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Pain, the Deva Path, slowly floated into the sky.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A massive force erupted from Pain's body. Just then, a figure charged towards him, attempting to stop him. The immense repulsive force flung the figure away, engulfing the surrounding area. Buildings crumbled into rubble, turning the entire village into ruins.
........
"Where am I? Who am I? What happened to me?"
"Did Shinra Tensei blow me up?"
Tatsu, in a dazed state, uttered these three questions before falling back into a deep sleep. In the darkness, he dreamt of Pain, so vivid it felt like he was actually there.
When he opened his eyes again, he saw a simple wooden house and himself lying on a crude wooden bed. "My… my body…"
Tatsu was horrified to discover his small, frail body. It was clear he had either transmigrated or been reborn, but this place was completely unfamiliar.
"Hey, little one, you're awake."
A girl in plain clothes entered, interrupting Tatsu's thoughts.
"Where… where is this?"
Tatsu regained his senses and asked.
"This is a small village near the border of the Land of Fire. I'm a villager here. Don't be afraid, little one."
The girl smiled warmly at Tatsu.
"Land of Fire? Naruto?" Tatsu looked at the girl in shock, muttering to himself that he must have transmigrated into the Naruto world.
"Land of Fire, is there a Hidden Leaf Village?" Tatsu continued to ask.
"Yes! Our small village has been able to live peacefully thanks to the protection of the Hidden Leaf's ninjas."
With the girl's answer, Tatsu was sure he was in the Naruto world.
"Little one, how old are you? What's your name?"
Ignoring Tatsu's surprised expression, the girl sat down by the bed and gently stroked his head.
"I… my name is Yue, I'm four years old!" Tatsu looked at his small, frail body, guessing he was about three or four years old. As for the name, it was the first thing that came to his mind. Since he had really transmigrated, he hoped to be possessed by Light Yagami and live a smart, clever life.
"You just woke up, you must be hungry. I'll go get you something to eat. Rest easy, I'm not a bad person, little Yue Yue."
The girl smiled kindly and walked out of the room.
Called "Yue Yue" by the girl, Yue couldn't help but mutter, "What the heck is 'Yue Yue'?"
"Come out, System!" After the girl left, Tatsu called out in his mind, a little silly. Since he had transmigrated, he should at least have a cheat code to help him live well in the Naruto world.
The dream was too real. The despair and helplessness he felt while in it all fed back to Tatsu.
However, despite his inner call, there was no response. He swung his little arm, but nothing unusual happened. He wasn't any different from a normal person.
"Damn it, everyone else transmigrates to Naruto and gets a system, a Zanpakuto, a tailed beast, or an overpowered technique. I'm just a normal person."
Tatsu felt deeply discouraged and couldn't shake it off.
A moment later, the girl returned with a bowl of steaming noodles and told Tatsu to sit down and eat. She then asked about his background.
"My… my parents were merchants. They took me with them when they went out, but they were attacked by bandits. They all died protecting me, and I managed to escape to here." Tatsu could only tell this story with a bitter look on his face.
The girl felt sorry for him, her eyes filled with pity as she said, "You poor child. My parents also died in the last Ninja War."
"My name is Rina. You can call me sister."
"I found you in the forest not far from the village. You were unconscious, so I brought you back."
"We're destined to meet. I'll take you in."
Looking at this kind and gentle girl named Rina, Tatsu said gratefully, "Thank you, Rina-san?"
It was actually a bit awkward for Tatsu, who was 20 years old in his previous life, to suddenly call Rina, who was about 14 or 15, "sister."
"Rina-san, what year is it in the Hidden Leaf? Do you know?"
Tatsu, no, Yue now, had come to the Naruto world.
First, he wanted to know the timeline. Since the Second Ninja War had already passed, the Third Ninja War was coming next. If he became cannon fodder, he wouldn't even know how he died.
"This is the 45th year of the Hidden Leaf. You're so interested in the Hidden Leaf. Do you want to become a ninja someday?" Rina teased.
"Yes, I want to become a ninja and protect Rina-san!" Yue blushed and said firmly.
He was just joking. In the Naruto world, how could he survive without becoming a ninja?
It was the 45th year of the Hidden Leaf. The Third Ninja War would begin in two years. Who knows if this village would be affected then?
"Want to become a ninja? Then you have to work hard, Yue."
"I've said it before, sister, I'll be the one protecting you." Rina put away her playful teasing and said it seriously.
Yue simply nodded firmly in response. Although this way of comforting a child made Yue feel awkward, at least he had a place to stay in this world, someone to take him in.
So, Yue and Rina spent half a year living peacefully in this village.
Rina worked odd jobs to make ends meet, helping out at a noodle shop in the village. Yue stayed home and helped with chores. He was too weak to do much else.
One day, Yue was lying on a small hill, chewing on a dog's tail grass, idly looking at the sky.
He had been in the Naruto world for half a year, and he had been constantly trying to find out if he had any special talents.
However, the conclusion he reached was that he was no different from a normal person. This made him bitter. It seemed like his only option was to find a way to get to the Hidden Leaf and enroll in the Ninja Academy.
If he really had no ninja abilities, he would just have to wait to become cannon fodder.
Would he really only be able to rely on talking his way out of things?
Rina was just a regular villager. In the past half year, Yue's life could only be described as barely making ends meet.
Even though he thought he was handsome, his sickly, underdeveloped appearance didn't help. He hadn't even tasted meat in the past half year. He ate noodles every day. As for the high tuition fees of the Ninja Academy, they were a real headache.
"Boom!" A loud bang, and a plume of smoke rose from the direction of the village.
"Damn it! Something's wrong with the village!" Yue's first reaction was to get up and run towards the village. Even though he was still so weak and powerless, there was Rina in the village, the gentle girl who had taken care of him for the past half year.
"Here, we caught a little brat." A tall young man threw Yue to the ground. From their forehead protectors, it was clear they were renegade ninjas from the Hidden Waterfall Village.
Renegade ninjas from the Hidden Waterfall Village had the highest rate of defection. They couldn't make a living under the noses of the Five Great Nations, so they had to defect and make a living on their own.
Yue got up in pain, his heart pounding. "Damn it, what bad luck. Just when I had a peaceful life, renegade ninjas come to rob the village. Is this my cue to become cannon fodder?"
All the villagers were gathered together, trembling and lying on the ground. Finally, he found Rina in the crowd. Yue let out a sigh of relief. She was fine, that was all that mattered. He quietly crawled over to her side.
"Yue, weren't you playing outside the village? Something big happened in the village, why did you run back? Shouldn't you have run away as far as you could?"
Seeing Yue suddenly appear beside her, Rina was startled and asked in a low voice.
"I… I saw something was wrong with the village, so I ran back. I was worried about you. No matter what, I want to protect you! At least I want to be by your side."
Yue's answer suddenly warmed Rina's heart. In the past half year, she had truly treated Yue like family. However, the current situation was unpredictable. She secretly made up her mind to protect this child she considered her brother no matter what.
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