Chapter 1
Border of the Land of Rain. A light drizzle fell endlessly, yet it couldn't drown out the distant sounds of fierce fighting.
Li Tianyi, who had suddenly appeared in this place, warily scanned his surroundings and muttered, "What the hell? Where am I? That dog of a system finally decided to let me out?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a golden pattern surfaced on his forehead. With a flash of the pattern, a stream of information poured directly into his mind. That mark had been with him since birth—originally just a birthmark, and not golden. The reason he had transmigrated in the first place was entirely because of it.
After digesting the info, Li Tianyi finally understood: this was the Naruto world, and the current year was roughly Konoha Year 35.
"The Ninja World, huh? Pretty interesting place. Of course, any world with people is better than that godforsaken white space I was trapped in!"
At the thought, Li Tianyi burst into manic laughter. He wasn't an Uchiha, but who said only Uchiha were allowed to laugh like a madman?
Most transmigrators start as kids and raise childhood sweethearts from day one. Him? He got mysteriously locked away for two and a half years the moment he arrived.
"Two and a half years! Do you know how I spent those two and a half years?!"
Just remembering it made him sigh. Sure, food and drink were unlimited in that white space, but that was literally all there was. No phone, no computer, not even a single toy to kill time. Two and a half years of nothing but training, eating, and sleeping. Who the hell could understand that pain?!
If cultivating hadn't made time pass quickly, he would've gone insane long ago. But today—today—Li Tianyi was finally free!
"With the fruits of my one-thousand-year training (give or take), even ignoring the Ōtsutsuki, I should be among the top fighters in the current Naruto world, right? When that time comes—good food, good drinks, fun everywhere, and a beauty by my side—life will be perfect!"
The fantasy made him let out an embarrassing pig-like squeal.
He was just about to continue daydreaming when his sharp senses picked up the sounds of battle gradually dying down in the distance. Curious, he flashed over to investigate.
Once he got close, he saw a small Konoha squad chasing fleeing enemies.
Feeling chakra fluctuations ahead, Li Tianyi stroked his chin and muttered, "Those must be explosive tags. Are these kids tired of living? Charging straight in like that… Lucky for you, you ran into me today. As the saying goes, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. I save you, you give me some money and information as thanks—totally reasonable, right? …Why does this scene feel so weirdly familiar?"
The moment the words left his mouth, his figure vanished.
A left roundhouse, a right side kick, followed by a five-hit combo—he sent all three pursuers flying.
The three Konoha shinobi scrambled to their feet and assumed fighting stances, only to hear a massive explosion from where they'd just been standing.
"That was… an explosive tag trap!!!"
Cold sweat poured down the leader's face as he glanced at the boy behind him. If he died, fine. But if this kid died, the entire village would be in chaos.
"Brother Yamago, that guy just saved us, right?!" The boy stared blankly at the rising smoke.
"Yeah, Nawaki. That kind ninja saved us. It's just a shame…"
Li Tianyi instantly reappeared beside Yamago and patted his shoulder. "A shame what?"
Yamago jumped three feet in the air and screamed, "GHOST!"
His teammate Suika quickly stopped him. "Bro, he's still breathing. Not a ghost."
While the two brothers were busy wrestling each other, Nawaki (Rope Tree) swaggered over to Li Tianyi and started firing questions like a hyperactive puppy:
"Big bro, are you reinforcements sent by Konoha? How come I've never seen you before? Your Body Flicker is insane—teach me! Also, you're super handsome—are you single? Definitely still single, right? To repay you for saving my life, how about I let my big sister marry you? What do you say?"
Life was tough. Nawaki sighed dramatically. For the sake of his sister's happiness, he had already broken his little heart into pieces. This savior was handsome, strong, and for some reason gave off a strangely familiar vibe—way better than that pervert Jiraiya!
Li Tianyi pressed a hand on Nawaki's head to stop him from basically gluing himself to his body. "Kid, you're not the '100,000 Whys.' Calm down with the questions. …But is your sister hot? If she's hot, I'll reluctantly agree."
Nawaki nodded like a bobblehead. "My sister is called the Princess of Konoha! Super pretty! If you marry her, you'll never regret it!"
"Princess of Konoha…? Don't tell me you're Senju Nawaki?"
It finally clicked for Li Tianyi. Hearing Yamago call him "Nawaki" earlier hadn't registered, but now he realized—this was right before the Second Shinobi World War.
Nawaki nodded, then shook his head. "I'm Nawaki, but I don't have the Senju name anymore. The Senju clan was disbanded a long time ago."
Poor Nawaki—both lucky and unlucky. Grandson of the First Hokage, yet never met him. Irresponsible parents who abandoned him; grew up with his grandma and gambling-addict sister. Finally became Orochimaru's student (who hasn't gone evil yet). Should've been showered with love, yet died pathetically to explosive tags in canon. Well, I just saved him, so he probably won't die that easily now.
"Nice! By the way, isn't your sister dating that Katō Dan guy?"
"Who's Katō Dan?"
Nawaki looked utterly confused. He had zero idea his sister was supposedly in a relationship.
Li Tianyi slapped his forehead. Right—Tsunade hasn't started dating Dan yet at this point in the timeline.
"Never mind, just pretend I said nonsense."
The Yamago and Suika brothers finally remembered they were still on a battlefield and hurried over. "Sir, would you come back to camp with us? We'll properly repay you for saving our lives there."
Li Tianyi grinned, rubbed his hands together, and looked at them like they were walking ATMs. "No problem, no problem at all."
The brothers took the lead, Nawaki walked in the middle, and Li Tianyi followed leisurely behind.
Not long after they left, the "fleeing" enemies returned to the scene.
"No bodies. Those three definitely escaped alive."
The leader shook his head and sighed. "As expected of the Senju prince. Of course he has some life-saving tricks."
"Boss! Should we give chase? If we miss this chance, killing him later will be way harder!"
"Idiot! He has to die in an 'accident,' understand? Everything else isn't our concern. Let's go report to the master."
With that, the leader Body-Flickered away, and the rest hurriedly followed.