Konoha, Year 32.
It was November, but Konoha always felt like spring.
The sun was shining brightly, making Konoha look even more beautiful.
Kids were leaving their homes for school, carrying their lunchboxes. They were all going to the Ninja Academy, located near the Hokage Tower.
In Konoha, anyone who could be a ninja went to the Academy to learn. They graduated as Genin and then helped Konoha grow stronger.
Minato, a young boy with blonde hair, was leaving his house. He was carrying a big lunchbox and waving goodbye to his grandma. His parents had died when he was young.
Minato was a popular kid. He was always smiling, and everyone liked him. He was friends with a boy named Kenshi.
"Hey Minato, why is your lunchbox so big?" someone asked. Minato had suddenly started using a bigger lunchbox.
"I don't know," Minato said with a smile. He didn't want to explain that he was eating a lot more than usual.
When they got to school, Minato ran to his classroom. He saw Kenshi sitting in his usual seat.
"Good morning, Kenshi," Minato said.
Kenshi looked surprised. He was still getting used to being a kid in Konoha. He used to be a grown-up in another world.
"Good morning," Kenshi said back.
Kenshi knew Minato was the future Fourth Hokage. He had seen him in the anime.
"Kenshi, are you okay?" Minato asked, worried about Kenshi. He felt like Kenshi was acting differently.
"I'm fine," Kenshi said. "Thank you for asking."
Minato was relieved. He thought Kenshi was just sad about his parents.
"You seem to be doing better," Minato said.
"I have to keep going," Kenshi said. "I want to be strong like my parents. And I want to be..."
Kenshi looked at Minato and said, "I want to be the Fourth Hokage!"
Minato was surprised. "I'm going to be the Fourth Hokage!" he said.
"We'll see who becomes Hokage first," Kenshi said with a smile.
The bell rang, and the class started. Their teacher, a ninja with a headband, looked at Kenshi and smiled. He was glad to see Kenshi back in school.
"Okay, class, let's focus on making chakra," the teacher said.
Making chakra was the first thing all young ninjas learned. It was a sign that they had the potential to be a ninja.
Chakra is a mix of physical energy and spiritual energy. It's not easy to make chakra. That's why not everyone can be a ninja.
Even strong ninjas like Might Guy and Rock Lee, who only use taijutsu, can still make chakra. Without chakra, even a strong adult would lose to a kid with chakra.
That's why kids as young as six years old were sent to war. They were better than adults who couldn't make chakra.
Kids could do simple tasks, and some might even be helpful in battle. But adults without chakra were useless.
Kenshi was lucky. He could make chakra. But the original Akemiya Kenshi wasn't very good at it. He had only learned to make chakra when he was five years old.
Kenshi wondered if his body was better at making chakra now that he was here.
He wished he had been born into a ninja clan. Those kids seemed to be able to make chakra easily.
But even if you can make chakra, you need to learn how to control it. You can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu without control.
Minato was really good at controlling his chakra. He could even feel other people's chakra energy.
Minato was focusing on making chakra. He noticed that Kenshi's chakra felt different. It was very cold, unlike before.
"Kenshi's chakra is different," Minato thought. "It's cold... very cold."
Minato was confused. He had never felt anyone's chakra change like this before.
"Maybe Kenshi was under a spell, or his memories were erased," Minato thought.
Minato wanted to tell the teacher, but he decided to wait. Maybe Kenshi's chakra was different because he was sad about his parents.
Kenshi didn't know that Minato was suspicious of him. He thought he could pretend to be Akemiya Kenshi. He had some of Akemiya Kenshi's memories, and he was acting like a sad kid who lost his parents.
But Kenshi forgot that this was a world with magic. And chakra was made from physical energy and spiritual energy.
His physical energy was the same as Akemiya Kenshi's, but his spiritual energy was different because he came from another world. So his chakra was different too.
Kenshi was excited. He thought he could really become Hokage now. He knew he wouldn't be able to become Hokage before. He wasn't very talented.
But now, he had a chance.
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