Konoha Year 32.
November's autumn chill had no effect on Konoha, which felt like spring all year round.
The morning sun was still fervent, golden sunlight piercing through sparse clouds like rays of swords, adding a magnificent touch to Konoha.
"I'm leaving, Dad."
"I'm leaving, Mom."
"I…"
From each household, well-dressed little rascals emerged, each carrying a smaller-sized lunchbox.
After waving goodbye to their parents, the children walked together towards a single destination.
That was the Konoha Village Ninja School, located beside the Hokage Building and beneath the Hokage Rock.
In Konoha, anyone with Ninja aptitude would enter the Ninja School to study until they graduated as a Genin, dedicating themselves to Konoha's development and growth.
"Grandma, I'm going to school."
"Hmm, walk slowly, little Minato, don't fall."
"Got it."
In front of a private courtyard, Minato Namikaze, with his golden hair and boyish face, held an adult-sized lunchbox.
He walked backward quickly, waving with a beaming smile at his doting grandmother at the gate.
Minato's parents died young, and he was raised by his grandmother.
Only he remained of the Namikaze family now.
Fortunately, the Namikaze family had been prominent in the past and was one of the earliest Ninja clans to join Konoha Village.
So, even though they were in decline now, the Namikaze family still owned several houses, and Minato's life was still quite comfortable.
"Morning, Minato."
"Morning, Yuta."
On the way to school, classmates who knew Minato greeted him, and Minato smiled and responded to each of them.
His nickname, 'Little Sun,' wasn't for show.
Though young, Minato's popularity was already on par with the future Fourth Hokage; he got along well with everyone in school.
But if you were to ask who he was closest to?
That would be only Kimura Yao.
"Minato, why has your appetite suddenly grown so much?"
Seeing Minato still holding a lunchbox noticeably larger than everyone else's, someone asked curiously.
A few days ago, Minato suddenly switched to a large lunchbox.
At first, everyone thought it was because Minato's family didn't have a small lunchbox at the moment, which was why he used the large one.
Unexpectedly, at lunchtime, they found Minato's large lunchbox filled with bento rice balls, enough that even an adult might not be able to finish it.
In the following days, Minato continued to bring the large lunchbox.
This couldn't help but make people curious: why had Minato's appetite suddenly become so large?
Everyone was six years old; why was his appetite so outstanding?
"Is it? I don't know, actually."
Minato smiled, narrowing his eyes slightly, without much explanation.
Upon arriving at school, Minato jogged towards his classroom, and to be the first to arrive, he didn't even use the front door; he went straight to the back door and pushed it open to enter.
The moment he stepped inside, his gaze went to the third row, left side, by the window, and his eyes lit up, a slight smile curving his lips.
The seat that had been empty for seven days finally had someone in it today.
It was a boy the same height as him, with short black hair.
"Good morning, Yao."
Minato sat down and greeted his friend as usual.
He knew his friend was sensitive, and overly obvious displays of concern would only make his friend feel worse.
However, his gaze was secretly observing his friend's reaction.
And his friend's reaction…hmm, it made him feel a little strange for a moment.
"Good…good morning."
Li Yao subconsciously turned his head and responded, then realized that the other person wasn't greeting him. No, that wasn't right either; the other person truly was greeting him.
Because he was now Kimura Yao, a six-year-old boy in Konoha Village in the Ninja World, no longer Li Yao, the thirty-year-old man from Earth.
He had transmigrated from Earth to the Fire Shadow World, an anime he once loved, becoming Kimura Yao, the six-year-old son of a Chunin couple in Konoha Village.
He didn't know if this couple had triggered the 'Starting Point Orphanage buff,' but they died on a mission the very night Li Yao transmigrated.
Thanks to the couple's sacrifice, Li Yao, who was suddenly transmigrated into a strange environment, feeling lost and panicked because he hadn't inherited all of the original body's memories, had an excuse to stay hidden at home and avoid people, thus getting through the most easily exposed phase.
However, looking at the golden-haired little boy in front of him, Li Yao recognized him immediately from the few memories of the original body: this was the future Fourth Hokage - Minato Namikaze.
"Yao, are you… alright?"
Minato placed the large lunchbox in the drawer under the table, then turned to look at his friend with some worry and confusion.
For some reason, just for a moment, he felt that his friend was a stranger; the way he looked at him was as if… as if he was seeing him for the first time.
How strange!
Could it be…
No, no, no… it must be that Yao hasn't recovered from his parents' deaths yet.
The thoughtful Minato thought this, instantly sweeping away the terrifying speculation that had flashed through his mind.
"I… I'm fine."
"Thank you for your concern, Minato."
Li Yao said with a slight smile.
Minato is so young now!
Like a little rascal you could squeeze water from.
But even though he was a little rascal, Li Yao dared not underestimate the subtlety of his thoughts; he couldn't treat him too much like a child.
Or rather, in the Fire Shadow World, you couldn't treat children too much like children.
Uchiha Itachi, who could think from the Hokage's perspective at five years old, was a prime example.
Li Yao quickly recalled the remaining memories of the original body's interactions with Minato, trying to prevent unnecessary suspicion.
"It seems you've moved on."
On this side, seeing his friend's familiar smile, Minato was very happy, thinking to himself that he must have been mistaken just now; his friend was still his friend. Although there were some changes, after experiencing such a family tragedy, it would be most worrying if there were no changes.
Now, it was very good.
Li Yao shook his head in agreement with Minato's words, his eyes carrying a hint of sadness at never seeing his former parents again, and he whispered, "People always have to move forward.
The only thing I can do now is to live well with the intentions of my mother and father, become a powerful Ninja, and then…"
At this point, Li Yao deliberately looked at Minato and said firmly, "I want to be the strongest Fourth Hokage in history."
This Hokage position, if a monkey could hold it, if a gambler could hold it, then he, a transmigrator, could certainly hold it too.
Though the words were spoken to fit the original body's persona, Li Yao truly felt a surge of impulse in his heart.
Since he had come to the Fire Shadow World, and started in Konoha Village, he also wanted to try for the Hokage position.
Minato heard his friend's Hokage declaration, and as if accepting a challenge, he immediately straightened his face and responded without hesitation, "I am the one who will be recognized by everyone as the Fourth Hokage in the future."
Becoming Hokage had been Minato's dream since he could remember.
Even for his best friend, he would not back down; he wanted to be Hokage.
Li Yao smiled: "Then let's see who becomes Hokage first."
Minato nodded, confidently saying, "It will definitely be me."
Heh heh… Li Yao smiled without speaking, but thought to himself: I should have gotten through this. From now on… I am… Ding ding ding ding.
Just then, the class bell suddenly rang, interrupting Li Yao's thoughts.
The playful chatter in the classroom also quieted down.
Soon, a man wearing a Konoha Ninja forehead protector and a standard Ninja vest appeared.
This was their Ninja Teacher for Class 2-1, responsible for their Ninja instruction.
"Today… everyone is here."
The Ninja Teacher walked to the podium, quickly scanned the classroom, and noticed Li Yao's presence, a relieved smile appearing on his face.
This kid finally got out of the shadow of his parents' deaths.
Not bad, he didn't give up the Ninja path.
In the future, he should be able to become an excellent elite Chunin like his parents.
"Quiet, class is starting. Now, focus your minds and meditate to refine Chakra."
Withdrawing his gaze, the Ninja Teacher wasted no words and immediately began the lesson.
The first class for all lower grades in Ninja studies was Chakra refinement.
A very important criterion for having Ninja talent was whether one could refine Chakra.
This step rejected countless children who dreamed of becoming Ninja.
Don't look at the anime where there are all sorts of dead-last students.
In fact, anyone who can refine Chakra is a genius.
Think about how Chakra is condensed.
It is formed by the fusion of mental energy and physical energy in a 1:1 ratio.
Just the step of how to fuse mental energy and physical energy is something that ordinary people cannot do.
Those who can do it are not ordinary people, but Ninja.
Even Might Guy and Lee, who had no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu talent and only Taijutsu, could still condense Chakra.
Otherwise, without Chakra, with just an ordinary human body, no matter how much Taijutsu was trained, a strong adult would not be a match for a six-year-old child with Chakra.
The difference in strength is too great depending on whether one possesses Chakra.
This is also why, during the Third Shinobi World War, villages preferred to send six or seven-year-old children still studying in the Ninja School to the battlefield rather than ordinary adults.
Six or seven-year-old children with Chakra could at least serve as cannon fodder, complete some simple missions, and even play a certain role if they encountered a genius like Kakashi.
As for ordinary people, even the strongest adults, going to the battlefield was pure suicide, and even then, they couldn't even handle basic material transport missions.
Because Ninja transporting materials need to use sealing scrolls, which are like storage spaces, to seal and unseal the materials to be transported.
And sealing scrolls cannot be used by people without Chakra.
So, whether one has Chakra makes a huge difference.
Li Yao was very glad that he had the talent to refine Chakra; otherwise, coming to this Fire Shadow World would have been too boring.
It's just that the original body in his memory didn't seem to have much talent.
He only managed to condense Chakra just before turning five, meeting the minimum age standard for Ninja School enrollment and gaining admission.
The earlier Chakra is condensed, the better the talent.
Once Chakra cannot be condensed after the age of five, it basically means it will never be possible to condense Chakra in this lifetime.
Kimura Yao's talent made Li Yao a bit awkward!
He wondered if his transmigration had improved the Ninja talent of this body at all.
Too bad he didn't transmigrate into one of those Ninja clans.
Those clan members and geniuses seem to be able to condense Chakra naturally, without much effort, from a very young age.
Of course, condensing Chakra is one thing, and being able to control it is another.
If you only have Chakra but no control, then the paths of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are basically out of the question; you can only take the pure Taijutsu path.
Having Chakra control is essential for performing Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.
In terms of Chakra control talent, Li Yao estimated that Minato's talent in this class should be the highest, and exceptionally high at that.
The facts were just as Li Yao thought.
Minato possessed extremely high Chakra control talent.
Because of this, Minato also possessed an extremely rare Chakra Perception talent; he could perceive the Chakra temperature of others.
And now, in a state of focused Chakra refinement, Minato's Chakra temperature perception ability was at its most sensitive.
"Yao's Chakra temperature?"
"How… it's changed!!!"
Not long after entering the state of Chakra refinement, Minato suddenly perceived that the Chakra temperature on his friend beside him was changing rapidly.
Minato couldn't help but turn his head slightly to glance at his friend.
In his perception, his friend's Chakra emitted a chilling sensation that seemed to freeze the soul, making his body involuntarily shiver.
This showed how low the Chakra temperature was.
This was completely opposite to the faintly warm Chakra that his friend's body used to constantly emit.
"How could this be?"
On Minato's smooth forehead, his small brows furrowed, and he quickly pondered why this situation was occurring.
Ever since he awakened his special Chakra Perception ability, he had perceived that everyone's Chakra temperature was constant.
He hadn't yet perceived anyone whose Chakra temperature had changed.
But now, Yao's Chakra temperature hadn't just changed a little; it felt to him as if… as if he had completely changed into a different person.
"Hmm… wait, could it be…"
Minato's expression suddenly shifted slightly.
He remembered when he greeted Yao just now, for a moment, Yao looked at him as if he were a stranger.
"Could that not have been an illusion?!"
"Was Yao controlled by Genjutsu? Or were his memories sealed?"
Thinking of all the possibilities, Minato felt unsettled and instinctively wanted to get up and quietly explain the situation to the teacher.
But then he remembered his friend's family tragedy, which had caused his friend to miss seven days of school, hiding at home and avoiding people.
Perhaps it wasn't impossible that his friend's Chakra had undergone some special changes during this time due to his parents' deaths.
Moreover, even if his friend was truly controlled by Genjutsu, he couldn't act rashly now; otherwise, acting recklessly and causing something to happen to his friend would be bad.
So Minato calmed down and continued to perceive his friend's Chakra temperature.
After fully determining his friend's situation, he would then decide how to act.
At this moment, Li Yao didn't know that his identity had already aroused Minato's suspicion.
He thought that with some of Kimura Yao's memories, their recent conversation, and the excuse of the family tragedy, he could then carefully manage his future interactions with Minato to conceal the fact that he wasn't Kimura Yao.
After all, their was so many transmigrated protagonists in the Ninja world were fine; there was no reason he would encounter trouble.
But Li Yao forgot what kind of world this was.
This was a world with supernatural abilities.
And what Chakra was composed of.
Chakra is formed by the fusion of physical energy and mental energy.
The physical energy came from this body, unchanged from the original body.
But the mental energy was now provided by Li Yao's transmigrated soul.
Naturally, the Chakra that Li Yao now reformed by fusing his mental energy and physical energy would also undergo changes.
Thus, after Li Yao used his mental energy to fuse with physical energy to condense Chakra, the Chakra temperature, completely different from that of the former Kimura Yao, was immediately detected by Minato.
Li Yao, at this moment, was unaware of all this.
He was currently ecstatic.
This time, it seemed he truly could compete for the position of Fourth Hokage.
Previously, when he said he wanted to be the Fourth Hokage, it was merely to align with the original body's persona of also wanting to be Hokage.
In reality, he knew his limits.
In this world that emphasized bloodlines, only the Ōtsutsuki Kaguya family could reach the very end.
The limit for an ordinary person was perhaps Minato's level.
However, the original Kimura Yao's Ninja talent was abysmal; his desire to be Hokage was merely due to being misled by the fire will.
Li Yao was well aware that without a cheat, his limit in this life would be a Chunin, a qualified cannon fodder in the Third Ninja War.
But now, things were different.
His cheat had arrived.