I got a second chance at life, and I'm grateful—really, I am. But did it have to be the Naruto world?
Natsuki glanced at the Root ninja standing nearby, his face hidden behind a green-striped mask, and let out a deep sigh.
This was a world where bloodlines meant everything. And his surname? Not Senju. Not Uchiha. Not Hyuga. His talent was painfully average.
To make matters worse, his parents had died on a mission when he was three years old, leaving him to be shipped off to the Konoha Orphanage.
The same orphanage that was now secretly controlled by Shimura Danzo, leader of Root—a place that served as nothing more than a recruitment camp for his shadow organization.
But what could Natsuki do about it?
Kill himself and gamble on a third life?
Yeah, the odds of that working out were about as good as winning the lottery twice in a row.
No way. I'm surviving this.
Natsuki turned to look at the little girl standing beside him.
She was six years old—another war orphan, just like him.
The difference was that her talent was exceptional. In the future, she would become one of Konoha's most brilliant medical ninjas.
She also had a rather infamous adopted son: Yakushi Kabuto.
"Nonou," Natsuki whispered, "did you do what I told you during the test?"
"Yes."
Yakushi Nonou nodded obediently. After three years together, she had grown used to following his lead.
"Good."
A small smile crossed Natsuki's face.
At that moment, the Root ninja approached Mayu, the director of the orphanage.
"All the children in this batch failed the assessment. Send them to the Ninja Academy and monitor their progress closely." The ninja's voice was cold, mechanical. "If any of them show exceptional performance later, report it immediately."
"Understood."
Mayu's reply was quiet, resigned.
The Konoha Orphanage had been established to care for children who had lost their families. But Danzo had sunk his claws into it long ago. He controlled the funding, forcing Mayu to identify the talented children among the orphans and hand them over to Root.
Root—Konoha's shadow. An organization that operated with ruthless efficiency.
Any ninja who entered Root was systematically brainwashed, subjected to brutal training with a staggering mortality rate, and eventually stripped of their humanity. They became nothing more than Danzo's loyal weapons.
Mayu didn't want these orphans to suffer that fate. But Shimura Danzo's influence in Konoha was at its peak. He and the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, ruled the village together—one in the shadows, the other in the light.
Even the major ninja clans couldn't refuse his demands. The Aburame and Yamanaka clans had both been forced to surrender their prodigies to him.
If clan-born geniuses couldn't escape, what hope did commoner children have?
Just like Yakushi Nonou in the original timeline. She had joined Root at a young age, only to be killed by Danzo years later when she "knew too much."
Natsuki and Nonou had been the same age when they arrived at the orphanage. Over time, they'd grown close.
During today's recruitment test, he had specifically instructed her to hide her true abilities. It worked—the Root ninja had passed her over.
As for himself? He didn't need to hide anything. His lack of talent was genuine.
Even performing at his best, he didn't meet the threshold for Root's interest. The organization was subordinate to ANBU—elite among the elite. Its standards were impossibly high.
Natsuki frowned as he watched the Root ninja depart.
Hiding their abilities wasn't a long-term solution. Eventually, the truth would come out.
As the old saying went: fight fire with fire.
The only way to free Nonou from Danzo's grasp was to get her noticed by Sarutobi Hiruzen—to make her a ninja belonging to the Hokage's faction.
With her talent for medical ninjutsu, it was achievable.
Once she was under the Hokage's protection, she could help Natsuki survive as well.
The only problem? The medical ninja training program didn't exist yet.
In the original timeline, Tsunade—one of Hiruzen's students—had proposed the establishment of a formal medical ninja system during the Second Shinobi World War. The two core tenets were simple: every squad should include a medical ninja, and dedicated training classes should be created to produce them.
But the Second Shinobi World War was still four or five years away.
If Nonou wanted to attract attention from Hiruzen or Tsunade before then, she would have to stand out at the Ninja Academy.
The problem was how to stand out.
Any performance impressive enough to catch the Hokage's eye would also catch Danzo's.
"You've all worked hard today," Mayu said, exhaling slowly. "Get some rest. The day after tomorrow, I'll take you to the Ninja Academy to register."
"Yes, Director," Natsuki and the others replied in unison.
Two days later, Ninja Academy.
Natsuki surveyed the grounds and saw dozens of children his age, accompanied by parents who had come to see them enrolled.
Yakushi Nonou stood beside him, her fair face bright with curiosity as she took in the scene.
"You don't need to walk me to school! I'm not three years old anymore—I'm eight!"
The sudden outburst came from nearby.
Natsuki instinctively turned toward the voice.
The speaker was a young boy with short, dark brown hair.
Behind him stood a young woman in a Jonin flak jacket. She was wrapped up tightly, her posture confident and sharp—radiating a warrior's aura.
It was Tsunade.
Granddaughter of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama. Student of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. In the future, she would stand alongside Orochimaru and Jiraiya as one of the legendary Sannin.
Natsuki almost didn't recognize her.
Compared to her future self, her current appearance wasn't quite... iconic yet.
She was missing the tea-green haori with the kanji for "gamble" emblazoned on the back. The diamond-shaped Yin Seal hadn't appeared on her forehead.
And most notably... she hadn't quite grown into herself yet.
But as a huge fan, Natsuki knew exactly the legend she would become.
"Why do you have to argue about everything?"
Tsunade reached out and flicked Nawaki's forehead. "You should be grateful I came to drop you off."
"Ow!"
Nawaki clapped a hand over his forehead.
"Oh, stop being dramatic. I barely touched you." A smile tugged at Tsunade's lips. "I'll leave you here. I've got a mission."
With that, she turned and walked away.
Nawaki lowered his hand and scanned the area—and soon noticed Natsuki and Nonou. It wasn't hard; the two of them had striking features that stood out in the crowd.
"Hey, I don't think I've seen you two before. New students?"
Nawaki strode over with an easy smile. "I'm Nawaki. Third-year. Nice to meet you."
Friendly kid.
Natsuki wasn't surprised. In the original story, Nawaki hadn't gotten much screen time, but his personality had been clear enough: cheerful, warm, sunny.
"I'm Natsuki. Nice to meet you, Nawaki-senpai."
The moment the word senpai left his mouth, Nawaki's eyes lit up.
He grabbed Natsuki's hand and shook it vigorously. "If you ever run into trouble at school, come find me."
"Thank you."
Natsuki mentally reviewed what he knew about Nawaki.
He was Tsunade's younger brother—grandson of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, and a student of Orochimaru. In Konoha, he was practically royalty.
But this world was cruel.
Even someone like Nawaki, born with every advantage, would die in the Second Shinobi World War.
He would be only twelve years old.
The three of them chatted for a few more minutes before parting ways. Different grades meant different classes.
Natsuki and Nonou were assigned to Class 1-A.
The two walked toward their classroom.
And the moment Natsuki stepped through the door—
His body trembled.
[Congratulations, Host. You have enrolled in the Ninja Academy. The Gacha Template System has been activated.]
Six years. Do you have any idea how I survived these past six years?
After confirming the text floating before his eyes wasn't a hallucination, Natsuki couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh.
In the Naruto world, how was anyone supposed to survive without a cheat?
The two main characters—Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto—were the biggest cheat-users of all. In his previous life, when Natsuki had watched the Sage of Six Paths forcibly infuse them with power, he'd been completely dumbfounded.
What was even the point of training after that? Might as well just quit.
But then again...
Who could refuse a cheat?
Come to me, golden finger. I've been waiting.