[To avoid readers saying the author is dishonest, an explanation is provided in advance.]
[This book is logically rigorous. It is not a brainless power fantasy where the protagonist is invincible from the start. It is a semi power fantasy that requires using half your brain.]
[Of course, it is a novel after all. There might occasionally be minor issues, like someone being a year older than they should be. Hopefully everyone won't scrutinize these too closely.]
[Additionally, this book is guaranteed to be at least a million words long and will absolutely never be discontinued, unless the author dies unexpectedly. Everyone can rest assured and enjoy it.]
'Where is this?'
'Huh? I'm flying?'
Sora slowly opened his eyes. What met his gaze was a fox mask.
"Kid, I didn't expect you to pull through. Not bad physical condition!"
The fox mask's footsteps didn't pause as he looked down at Sora in his arms.
Strange. The other person definitely wasn't speaking English, yet every word entered his mind as clearly as his native language, without any difficulty.
'Am I still alive? Didn't I die of cancer?'
'Could it be... I've traveled through time?'
Yes, Sora had died.
In his previous life, Sora was an ordinary office worker. He grew up in an orphanage and, thanks to the welfare support, grew up smoothly and steadily into an adult. Unfortunately, by his late twenties he still hadn't married, and didn't even have a girlfriend.
If it were just that, it might have been tolerable. At least he would still be alive.
But Sora had terrible luck. He got cancer, and by the time it was discovered, it was already terminal. Incurable.
After years as a corporate drone, Sora quit his job and chose the most vulgar way to wait for his death.
Finally, after six months of debauchery, Sora returned to the embrace of Mother Earth. At least the hard-earned money was finally spent, avoiding the situation where the person is gone but the money remains...
...
"The village is ahead. I will go report to the Hokage. You take this kid first."
The fox mask turned and spoke to two other masked individuals who had appeared at some point unnoticed.
One of them, wearing a grizzly bear mask, took Sora and nodded.
In his dazed state, Sora only felt the surrounding human voices gradually become noisier. Opening his eyes, he saw they had indeed reached a populated area.
He saw the fox mask vanish instantly, fast as teleportation.
'Where did he go? How did he disappear just like that?' Sora stared in shock at the empty spot.
'What kind of world have I traveled to?'
He turned his head to look around and found they were on the rooftop of a building. Looking down, he saw a bustling crowd of people coming and going.
'Huh? That's...'
Sora noticed that his nearsighted eyes could now clearly see the faces of the pedestrians below. The forehead protector that person wore wasn't that the symbol of Konoha from Naruto?
'Have I traveled to the Naruto world?'
'Then these masked people should be the Anbu.'
It was acceptable. As an anime fan, Sora's favorites were Naruto and One Piece, though the latter should now be called One Piece.
'I just hope the current timeline isn't too close to those Ninja World Wars...'
The Ninja World Wars in Naruto were exceptionally brutal. Forget Genin, even Chunin and Jonin struggled to protect themselves. Let alone an orphan from outside the village like him; once war started, he would definitely become cannon fodder.
Sora estimated his current body was about four years old.
Although during Naruto's time, the Ninja Academy usually graduated students at age twelve, in the original work, there were plenty of examples of children going to battle at six or seven years old.
'If Hashirama Senju knew about this, he'd probably crawl out of his grave and hit those guys with a 'True Several Thousand Hands'...' Sora thought to himself.
Time passed slowly. The fox mask suddenly reappeared, likely using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Mission complete. Take this kid to the orphanage."
'Damn, an orphanage again!'
Sora was truly speechless. He was an orphan before traveling through time, and he's still an orphan after. And most likely a regular orphan without any Kekkei Genkai. Didn't he travel through time for nothing...
...
Konoha Orphanage.
The evening sun's remaining light shone on the orphanage courtyard, adding a touch of peace and tranquility.
There were over a dozen children in the courtyard, and a blonde girl around ten years old wearing black-framed glasses.
Sora was mixed among them, behaving like a normal child.
It had been half a year since he traveled to the Naruto world. Sora had gradually figured out the general timeline.
It should be Konoha year 37 now. There were still six years until the Third Shinobi World War in year 43. Comparing his body to the other children in the orphanage, Sora should be about five years old.
It's worth mentioning that Sora was somewhat handsome, with silver-white hair similar to Kakashi's.
'Not bad, at least there are still six years.'
Sora looked at the blonde girl in the courtyard, namely Nonō Yakushi.
Nonō's exact age wasn't specified in the original work. Sora estimated she was born around Konoha year 26, so she should be about 11 years old now.
Since Nonō was already at the orphanage, she should have already left or was semi-detached from the "Root" organization. He just didn't know when she earned the title "The Walking Witch".
Recalling that Kakashi became a Jonin at age 12 in the original, and Shisui earned the name "Shunshin no Shisui" at age 11, one could only say Nonō was also a genius.
Currently, the orphanage only had one old headmaster and Nonō as a caretaker. In the half year since Sora arrived, Nonō had been very good to him.
At Sora's request, she even taught him some basic shinobi knowledge, like chakra extraction.
Unfortunately, Sora's body seemed to have extremely poor compatibility with chakra. His chakra volume was estimated to be only a fraction of that of children his age. The clone technique he released would collapse almost immediately. It seemed the path of ninjutsu was blocked for him.
A faint, wry smile touched Sora's face. In these past six months, he had confirmed that he lacked the golden finger, a cheat ability that seemed standard for those who travel through time. At least, not yet.
"It seems I can only take the path of taijutsu. Fortunately, taijutsu isn't bad. Forbidden techniques like the Eight Gates Released Formation can even stand up to Six Paths Madara." Sora looked at the sky with a hint of resentment.
"Sigh, at least the Third Shinobi World War is still six years away."
Since ninjutsu wasn't viable, he would focus solely on taijutsu! Thinking of Guy's magnificent kick that nearly ended the whole war, Sora's fighting spirit reignited.
If they can do it, how can I not? And I cannot afford to fail!
After all, a Ninja World War was no joke. Sora had no desire to be cannon fodder.
Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts from his mind. Sora stood up and walked towards the training ground next to the orphanage.
This training ground was specially designated by Konoha for orphans and low-ranking shinobi. The ground was covered in footprints of varying depths, and a few bundles of practice straw dummies were piled in the corner.
Sora walked directly to the oldest straw dummy. Its torso was already kicked askew, with a clear depression in the chest area. That was the mark of Sora's repeated punches and knee strikes over the past six months.
Adjusting the worn bandages on his wrists, Sora took a deep breath. His right leg suddenly lifted, whistling through the air as it kicked towards the depression in the dummy's chest.
"One, two, three... forty-one, forty-two..."
Gradually, fatigue and pain spread throughout his body. The muscles in his thighs began to twitch, but Sora didn't stop. He gritted his teeth and continued.
In the almost empty training ground, only Sora's panting and the dull thuds of his kicks against the straw dummy echoed.
Since the path of ninjutsu was blocked, Sora could only train his taijutsu to the extreme. If others practiced for one hour, he would practice for three. If others kicked one hundred times, he would kick three hundred!