Land of Fire, Konohagakure.
In a small backyard, a seven-year-old boy named Gekkō Samukaze stood dumbfounded, clutching a wooden practice sword about thirty centimeters long. His stance was awkward, feet neither steady nor aligned, and he had no idea what to do with his free left hand. He glanced left and right, feeling the atmosphere grow heavier and more awkward with every passing second.
"Ah…"
Not far away, Gekkō Hoshino sighed with quiet disappointment. "I was too naive after all. Samukaze, that's enough for today."
But Samukaze acted as though he hadn't heard him, still looking around with confusion.
So… I've actually ended up in the Naruto world?
But why? I wasn't doing anything special before this—just playing a game, collecting wolf corpses. How did I transmigrate out of nowhere?
Samukaze? My name is… Gekkō Samukaze?
As fragments of memories surfaced in his mind, his head throbbed painfully. Never heard of that before… I only remember there being a minor character named Gekkō Hayate—a sickly guy who died early. Could he be my brother?
Samukaze looked toward the tall, handsome man nearby—Hoshino, whose proud bearing couldn't hide the sorrow in his eyes. This must be my father? …He doesn't look very happy.
Feeling uneasy, Samukaze lowered his head to the wooden sword in his hands, a pang of guilt prickling his chest.
"Dinner's ready, Hoshino, Samu-chan."
A gentle voice drifted out from the house, breaking the heavy silence of the backyard.
It was Gekkō Emiko, Samukaze's mother.
New to this world, Samukaze understood the value of caution. He carefully set the wooden sword aside and followed behind Hoshino into the house.
Inside, Emiko wore simple home clothes. Her soft, oval-shaped face carried a faint, welcoming smile as she asked, "Hoshino, how did it go?"
"No good. Samukaze's talent is just too poor."
Hoshino shook his head and sighed. "I used to hope that our clan could rely on the Kenjutsu of the Konoha-ryū to rise to the level of the Nara, the Akimichi, perhaps even the Hyūga and Uchiha. I even imagined the family crest we would use. But I was too naive. The difficulty of training in Konoha-ryū kenjutsu is simply too high. Even its fundamentals are beyond what an ordinary child can handle."
Standing off to the side, Samukaze bowed his head, silently collecting information.
The Konoha-ryū style had been developed by the Second Hokage himself. Its power was said to be immense—but its training demands were equally steep. And he… apparently lacked even the most basic aptitude.
A flicker of disappointment crossed Emiko's face, but she quickly regained her warmth. "It's all right, Hoshino. Your brother's son, Hayate—he has talent with the sword. He can inherit Konoha-ryū kenjutsu and carry the Gekkō name forward."
Gekkō Hayate!
Samukaze's eyes lit up. So he was Hayate's brother after all!
But Hoshino only gave a bitter smile. "Of Samukaze's entire generation, only Hayate shows any promise with the blade… and even his potential is… sigh."
The three of them sat down at the table, eating with a quiet air of frustration.
Samukaze picked at his food absentmindedly, rifling through the memories of the body he now inhabited.
He was the son of clan head Gekkō Hoshino, seven years old. Last year he had entered the Ninja Academy. After summer break, he would be moving into his second year. As for his talent… well, barely passable. Better than nothing, perhaps, but not by much.
Which was why, for his entire first year at the Academy, Samukaze had never taken his studies seriously—mostly just playing around with his classmates.
But those classmates were far from ordinary: Umino Iruka, Mitarashi Anko, Tetsu Hagane, Kamizuki Izumo… There were even members of the Inuzuka clan, like Inuzuka Sa, and from the Aburame clan, Aburame Yui. The last two hadn't appeared in the original story, so they were likely just background extras. Then again, even Iruka, Anko, Tetsu, and Izumo were side characters at best.
Compared to Naruto and Sasuke's future cohort—the "kings" of their generation—Samukaze's entire class was… well, bronze rank.
And Samukaze himself? He was the most stubborn bronze of them all.
Thick-headed to the core, he thought, rubbing his own skull.
But in that instant, a small cluster of green light suddenly flared in the depths of his mind, swallowing his consciousness whole!
When his awareness cleared again, his father Hoshino was nowhere to be seen. Emiko was sitting beside him, staring in surprise.
"I'm full."
Samukaze blinked twice, then abruptly set down his bowl and chopsticks, running out to the backyard with excitement.
I can't believe it… I actually brought the Gathering Technique from the game into this world!
Joy surged through him. That green light was his golden cheat: Gathering Technique!
According to the information flowing through his mind, his Gathering Technique could extract ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu—even kekkei genkai—from others. And the best part: the targets didn't lose their abilities in the process. Which meant… this was the most shameless cheat imaginable!
And he could use it three times a day.
Sword talent? Who cared.
Konoha-ryū kenjutsu? With Gathering Technique, he could take care of everything.
Three jutsu a day means over a thousand in a year. In ten years, that's ten thousand! By the time I'm grown, who would dare mess with me? Cross me and I'll crush you flat!
The thought made Samukaze feel like he was floating on air.
He burst into the backyard just as his father was training, slashing at a thick wooden post with a wooden blade. Each draw of the sword cracked the wood with a sharp report, scattering chips into the sunlight.
Samukaze's lips trembled. Gather!
The green light in his mind shifted.
And then…
Gathering failed.
What?! Samukaze's face froze. There can be failures?
Not willing to accept it, he clenched his teeth. Gather! Gather!!
Two more attempts. Both failures.
He watched helplessly as the vision of ten thousand jutsu dissolved like mist, slipping into some unreachable void.
Frustration nearly choked him. What kind of garbage cheat is this? It's infuriating!
Moments ago he had been soaring toward the moon; now, he crashed back to earth.
But there was nothing to be done. He could only wait until tomorrow, when the technique reset, to try again.
Just then, a figure appeared atop the backyard wall: clad in black, a long sword on his back, and a white animal mask covering his face.
"Gekkō Hoshino. The Hokage summons you."
"I understand."
Hoshino's eyes narrowed. He stabbed the wooden sword into the grass, and with a flicker of movement, vanished with a body flicker.
Samukaze blinked. The masked figure was gone as well, leaving the wall empty and bare.
ANBU…? The Hokage?
That would mean the Third Hokage. For ANBU to summon his father directly, it couldn't be an ordinary matter.
Narrowing his eyes, Samukaze recalled what year it was: Konoha Year 43.
Konoha Year 43… that means…
"Samukaze, what are you doing out here? Eh? Where's your father?"
Emiko came out with freshly washed dishes, but Hoshino was nowhere to be seen.
"Um…"
Samukaze turned, looking at his mother—barely in her thirties, still beautiful, though a cold sweat ran down his forehead. With difficulty, he forced out, "Mom…"
Her eyes narrowed dangerously, a glint flashing within them. "Mom? Do I already look that old to you… Samu-chan~?"
Cold sweat trickled down Samukaze's temples. His survival instinct roared louder than his mental age. "No, no—Mother is still young and beautiful!"
Satisfied, Emiko softened, smiling warmly. "That's better. Now, where did your father go?"
"He was called away by a ninja hiding in the shadows. Said the Hokage wanted to see him."
Samukaze stopped himself just in time from saying "ANBU." That was supposed to be secret knowledge. In the original timeline, Naruto himself didn't even learn of the ANBU until after graduating the Academy, during his first mission outside the village with Kakashi. And Samukaze was only seven.
"The Hokage? Was it ANBU, then?" Emiko's face darkened. "It couldn't be…"
A month ago, several border cities in the Land of Fire had been raided by Sunagakure. Most notably, Kikyo Castle and the nearby Kikyo Mountain were directly seized. Countless civilians were captured. Konoha had sent envoys to negotiate several times, but all had failed. With the invasion spreading further across the border, the situation was spiraling out of control.
The shadow of war was closing rapidly upon Konoha.
(End of Chapter)