him.
[ Congratulations, the host has completely digested the Seer Potion. ]
[ Would Host like to consume the Sequence 8 : Clown potion? ]
[ Yes / No ]
Tachibana mentally tapped 'Yes' and found a small glass flask teleported into his hands.
He examined the liquid that looked like sunset had been trapped in a bottle and was filled with clouds of bubbles and fizz.
After he was satisfied with what he saw, he immediately gulped the entire contents of the small glass flask.
He felt his body bubble and boil but Tachibana expertly used cogitation to calm his spirit body and allow the potion to be fully absorbed by his body.
Once he was done, Tachibana stepped out of the bath and stood on the tiled floor by balancing his entire body on the tip of his toe.
He felt clearheaded and light. He felt like there would be no posture where he couldn't easily maintain his balance.
Coming out of his acrobatic posture, Tachibana thought about the new knowledge about hardening paper that had entered his mind.
'I'll test the paper-throwing ability tomorrow. I'm tired right now and want to sleep.'
After drying himself, Tachibana went to the bedroom, turned off the lights and fell asleep quickly after wearing the clothes he was provided.
'The scent of jasmine?'
'Whoever used to sleep here before probably smelt nice.'
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
A/N : Give me ideas about a few missions that would suit the character in this world. Even missions that might change the canon would be nice to hear. MC is in the same year as Naruto and the other kids. Which team should he join? Or should he be teamless? Thank you for reading.