[And then, Senju Hashirama died.]
[On the day the news returned, all of Konoha wept. You don't remember if you cried; you only remember that after that day, everything changed.]
[The Ninja World fell into chaos. The First Great Ninja War began.]
[You stand upon the ruins of Konoha, watching the burning forest in the distance.]
You recall Hashirama's laughter, remembering him saying, "This place is our home."
You remember the wish you once made—to pacify the chaotic world and return it to how it should be.
[You thought it was Hashirama who fulfilled that wish. But only after he died did you realize he hadn't. He had simply left that wish to those who remained alive.]
[In the blink of an eye, the time comes for your graduation from the Ninja Academy.]
Sunlight streamed through the window, falling upon his face.
Konoha always seemed so sunny and full of life.
Nobunaga opened his eyes.
He looked down at his own body.
Thirteen years old.
Lean shoulders, slender fingers, and that unique, gentle yet powerful Chakra aura of the Senju Clan surged within his body.
He almost thought he hadn't transmigrated.
This body was identical to his body in the real world.
Black hair, ordinary features, an ordinary build.
But he knew it was different.
The Chakra in his body was countless times more abundant than before; it was a sense of power seeping out from the marrow of his bones—warm, heavy, like tree roots anchored deep in the earth.
He sat up and stretched his shoulders.
His bones gave off a couple of sharp cracks.
Birdsong drifted in from the window, along with the distant shouts from the Training Ground. Konoha's morning was the same as it would be many years later.
Yet it wasn't exactly the same; the current Konoha didn't have the Hokage Rock yet, nor those massive faces carved into the mountain wall.
The Village was still young, the houses were still new, and the trees lining the streets were those Hashirama had planted with his own hands.
Nobunaga stood up and walked to the window.
In the distance, atop the roof of the Hokage Building, the flag bearing the character for 'Fire' fluttered in the morning breeze.
At that moment, the Second Hokage stepped out of the Hokage Building.
He didn't walk fast; his steps were steady, and his back was straight.
It made Nobunaga feel as though this man would stand there forever.
Standing on the roof of the Hokage Building, standing beneath that flag, standing before everyone.
But the First Great Ninja War had already been raging for three years. With Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Hidden Mist attacking from three sides, Konoha's situation was not good.
Nobunaga withdrew his gaze.
Today, he had to go to the Ninja Academy.
This was established by Senju Tobirama last year; because it was a time of war, the curriculum was set to a one-year system.
In one year, children who knew nothing would be trained into soldiers capable of going to the battlefield.
Was it cruel?
It was.
But against the backdrop of the First Great Ninja War, no one felt there was anything wrong with it.
Nobunaga got dressed and pushed the door open to head out.
The hallway was very quiet. This dormitory was on the edge of the Senju Clan territory, mostly inhabited by orphans like himself.
Those whose parents died on the battlefield, died during missions, or died in some unknown corner.
He walked through the corridor, past the closed doors, as sunlight from the window at the end of the hall fell upon him.
Outside, people were already on the streets of Konoha.
An old woman selling vegetables was setting up her stall, a few Genin hurried past, and a mother with a child was airing out quilts at her doorstep.
Everything was the same as it would be many years later, yet different. Nobunaga crossed the street and headed toward the Ninja Academy.
The academy was built on the east side of the Village, a row of wooden single-story buildings. When it was first completed last year, Hashirama had come to visit.
He stood at the entrance, saying with a smile, "Many powerful Ninja will be cultivated here in the future."
At that time, no one knew that would be his last visit.
Nobunaga walked through the school gates.
Quite a few people were already standing on the playground.
They were all this year's graduates, boys and girls of twelve or thirteen, their faces wearing various expressions:
Excitement, nervousness, and eagerness.
His gaze swept across their faces, then stopped in one direction.
A girl was standing there.
Her long blonde hair was tied in a ponytail, she had a broad forehead, and there was a sharpness in her features that didn't match her age.
She wore the Senju Clan outfit, hands on her hips, saying something to several boys in front of her.
Tsunade.
Ten years old. Senju Hashirama's granddaughter. A direct bloodline descendant of the Senju Clan.
At this age, she was already one of the strongest students in the academy.
Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, Chakra control—she excelled in everything.
At the moment, she was frowning, looking at the submissive boys before her.
"You guys, did you practice the Chakra control I assigned yesterday?"
"P-practiced..."
"Practiced? Then show me."
The boys looked at each other, and one of them braced himself to form hand signs, but the Chakra dispersed as soon as it gathered.
Tsunade sighed.
That sigh was very heavy, carrying a sense of helplessness that said, 'How can you be so stupid?'
"Fine, fine, I'll teach you later. Just don't fail the assessment and embarrass the Senju name."
The boys nodded hurriedly.
Nobunaga stood in the distance, watching this scene.
He thought of the future evaluations of Tsunade—one of the Sannin, Konoha's Fifth Hokage, the legendary Medical Ninja.
But at this moment, she was just a ten-year-old girl.
A little girl who would lecture her classmates with hands on her hips, frown and sigh, and get annoyed because others couldn't manage their Chakra control.
He suddenly found it a bit amusing.
"What are you laughing at?"
A voice came from beside him. Nobunaga turned his head.
Tsunade stood before him, arms crossed over her chest, looking up at him.
She was a full head shorter than Nobunaga, but the aura in her eyes made it seem as if she were the one looking down on him.
"Are you from the Senju too?" she asked, her gaze falling on the clan crest on his clothes.
"Yeah."
"How come I've never seen you?"
"I live on the edge of the clan territory."
Tsunade looked him up and down, her brow furrowing slightly.
"The edge?" she repeated, her tone carrying a hint of surprise.
Then she seemed to remember something; her expression changed slightly but quickly returned to normal.
"What's your name?"
"Senju Nobunaga."
"Nobunaga..." Tsunade muttered the name and nodded. "Today is the graduation assessment, perform well. Don't embarrass the Senju."
With that, she turned and left, her ponytail swinging in an arc behind her.
Nobunaga watched her back, his lips twitching slightly as he withdrew his gaze.
At that moment, a voice came from another direction.
"Good morning!"
Nobunaga turned his head. Might Duy was walking toward him with that signature, boisterous grin on his face.
"Good morning," Nobunaga said.
Might Duy came to a halt beside him, following his gaze toward where Tsunade had left.
"Do you know Lady Tsunade?" Might Duy asked.
"Just met."
Might Duy nodded and didn't ask further.
He just watched Tsunade's back and said:
"She's very strong. I heard she learned several B-rank Ninjutsu last year. As expected of Shodai-sama's granddaughter."
Nobunaga didn't speak.
He watched Tsunade's receding figure, then looked at himself.
Both named Senju.
One was Hashirama's granddaughter, the core of the clan, with high expectations placed on her by everyone since childhood.
The other was just an ordinary orphan living on the edge of the clan territory, whose parents died on the battlefield with no one to remember their names.
A thought surfaced in his mind; perhaps he could use his knowledge as a transmigrator to complete his mission objectives in a different way.