Land of Fire.
Konohagakure.
It was time for morning classes at the Ninja Academy, and many students hurried toward the school.
At this moment, two boys were walking toward the campus with their arms slung over each other's shoulders, laughing and joking around.
Behind them, other students pointed at the red-haired and blond-haired duo ahead, whispering among themselves.
The two didn't seem to care at all about the chatter around them.
"Shinju, when do you think we'll finally graduate from the Academy?"
The blond-haired Naruto had an arm around the red-haired Shinju as he spoke.
The question made the boy beside him freeze for a moment, falling silent.
The next second—
Shinju's body trembled violently!
For an instant, his eyes went blank and unfocused.
Then, clarity returned to them.
As he came to his senses, Shinju glanced around in confusion, then lifted his pale, childish hands, disbelief flickering in his eyes.
"Where… am I?"
Shinju had been just an ordinary elementary school kid.
While walking and watching anime on his phone, he had been hit by a speeding car.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in this completely unfamiliar world!
Just as he was wondering what was going on—
A flood of memories poured into his mind all at once!
This… was the world of Naruto!
And he… had been an orphan picked up from the battlefield by some ninja.
His name had been given by the Third Hokage himself—Shinju.
Though the name was the same as before, this Shinju's situation was far worse.
He had the trademark red hair of the Uzumaki clan, yet not a shred of talent to show for it.
It had been five and a half years since he entered the Academy at the age of six.
In all that time, he had worked several times harder than ordinary students—yet learned almost nothing…
Shinju turned to stare at the boy beside him—Naruto Uzumaki—in shock.
He had transmigrated!
He had really transmigrated into the Naruto world!!
But although Naruto was one of the big series, he wasn't particularly familiar with it.
His life had been filled with tutoring classes and endless academic competition. He'd never had the time to watch such a long anime, so his knowledge of Naruto was quite limited.
Seeing Shinju acting differently, Naruto quickly asked with concern,
"Hey, you okay, Shinju? Why'd you suddenly zone out like that?"
Snapping out of his shock, Shinju waved a hand and said,
"I'm fine. Let's hurry to class, or Iruka-sensei's gonna scold us again."
Naruto nodded and ran ahead.
Shinju watched his back thoughtfully.
The body's original owner and Naruto had both been orphans, which was why they'd become friends.
That, at least, was a solid foundation to work with.
After all, Naruto was the Hokage's son—he'd go on to great things. Keeping close to him meant a bright future!
Since he was here, he might as well make the best of it.
As they walked, Shinju worked to digest the memories in his head and get used to his new body.
After a while, he frowned and muttered,
"The original's talent for training really is bad. After all these years, he's never even pulled off a proper jutsu once…"
Up ahead, Naruto turned to call back, "Hey! Shinju! Come on, or we'll be late!"
"Coming!" Shinju replied, picking up the pace.
...
Inside the Ninja Academy classroom—
Naruto and Shinju had barely walked in when murmurs started up.
"Hey, look, the two dead-last kids—Naruto and Shinju—are here."
"Yeah, the final exams are in a few months. No way those two dead lasts are graduating. Guess they'll be stuck here together."
"And just look at them!"
Shinju and Naruto ignored the laughter and whispers.
In his memories, this had been going on for years.
He was used to it.
Shinju glanced around at his classmates.
The first person to catch his eye was Sasuke, sitting by the window, exuding an air of cool detachment as he stared gloomily at the shade outside, lost in thought.
Beside him sat Sakura, who never once looked away from Sasuke.
Other familiar faces caught Shinju's attention—
Shikamaru, the brains of the group; the shy, white-eyed Hinata; the insect-user Shino Aburame; and the loud Kiba Inuzuka…
Most of the future "Konoha 12" were all here.
These were the future pillars of the village!
Even if he hadn't watched Naruto, he knew these famous names. After all, back in his original class, classmates would often show off their pictures and talk about them…
Just as Shinju was considering his next move—
Iruka-sensei walked in, carrying a stack of books.
The room fell silent instantly.
Taking the podium, Iruka cleared his throat and began,
"In a few months, you'll all be facing the final exam of the Ninja Academy. Only those who pass will graduate, receive a forehead protector, and become a true shinobi of Konoha."
"Today, we'll review the Transformation Jutsu."
As he spoke, Iruka paced between the rows of desks.
"Transformation Jutsu is the lowest-ranked E-rank technique—it only requires a simple set of hand seals to attempt. But don't underestimate it."
"It's a highly versatile support technique, useful in battle, espionage, and luring enemies. Master it, and you can transform into not only other people, but also animals, plants, or even weapons."
"A skilled user can perfectly mimic their target's appearance, down to physical details and overall presence. Beginners, however, are usually easy to see through…"
"Come on, Sensei, you don't need to explain all that. We've known this for ages."
"Yeah, you're just saying all that for the dead last, right? Don't bother—his chakra's so weak that whatever he transforms into looks nothing like the real thing!"
The target of their words was, of course, Shinju.
Even Naruto had managed to pull off his infamous "Sexy Jutsu" transformation, but Shinju had never once managed a proper Transformation Jutsu in over five years…
Iruka shot the hecklers a stern look.
"I'm your teacher, and I won't give up on any of my students."
"Shinju might just be inexperienced or nervous—that's why his transformations haven't gone well."
"As long as you work hard, you will succeed one day."
Iruka's voice softened as he looked Shinju in the eye.
"Don't be discouraged. I believe in you."
Iruka genuinely thought well of Shinju.
Over the years, he'd observed the boy—
An orphan rescued from the battlefield, Shinju had never wallowed in self-pity.
Knowing he lacked talent, he trained five, even ten times harder than others.
Unfortunately… no matter how much he worked, his talent and comprehension were simply too poor…
"Come on, after all these years? You can't still blame it on inexperience or nerves," a classmate muttered, shaking his head.
"Hey, why don't we just have him demonstrate Transformation Jutsu right here, in front of everyone?"
One boy smirked, mischief and mockery flashing in his eyes. He clearly just wanted to see Shinju make a fool of himself.
"I wanna see if he can even pull off a Substitution Jutsu," Sakura added with a laugh.
Hinata's face turned red. She spoke in a small voice, "We're all classmates… stop it. That's not nice."
"Ignore them, Shinju."
Naruto clapped him on the shoulder with concern.
Facing the jeers of his classmates and Naruto's worried gaze, Shinju thought for a moment before speaking.
"Why don't I… give it a try?"