I thought I didn't miss anything from my previous life, but I was wrong.
Hikaru woke up on his small bed with a frown on his face. The world felt much emptier without his smartphone. If he was being honest, the thing he missed most was scrolling through social media and playing mobile games.
He took a long breath and yawned, stretching his six-year-old body as he tried to wake up properly. Birds were chirping outside his window, and a gentle breeze touched his face through the open window. The sun was already setting when he finally opened his eyes.
After the memorial service that morning, he had fallen into a deep, exhausting sleep. The pain in his head was completely gone now, and it felt like his soul had finally merged completely with this new body. He could recall the original Hikaru's memories much more clearly now.
Hikaru really liked his new home. The house was modest but well-built, with thick wooden walls that had weathered many seasons in Konoha. The traditional design featured sliding shoji doors between rooms, tatami mats in the bedrooms, and a small garden visible through the kitchen window where their mother used to grow herbs for cooking.
Their father had built a small training area in the backyard, complete with wooden practice posts and a rack for storing basic weapons. The dojo-style room adjacent to the main house still held his meditation cushions and scrolls, untouched since that terrible night. Their mother's kitchen remained organized exactly as she had left it, with her favorite cooking knives arranged neatly and spice jars labeled in her careful handwriting.
The house sat on the outskirts of the residential district, close enough to the village center for convenience but far enough away to enjoy some peace and quiet. From his bedroom window, he could see the rooftops of other modest homes where civilian families and lower-ranked shinobi lived. With three bedrooms, one bathroom, a living room, and a kitchen, the house was rather spacious for a family of two.
After stretching for a few minutes, he was still getting used to his smaller body. The good news was that even though his hands were much smaller and he was obviously much shorter than before, he wasn't overweight or unhealthy.
Getting out of bed, Hikaru did some basic exercises to test his body's strength and flexibility. Once he confirmed that his health was good, he started planning out his new life in this world.
He had only been thinking for a few minutes when Ayako's voice called out to him from the kitchen.
"Hikaru-kun, it's time to eat!"
"Coming!" Hikaru replied quickly, a smile spreading across his face. I guess planning can wait. I can't do anything on an empty stomach anyway.
When Hikaru arrived in the kitchen, Ayako was setting food on the table. As soon as she saw him, she started asking questions with worry clear in her voice.
"How are you feeling, Hikaru-kun? Are you still in pain?"
"I'm fine now," Hikaru said, touching his head briefly. "The headache is completely gone."
"That's good to hear. Come sit down; the food is ready." Ayako gestured toward the table, then added, "Your sensei came by this afternoon. He said you don't need to go to the Academy for a month."
Probably because of all the damage from the Nine-Tails attack, Hikaru thought. They'll need time to rebuild and reorganize.
"Oh, okay," he said, blinking in acknowledgment.
Perfect timing. I need time to adjust to this world anyway.
As soon as he sat down at the table, his stomach growled loudly. He was starving. But after taking a few bites, he noticed that his sister wasn't eating at all. She was just sitting across from him, watching him with concerned eyes.
"Onee-chan, why aren't you eating?" Hikaru asked.
"I already ate a little while ago, so don't worry about me," Ayako replied with a soft smile. "I need to prepare the barbecue stall tomorrow morning. Can you help me?"
Hikaru looked at his sister for a moment while chewing. He could see the exhaustion in her eyes, even though she was trying to hide it.
"Onee-chan, you should take a break for a week or two," he said gently. "There's no need to rush back to work. Take your time."
"No!" Ayako shook her head immediately, her voice rising with concern. "Our financial situation isn't the same as before, Hikaru-kun."
She poured water into his cup and continued, "We need to take care of ourselves now. Our parents' savings won't last forever."
"Besides," she added quietly, "it's better if I stay busy rather than just sitting around doing nothing."
Hikaru could understand her reasoning. Different people handled grief in different ways. Some people would cry for weeks and be unable to function. Others, like Ayako, preferred to stay active to distract themselves from the pain.
"Yeah, sure," he agreed, drinking his water. "I'll help you."
"We need to go to the market at five in the morning to buy fresh meat," Ayako said.
Hikaru's face twitched when he heard this. "Do we really have to go that early?"
"Of course! We can only get the freshest ingredients in the morning," Ayako said firmly. She pointed at him with a serious expression. "Don't be late!"
Hikaru could only nod and sigh, setting down his chopsticks. He had lost his appetite after hearing about the early morning wake-up call. His lazy habits from his previous life were going to be hard to break, especially when he needed to start serious ninja training.
After that exchange, the kitchen became quiet. Both of them seemed to agree without speaking that they wouldn't talk about what happened the night before.
"Wait here," Ayako said suddenly, just as Hikaru was about to clear his plate. She stood up cheerfully and headed to another room. "I think there's something you need to see."
She returned a minute later carrying a wooden box in her hands.
"I found this in our parents' room," she said as she handed it to him. "Otou-san probably prepared it for you."
Hikaru took the box with raised eyebrows and began opening it while his sister watched with anticipation.
Inside were several scrolls and handwritten notes.
Jackpot! Hikaru screamed happily in his mind. This is even better than I hoped!
He carefully examined each scroll:
Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) - Rank D
Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique) - Rank D
Fūton: Toppa (Wind Release: Breakthrough) - Rank D
Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough) - Rank C
Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Technique) - Rank C
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) - Rank B
Even though there weren't many jutsu scrolls, they were incredibly valuable for someone in his position. At least he wouldn't have to start from zero like most civilian-born ninja.
He would eventually learn the basic three jutsu required for graduation from the Academy, just like everyone else. But these scrolls were special. Usually, if you weren't from a clan, you could only learn new jutsu from a Jōnin sensei after graduating and joining a Genin team. The other option was to complete missions and exchange merit points for jutsu, but that could take a very long time.
Unless you were part of a major clan that had its own techniques and libraries, being compared to civilian ninja without support—or worse, orphans—could feel pretty unfair.
He was lucky that even though both his parents were civilian ninja who didn't come from major clans, they were still genuine shinobi with their own collection of techniques. This head start was far better than he could have hoped for.
The most valuable part was probably the notes recording their experiences as ninja. From what he could see, his father had been a Sensor-type ninja, while his mother had specialized in Fūinjutsu (sealing techniques). That knowledge could be incredibly useful once he studied all the details.
Seeing Hikaru's bright expression brought tears of joy to Ayako's eyes. Their parents had left them a real inheritance. She would use the house deed and their savings to take care of the home and support her younger brother.
When her brother grew up to become a fine shinobi, he could take care of her in return. Ayako quietly left Hikaru alone with his inheritance and went to do other household chores.
Hikaru returned to his room with the box, wanting to see if there were any other hidden items inside.
Sure enough, when he set the box on his desk and looked through it more carefully, he found something else.
A small square piece of paper was lying among the various notes. It caught his attention because its color was slightly different—more brownish compared to the white paper of the other documents. When he picked it up, he could feel that it was made of different material.
"Chakra Induction Paper?" Hikaru guessed, looking at it with surprise.
He hadn't expected his parents to include this item. He remembered from the manga that these papers were expensive because they were made from trees that had been fed chakra.
Each person's chakra usually matched one of the five basic nature transformations, and this paper could test that affinity. Learning jutsu that matched your natural affinity was much easier and more effective. On the other hand, learning techniques you had no affinity for was extremely difficult and time-consuming.
"Let's test my affinity then," Hikaru said with hopeful excitement.
He focused on the chakra within his body, remembering the basic lessons from the Academy that were now part of his inherited memories. A warm feeling spread from his core to his fingertips as he channeled chakra into the paper.
The paper reacted immediately. First, it wrinkled and crinkled. Then it tore and split in half. Finally, it caught fire and burned to ash.
"Three affinities?" Hikaru gasped, shocked by the result. "Lightning, wind, and fire?"
Having multiple chakra affinities was extremely rare. Most ninja only had one, and even having two was considered exceptional. Three was almost unheard of.
I have wind release jutsu from my parents' inheritance, he thought, but getting lightning and fire techniques will be much harder.
Hikaru looked at the remaining notes in the box and sighed. "This is going to take days or weeks to read through everything."
"But first, let me start with a training plan," he said to himself, pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil. "I have a whole month of free time!"
Hikaru spent the rest of the evening writing down a detailed training schedule. He needed to improve his physical conditioning, practice chakra control, study the jutsu scrolls, and read through his parents' notes about sensor abilities and sealing techniques.
He was so absorbed in his planning that he didn't notice how much time had passed until Ayako called out to him.
"Hikaru-kun, it's time to sleep! You need to wake up early tomorrow."
"Coming!" he called back, stretching his cramped fingers. Looking at his nearly finished training plan, he smiled with satisfaction. "I can finish this tomorrow."
He stood up from his desk, turned off the light, and lay down on his bed. As he closed his eyes, he muttered to himself, "Tomorrow I'll also need to take a proper shower and clean up."
But first, he thought as sleep began to take him, I need to survive waking up at five in the morning.