Back to the present.
It was the 38th year of Konoha, and Mitsuki was about to turn five.
The weather today was exceptionally good. It seemed that an advantage had been gained on the Hidden Mist battlefield, and when the villagers outside conversed, the smiles on their faces were much more numerous than in the winter of last year.
“The war seems to be ending soon.”
“Thanks to the Third Hokage!”
Harboring hopes for future peace, the villagers of Konoha thought this.
However, would the war truly end so easily?
As a Transmigrator familiar with the plot, Shimizu Mitsuki knew that the war would not end; instead, it was about to enter its most brutal and intense period.
Even Hokage would lose their lives in this protracted war.
As for his own life, Shimizu Mitsuki wasn't particularly worried. As a Transmigrator, he at least had his own Golden Finger System.
Moreover, five years old was a very important milestone for Mitsuki’s System.
Although Mitsuki’s System was, well, calling it simple was almost an exaggeration.
Host: Shimizu Mitsuki
Skill: Chakra Refining Technique
Wish Harvest: None
Mail: No new mail
Alright, that was it. It was clear that this System adopted a minimalist style.
Although Shimizu Mitsuki in his previous life quite liked minimalist styles, when it came to his future, he still wanted a System with as many functions as possible.
It would be even better if there was a System fairy or a signboard girl. If it was a long-haired black-haired girl or a white-haired beast-eared girl, that would naturally be even more wonderful.
Unfortunately, such fantasies did not come true, and Shimizu Mitsuki's System had no intelligence of its own, and only had four functions.
The first was the data panel display, which showed Mitsuki’s current skills.
The second was the wish function. Each wish consumed a Wish Heart, and a successful wish would grant the host the most suitable skill for them at that time.
A Wish Heart was given directly when the System was first bound, but the success rate for a single wish was one percent. If ten wishes were made, the success rate for the last wish would be one hundred percent.
Commonly known as the 'guaranteed pull'.
The third was the check-in function. Opening the System panel once a day would automatically check in, and a full year of check-ins would reward one Wish Heart.
The fourth was the seemingly most useless mail function, which was indeed useless in practice.
However, every year on Mitsuki’s birthday in this world, the System would send a blessing mail and a Wish Heart as a gift.
Therefore, the age of five was particularly important to Shimizu Mitsuki. Because after receiving the System's gift on his birthday this year, he could make the tenth guaranteed pull!
When he first Transmigrated to this world, Mitsuki had once tried a single pull, thinking that he might get some ability to save Chiyoko.
The result was obvious: they all served as fodder.
It seemed that to get anything, he could only wait for the guaranteed pull.
What would be the most suitable ability for me right now? Mitsuki looked forward to his birthday with this thought.
The next morning
“Father, do you have a new mission again?”
Hearing Shimizu Kento counting the contents of his Ninja tool bag, Shimizu Mitsuki put down the pan with the frying egg, jumped off the small stool next to the stove, and poked his head out from the kitchen’s small door, asking knowingly.
“Yes, over in Hidden Mist, well, in short, the Village still needs a lot of manpower for many missions.”
Shimizu Kento responded to Mitsuki while carefully counting the number of explosive tags.
“I will depart tomorrow. If anything happens, you can go to the Childcare Center and look for Mrs. Nohara.”
“Alright, Father.”
Speaking of the Childcare Center, to prevent accidents, all children there were cared for by the ladies together.
However, each lady also had a few children they were primarily responsible for, and Mrs. Nohara was the one responsible for caring for Shimizu Mitsuki.
Mrs. Nohara was very enthusiastic. When her daughter had just turned one, she saw that the Childcare Center was short-handed and came to help, saying, “I want to find some playmates for Rin-chan.”
When Shimizu Mitsuki was 3 years old, he was finally allowed to move freely between the Shimizu family home and the Childcare Center.
It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the Childcare Center; on the contrary, since all the ladies were mothers who had had children, they were all very experienced in caring for children.
But the ladies were simply too enthusiastic. Shimizu Mitsuki, after all, was a Transmigrator with memories of his previous life, and he really couldn't handle this situation. He didn't want to be tackled by them at every turn.
It was somewhat a case of not knowing how to enjoy it.
However, it wasn't the ladies' fault for being so enthusiastic. To be honest, Shimizu Mitsuki's appearance in this life was indeed striking, combining all the best qualities of Chiyoko and Shimizu Kento.
Chiyoko was beautiful, but she had a somewhat masculine look, with sharp eyes and eyebrows. Her golden curly hair cascaded down her back, and if she were in modern times, she would immediately give off the vibe of a Hokkaido gal.
Shimizu Kento, on the other hand, had simple white medium-short hair, meticulously styled. He looked like a respectable intellectual at first glance. It was a pity Kento had such good eyesight, otherwise, with glasses, he could definitely cosplay a classic detective.
Shimizu Mitsuki, who inherited the excellent genes of both, had the same hair color as Kento, but with a slightly unruly yet somehow artistically designed white curly short hair.
On top, there was a defiant cowlick, and his eyes and eyebrows were carved from the same mold as Chiyoko’s, equally sharp and spirited.
He also had a pair of clear, transparent blue pupils, like a calm lake.
Actually, Shimizu Mitsuki originally wanted to grow his hair long like his mother Chiyoko, after all, in his previous life, he had always had short hair due to prevailing aesthetic trends.
He remembered that in the Naruto World, there were quite a few male Ninja with long hair; wasn't the First Hokage, Hashirama, known for his waist-length black hair?
But this idea was rejected by Shimizu Kento. At that time, Shimizu Kento was about to go on a mission.
After hearing Mitsuki’s idea, he paused for a moment, quickly replied, and then lowered his head and turned to leave.
“I don't think long hair suits you, Mitsuki.”
This was Shimizu Kento’s opinion. Mitsuki didn't really care; his desire for long hair was just a whim. It was just that his Father had uncharacteristically rejected his request directly.
Because before, Shimizu Kento had always indulged Mitsuki’s various requests, including asking his Father to teach him the Chakra Refining Technique.
One must know that children of the same age were still playing 'Hokage' games, and Shimizu Mitsuki himself hadn't expected that Kento would agree to his casual request, lucky!
And speaking of which, since his usually doting Father didn't agree to him growing long hair, it was probably because he really wasn't suited for long hair!
Mrs. Nohara had said that she really wanted to see a long-haired Mitsuki-chan. What a sinful woman, she must have been treating him like a dress-up doll, wanting to lead the future Light of the Ninja World, Lord Mitsuki, into the world of cross-dressing.
Thankfully, Father exposed Mrs. Nohara’s scheme, which saved the great Lord Mitsuki from leaving behind a dark past.
Hmm, great, no need to say more!
...After recalling some previous trivial matters, Shimizu Mitsuki came back to his senses, placed the prepared breakfast on the dining table, and called Kento to eat.
The Shimizu family's ancestors had been commoners for several generations, so there were no rules like 'no talking while eating.' So, during the meal, Shimizu Mitsuki slightly raised his head, looked at his Father, and asked,
“Father, how long will this mission take? Ah, of course, I’m not trying to pry into your mission details, it’s just… never mind.”
Forget it, better not ask. Shimizu Mitsuki inwardly groaned. Does physical age really affect psychological age? Is it a hormonal issue?
Although his death in his previous life was accidental, it was ultimately due to an irresistible force, as all humanity had perished, and he had spent his final moments with his family, so he had no regrets.
Therefore, being reborn, Shimizu Mitsuki actually intended to start anew, preparing to face his new life with the mindset of a new being.
But this situation, where he started to speak and then got stuck halfway, still made Shimizu Mitsuki’s old face flush.
“You want me to be back before your birthday, right?”
Shimizu Kento was indeed shrewd, seeing through Mitsuki’s dilemma at a glance.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before then. Until then, look forward to your birthday gift, Mitsuki.”
“Hmm, I’ll look forward to it!”