Chapter 1: I Want to Be Hokage Too
Konoha Year 32.
In November, the cooling after autumn had no effect at all on Konoha, a place where all four seasons felt like spring.
The morning sun remained blazing, golden rays piercing through sparse clouds like swordlight, casting a majestic glow over the village.
"I'm leaving, Dad."
"I'm leaving, Mom."
"I…"
At the doors of various homes, neatly dressed little brats emerged, holding small-sized lunchboxes in their hands.
After waving goodbye to their parents, the children all walked toward the same destination.
That place was the Konoha Ninja Academy, located beneath the Hokage Rock next to the Hokage Building.
In Konoha, anyone with the aptitude to be a ninja would attend the academy until they graduated and became a genin, dedicating themselves to the village's growth.
"Grandma, I'm going to school."
"Okay, walk slowly, little Minato, don't fall."
"Got it!"
In front of a small courtyard, a blond boy with a cherubic face—Namikaze Minato—carried an adult-sized lunchbox. While stepping backwards quickly, he waved with a big smile at his doting grandmother by the door.
Minato had lost his parents early. It was his grandmother who raised him.
Now, Minato was the only one left in the Namikaze family.
Luckily, the Namikaze clan had once been prosperous and was among the earliest to join Konoha.
So even though it had declined, the Namikaze family still owned several houses, and Minato lived quite comfortably.
"Morning, Minato."
"Morning, Yuta."
On the way to school, familiar classmates greeted Minato, and he responded with a smile to each of them.
The nickname "Little Sun" was well-deserved. Though Minato was young, his popularity already rivaled that of the future Fourth Hokage. He got along with everyone at school.
But if one had to ask who he was closest to—
That could only be Kimura Yō.
"Minato, why has your appetite suddenly grown so big?"
Someone asked curiously, noticing the noticeably larger lunchbox in Minato's hand.
A few days ago, Minato suddenly started bringing a bigger lunchbox.
At first, everyone thought his family had just run out of small ones.
But when lunchtime came, they discovered it was packed with bento and rice balls—enough to fill an adult.
And for several days after, Minato kept bringing the big lunchbox.
Naturally, people got curious: why did a six-year-old have such a massive appetite?
"Really? I didn't notice," Minato said with a squinting smile, not offering much of an explanation.
Once at school, Minato jogged to his classroom. Wanting to be the first to arrive, he didn't go through the front, but pushed open the back door and entered directly.
The moment he stepped inside, his eyes immediately went to the third row, left side, by the window. They lit up, and a smile curled his lips.
For seven days that seat had been empty, but today, someone was finally sitting there.
It was a boy his height with short black hair.
"Good morning, Yō."
Minato took his seat and greeted his friend as usual.
He knew his friend was sensitive, and overly obvious concern would only make him feel worse.
But his eyes were quietly watching Yō's reaction.
And his friend's reaction… well, it made Minato feel a little strange for a moment.
"G-Good morning."
Li Yao reflexively turned around to reply, then realized the greeting was directed at him. No, wait—it was. It was meant for him.
Because he was now Kimura Yō, a six-year-old boy from Konoha in the world of Naruto. No longer the thirty-year-old man Li Yao from Earth.
He had transmigrated—crossed over from Earth into the world of one of his favorite anime, Naruto—and become the son of a pair of Chunin from Konoha.
Coincidentally (or perhaps fatefully), those Chunin died on a mission the same night he arrived in this world.
Thanks to their sacrifice, Li Yao—now Kimura Yō—was able to hide inside his home for days without suspicion, as he adjusted to the unfamiliar environment and dealt with the panic of not having inherited all of his new body's memories.
Looking at the blond little boy before him, even with limited memories, Li Yao immediately recognized him as the future Fourth Hokage—the girl magnet himself.
"Yō, are… you okay?"
Minato slid his large lunchbox into the drawer under his desk, then turned toward his friend with concern and a bit of confusion.
For some reason, just a moment ago, he'd felt as if this friend of his was a complete stranger. The look in his eyes—like seeing Minato for the first time—was deeply unfamiliar.
Strange…
Could it be…?
No, no, it must just be that Yō hadn't recovered from losing his parents.
Minato, ever sensitive, swept away the odd and scary thought that had flashed through his mind.
"I'm… fine. Thank you for your concern, Minato."
Li Yao smiled gently.
Minato looked so young—like a squishy, squeezable little kid.
But despite his appearance, his mind was sharp. Li Yao couldn't afford to treat him like a child.
Or rather, in the Naruto world, children couldn't be treated as children.
Just think of Uchiha Itachi, who at age five was already thinking from a Hokage's perspective.
Li Yao quickly sifted through what memories he had of Kimura Yō's interactions with Minato, doing his best not to arouse suspicion.
"Looks like you've moved on."
Seeing his friend's familiar smile, Minato relaxed. He figured his earlier feeling must have been wrong—Yō was still Yō. A little changed, sure, but that was to be expected after such a tragedy.
This was good.
Li Yao nodded, his eyes reflecting a trace of sorrow as he murmured, "People have to move forward. The only thing I can do now is live well with the hopes of Mother and Father in my heart, become a strong ninja, and then…"
He paused and looked at Minato with determination.
"I'm going to become the strongest Fourth Hokage in history."
If the Hokage's seat could be filled by the Monkey (Hiruzen) or the Gambling Granny (Tsunade), then surely a transmigrator like him had a shot too.
Though he said it just to stay in character, a spark of real ambition stirred inside him.
Since he was already in the Naruto world, and starting in Konoha, he might as well aim for the Hokage seat.
Minato heard the declaration and responded as if accepting a challenge. His expression turned serious and he replied without hesitation:
"I'm the one everyone will recognize as the future Fourth Hokage."
From the moment he could remember, it had always been his dream to become Hokage. Even if it was his best friend, he wouldn't yield. He would become Hokage.
Li Yao chuckled. "Then let's see who becomes Hokage first."
Minato nodded confidently. "It will be me."
Heh… Li Yao smiled without speaking, thinking to himself: I think I passed the test. From now on… I am—
DING DING DING DING.
The bell interrupted his thoughts.
The noise in the classroom quickly quieted down.
Soon, a man wearing a Konoha forehead protector and standard flak vest walked in.
He was their second-year class instructor, in charge of their ninja education.
"Today… everyone's here."
The instructor scanned the room and, noticing Li Yao's return, gave a small, pleased smile.
So this kid has finally come out of the shadow of losing his parents.
Not bad—he hasn't given up on the path of the ninja. Maybe he'll become an excellent elite Chunin like his parents someday.
"Quiet. Class begins. Focus and begin chakra meditation."
Without further ado, he started the lesson.
For all lower-year students, the first class of the day was always chakra refining.
Whether one had the potential to be a ninja largely depended on whether they could refine chakra.
This step alone had crushed the dreams of countless children.
Forget the "dead-last" kids in the anime.
Anyone who could actually produce chakra was already a genius.
Think about it—chakra was created by combining mental and physical energy in a 1:1 ratio.
But achieving this fusion was not something an average person could do.
If you could do it, you were already beyond ordinary—you were a ninja.
Even guys like Might Guy and Rock Lee, who had no talent in ninjutsu or genjutsu and relied solely on taijutsu, still had to be able to generate chakra.
Without it, they'd just be regular humans. And no matter how fit, an adult could never beat a six-year-old who had chakra.
The difference was massive.
That's why, during the Third Great Ninja War, the villages would rather send six- or seven-year-olds still in school to the battlefield than adult civilians.
Even young kids with chakra could be used as cannon fodder or handle simple tasks. If you were lucky enough to get a Kakashi-level genius, you might even get real results.
But ordinary civilians—even the strongest among them—were just dead weight on the battlefield.
They couldn't even handle supply runs. Sealing scrolls used to transport goods required chakra to use.
No chakra, no scrolls.
The gap was that wide.
Li Yao was very thankful he could refine chakra. Otherwise, coming to the Naruto world would be a major disappointment.
Though the body he inhabited—Kimura Yō—apparently had poor talent.
He barely scraped into the academy, producing chakra just before his fifth birthday—the minimum age for entry.
The earlier you refined chakra, the more talented you were.
Fail to do it by age five, and you probably never would.
Kimura Yō's talent made Li Yao feel awkward!
He hoped transmigration had somehow improved this body's ninja potential.
Too bad he didn't end up in one of the major ninja clans.
Those kids, born into bloodlines, seemed to generate chakra naturally from a young age with little effort.
Of course, producing chakra was one thing; controlling it was another.
Without control, you could forget ninjutsu and genjutsu—you'd be stuck with pure taijutsu.
Control was essential for performing techniques.
When it came to chakra control, Li Yao estimated Minato had the best aptitude in the class—far above average.
And he was right.
Minato had exceptional chakra control.
He also had an extremely rare chakra sensory talent—he could feel the temperature of other people's chakra.
While meditating to refine chakra, this sensory ability was at its most sensitive.
"Yō's chakra temperature?"
"It's… changed!!!"
Only moments into meditation, Minato suddenly sensed his friend's chakra temperature shifting rapidly.
He couldn't help glancing sideways. What he felt was a chilling aura that seemed to freeze his soul—he even shivered.
That's how cold it was.
It was the exact opposite of Yō's normally warm and gentle chakra.
"What's going on?"
Minato frowned, deep in thought.
Since awakening this ability, everyone's chakra temperature had been stable.
He'd never seen it change.
Now, Yō's chakra felt like a completely different person.
"Wait… could it be…"
Minato's expression shifted. He remembered the way Yō had looked at him earlier—like a stranger.
"Maybe that wasn't my imagination!"
"Was he hit by a genjutsu? Or had his memories sealed?"
With these possibilities in mind, Minato panicked and almost got up to report it to the teacher.
But he quickly thought of Yō's family tragedy. He'd skipped school for seven days, isolating himself.
Maybe his chakra had changed because of the trauma.
And if he really had been tampered with, Minato couldn't act rashly and risk getting him hurt.
So he stayed calm and continued monitoring the chakra temperature, planning to make a decision once he was sure.
Meanwhile, Li Yao had no idea Minato was already suspicious.
He thought having Yō's partial memories, the earlier conversation, and the excuse of recent grief would be enough to hide the truth.
After all, lots of transmigrators had made it work in Naruto. Why wouldn't he?
But Li Yao forgot what world he was in.
This was a world of supernatural powers.
And chakra was made of both physical and mental energy.
The body was still Kimura Yō's, so the physical energy was the same.
But the soul—the mental energy—was now Li Yao's.
So naturally, the newly refined chakra was different from the original.
And Minato, with his special sensory ability, immediately picked up on the change.
Li Yao didn't know any of this.
He was already overjoyed.
This time, he might actually have a shot at being the Fourth Hokage.
Before, his declaration had just been staying in character.
But in this bloodline-dominated world, he knew only the Otsutsuki clan ever reached the peak.
Ordinary people like Minato were the limit.
And the original Kimura Yō had terrible ninja aptitude—fooled by the Will of Fire into thinking he could be Hokage.
Li Yao knew he'd be lucky to make Chunin and survive the Third War.
But now… things were different.
His cheat had arrived.
(END CHAPTER)