Year 40 of Konoha – Ninja Academy
"Combat training: Asakawa Kiyosuke versus Mizuki. Begin!"
The slightly elderly instructor announced the final match of the class's combat training session.
Under the watchful eyes of the teacher and their classmates, two young boys faced off.
Both were about six or seven years old. One of them had a full head of silver hair, pale skin, and a soft, pampered look. He seemed like the type who'd grow up to be a slick pretty boy—useless, manipulative, and always dragging others into trouble.
The other boy had black hair and brown eyes, wearing a sunny smile. Just a glance told you: this kid was going to grow into a good-looking guy—really good-looking.
At the teacher's command, Mizuki didn't move right away. Instead, he sneered and said,
"Asakawa Kiyosuke, this time I'm going to beat your teeth out! Let's see if the girls still like you after that!"
Oh, dear god. This kid's seriously deranged. I swear, if I could, I'd smack him across the face with my shoe.
Sometimes, being handsome really is a curse. Even at this age, I'm already being targeted.
Geez, aren't the girls in this school a bit too mature?
It's not my fault I look good, okay?
Kiyosuke sighed inwardly, not interested in dealing with this idiot.
But Mizuki had already charged forward. His tiny fist came flying—Kiyosuke sidestepped, grabbed a handful of Mizuki's silver hair, yanked it down, and brought his knee up!
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Three clean hits in a row. He let go of Mizuki.
The boy staggered, dizzy, stars spinning in his eyes, nose bleeding. He looked completely lost, like he didn't know where he was or who he was. Wobbling like a drunk, he turned his back to Kiyosuke.
At that moment, Kiyosuke spun and launched a kick that sent Mizuki flying. The kid landed face-first in the dirt—fight over.
Mizuki lay there and burst into loud, wailing sobs.
"Winner: Asakawa Kiyosuke!"
The teacher announced the victor amid Mizuki's crying and the excited cheers of the girls.
"Yay! Asakawa-kun is so awesome!"
"He's super cool!"
"He's strong and handsome! Just like Kakashi!"
The girls were in unanimous agreement: Kiyosuke was hot.
Meanwhile, on the boys' side:
"Ha! Mizuki cried! He got wrecked that easily—what a wimp!"
"So weak! Pathetic!"
"Tch, Asakawa Kiyosuke won again. This guy's so annoying…"
"Big deal. He's still not better than Kakashi—he became a ninja last year!"
As the chatter filled the air, class came to an end. Mizuki, eyes red and full of resentment, glared at Kiyosuke's back.
"Why does he get all the attention?" Mizuki muttered through gritted teeth.
"I was the one everyone liked first… what's so special about him and Kakashi?! Damn it—my nose hurts! Just you wait, Asakawa Kiyosuke. You'll regret messing with me."
...
"Phew—"
Kiyosuke exhaled slowly, eyes closed as he stood atop the gently flowing river, carefully controlling his chakra to remain on the surface without falling in.
At his current chakra level, as long as he concentrated, he could keep this up for a while.
"Let me try it now… the hand signs are..."
He started weaving signs, gathering chakra in his body, then called out,
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
A powerful gust burst from his mouth, sweeping up sand and gravel on the opposite bank, even causing nearby trees to sway violently.
His head felt a little light, oxygen low. His chakra had dropped slightly.
Wind Style: Great Breakthrough was a C-rank jutsu—he could probably use it a dozen times or so before he hit his limit.
"Alright, time to test my other ability."
He clenched his fist—and suddenly, intense flames erupted around it. But there was no pain on his face. This fire didn't come from chakra. It came from something else entirely—something not from this world.
A Devil Fruit.
Logia-Type: Flame-Flame Fruit!
This was the power that came with his transmigration. The moment he became self-aware in this world, he had these abilities. He just had to figure out how to use them from scratch.
Since this world lacked anything that could counteract Devil Fruits, falling into water wasn't a death sentence. He didn't become a useless drowning duck—he could still swim breaststroke, backstroke, butterfly, freestyle... whatever he wanted.
He tightened his flaming fist and punched the river.
Boom!
Fire slammed into water, sending up a spray and soaking his clothes.
The destructive power wasn't as strong as Ace's Fire Fist. It seemed like the fruit had adapted to this world's rules—it still consumed his chakra when used. Not as much as ninjutsu, but it added up. Thankfully, the fruit's modifications also made his chakra reserves much greater than the average kid's—he'd already surpassed some chunin.
He glanced around. No one was nearby.
Fwoosh—
Flames surged around his body, turning him into a blazing torch. In moments, his soaked clothes dried, and the fire vanished.
"The Second Great Ninja War just ended… and the Third will start in a few years. I need to build strength quickly, or I'll end up dead."
As a ninja, he'd eventually be sent to the front lines. To survive there, he needed power.
Elementalization was an incredible ability—on par with Kamui's intangibility. But even so, without enough chakra, it wouldn't last long. Even if his fruit-enhanced body was growing stronger, chakra was still his weak point.
When you're killed, you die!
Obvious? Sure. But true all the same. If he didn't want to go to war, he could just not be a ninja. But come on—he had a cheat now. Not using it would be a waste.
He wasn't some peaceful salaryman obsessed with hands, trying to live a quiet life. He had power, and he was going to use it.
"Focus on developing the fruit's abilities first. I'll leave ninjutsu for later. Not like I've got any good jutsu on hand anyway. And using the fruit still trains my chakra."
By pushing his Devil Fruit powers to the limit, he was burning through chakra. Once it replenished, his reserves would grow. Just like in One Piece—every time you survived a tough battle, you got stronger.
The Devil Fruit had already reshaped his body to resemble a One Piece-style physique.
With that in mind, he pointed at the water and said, "Flame Bullet!"
Tiny sparks burst from his fingertip like shooting stars. They zipped through the air and hit the river with a hiss as steam rose.
He lowered his hand, ready to test his next move—when a voice rang out:
"That bastard Asakawa Kiyosuke is usually training around here. He's gotta be close! You've got to help me teach him a lesson!"
...That voice sounded familiar.
Wait—someone wants to beat me up?
What the hell did I do now?