"Ugh… my head hurts… what the hell happened…?"
Looking out at the sky that had already darkened, Kakashi frowned as he spoke.
He had this nagging feeling—like he'd forgotten something. For instance… just how exactly had he fallen asleep?
"Whatever… maybe I was just too tired. Hm. Since I'm rested now, I'll get back to training!"
…Huh?
Just as Kakashi stepped out of his room, he froze for a moment.
On the dining table sat a stack of dishes—already cold. Beside them was a small note.
"You're awake, right? Eat before you go train. Otherwise, you'll never beat me ( >^ω^< ).—By Mitsuki Mui"
"…This girl… seriously."
Kakashi muttered irritably, but still sat down and started eating the cooled meal.
…
"Looks like Kakashi's favorability is high enough by now, isn't it? Once that's done, it'll be way easier to get Shigeru to hand over some ninjutsu training. Mm… though the White Fang's specialty is swordsmanship, after all. Argh, hurry up already, heavens—send me a good teacher! I swear, I'll squeeze him dry in three years flat!"
Mitsuki Mui spoke to herself as she practiced her chakra control.
She had already gone through tree climbing and water walking long ago. Now she could walk across a river's surface with ease.
But that didn't mean her training was finished.
What she was focusing on now was releasing chakra outside her body without relying on hand seals—and then learning how to control it.
She didn't have a specific goal in mind. It was just that her Substitution Jutsu had already reached a fairly advanced level, so from now on, one hour of practice each day would be enough.
As for hand seals… well, she could always practice those casually whenever.
So, without ninjutsu to train or even knowing what her chakra nature was, Mitsuki Mui had thrown herself into this kind of training—she wasn't sure if it was useful, but it was something.
The inheritance from her parents was meager: just a single house and enough money to last her until the age of ten. On top of that, she received a small monthly orphan's stipend from Konoha.
Other than that… nothing.
Not even basic tools. Forget chakra refinement scrolls—she didn't even own a single kunai at first!
The two sealing scrolls, three kunai, and six shuriken she had now? Those were "gifts" from Kakashi.
As for chakra test paper… Mui simply couldn't afford it.
Even so, she had no intention of graduating early. Her goal was to spend the full three years in the Academy.
In this world, most students graduated a few months, sometimes even a full year, ahead of schedule. For her to deliberately lag behind—it meant she'd likely be the only one choosing to do so, aside from the stragglers.
But that didn't bother her.
After another evening of training, Mui gradually drifted off to sleep.
And yet… in the quiet of the night, she thought she heard it. Out in the yard, a young, unyielding voice calling out in determination.
"…So diligent…"
Half-asleep, Mitsuki Mui sighed into her pillow.
Even knowing how dangerous this world was, she was naturally lazy.
If it weren't for her fear of death—and the fact that she had nothing entertaining to do at home—Mui would probably be even lazier. Her so-called "curiosity about being a ninja" could probably sustain three days of serious training, tops.
Yeah… that was about right.
"Well… no need to rush. Graduate, become a genin, a chunin… then retire. By then, it should be peacetime. I'll open a shop I like… but what kind of shop should it be, I wonder…"
Bit by bit, before she had even decided on an answer, Mitsuki Mui drifted fully into sleep.
But even in her dreams… she couldn't shake the feeling that she had forgotten something.