Year 8 of Konohagakure.
The Second Shinobi World War had only just ended. The shinobi world returned to a brief peace, and the Five Great Shinobi Villages were quietly licking their wounds.
In the heart of the continent stood the Village Hidden in the Leaves of the Land of Fire. Though its streets were as bustling as ever and villagers went about their lives in calm, the tense faces of passing shinobi made it easy to see that the overall situation in the ninja world was still extraordinarily strained.
A faint chill threaded through the morning breeze. Zhao Yi Qianming walked silently in the shadow of a wall, watching small groups of children chatter loudly as they headed for the Ninja Academy, while he pondered in silence.
It had been nearly five years since Zhao Yi Qianming had crossed into the world of Naruto. Unfortunately, he'd never practiced any internal energy arts in his previous life, he hadn't brought along any sort of "system," and as a war orphan he possessed no Kekkei Genkai either.
So Zhao Yi Qianming was, for now, thoroughly ordinary—plain in every way.
Even so, he felt fortunate to have been born in the relatively peaceful Konohagakure. As a war orphan, surviving in the Leaf didn't require becoming a ninja; picking up work at almost any shop could earn enough commission to live on.
After a long moment of thought as he stared at the 'Ninja Academy Enrollment Notice' in his hand, Zhao Yi Qianming finally turned and walked toward the academy.
As a civilian, life in the Leaf could be quite good. In the world to come, there would be Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha to save the day. So long as one endured the two calamities of the Chūnin Exams and Pain's Assault, one could live out one's days in this village.
But having made it to the world of Naruto at all, if he didn't become a ninja, there would inevitably be regrets in his heart.
Although the ninja profession came with a high mortality rate, the thought of those powerful Ninjutsu still sent Zhao Yi Qianming's blood racing.
In his previous life, Zhao Yi Qianming had lived more than twenty years in peacetime, yet the hot blood in his veins had never cooled; he still indulged in daydreams now and then.
The atmosphere at the Ninja Academy was as lively as the village itself. A long banner hung over the main gate—'Ninja Academy Opening Ceremony'—and a crowd of four- and five-year-old children clustered at the entrance, chirping nonstop.
To these children, becoming a ninja meant standing out from the crowd, earning the admiring gazes of the villagers. The dangers of the shinobi world were still far away to them—perhaps no adult had told them yet. After all, most of the children here were war orphans.
Zhao Yi Qianming stood among the crowd and waited quietly.
He really had nothing to say to this group of four- and five-year-olds. The years of suppression since arriving in the Naruto world had also made the already taciturn Zhao Yi Qianming even more withdrawn.
Before long, a shinobi wearing a Chūnin flak jacket arrived and led the group of children away.
Although the Ninja Academy enrolled all children of the appropriate age in the village—clan-born and civilian alike—not just anyone could be admitted. To enter the academy, one first had to pass its assessment.
The test was simple: run two hundred laps around the training field.
Chakra is the fusion of spiritual energy and physical energy, and combat between shinobi also demands a robust body.
Two hundred laps isn't a small number, but in a world saturated with Chakra, children's physical aptitude is excellent. Once they pass a few years of early childhood, they can begin basic training.
Zhao Yi Qianming had done some basic training on his own; two hundred laps weren't hard for him. For many clan children, two hundred laps were little more than a warm-up from their usual regimen.
Soft sunlight filtered through sparse leaves and fell across the children's faces as they ran hard toward their dreams.
In the leading pack, Zhao Yi Qianming kept his eyes on the boy in first place.
A head of white hair, half his face hidden by a black mask, languid eyes, and a green neck-warmer wrapped around his neck.
'So I'm actually in the same year as Kakashi Hatake!' Zhao Yi Qianming thought to himself.
He didn't mind making a splash as early as the Ninja Academy. If he wanted to be assigned a strong Jōnin instructor upon graduation, he had to show talent—no one pays attention to those who show none.
Every shinobi village strictly controlled the transmission of Ninjutsu. Aside from instruction passed from parent to child, most techniques were taught under the master-disciple system. If, at graduation, he could be assigned an excellent Jōnin as team leader, it would be tremendously beneficial for Zhao Yi Qianming's future development.
As for the risk of standing out too much and drawing the gaze of Orochimaru or Danzo Shimura, Zhao Yi Qianming didn't care. In fact, part of him even hoped to be noticed by those two.
Because joining either of their camps would mean access to more advanced techniques—perhaps even forbidden jutsu.
Mustering his strength, Zhao Yi Qianming surged after Kakashi.
If he wanted to stand out, taking first place in the entrance test was the best option—especially if he could defeat Kakashi, son of Konoha's White Fang. That would carry real weight.
Sensing someone drawing close, Kakashi glanced back, then quickened his pace, opening the gap again.
Some of the clan heirs at the front refused to be overtaken by a civilian and likewise picked up speed to chase Zhao Yi Qianming. For them, losing to Kakashi was understandable, but being caught by a civilian would be a heavy blow.
At the very least, their clans would value them far less.
In the years since he'd crossed over, Zhao Yi Qianming had followed some training methods from his previous life and stuck to the basics. He couldn't match a shinobi's formal regimen, perhaps, but his advantage was an adult's mind. Unlike these fun-loving five-year-olds, Zhao Yi Qianming didn't slack.
Those clan children had already begun training Chakra, but that tiny reserve wasn't much; it would soon be spent. Once their Chakra ran dry, that would be Zhao Yi Qianming's chance to pass them.
Before long, even the leaders began to spread out. Kakashi continued to lead the pack, while Zhao Yi Qianming gritted his teeth in pursuit, holding second place five meters behind.
Zhao Yi Qianming realized that no matter how hard he pushed, Kakashi could always maintain the lead; every time Zhao Yi Qianming accelerated to close the distance, Kakashi would pull away again.
The two pushed each other like this all the way through the two hundred laps, and Zhao Yi Qianming never narrowed the gap.
After two hundred laps at full tilt, Zhao Yi Qianming's strength was spent. Bracing his hands on his knees to keep himself from collapsing, he looked at Kakashi—who was only slightly out of breath—and panted, "Looks like you weren't even going all out."
It was Zhao Yi Qianming's first time speaking to a 'peer.' Even with an adult's soul, he couldn't help but marvel at Kakashi's talent. If not for so many misfortunes later on, perhaps Kakashi's achievements would have far surpassed the original timeline.