As Kazu walked through the misty forest, he looked around himself. He ran through the forest in fear of being found by the shinobi, but he accidentally got lost.
This worked in his favor because no one expected a 4-year-old to survive this deep into the forest.
It was a double-edged knife.
He rummaged through the small bag of rations his mother had given him; for a 4-year-old like him, it could last just more than a week.
Since it mostly was bread and a few fruits, he would need to eat the fruits first because they had less shelf life than the bread, which could stay edible for just around a few weeks if he didn't expose it to moisture.
But considering this was the misty water country, moisture was inevitable.
He had long been interested in the geography of the world after his reincarnation, from his knowledge of the region around the village.
He knew the island he lived on was around the northern area of the land of water; it lay in the sea that approached the land of lightning.
This island was annexed from the land of lightning during the Second Shinobi War.
Kazu could still see the battle scars of the great shinobi wars that were fought over this land, the scars of kunai embedded into the trees, and the destruction caused by lightning jutsus. They were sparse and spread out, but there was no doubt that a lot of damage had been done to the forest.
Why do the villages even fight wars in Naruto? There are reasons to fight, but nothing can be attained from their fighting, only the loss of civilian and shinobi lives alike. Kazu thought to himself as he examined the lightning marks that were embedded into the tree, likely from the Second Shinobi War.
Kiri didn't participate in the Third World War because their leader, the third mizukage, died midway through the war, and then it was left in the hands of Yagura, the jinchuriki of the four tails.
Kazu didn't remember much about Naruto except for the fact that Naruto was 12 around the time of the start of the series, meaning that the kyubi atttack was around 12 years before the start of the series.
This was when Minato, who was the fourth hokage for around a year or two, died.
He had heard the news of the kyubi attack around six to seven months ago; this was only because the fear for the fourth mizukage continued rising among the populace. He was a jinchuriki after all, the host of the three-tailed turtle.
This would mean Naruto was around six months old.
Kazu still had more than a decade before the start of the series. A lot of time to get stronger, but with his lack of guidance, how could he even get strong enough till then to survive the fourth great shinobi war.
I am not even sure if the events of the anime remain the same; this could be an alternate universe for all I know.
Although Kazu has forgotten many details of the story, he still remembered that Obito Uchiha played a big role in the Bloody Mist, likely because he had some sort of control over the Mizukage.
Was it an ability of the sharingan or a genjutsu? Kazu could only theorize. He was not someone who would remember the events of a show he watched when he was a teen; if not for the online arguments he had with one piece fans, he would have no knowledge about this world.
He wanted to take revenge on the Mizukage; he was indirectly responsible for his mother's death. He would first need to kill the man who was directly responsible; for that he needed strength.
He rested near a tree and thought for a moment.
If I want to get stronger, I must first learn how to use the magic of this world, chakra. From my hair, I am most likely a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, the clan to which Naruto's mother and Sasuke's side chick belonged.
He used to have a crush on Uzumaki Karin when he watched Naruto; he remembered gooning to her R34. She was a certified baddie; if he were to establish a harem for himself, she would undoubtedly be a member of it.
Chakra is like the spiritual energy inside people, isn't it? Or perhaps it's a product of the spiritual energy. Hmm, A product of Yin and Yang energies if I'm not mistaken. The most straightforward way to unlock it would be to meditate, but it isn't that simple, is it?
Chakra was composed of both physical or yang and mental and yin energies. If unlocking chakra was as simple as just meditating, then the number of shinobi in the series would range in the millions.
He sighed; the only real way for someone to unlock chakra was through the rigorous training in the academy, but considering his status as someone from the Uzumaki clan, the members of whom were considered freaks because of their bloodline limit, their insane vitality, and their chakra capacity, he was sure to be killed like his mother.
Even if he managed to get into the academy somehow, he would not be safe.
The graduation ceremony in the bloody mist was gruesome as well; one must kill their classmates to officially become a gennin. Zabuza Momochi killed his entire class, and he became the "Demon of the Hidden Mist" because of this reason.
The only real way for me to be a shinobi is to get taught by someone. Zabuza Momochi is the only shinobi I know from the hidden mist who has even a slight chance to teach me, like Haku.
He should still be loyal to the village, but I don't know when he will defect. I don't even know if he'll accept a disciple besides haku.
Another few minutes passed as the boy went through and evaluated all the choices he had. He was in no hurry; he was in a sufficiently dense part of the forest. no shinobi should come looking for him, especially considering how low Kirigakure's shinobi forces were right now because of the ever-approaching coup.
The first thing I should do is find shelter; considering the unpredictable weather, it could rain anytime. He thought and stood up and went deeper into the forest in search of shelter as the night approached.
During the day, since The water country lay north of the equator, the hot winds from the south would bring clouds, which would be blocked by the tall mountains of the Country of lightning; eventually, the cold winds from the north would cool these clouds and carry them back to the south.
This way the country of water was always subject to either rain or snow depending on the season; considering it was almost June, the heart of summer, it would rain almost every day, and the mist would remain thin because of the heat.
He walked for another hour with his small legs; a densely forested area came into his view. While the trees behind him were quite small, the trees in front of him were tall and more in number. Likely because it was far from human villages, a place where wolves and bears would roam.
The boy made a mental note to retreat if he ever saw something out of place.
As he went deeper. His eyes went wide. He saw a trail of smoke, likely from a campfire, rising up to the sky.
This meant that there were people there; if they weren't scared to light a fire, then it would mean that they were not scared of revealing their location. Only official Kirigakure Shinobi would dare do such things.
As he slowly walked towards the campfire, he came across a small hill, a small mound that was raised up slightly.
I can see the camp clearly from there. He silently walked over.
As he climbed over a small hill, he peered over it. He saw roughly 20 people there; they all wore cloaks that hid their identities, and they looked to be travelling through the forest.
They were preparing their bags, putting their sleeping bags and blankets inside.
Border patrol? He silently thought, the thought dismissed almost immediately. The northern borders are patrolled by ships, not shinobi.
The sea to the north, the Mizurai sea lied between the lighting country and the water country, was periodically examined by a fleet of ships from both sides to prevent illegal entry without documents.
This was done to arrest missing nin who were trying to flee to other countries as well.
This would mean one of two things. One, these people were shinobi on a mission, and two, they were missing nin part of the coup movement. He quickly analyzed them.
There is no way for them to notice me here; this is a safe place.
He examined each of them from behind the hill, looking for any clues. If they were part of the resistance, he could simply tell them what happened to him, and they would gladly take him in.
But if they were official shinobi, he would be in trouble.
After a few minutes of observing, a man started speaking to the rest of the people in the camp; Kazu carefully tried to hear what the man was saying.
"Kiri *** coming *** *** west **" He barely managed to make out a few words. His eyes went wide; he was sitting to their west, shinobi were coming from his direction.
As he looked back, he felt the cold touch of metal in his neck.
"Do not move."