Chapter 1 — My Brother is a Jerk
Year 30 of Konoha.
Inside the Ninja Academy classroom, a group of six-year-old children chattered noisily.
"Quiet!"
Kinoshita Muraichi roared, the veins on his forehead bulging. He truly had no patience left for these little brats.
The classroom fell silent instantly. Some of the girls were so frightened that their eyes turned red, on the verge of tears.
Damn it. How could he be so fierce with children? Before coming here, hadn't he warned himself not to disappoint the Third Hokage—to never bring the brutality of the battlefield into the school?
At this moment—
War clouds loomed on the horizon. Border conflicts were breaking out one after another. Kinoshita Muraichi had just rotated back from the front lines. Due to his injuries, the Third Hokage had assigned him to teach at the Ninja Academy. Yet the aftereffects of war still clung to him like a shadow.
What should he do?
Was his very first class going to end in failure?
Should he soften his attitude? No, it was too early for that. Before anything else, he had to establish his authority as a teacher.
But how?
Just as Kinoshita Muraichi was at a complete loss, his gaze suddenly locked onto a frail-looking boy sitting by the window in the back row. A ruthless glint flickered in his eyes.
Don't blame me, little brother.
"Kinoshita Hikaru!"
"Ah?"
Kinoshita Hikaru stood up blankly, a bad feeling rising in his chest.
"Why are you whispering in class? Why can't you follow discipline… Get out!!!"
Without giving him any chance to react, Muraichi directly drove him out of the classroom.
Seeing the confusion and grievance on his younger brother's face, Muraichi's heart bled.
I'm sorry, little brother. This is the last time.
After making an example of him, Muraichi's expression shifted completely. With incomparable gentleness, he said, "Everyone, no whispering during class. You must study hard so that you can carry on the Will of Fire."
Even though they were only six years old, the students still felt that this teacher was a bit of a drama king.
Minato Namikaze glanced worriedly toward the hallway, afraid his playmate might be discouraged.
…
Standing in the corridor, Kinoshita Hikaru's face was covered in black lines. He hadn't said a single word, yet he'd been used as the sacrificial chicken. This brother of his was seriously a jerk—forget it, might as well destroy the world.
Of course, he was only complaining internally. He wasn't truly angry. After all, he wasn't really a six-year-old child.
Beneath that tender exterior hid a mature soul.
Kinoshita Hikaru was a transmigrator. Two of the "Big Three" manga had already ended. As a die-hard One Piece fan, how could he not follow the final one?
He had been at home watching Luffy beating Kaido into the ground, enjoying every second. Who would've thought Luffy could only stay cool for three seconds? Mid-fight, he ran out of steam.
The sheer frustration killed him on the spot. When he opened his eyes again, he had become a baby.
A heavenly opening, really—no messy complications. His parents were both jōnin, but when he was three, they "received their boxed lunches" on a mission. Now he was left with only one brother, twelve years older than him, a tokubetsu jōnin who had recently been injured and transferred to teach at the Academy.
…
Ding-ling-ling.
The bell signaling the end of class rang.
Minato Namikaze walked out of the classroom and pulled Kinoshita Hikaru straight into a small grove. Under Hikaru's surprised gaze, he took out two seaweed rice balls and handed one over.
"Your brother went too far. Hikaru-kun clearly didn't say anything… Try this. I made these rice balls myself. They're for you."
"Thanks!" Hikaru took it and started eating immediately. The two had grown up together. Their parents had been teammates, so naturally they had become orphans together.
The fortunate thing was that Hikaru still had a brother.
Minato, on the other hand, had no one left.
He took a big bite and gave a thumbs-up. "It's delicious! Your cooking is amazing. Can you treat me again in the future?"
Hikaru looked at Minato with sparkling sincerity in his eyes.
"Uh.."
Minato's parents had only been chūnin, and before he came of age, the village kept his compensation funds. He only received a small monthly allowance for living expenses.
Life was already tight, yet faced with Kinoshita Hikaru's hopeful gaze, the six-year-old Minato Namikaze had no idea how to refuse.
"Then it's settled. I'll give you all my living expenses. Honestly, I've fallen in love with this rice ball."
With a wave of his tiny hand, Hikaru made the decision on the spot, not giving Minato any chance to object.
What a joke—how could he possibly not use a free tool? This was the first time Minato had ever brought him food. Opportunities like this were fleeting; he had to seize it properly.
Poor Minato had no idea he was already being mercilessly exploited. Instead, he was delighted that Hikaru was giving him his allowance—after all, that meant he wouldn't have to worry about not having enough money to live on.
"Alright then. I'll be in charge of cooking from now on."
Thus, the two children made their agreement in the little grove. All of this was seen clearly by Kinoshita Muraichi, who quietly put away the three rice balls in his hand and thought to himself:
"This is what bonds look like. I can't fall behind either. I must join them. From now on, we'll rely on Minato for cooking! (ಡωಡ)hiahiahia"
"Don't blame me, Minato. This is the last time!!!"
This… was truly shameless—Exploiting a kid cause you two brothers are too lazy to cook.
…
Inside the classroom.
Kinoshita Muraichi stood at the podium, explaining the basic principles of chakra.
"The physical energy produced by the body's one hundred thirty trillion cells, combined with spiritual energy, is called 'stamina.' 'Stamina' forms the foundation for taijutsu. Within the body, stamina is transformed into chakra. After extracting chakra, a ninja can perform 'jutsu' through the use of hand seals."
After finishing his explanation of chakra extraction, Muraichi gave a special reminder: "Do not overtrain your chakra. Don't rush the process. It needs to be done gradually. Alright, you may now try it yourselves. I'll be watching."
Kinoshita Hikaru felt a surge of excitement.
So this was chakra—the extraordinary power of the Naruto world.
He had finally come into contact with it.
For civilian ninjas, chakra training only began at age six, upon entering the Ninja Academy.
In families without ninja heritage, children could only encounter chakra after enrolling in the Academy. Even in families with ninja talent—like Hikaru's, whose parents were both jōnin—children still typically began chakra training at six.
This was because civilians lacked access to secret medicinal supplements. Training too early without them would only overdraw one's potential.
Those secret medicines were controlled by the great clans—such as the Senju, the Ino-Shika-Cho alliance, the Uchiha, the Sarutobi, the Hatake, and others.
Although Hikaru's parents and older brother were ninjas, that alone wasn't enough to earn the favor of those great clans.
This was their unspoken agreement—to prevent civilians from rising too easily.
Of course, the Nara clan, a family famous for medicinal herbs, made their living selling medicine. There was no way they would stop selling entirely. Regular secret medicines could be sold freely; only foundational supplements were prohibited from being sold to civilians.
In this way, children of great clans gained three extra years of chakra training, winning at the starting line.
Just like Kakashi, who became a genin at five—while civilian children at five were still playing ninja games.
Kinoshita Hikaru formed the "Tiger" hand seal and focused on sensing the chakra within his body.
Moments later—
He felt a mysterious energy flowing through his body, gathering toward his core.
Just then—
[Ding. Energy fluctuations detected. The Multiverse Proficiency Panel has been activated.]
[Ding. First World Reward: Rubber Fruit (Non-Toxic Version).]
"First world? …Then how do I travel to the second world?"
[That depends on the readers. Without readership and collection, not only will you fail to travel to the second world—you'll die young!]
"..."