Reincarnation into the world of Naruto with the system

Before the ceremony began, I managed to chat a little with Kiba, Ino, and Saya with Aya. Hitomi barely interacted with the adults, unlike everyone else—even the orphanage caretakers had gathered into their own little groups.

Surprisingly, Sakura came over to say hello, and after mustering up some courage, so did a tiny ball of pure cuteness—Hanabi. Meanwhile, Hinata only managed a few words to Kiba and didn't seem to pay much attention to anyone else. Huh, canon is waving goodbye, but not completely.

Somehow, during the ceremony, everyone naturally took their places—the clan kids stood closer to the Hokage giving the speech, while the clanless children stood behind them, all mixed together. And then, off to the side, there was me and Hitomi. Something about the way the Third Hokage looked at us with a strange expression, and how Danzo seemed almost pleased, made me uneasy. Not that you could tell Danzo was pleased just by looking at him, but I could feel it in my gut.

Heh, I have a feeling that, from the outside, we looked like a mother and her son. Me, leaning against her legs with my back (since I couldn't reach higher), and her, hands lowered and clasped over my chest as if shielding and protecting me from the world.

It was even funnier that I caught myself thinking this position was actually… nice. I guess in this life, I really was missing a family or at least moments like this every once in a while. Sigh, I know she's only here because of some assignment, but still…

"Thank you," I finished my thought aloud, looking up at her.

Huh? That was unexpected. The first heart was ready—an image solidified in my memory: the two of us in this exact pose, but from an outsider's perspective. Well, I could've guessed that things would start with motherly affection rather than anything else, at least with this woman. And honestly, I didn't want to take things any further.

"And thank you," she murmured, lowering her head and hiding her face behind her hair. Wait, am I hallucinating, or did this emotionless woman just smile?

The rest of the ceremony was pretty dull. Iruka was assigned as our homeroom teacher, took us to the classroom, told us a little about himself and the academy, and that was basically it. Oh, right, there was also a tour, but Kiba and I spent the whole time chatting, blending into the crowd so well that both my friends and his admirers completely lost track of us.

In the classroom, we immediately claimed the back row. The girls, however, got swept away by their friend groups—except for Hinata. But she didn't dare sit with Kiba and instead took a seat at the back as well, though while we were by the window, she was three rows away, near the wall.

After all that, we were sent home, but Hitomi caught me at the exit. Did she even leave the academy grounds? Probably not.

And then came hell!

Still upset over her morning failure (I guess she didn't expect my calligraphy to be that bad), Yuugao dumped the theoretical part of my training onto Hitomi while she handled the practical part—since, out of the two, she was clearly the stronger fighter. Stretching, push-ups, all sorts of exercises. But especially stretching.

According to her, a good shinobi must be flexible in all directions to dodge attacks and enemy weapons. The basics had to be drilled in at my age—actually, even earlier—so now I had to make up for lost time. Plus, based on what she'd seen and understood, my fighting style also required flexibility. And in general, for someone who couldn't yet match opponents in strength and speed—like all young shinobi, and me in particular—agility and flexibility were the way to go.

So yeah, pure hell. By early evening, I could only walk like a broken puppet, even after receiving healing from Hitomi—who, to Yuugao's shock, was glaring at her the entire time. And by the end of training, I couldn't walk at all. Guess who had to carry me home? That's right—Hitomi. Who else? She never left after healing me, deciding to watch the whole session instead.

Man, it really felt like I'd gained an older sister. If not a mom, since she wasn't quite old enough for that, then definitely a big sister.

The next morning, I woke up completely healed, genuinely grateful for the system's ability to remove negative effects after sleep. Then I went through my usual training routine—feeling refreshed, but with the muscle pain making an unwelcome return. I also hadn't slept well, which might've been why some of the negative effects weren't entirely gone. Who knows how this system works?

Speaking of the night, I got more visions again. Nothing special this time—just working in the fields (which, honestly, might come in handy as a genin, hehe), chatting with parents, and setting off for another province to earn money.

This time, Hitomi woke up earlier, so the three of us had breakfast together. Then, as always, my "big sister" walked me to the academy.

Once I arrived, ignoring everything and everyone, I dragged myself to my seat and collapsed in the middle of the bench.

A few minutes later, Kiba flopped down next to me… in the exact same state.

"You okay?" I asked weakly.

"My mom started training me since I'm in the academy now," he answered just as weakly.

Realizing he wasn't just a friend but a fellow sufferer, I placed a hand on his shoulder. He blinked, peeled himself off the desk to look at me, then read everything in my eyes—and copied the gesture.

The bonds of true friendship have strengthened! +200 reputation with Inuzuka Kiba.

And then we both simultaneously dropped our heads onto our desks.

About five minutes later, Shikamaru walked in, scanned the classroom, and froze when he saw us—clearly recognizing kindred spirits. And, well, the seat by the window was still free, and that's just too good to pass up for any slacker. I'd move there myself later, but right now, I was too tired to care.

Party assembled. Thanks to shared suffering and a sense of camaraderie, you will now gain reputation with Nara Shikamaru and Inuzuka Kiba over time.

At first, I didn't quite get it, but five minutes of the three of us lying face-down on our desks later, I received a +10 reputation boost from Shikamaru and +1 from Kiba. Well, yeah—Kiba's already more invested, so raising his reputation takes more than just mutual exhaustion.

And so (very sluggishly), my academy life began.