Chapter 1: Soul Transmigration to the Shinobi World

Rocky sat in front of a rough mirror, staring at the little child in the reflection. He took a deep breath and accepted the reality of transmigrating into the world of Naruto.

Two days ago, Rocky had transmigrated into a 3-year-old child in Iwagakure (the Village Hidden in the Stones) of the Land of Earth. After spending the last two days merging with the original owner's soul, he had finally come to terms with his situation.

There was no system, no special abilities—he was stuck being the antagonist from the get-go. At first, Rocky felt a sense of despair, but now, he had calmed down enough to start thinking about the circumstances of this body.

Rocky didn't know why he transmigrated, and he didn't dare to think too deeply about it. But during the soul fusion, the experience felt strange—it was as though this body's soul and his original soul had always been the same. After merging, there was no discomfort at all; instead, he felt energized.

After much thought, Rocky could only deduce that the fusion was a result of how closely the two souls had matched, and that's why this strange journey had begun.

There was no conflict, nor any devouring involved. The soul fusion had been smooth, with no lingering side effects. Rocky even found it difficult to distinguish which identity was truly his. He guessed that it was because he had lived around thirty years in his previous life, while this current life had only been three years in the body of a talentless child.

This child's name was Ishiro, and he didn't have a surname. Iwagakure, unlike Konoha, didn't have many old, prestigious clans—most people only had first names, and that was one of the main reasons why there were fewer internal conflicts in Iwagakure compared to Konoha.

Ishiro's parents were both ninjas, but they had recently died in a war against another country. Yes, war! The Second Shinobi World War had just broken out, and due to confidentiality, Ishiro didn't even know which country his parents had been fighting when they perished. Of course, being so young, no one thought there was any need to inform him about this.

Currently, Ishiro's daily life was taken care of by the village, mainly his meals. Since the war had just started, the village wanted to ensure that the ninjas had fewer worries, so the orphans like Ishiro still had decent food. Although he was provided for, there were no compensation funds. The orphanage worker told him that compensation would only begin after he entered ninja school, and at that point, he would have to bear all the burdens of survival himself.

Ishiro had mentally prepared for this. This was a world filled with chakra—a world where even a 3-year-old child could think like a Hokage. By the time he was five or six, when he would attend ninja school, he should have the ability to live independently.

Ishiro left his house, turned left, and after walking for about ten minutes, arrived at the cafeteria. He was very familiar with this place. Though his parents had passed away only a few days ago, the original owner of this body had been eating here for over a month. Since the war's mobilization began and his father and mother—one a Chuunin and the other a Genin—had left the village to fight, Ishiro had started eating here.

Entering the cafeteria, Ishiro greeted a middle-aged woman who was distributing food, "Thank you, Senior Hongyan, for what you did a couple of days ago."

Two days ago, it was this female Chuunin who had noticed Ishiro hadn't shown up for meals. After learning about his parents' death, she had grown worried, went to his house, and found the disoriented Ishiro, holding his head and speaking nonsense. She had then taken him to the medical department.

At the time, Ishiro hadn't yet fully merged with the original soul and didn't understand what was going on. He had been terrified when this seemingly gentle woman picked him up with one hand and dashed across the rooftop at lightning speed.

Hongyan smiled warmly at Ishiro and, after checking that he was fine, nodded in reassurance and said, "Little Ishiro, are you feeling any discomfort in your body?" She handed him a breakfast.

"Senior Hongyan, I'm fine now. There's something I would like to ask for your help with."

Hongyan, curious but slightly puzzled, asked, "What is it, Little Ishiro?"

Ishiro took a deep breath, as though making a huge decision, and said, "I want to ask Senior Hongyan to teach me ninja training."

Ishiro had thought about this for a long time. First, his social connections were too few, and the only ninjas he could interact with were people like Hongyan, who were responsible for their welfare. Second, being so young, he wasn't worried about breaking any taboos. Even if Hongyan refused, he wouldn't be angry. Third, Hongyan had shown some sympathy for him these past few days. He felt that as the war deepened and the number of orphans increased, her chances of agreeing would shrink if he waited too long.

Hongyan's eyes flashed with a trace of pity, and she imagined a scene where an orphan, seeking revenge for their parents, worked hard to become stronger. She didn't stop him and instead carefully explained the process of learning ninja skills.

After breakfast, Ishiro stood in front of a building that resembled a primary school from his past life. Before entering the ninja school, all children had to undergo pre-school education, such as learning to read. Ishiro would've had to attend anyway in a year or two, even if he hadn't brought it up, because the ninja school was a military institution focused on training ninjas, and normal children had to attend regular schools.

Ishiro entered the classroom and quickly caught the teacher's attention. After learning about Ishiro's situation, the teacher initially considered advising against it but ultimately agreed. Ishiro was able to clearly express his thoughts, indicating above-average intelligence, so learning shouldn't be an issue. Moreover, in a time of war, it wasn't a bad thing for orphans to have a stable place to go. As for tuition, it was free for war orphans!

Without wasting time, Ishiro enrolled that day. Thanks to his previous life's memories, things like learning to read were a breeze for him. By the end of the day, his teacher had noticed him and decided to give Ishiro some extra lessons. Thus, Ishiro began his life in this new world's pre-school class.

Although there were many students in the classroom, Ishiro knew that most of them would not pursue the ninja path, so he didn't form close friendships. He mainly kept to himself. Moreover, being the youngest, no one came forward to befriend him. They mostly saw him as a little genius, a weirdo.

Perhaps because of Ishiro's example, more war orphans and children left behind by parents headed to the cafeteria in the following weeks. But this didn't affect Ishiro much, as he didn't know the situation of people in Iwagakure from his past life, so he couldn't identify any potential geniuses in advance.

Cultural studies were easy for Ishiro. In about a month, he completed all the pre-school education and read many books related to ninjas. He finally had a new and direct understanding of the world and could view it outside of the anime.

One day, Ishiro's teacher found him and gave him a pleasant surprise. It turned out that the teacher had noticed Ishiro practicing hand seals alone. While the teacher wasn't a ninja, he knew that training couldn't be done carelessly. He contacted the ninja school and reported the situation. After some consideration, the ninja school agreed to allow Ishiro to take the entrance exam early.

The ninja school had received the news and reported it to the higher-ups. After a discussion, the leaders of Iwagakure decided to admit students earlier than usual. To prepare for the war, they relaxed the admission criteria and would provide both elementary education and ninja training in the school.

Of course, the higher-ups didn't expect these new students to play a role in the war, as by the time Ishiro's generation grew up, the war would likely be over. The main purpose was to have enough recruits for the ninja ranks after the war ended.

Ishiro, feeling nervous, arrived at the ninja school.

The ninja school was a core institution in the village, covering a large area. It was capable of training thousands of ninjas for war. Many high-ranking ninjas were stationed there, and the area was heavily patrolled. It was also located not far from the village's core—the Tsuchikage's building.

Ishiro wasn't sure how good his talent was, but he hoped to make it through. Although the early admission had been arranged for him, he still didn't have complete confidence in his success. He couldn't even get any details about the exam from Hongyan.

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