The winds howled through the moonlit desert landscape as a boy no more than five huddled himself into a little ball. The Second Great Ninja War had just ended, and orphans like Itsuki were a common sight in the Hidden Sand Village.
On his first day in the ninja world, Itsuki was amazed and giddy thinking about the countless possibilities that lay before him—becoming a jinchūriki, bitch-slapping Rasa, marrying Pakura, and maybe even telling Madara himself to dance! However, that was all soon forgotten when the realities of being an orphan—hunger—hit him. As someone from the modern 21st century, he had never had to worry about his next meal. Even when he was hungry, it couldn't truly be described as hunger, for he had always had something to eat. That's why the emptiness in his stomach hit him like a truck.
At first, Itsuki tried to find a job by locating the local village market. After all, even ninjas had to eat, so there must be some kind of market. And man, was it a cultural shock to see—it was as if he had travelled back to ancient Arabia and found himself in one of the famed bazaars. Grilled kebabs dripping with sauce over open flames for potential customers to see, their scent drifting through the open air. Vendors heckling at passing customers to come peruse their wares, and orphans like Itsuki running from stall to stall trying to steal any crumbs they could find—all combined into a cacophony of noises that overwhelmed the senses.
You would have been forgiven for thinking it was some normal third-world Middle Eastern country. That was until you looked up and saw shadows periodically swooshing from building to building, patrolling throughout the city.
Itsuki began by approaching a kebab street vendor, hoping he could work there somehow, but before he even got to ask, the vendor looked at his clothes and small stature. His fawning face turned into a grimace as veins popped up on his head. "You street rats! Always stealing from me!" he screamed, quickly turning around to grab a steel skewer nearby and throwing it at Itsuki.
Itsuki barely had any time to react as he jumped back in fright, the skewer piercing the ground where he had just been. If he hadn't instinctively jumped back, that would have been him. Itsuki quickly ran away, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the mad vendor, deciding to try his luck elsewhere. But as he went from stall to stall, he got similar reactions.
Finally, the sun set, and Itsuki was left back where he started—penniless, hungry, and with nothing to show for his efforts. That's how he found himself in his current situation, curled up into a ball, trying to protect himself from the deadly desert cold. As he reflected upon his first day, he realized that at the rate he was going, he was never going to get any food—and no food meant no chakra, which meant no chance of entering the academy. Itsuki realized that the test for entering the academy did not begin at its gates but from the moment you were born, determining if you even had a chance of becoming a ninja. The sheer thought of continuing like this lit a fire in him, and he resolved to do whatever was needed to become a ninja—even if that meant stealing.
He began devising his plan for tomorrow by trying to feel the chakra in his body. From the anime, he knew that chakra was not only fuel for jutsus but could also be used to enhance the body while running, jumping, or doing anything. The amount it enhanced your body, after a basic level, was determined by your control over chakra. This could be seen through Tsunade and her disciples—even when she was a teenager, Tsunade had monstrous strength not because of her chakra amount but because of her control and application of it as a medical ninja.
Itsuki came out of his curled fetal position, crossing his legs and slowly breathing in and out, focusing on his body. At first, he felt nothing, but the more he focused, he felt a small, almost nonexistent warm current flowing through him. He guided it to his hands, coating the substance over them. When he opened his eyes, he saw no difference—but he felt stronger. So, he proceeded to test out his strength by punching the wall behind him.
Bang! The wall caved in, leaving a small fist mark embedded within. It wasn't large, but it was enough for Itsuki to begin with. A smile formed on his lips—the first one he had since coming to this world—as he felt ready to steal tomorrow and a little more assured of his chances.
Thinking about his newfound strength and his status as a transmigrator, he remembered that they all—or at least most of them—had a system.
"Oh, I'm such an idiot! I should have done this earlier!" he muttered, calling out in his mind, System!
Suddenly, a blue panel appeared before him, showing:
Name: Ware Itsuki
Age: 5
Chakra Nature: Fire, Earth
Jutsu: None
Bloodline (Glass) Jutsu: None
Chakra: 450/500
System Evaluation: Even starving dogs in the street market have more chakra than you.
Itsuki almost choked when he saw the comment, but he was even more surprised by the fact that he had a bloodline—and that he finally knew his chakra nature.
"System, is there some kind of welcome package?" he asked, but received no reply. It seemed that the system was just a status panel.
"Well, I'll think about it later. For now, I need to sleep to be ready for tomorrow," he murmured.
With that final thought, Itsuki curled up again and fell asleep underneath the serenade of the howling desert wind.