Noah settled down peacefully in the Hidden Leaf.
All things considered, his luck was fairly good.
There were no issues with the identity he'd taken over. The infant's entire family really was gone-parents, close relatives, even distant ones. On top of that, village registration records had been heavily damaged during the Nine-Tails' rampage. Trying to trace Noah's origins would have been a nightmare-level task.
As for witnesses?
Unlucky across the board.
The landlord who had known the family had died as well. Worse still, that house had been right next door to Noah's former home-and it had completely collapsed during the chaos.
With no one to claim him, Noah was promptly sent to an orphanage.
Regarding his name, Noah used a few subtle tricks to keep it as "Noah."
It sounded a bit like a name from the Land of Lightning, but it wasn't conspicuous enough to attract attention.
That said, being reborn as an infant was... uncomfortable.
Especially since the orphanage at this time was severely overcrowded.
The Nine-Tails' rampage had created an enormous number of war orphans.
"No wonder the villagers end up hating Naruto later," Noah thought.
"Even if it wasn't his fault, people always need somewhere to dump their resentment. That kid's fate really is terrible."
Naruto's future would be rough.
But Noah's situation wasn't great either.
For a moment, it felt like he was going to relive his own orphanage days all over again.
Fortunately, that didn't last long.
The body he'd chosen was small, and the disaster had shattered countless families. In the end, Noah was adopted by an old man who had lost his son, daughter-in-law, and grandson during the Nine-Tails' attack.
And just like that, Noah's life in the Hidden Leaf became relatively peaceful.
For the time being, he didn't obsess over Danzo the way most transmigrators did.
Honestly, while Danzo was ruthless and deeply untrustworthy, Noah didn't think the old man would pay him any attention.
The village had suffered enormous losses.
Even the Hokage-the village's greatest combat asset-had died.
Danzo was busy maneuvering for power. Why would he waste time on a nameless war orphan?
Even after the Third Hokage returned and suppressed him, there were still countless orphans in the village.
Besides, Danzo's attention was almost entirely fixed on the Uchiha clan.
Why would he bother with a nobody like Noah?
And so, Noah lived quietly in the Hidden Leaf, without stirring up any ripples.
Except for one.
When Noah was seven, the old man who had adopted him passed away from old age.
Noah personally saw him off.
The old man had taken good care of him.
He'd never forced Noah to take his surname, and had even encouraged him to search for his parents' family name in the future.
In the end, he passed away peacefully.
Noah considered preserving the old man's soul, maybe even resurrecting him someday.
But after a long deliberation, he chose not to.
Noah didn't fully understand this world's afterlife.
And disturbing a natural passing felt wrong.
After the old man's death, the village approached Noah about arrangements-whether he wanted to return to the orphanage or be placed under another guardian.
Noah declined.
The old man had left him an inheritance.
It wasn't massive, but it was enough.
More importantly, the village returned the assets left behind by Noah's biological parents as well.
So Noah wasn't short on money.
The Hidden Leaf didn't press the issue.
After all, Noah wasn't Naruto.
He wasn't nearly that miserable.
If he truly couldn't survive on his own, the village would have intervened.
But resources were tight, and the village simply couldn't support every orphan indefinitely.
Still, the village remained optimistic about Noah's future.
At five years old, he'd already been evaluated and accepted as a student of the Hidden Leaf Ninja Academy.
This was standard procedure.
Every child in the village underwent aptitude testing.
Those with acceptable potential stayed on as academy students-the reserve forces of the ninja system.
Since Noah lived in the village, he couldn't avoid it.
And honestly, for most civilians, becoming a ninja was a dream.
It was the fastest way to rise in status.
The Ninja Academy gave ordinary families a rare opportunity.
No child wanted to be left out.
No parent would stop their child from enrolling.
If Noah wanted to blend in, he had no choice but to participate.
And truthfully, he did need to learn this world's systems.
It would be awkward to possess a forbidden technique someday and not even understand its hand seals.
Noah's performance was... passable.
He had no mana.
But he had confidence.
Over the years, he had repeatedly reviewed all the magical knowledge he once possessed.
In doing so, he gained a deeper understanding of his weakest areas-Holy Light and Darkness.
Compared to the four elements, time, and space, his grasp of these two was painfully shallow.
The Dragonborn form was mostly a trump card-a physical enhancement and last-resort weapon.
The Holy Light was even more underdeveloped.
It existed mainly to suppress and balance his dark power.
In truth, Noah had possessed the Light for too short a time.
His understanding of it was almost nonexistent.
And right now, he couldn't use any of his former abilities.
Only the pure Light and Darkness remained as faint embers.
Naturally, he was happy to use this time to fill in those gaps.
Killing time was something Noah excelled at.
After all, he'd once fought Dormammu in a time loop measured in centuries.
With Light and Darkness as hidden cards, passing an academy exam was trivial.
Still, Noah controlled himself carefully.
He aimed for mediocrity.
He became one of countless ordinary civilian children-just barely above the passing line.
Unremarkable.
Forgettable.
Perfect camouflage.
And so, he became a ninja-in-training, a successor-at least on paper-to the so-called Will of Fire.
Noah doubted anyone believed he'd actually inherit it.
He was just another background character.
Whether he'd even graduate was uncertain.
But the advantages of entering the Ninja Academy were obvious.
At the very least, the village would acknowledge his opinions.
As a civilian orphan, he'd have no voice at all.
"Seven years already..." Noah murmured one afternoon, sitting beside a narrow river.
The old man was gone.
Life had returned to quiet routine.
But boredom crept in.
"Time really flies. Feels like I arrived yesterday."
"These dull days are... meaningless."
When you're weak, patience comes easily.
When you're not, sitting still becomes unbearable.
Noah found himself restless.
Should he reach out to Naruto?
After some thought, he rejected the idea.
Naruto's loneliness was deliberate.
The Third Hokage watched him through crystal balls.
Danzo watched him from the shadows.
Charging in recklessly would be like kicking a hornet's nest.
Noah valued his peaceful life too much.
So Naruto was out.
What about someone else?
Hyuga Hinata?
He remembered that Naruto once saved her from bullies...
Which, again, involved Naruto.
Besides, at that age, Noah had been too busy studying his remaining powers to socialize.
That opportunity had long passed.
"Forget it. I'm not even single anymore. Why am I thinking about this?"
The Hyuga incident involving Neji's father?
Too complicated.
Even the victim's own brother accepted the outcome.
Why should Noah, an outsider, interfere?
The Uchiha clan?
Noah rubbed his chin.
He knew they hadn't been wiped out yet.
But as for the growing tension between them and the village...
He couldn't feel it at all.
He was a nobody.
A low-ranking academy student.
How would he sense such things?
Besides, the Uchiha were under even heavier surveillance than Naruto.
Approaching them now would be suicidal.
"Am I really going to endure this until I'm twelve?" Noah sighed.
"This is unbelievably boring..."
He was just about to vent further-
When he noticed something strange.
A black figure was floating across the surface of the river.
Drifting.
Silently.
Straight toward him.