The next morning was just as cold as the night before. The day had moved into the final week of November, and winter was arriving earlier than expected.
Hikaru woke up feeling tired from all his training. Not wanting to give up, he still tried to lift himself up from bed and get ready for his morning training session.
He was just a little slower than usual.
There was something different about today that made Hikaru feel surprised—he had his first guest visit his home unexpectedly. When he was preparing to eat breakfast, he noticed his new friend, Kajiwara Ryōta, through the window.
The boy was already standing in front of his house, waiting to join him for early morning training. Hikaru had mentioned the training plan, but he didn't expect Ryōta to come so early in the morning. He could have just met him at the training ground.
Surprised by the boy's enthusiasm, Hikaru couldn't help but smile and open the door to greet him. "Good morning, Ryōta-kun! Come inside first. Have you had breakfast?"
Ryōta shook his head as he rubbed his hands to fight the cold from the weather. "It's okay, I'm not hungry," he said quickly.
Seeing the boy's condition, Hikaru shook his head and insisted that Ryōta come inside. "Even the most powerful shinobi couldn't go to war with an empty stomach."
"Hurry, the house will get cold if I keep the door open."
Ryōta only replied "sorry" and came inside the house. He greeted Ayako in the kitchen, where she was currently making breakfast. Hikaru told him to sit at the table while he poured some hot tea from the kettle to warm up his body.
"Is there anything you can't eat? Any allergies we should know about?" Hikaru asked as he sat at the same table, pouring tea for himself and his sister and placing cups at their seats.
"No, I can eat anything," Ryōta said, waving his hand to deny having any allergies. "Sorry for troubling you and Ayako-san this morning."
"No need to apologize, Ryōta-kun," Ayako said cheerfully as she served the boys breakfast and took her seat. "We're happy that you're here."
After testing the temperature of her tea, Ayako took a sip and then turned to tease her brother. "To be honest, I'm still surprised that Hikaru-kun made any friends."
Hikaru could only roll his eyes at hearing his sister's teasing before adding his thoughts as he started eating. "It's cold outside, so a warm meal will help you get through the day. Let's eat."
The siblings' hospitality touched Ryōta, and he couldn't express his gratitude in words. He began to enjoy the meal with the Muranaka family, complimenting Ayako's cooking and inviting Hikaru to his house for a meal next time.
Both boys finished their food quickly and said goodbye to Ayako before heading out for morning training. Before leaving the house, she reminded Ryōta to wear thicker clothes next time because it was cold and he could get sick.
Ryōta thanked her, while Hikaru nodded in agreement.
After walking on the streets for a while, Ryōta suggested running around the town instead of going to the training ground, so they could enjoy the view along the way. Hikaru agreed.
Running around the village actually felt better. Hikaru felt like he had missed out on many beautiful views that he could have enjoyed before.
The coldness also lessened the more he ran. He could see steam coming out of his mouth as he breathed out.
As they ran through the village for a while, Hikaru could see the determination in the boy's eyes and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Why do you want to become strong, Ryōta-kun?"
Seeing Ryōta suddenly stop running to catch his breath, Hikaru also stopped and added, "What are your goals? Do you want to become Hokage?"
The boy in front of him stared at the ground, as if thinking deeply, looking a bit hesitant before shaking his head. "My parents and brother died in the Third Shinobi War against Iwagakure," Ryōta said, clenching his fist.
"They were everything to me, and I want to follow in their footsteps and be a hero like them."
Surprised by his answer, Hikaru recalled the war and figured it likely happened during the battles between Konoha and Iwa in Kusagakure territory.
This was the event that made the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, famous, earning him the title "Yellow Flash."
"But I can't do it by myself," Ryōta said, loosening his fist and getting teary-eyed. "I was too stupid and didn't try hard when they were with me."
Seeing what was happening, Hikaru felt sympathy for the poor boy and regretted asking such a personal question. He was glad that Ryōta had decided to share his background with him, though. The boy must have considered him a true friend to tell him his story.
Ryōta was still a young kid. Playing around at this age was actually normal. Not many kids could be mature like Uchiha Itachi, who already thought about the meaning of life at age four. Hikaru could also relate to the situation, since his parents in this world had died fighting for the village.
However, their situations weren't exactly the same.
"What about you, Hikaru-kun?" Ryōta asked, feeling calmer now as he turned his head toward Hikaru. "Why do you train so hard every day? What's your goal?"
"My goal?" Hikaru murmured, lifting his chin and thinking seriously.
The question he had asked Ryōta had surprised him instead, since he had never really thought about it before.
At first, he had trained hard because he had been reborn into the world of ninjas, specifically after the Nine-Tails demon fox attack. It seemed dangerous not to be able to protect himself without proper training.
Hikaru also thought about the promise he had made to his parents, but this didn't really explain why he wanted to work hard every day. After receiving the inheritance from his parents, he just felt more of a sense of obligation to do it.
Hikaru admitted that he had read the manga and watched movies about this story before, but he wasn't a die-hard fan. He didn't put posters all over his room like he did for Dragon Ball.
After thinking for a few moments, Hikaru answered honestly, "I don't really know."
"Maybe it's to protect my sister, and learning jutsu is kind of cool."
Ryōta frowned as he heard the reason and asked, "What about your dream?"
"Don't you want to become Hokage in the future?"
"No, not really," Hikaru replied, shaking his head. "I don't want to work in an office all day. It's not my style."
I also hate politics, Hikaru added as a reason in his mind.
"What about becoming the strongest shinobi in the village? Maybe an S-rank ninja like the three Sannin?" Ryōta persisted, giving more examples.
Hikaru only shook his head in response.
Ryōta was confused by his answers and was lost for words. He decided to keep quiet and not say anything more. Hikaru seemed to have a carefree attitude about life, yet he trained hard every day.
This really puzzled him.
Looking at the sun rising and feeling a bit of warmth on his body, Hikaru said, "Let's hurry. We can still do another one or two rounds before school starts."
Ryōta nodded and agreed, and they completed their morning exercise before cleaning up and arriving at the Academy separately.
Hikaru's excitement for training began to fade gradually at the Academy. After his talk with Ryōta in the morning, he felt like he lacked a clear purpose for training.
The lessons at the Academy today were fundamental classes. Each lesson seemed to go in one ear and out the other. He even skipped his normal routine of wind transformation practice and sensory skill training exercises.
Hikaru leaned forward on his desk and gazed out the window, using his right hand to support his chin while thinking deeply about his goals and dreams. He used to think that being better than yesterday was enough, but Ryōta seemed to think otherwise.
After thinking seriously all day long, Hikaru could only come up with one proper reason for training hard.
A sense of accomplishment.
It was almost the same as the feeling of leveling up in a game, getting through difficult tasks and finally getting the skill he wanted, or even pulling a gacha and getting the right character.
It was that kind of feeling that brought him joy.
So far, learning ninjutsu, taijutsu, and other ninja skills had been fulfilling in his life. He could do many things that others would only dream of achieving in their lifetimes.
In his previous life, people could only watch anime, read manga, or novels about these stories, but he was actually living in them. He was living everyone's dream right now, and this was the greatest accomplishment he could have.
On the other hand, the goal of becoming the strongest shinobi seemed like a hassle. Unlike others, all he wanted was to eat well, sleep well, and train hard enough to survive. If other die-hard fans of the story knew about his thoughts, they would probably kick him.
His dream was even simpler—he just wanted to travel to many different places, enjoy lots of good food along the way, and spend time with his family.
In the past, if someone had asked who he thought was the coolest person in the story, his answer would have been the same as many others: the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, for his amazing jutsu that most people dreamed of—the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique).
However, if someone asked him that question today, his answer would definitely be Jiraiya, one of Konoha's three Sannin.
Jiraiya got to travel the world and enjoy his life in a relaxed way while working on building an intelligence network for the village. Along the way, he got to enjoy different types of food at various locations.
Hikaru was somewhat jealous of him every time he thought about it, and he hoped that one day he would have the opportunity to do the same.
Hikaru felt that he didn't have ambitious traits like others. As long as no one was bothering him, he wouldn't care about other people's business.
When the bell rang to signal that school was over, Hikaru only realized then that he had been slacking off all day and felt bad about himself for not doing anything productive.
I shouldn't spend too much time thinking about this, Hikaru thought as he got his backpack and started leaving the classroom. I already planned my training schedule. I'll just continue with it for now and consider it a short-term plan.
As for the longer goals, Hikaru looked at Ryōta, who was walking beside him, and felt somewhat embarrassed at his thoughts. Will he think I'm lame if I say I only want to travel around and eat delicious food?
"Hikaru-kun," Ryōta said as they walked toward the Academy exit together. "I've been thinking about what we talked about this morning."
"What about it?" Hikaru asked, slightly worried about what his friend might say.
"I think your reasons for training are actually pretty good," Ryōta said seriously. "Protecting your sister is important, and learning cool jutsu sounds fun too."
Hikaru felt relieved but also curious. "Really? You don't think it's too simple?"
"Not at all," Ryōta replied with a smile. "I think having simple, honest goals might be better than trying to become something you're not interested in."
"Thanks, Ryōta-kun," Hikaru said, feeling better about his own motivations. "I was worried you'd think I wasn't serious enough."
"Everyone has different reasons for doing things," Ryōta said thoughtfully. "As long as you're working hard and helping people, I think that's what matters."
As they reached the point where they usually separated to go home, Ryōta turned to Hikaru with a grateful expression.
"Thank you for asking me about my goals today, Hikaru-kun," he said. "It felt good to talk about my family with someone who understood."
"Thank you for listening to my confused thoughts too," Hikaru replied. "Maybe we don't need to have everything figured out right away."
"Yeah," Ryōta agreed. "We're still kids, after all. We have time to figure things out."
They said goodbye and headed toward their respective homes. As Hikaru walked through the familiar village streets, he felt more at peace with his own motivations and goals.
Maybe it's okay to just want simple things, he thought. Protecting people I care about, learning interesting skills, and maybe traveling someday. That doesn't sound so bad.
When he reached home, Ayako was already preparing dinner.
"You look thoughtful today, Hikaru-kun," she observed. "Did something happen at school?"
"Ryōta-kun and I were talking about our goals and dreams," Hikaru said as he sat down at the kitchen table. "It made me think about what I really want to do with my life."
"And what did you decide?" Ayako asked with interest.
"I think I just want to get strong enough to protect the people I care about," Hikaru said honestly. "And maybe travel around and see different places someday."
"Those sound like wonderful goals to me," Ayako said with a warm smile. "Sometimes the simple dreams are the most important ones."
That evening, as Hikaru practiced his jutsu and reviewed his notes, he felt more motivated than he had in a while. Having a clear understanding of his own motivations, even if they seemed simple compared to others, gave him a sense of direction.
Tomorrow I'll train with Ryōta-kun again, he thought. And this weekend, he can join our study group. Having friends who support each other makes everything better.
As he prepared for sleep, Hikaru reflected on how much his understanding of himself had grown through his conversation with Ryōta. Sometimes the most important conversations were the ones that helped you understand your own heart.