Konoha's Tatsuya

"Tatsuya-san, I'm coming in!"

Just as Tatsuya was lost in contemplation, a clear, cheerful female voice sounded from outside the door. A stout girl carrying a lunchbox entered.

It was Kyoko Akimichi, a girl from the clan who was the same age as Tatsuya.

Compared to other ordinary girls, Kyoko's build could only be described as "stout." Her round face was cute enough, but at a height of about five and a half feet, she already weighed over 160 pounds.

This kind of physique was the norm in the Akimichi clan.

Regardless of gender or age!

This was related to the Akimichi clan's constitution and their secret training techniques.

When he first transmigrated, Tatsuya had been a little uncomfortable with such a robust girl appearing before him and addressing him so familiarly as "Tatsuya-san."

However, the memories he retained, along with Kyoko's attentive care, quickly helped him adapt.

Everyone says every fat person has hidden potential, so maybe Kyoko would have her day to shine, too?

Kyoko's talent was slightly better than Tatsuya's, but she had a very laid-back personality. Even during the special circumstances of the Third Shinobi World War, the clan couldn't bear to send her to the front lines as cannon fodder.

Since Tatsuya's return to the village, Kyoko's family had been taking care of him.

Hearing Kyoko's voice, Tatsuya snapped back to reality. He glanced at the wall, realizing it was already noon.

Kyoko entered and placed the oversized lunchbox on the table. Then, she set up a bed tray, carefully arranging the food – enough for three people – on it.

Because Tatsuya's hands were still bandaged, making it difficult for him to eat, Kyoko personally fed him.

Tatsuya had become accustomed to Kyoko's feeding and felt neither awkwardness nor resistance.

As she fed him, they chatted casually.

During his recovery, Kyoko had become Tatsuya's main source of information.

"Tatsuya-san, did you know? I heard people in the village saying that the war is almost over!" Kyoko said cheerfully, scooping up a large chunk of meat and bringing it to Tatsuya's mouth.

"Oh? Who told you that?"

Tatsuya raised his head, swallowed the meat, and asked.

He was extremely interested in when the Third Shinobi World War would end!

Because the end of the war meant he wouldn't have to go back to the battlefield and risk his life!

In the Shinobi World War, where even jonin were dying in droves, a lowly genin like Tatsuya going to the front lines was practically a death sentence.

"The elders in the clan are all talking about it! Apparently, Kakashi's Team Seven accomplished something huge this time. Minato Namikaze-sama faced off against a thousand Iwa-nin all by himself and drove them back! He's amazing! Iwa has already sent an envoy to negotiate peace. But... I heard that our former classmates, Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara, died in battle..."

Kyoko nodded, speaking matter-of-factly. Her tone started off excited, but quickly turned somber.

As the war drew to a close, some details about the Battle of Kannabi Bridge had made their way back to Konoha. Naturally, this included the news of Obito Uchiha and Rin Nohara's deaths.

"Is that so? The Battle of Kannabi Bridge is already over?" Tatsuya murmured.

In his memories from his previous life, Tatsuya vaguely remembered that the Battle of Kannabi Bridge marked the imminent end of the Third Shinobi World War.

This battle not only changed the lives of Kakashi and Obito forever, but also completely altered the course of the ninja world, often jokingly referred to by fans as the "source of all evil."

Minato Namikaze would soon ascend to the position of Fourth Hokage, thanks to his outstanding performance in the Third War, reaching the pinnacle of his life.

The name "Yellow Flash" would become legendary throughout the ninja world!

But this battle also directly led to Obito's complete descent into darkness. A year later, he would personally instigate the devastating Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha.

In Naruto, the Nine-Tails' attack was the origin of the story.

Although the saying went that when the sky falls, the tall ones will hold it up, and it shouldn't have anything to do with a mere genin like him, who knew if he might unfortunately find himself in harm's way?

It was well known that Konoha suffered heavy losses during this turmoil, with numerous buildings destroyed and countless ninja and civilians killed or injured.

Among the ninja casualties, dozens were jonin.

And, more importantly, both Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki died in this chaos.

Their deaths were a huge blow to Konoha.

One was the Fourth Hokage at the peak of his power, and the other was the Nine-Tails jinchuriki – both were top-tier forces of Konoha, true Kage-level powerhouses.

It could be said that Konoha was at its weakest state after this turmoil.

It was also this incident that directly led to the renewed conflict between Kumo and Konoha, bringing war to the village once again.

Thinking about all this, Tatsuya felt a mixture of joy and worry.

After a while, their conversation lost its spark.

In this world filled with killing, most ninja were accustomed to death and bloodshed. However, a war as brutal as the Third Shinobi World War was still unprecedented.

During the war, Tatsuya and Kyoko had received far too many notifications of their former Ninja Academy classmates' deaths.

A few moments later, Kyoko gathered the lunchbox and left. The room was once again filled with only Tatsuya, the news he'd just heard making him fall back into deep thought.

Before learning that the Third Shinobi World War was nearing its end, Tatsuya had planned to continue playing it safe for a while longer.

After all, who knew if he'd be sent back to the battlefield as cannon fodder once his injuries healed?

More than eighty percent of his fellow early-graduating classmates had already died in the Third War.

Even a genius like Kakashi had nearly lost his life, let alone a lowly genin like Tatsuya.

He didn't have the guts to disobey the orders of Konoha's higher-ups, unless he was prepared to defect from the village.

Therefore, ever since his transmigration, after learning about his situation, Tatsuya hadn't been in a hurry to heal his body completely.

During the Third Shinobi World War, Konoha's Princess Tsunade hadn't left the village yet. Under her leadership, Konoha's medical team was very strong at this time. Treating Tatsuya's injuries was well within their capabilities.

The reason he still couldn't walk after two weeks of recovery was primarily due to Tatsuya's passive cooperation.

However, now that he knew the Third Shinobi World War was about to end, Tatsuya no longer planned to continue hiding.

Life had to go on, and even a salted fish needed dreams.

Tatsuya's dream was to survive in the dangerous ninja world!

Since the heavens had allowed him to transmigrate, no matter what, he had to find a way to survive first. Survival was the most important thing.

As for grand ideals like saving Konoha or saving the world, like other transmigrators might have, Tatsuya didn't dare to think about that for now.

Before he had enough strength to guarantee his own safety, it was better to be cautious.

And in this world, weakness was a sin, even if Tatsuya no longer wanted to be a ninja, a dangerous profession.

More than ten years later, when Pain descended upon Konoha in his god-like form, a single Shinra Tensei would flatten the entire village.

Tatsuya didn't believe he could escape such a powerful ninjutsu by sheer luck.

Without sufficient strength and status, without reliable sources of information, it would be difficult to accurately time his escape from disasters.

And under normal circumstances, what place in the ninja world could be safer than Konoha, the head of the Five Great Hidden Villages?

Therefore, Tatsuya's top priority was to figure out how to formulate a feasible plan to increase his strength. This was his reliable guarantee for navigating the ninja world in the future.

Nothing was more reliable than having strength himself!

And the faster he could increase his strength, the better.