Back to the present.

  It’s the 38th year of Konoha, and Miketsuki is about to turn five.

  The weather today is especially nice, perhaps a sign that Kiri is losing its grip on the battlefield. As the vilgers chat among themselves, there’s a noticeable increase in smiles compared to st winter.

  "The war seems to be ending soon."

  "All thanks to Lord Third Hokage!"

  With hope for a future peace, the vilgers think to themselves.

  But is the war really going to end so easily?

  As someone who knows the plot as a transmigrator, Miketsuki is aware that the war is far from over. In fact, it’s about to enter its most brutal and intense phase. Even the Hokage might lose his life in this prolonged conflict.

  As for his own life, Miketsuki isn’t too worried. After all, as a transmigrator, he has a special golden finger system.

  And five years old is a crucial point for Miketsuki’s system.

  Although his system is, well... calling it basic might even be fttering.

  [Host: Shimizu Miketsuk[Skills: Chakra Refining Technique][Wish Results: None][Mail: No new messages]

  That’s it. The system goes for a minimalist approach.

  In his past life, Miketsuki was a fan of minimalism, but when it comes to his future, he kind of wishes for a more feature-packed system. Maybe a system fairy, or a mascot, would have been nice. A bck long straight hair or white-haired beast-eared one would have been perfect.

  Unfortunately, such fantasies didn’t come true. Miketsuki’s system cks any independent intelligence, and it only has four functions.

  First is a digital panel, where Miketsuki can view his current skills.Second is the Wish function. Each time he makes a wish, it consumes a Wish Heart. If the wish succeeds, he gains a skill that’s most suitable for the host at that moment.The first time he bound the system, he got a free wish heart, but the success rate for each wish is just one percent. After ten attempts, the st wish is guaranteed to succeed—a so-called big guarantee.The third is the Check-in feature. By opening the system panel once a day, he automatically checks in. If he fills it up for a year, he gets a Wish Heart as a reward.And the fourth is the seemingly useless mail function. In reality, it’s pretty useless.However, every year on Miketsuki’s birthday in this world, the system sends a blessing email along with a Wish Heart as a gift.

  Thus, the age of five is especially important for Miketsuki. After receiving his birthday gift from the system this year, he’ll be able to make his tenth big guarantee wish!

  When he first transmigrated to this world, Miketsuki had tried a single pull, hoping to get some ability to save Chiyo.The result was obvious—everything ended up as padding.Looks like he’ll have to wait for the big guarantee to get something decent.

  What’s the most suitable ability for me right now? Miketsuki thought, eagerly awaiting his birthday.

  The next morning.

  "Father, do you have a new mission?"

  Hearing his father, Kenji Shimizu, counting ninja tools, Miketsuki stopped cooking his fried egg, jumped off the small stool by the counter, and poked his head out of the kitchen door, already knowing the answer.

  "Yes, something from Kiri... Well, anyway, there are plenty of missions in the vilge that need manpower."

  Kenji was carefully checking the number of explosive tags as he responded.

  "I’ll leave tomorrow. If anything comes up, you can go to the caretakers’ office and look for Madam Nohara."

  "Got it, Father."

  Speaking of the caretakers’ office, although the caretakers in the office make sure to look after all the children to prevent any accidents, each caretaker mainly handles a few kids, and it was Madam Nohara who looked after Miketsuki.

  Madam Nohara was incredibly kind-hearted. When her own daughter, Rin, had just turned one, she noticed the caretakers’ office was understaffed. She’d come to help while saying, "I want to find some pymates for Rin-chan."

  By the time Miketsuki was three, he had been granted permission to freely travel between the Shimizu household and the caretakers' office.

  It wasn’t that there was anything wrong with the caretakers' office. In fact, since all the caretakers were mothers with children of their own, they were highly experienced in taking care of kids. But the caretakers were just too enthusiastic. Miketsuki, as a transmigrator with memories from his past life, found it hard to handle. They’d sometimes tackle him pyfully, and he wasn’t exactly enjoying that.

  Though, Miketsuki didn’t really bme the caretakers for their enthusiasm. Honestly, with his striking appearance—combining the best traits of both his parents—he didn’t really bme them.

  His mother, Chiyo, was beautiful but had a bit of a "handsome" look for a woman. Her sharp features and golden curly hair gave her a vibe that would fit right in with Hokkaido's "bad girl" image if she were in modern times.

  On the other hand, Kenji Shimizu had simple white short hair, neat and tidy. He looked like a very proper intellectual. Too bad, if Kenji had better eyes, he could have pulled off the look of a cssic detective with gsses.

  Miketsuki inherited both parents' best traits—his hair color was like Kenji’s, but his white curly hair was more artistic than neat. It was topped off with a rebellious cowlick. His sharp, lively eyes were exactly like his mother’s, and his blue eyes resembled a calm, clear ke.

  Miketsuki had wanted to grow his hair out like his mother’s, since he’d always had short hair in his previous life due to the trends of the time. He remembered that many male ninjas in the Naruto world had long hair, like the First Hokage, Hashirama, whose hair reached his waist.

  However, his father rejected this idea. Kenji had been about to leave for a mission when Miketsuki shared his idea. After a brief pause, Kenji quickly dismissed it and turned to leave.

  "I don’t think long hair suits you, Miketsuki."

  Miketsuki didn’t mind too much. It was just a passing whim, but his father’s sudden rejection was rare. Normally, Kenji indulged Miketsuki’s requests, even when Miketsuki asked to learn Chakra Refining, a technique that other children his age were nowhere near capable of mastering. Kenji had readily agreed to teach him.

  Thinking back, Miketsuki realized that if his father, who usually spoiled him, refused his request, then maybe long hair just didn’t suit him.

  Madam Nohara had mentioned she’d love to see Miketsuki with long hair. What a mischievous woman! She probably saw him as a dress-up doll, trying to drag him into the world of cross-dressing. Thank goodness Kenji had seen through her plot, sparing Miketsuki from the embarrassment of bck history.

  Yeah, great. No need to say more!

  ...

  After reminiscing about the past, Miketsuki snapped back to reality and pced the breakfast on the table, calling for Kenji to come eat.

  The Shimizu family had been commoners for generations, so there were no rules about eating in silence. As they sat down for breakfast, Miketsuki raised his head slightly to look at his father and asked, "Father, how long will you be gone this time? Ah, of course, I’m not probing for mission details, just... nothing."

  Forget it, Miketsuki thought to himself with a sigh. Did the age of my body affect my mental age? Is it the hormones?

  In his previous life, Miketsuki had died unexpectedly, but it had been beyond his control. At least he had spent his final moments with family, so there were no regrets.

  Therefore, as he started this new life, Miketsuki had resolved to approach it with the mindset of starting anew, with all the fresh opportunities it offered.

  Yet, being unable to finish his sentence still made Miketsuki’s face flush with embarrassment.

  "You want me back before your birthday, right?"

  Kenji, ever sharp, had immediately seen through Miketsuki’s hesitation.

  "Don’t worry, I’ll be back before then. Just look forward to your birthday gift, Miketsuki."

  "Mm, I’ll look forward to it!"

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