"Haruki? Haruki, where are you? Come on, dinner's ready!"A girl's voice called out from outside the compound gate.
"I'm here, Onee-chan! Coming!"Hinata Haruki responded, turning and walking out of the courtyard toward the neighboring house.
"Hurry up, we've been waiting on you!"A girl around 14 or 15 stood at the entrance, peering around the gate. When she spotted Haruki, she waved him over with a warm smile.
This was Hinata Mizuki, a chūnin of the Hyuga branch family and Haruki's older cousin. With her black hair tied into a ponytail and soft strands falling beside her face, she reminded Haruki of the schoolgirls from his past life. In the memories of the former Haruki, it was Mizuki's family who took him in after his father passed away. Mizuki had always treated him kindly. Back then, Haruki ate and slept at her house most of the time. She was also the one who took care of him while he was injured—and the first person he saw upon waking up in this world.
Haruki couldn't help but treat Mizuki like his real sister.
They walked to the dinner table, where Mizuki's parents were already seated. They were civilians, not shinobi.
"Haruki, you're here? Go wash up before we eat,"Mizuki's father looked up from his newspaper and waved Haruki over with a smile.
"Yes! Uncle, Auntie,"Haruki greeted them cheerfully.
"Come, come, dinner's getting cold,"Mizuki's mother emerged from the kitchen carrying a dish.
The four of them sat down. The table was filled with delicious home-cooked food.
"Alright then... Itadakimasu!"Haruki rubbed his hands together and eagerly picked up his chopsticks.
That evening, after dinner, Hinata Haruki returned to his own small house. The place was quiet and felt eerily empty. Sitting in the silence, Haruki began organizing his thoughts and planning his future.
Thankfully, he already spoke fluent Japanese—and with the original Haruki's memories now integrated, communication in this world was no issue.
He was currently Hinata Haruki, age 4, a regular member of the Hyuga branch family. From the fragments of memories, he suspected the main house held a grudge against his late father—and by extension, him. It was even possible that his father had been secretly eliminated by the main branch.
Still, his relationships with the rest of the branch family were strong. Many aunts, uncles, and elders had looked after him. His father must have held significant standing in the branch family—possibly the only reason Haruki was still alive today.
No, he had already died once. Who knew what methods the main house would use next time to get rid of him?
This was the world of Naruto. Based on context clues, it was currently the Second Shinobi World War. He didn't know if the famous battle between the Sannin and Hanzo of the Salamander had already happened or was yet to come.
One thing was clear:If he wanted to survive this chaotic era, he had to become stronger.
The Path Forward
Step one: Form chakra.It was the foundational requirement to become a shinobi. Then enroll in the ninja academy, graduate as a genin, and begin climbing the ranks. That way, both Konoha and the Hyuga clan would be forced to take him seriously—and wouldn't be able to kill him off so easily.
He also needed to build a solid base:Physical conditioning, weapon throwing, taijutsu basics, and mastery of Byakugan and Gentle Fist.
Then came his trump card—medical ninjutsu. In his past life, he was a 29-year-old surgeon. If he could use his medical knowledge here, he'd gain an edge. A skilled medical-nin during wartime could be more valuable than an entire squad of average shinobi. If things went well, maybe he could even become Tsunade's disciple.
For now, he'd avoid minor nuisances like Hinata Nisshin or other main branch pests until he was strong enough.
"Alright. Let's see what useful resources Father left behind."Haruki began searching the house.
Two hours later, he made some surprising discoveries:
A stash of money, enough to live on for at least six months. Likely a rainy-day fund from his father.
Monthly welfare stipends from the village—compensation for being an orphan.
But more importantly:
Two kunai,
A dozen wooden practice shuriken,
Four scrolls:
Basic chakra cultivation techniques, hand seals, the Three Basic Jutsu (Clone, Transformation, and Substitution), and chakra control.
Foundational Gentle Fist techniques and internal notes.
Throwing techniques for ninja tools.
A sealed scroll of medical texts—left behind by his mother.
"No Byakugan scrolls… Figures. The Hyuga clan guards those secrets tightly," Haruki muttered.
"Alright then, let's start with chakra cultivation."
Training Begins
Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Haruki followed the instructions in the scroll. Chakra was formed by blending physical and spiritual energy—similar to the "Qi" from martial arts novels in his past life. It was basically the same as inner energy, mana, ki, or spiritual pressure—just named differently.
The scroll explained how to extract energy from the body's cells and circulate it through the chakra network, collecting it in the lower abdomen—around the "Tanden" area. Mental energy was drawn from the brain, and the two merged to form chakra.
Fortunately, Haruki had strong spiritual energy. After all, he used to be a surgeon who could operate for 10+ hours without losing focus. That kind of mental stamina paid off here.
Within a few hours, Haruki successfully formed a small but high-quality amount of chakra.
Any ninja seeing this would be shocked—most children took at least three days to achieve what he did in one evening.
Haruki simply nodded in satisfaction.
"As I get used to this, the process will speed up, and the chakra will increase in both quantity and quality."
Morning Routine
The next day, Haruki began physical training.
A strong body = more chakra = better taijutsu.He started with jogging through the nearby woods. In his past life, he barely exercised. Now he had to make up for lost time.
His body was still that of a 4-year-old, so he paced himself with interval running, sprints for explosive power, and endurance jogging. He was gasping within minutes, but he pushed through.
Push-ups. Sit-ups. Frog jumps. Everything done in small, manageable sets.
He was careful not to overtrain—he had no desire to injure growing joints. Dying from overwork once was enough.
He noticed the world of Naruto had a rich natural environment—clean air, lush forests, and excellent water. People here were naturally healthier, which helped his recovery between training sets.
After physical training, it was back to chakra refinement. Slowly but surely, his reserves increased.
Even if the Gentle Fist didn't require hand seals, he practiced those too. Haruki believed in solid fundamentals—if he wanted to learn sealing techniques, summoning, or even Tsunade's Strength of a Hundred technique someday, he'd need to know his seals.
Medical Roots
After finishing morning training, Haruki went to the market to stock up on supplies and stopped by a pharmacy. Many herbs here had different names than in his previous world, and some were completely unfamiliar. He carefully selected what he could identify.
Back home, he soaked in a medicinal bath—not some fantasy "body transformation" thing, but a real, traditional practice. It helped reduce fatigue, improve circulation, and soothe muscles.
He understood its benefits deeply. It wouldn't give him superpowers, but it would protect his young body from overexertion. Already, he felt better than any hot spring could make him feel.
That evening, he visited Mizuki's house to inform her of his training plan and that he wouldn't be joining them for meals for a while.
Mizuki seemed concerned at first—Haruki was still a child, after all—but seeing his calm confidence, she relented.
"I've got a B-rank mission coming up. I'll be away from the village for a few months," Mizuki said seriously."Take care of yourself. Come by for dinner whenever you can, okay?"
Haruki smiled. "I will. And when you come back, I might have a surprise for you."
"Oh? Then I'll be looking forward to it,"Mizuki smiled and ruffled his hair.