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Year 41 of the Hidden Leaf calendar, March 18th.
"Crap, crap, crap…"
Goggles bouncing on his forehead, Uchiha Obito sprinted full speed toward the Ninja Academy. But by the time he arrived, it was already over—the teachers had taken down the banner for the entrance ceremony, and the students who'd attended were long gone.
He was late.
Missing the entrance ceremony meant that even if he passed the assessment, he couldn't be admitted this year. He'd have to wait another one.
Obito's shoulders slumped in defeat.
As he stood there catching his breath, a silver-haired boy with a scarf around his neck and a stack of admission papers tucked under his arm walked past him. Kakashi stopped, glanced back over his shoulder, and said coolly, "Late to something this important? People like you don't deserve to enter the academy. Forget it."
Then he shrugged and kept walking.
Obito clenched his fists and ground his teeth, glaring at Kakashi's back. That smug bastard really knew how to get under his skin.
But just then, a gentle voice like an angel's broke through his frustration.
"It's okay. I picked yours up for you!"
Obito spun around and saw Nohara Rin standing there, smiling warmly, holding his admission papers in both hands.
For a moment, that smile etched itself deep into his heart. His cheeks went red as he clasped his hands together and grinned. "Thanks! Really, you saved me. I owe you one!"
Rin just laughed softly. "You don't have to be so formal."
Ahead of them, Kakashi gave a quick glance back, made a small, dismissive snort, and stuffed his hands into his pockets before walking off.
Not far away, under a roadside tree, a boy named Evan Hayes quietly watched the entire scene unfold. For some reason, it felt like he'd just witnessed a piece of history.
His full name: Evan Hayes.
Though truth be told, for the last three generations, his family hadn't really had a surname—just given names.
The surname Hayes wasn't even his idea; it came from his father.
Apparently, his parents had fallen in love under a tree, and since his dad had high hopes for him, he decided to use "Hayes"—literally under the tree—as their family name.
But Evan was pretty sure that his father only came up with it on the day he passed the academy entrance exam.
As he turned to head home, Evan's attention drifted to the mysterious violet glow hovering in the back of his mind—something he'd seen ever since he awakened his "reincarnation memory" that morning.
A transmigrator's golden cheat finger. Completely standard issue.
He hadn't had time to look into it earlier because of the ceremony, but now he could finally take a closer look.
"Wait… it says I can 'cash in the future'?"
He frowned, processing the strange information radiating from the purple orb.
"So… I can cash out my future achievements early? Like taking an advance on my salary?"
"No, that's not right. More like… overdrafting my future?"
"Except… it doesn't seem like I have to pay it back."
Genichi tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Still, this cheat system is kind of vague. Would be nice if it had, like, a proper menu or something."
No sooner had he thought it than the purple light suddenly shifted—flattening into a glowing panel before his eyes.
It was simple. Almost absurdly simple. Just two options:
[Overdraft 10 Years of the Future]
[Overdraft 100 Years of the Future]
Only the ten-year option glowed in violet. The hundred-year one was greyed out.
"Now that's more like it!" Evan grinned, eyes lighting up. "Feels legit already."
Then, as if responding to his thoughts, a line of text appeared below.
[You may advance (cash in) your future achievements and experience in all areas, including ninjutsu, but not your memories.]
"So no future memories, huh… That's fine. I don't remember every detail of the story anyway. And honestly, now that I'm here, the plot's already changed just by me existing."
"Still, knowing people, knowing events… those bits of intel won't change. So who cares about memories?"
"What really matters are the jutsu—and experience!"
Evan's pulse quickened.
Honestly, when he first realized he'd reincarnated into the Naruto world, he'd been nervous as hell.
Let's face it: the Hidden Leaf was not a place where normal people survived long. Sure, it was blessed by "plot armor," but it was also crawling with death traps.
And being a ninja was dangerous by definition. Missions aside, there were the Ninja Wars—each one a bloodbath waiting to happen.
Of course, he could just choose not to be a ninja…
But compared to living helplessly as a civilian, watching disasters unfold without being able to do anything, Evan would rather take his chances as a shinobi and fight for his life.
"Besides," he muttered, grinning. "With a cheat like this, I'm basically busted-level OP."
Excited, he picked up his pace.
By the time he got home, his parents were still busy downstairs. The family ran a little dango shop—the first floor was the store, the second floor their home.
"Dad! Mom! I'm back! The entrance ceremony went great!"
Evan waved his admission papers before bolting upstairs in a flash.
His father watched him go, smiling proudly. "Finally, our family's got another ninja!"
His mother, though, looked worried. "Being a ninja is still dangerous…"
"Relax," his father reassured her. "The last Ninja War's already over. By the time Evan graduates, he'll just be taking simple missions. It'll be fine."
In truth, the man's ambitions for his son weren't all that high. Just becoming a ninja was enough.
A genin would be great.A chunin? That'd be a pleasant surprise.A jonin…?
He didn't even dare to dream that far.
After all, no one in their family for three generations had ever made it that high.
...
Back in his room, Evan flopped onto his bed, closed his eyes, and focused on the glowing panel in his mind.
"The next ten years of training, all the growth, the combat experience, the missions, the knowledge…"
"In ten years I'll be fifteen. With my transmigrator advantage, maybe not Kage-level or god-tier, but jonin should at least be doable, right?"
"Alright then, let's see it—my future ten years!"
He selected the option.
Instantly, the panel burst back into a blinding violet sphere, flooding his body with light. Every cell trembled as energy surged through him.
His mind went blank. His whole body buzzed like it was electrified, muscles and nerves twitching uncontrollably.
When consciousness finally returned, he felt as if he'd just lived through a dream that lasted six years.
Wait—six years?
Evan blinked. "Hold up… Did I die after six years?"
Then he checked his abilities.
Apart from the three basic academy techniques and the Shunshin (Body Flicker), he only had one ninjutsu—Water Release: Water Bullet.
"That's it? That's my jonin-level skillset?!"
He shot upright, face turning green.
So ten years later, he was still a genin? And possibly dead at sixteen?!
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Sure, maybe this body's talent wasn't amazing—but with his knowledge of the story, there was no way he'd turn out that useless!
I mean, come on—Sexy Jutsu, Harem Jutsu, even Rasengan shouldn't be out of reach, right?!
He couldn't accept it. Not at all.
And just then, new text appeared on the panel in his mind:
[The future is not fixed.]
[The present shapes the future.]
"..."
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