The annual entrance exam for the Konoha Ninja Academy was always a major event in the village.
At this moment, the school playground buzzed with activity, packed with people. Over a hundred five- and six-year-old children stood in long lines, waiting their turn. Minato stood quietly in the queue, among the other children undergoing the assessment, following the instructions of the academy teachers who grouped them in threes for the test.
Shunk, shunk, shunk!
Three shuriken pierced the bullseye with pinpoint accuracy. The black-haired boy straightened up, a hint of pride flashing across his slightly flushed face.
"Sarutobi Shinnosuke—full score!" the scoring chūnin announced loudly, ensuring everyone could hear.
Whoa!
The parents watching from the sidelines erupted in excited chatter.
"As expected of the Hokage's son..."
"Shinnosuke must be the top student in this year's class, right?"
Hearing the parents' awed murmurs, Hiruzen, standing at the front of the crowd, chuckled. He took a deep puff from his pipe, feeling quite pleased.
"Not bad, Shinnosuke. You've got potential."
Behind Hiruzen, Jiraiya, still a young man with a head of white hair, crossed his arms and laughed heartily. "He's a genius just like me!"
Beside him, Orochimaru glanced at the bullseye, a faint smile playing on his lips—a smile tinged with a hint of disdain.
Jiraiya didn't deny that he was a genius himself. Though he had been a clumsy underachiever in school, his current strength was no less than his own, and he even had a slight edge over him in direct combat.
But if that brat Sarutobi Shinnosuke could be considered a genius, then the title of "genius" was far too cheap.
Anyone with a head on their shoulders could become decent with shuriken after a few months of hard training.
Back in the day, Jiraiya's shuriken accuracy had been worse than buying a lottery ticket, and he still got into the academy without knowing a single ninja technique.
It was simply because, at the same age of five or six, this kid's chakra reserves were already twice as high as Shinnosuke's.
With Shinnosuke's level of chakra, he'd be lucky to reach the rank of upper ninja in his lifetime.
Beside them, Tsunade clearly shared the same opinion. Her slender fingertips impatiently twirled her ponytail, eager for the entrance exam to end so she could go gamble.
As the direct disciples of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, it was only natural for them to come observe their teacher's child enrolling.
But it was only a fleeting glance. Shinnosuke's talent clearly wasn't worthy of their attention.
"Next group: Tsuchiya Naoto, Toyama Rin, Namikaze Minato!"
Hearing his name, Minato quickly stepped forward.
No sooner had Minato steadied himself than the girls behind him erupted into chatter.
"Huh? Look at that guy! Isn't he handsome?"
"Yeah, and not just that—he has such a great aura! His smile is so warm..."
"Exactly! You really know what you're talking about!"
Hearing the whispers behind him, Minato chuckled awkwardly, rubbing his cheek with his index finger.
The teacher nearby seemed unfazed. Children in the Shinobi World matured early, and such situations were common every year.
The blonde boy before him was indeed handsome, deserving of the highest praise for a man—and even more so than the teacher had been in his youth.
His golden hair, like a little sun, framed azure eyes as brilliant as sapphires. Though his fair face still held a hint of baby fat, his perfectly balanced features guaranteed he would be considered handsome his entire life.
Of course, for a ninja, looks were at best a bonus. True strength was what truly mattered.
As the teacher pondered this, the boy before him flicked his fingers, summoning three shuriken from thin air. With a flick of his wrist, dark shadows flashed, and all three shuriken embedded themselves squarely in the bullseye of the target ten meters away, each strike accompanied by a dull thud.
Hmm?
At the front of the crowd, Sarutobi Hiruzen paused momentarily. Even Orochimaru and Tsunade, who had been distracted moments before, turned to look at Minato in surprise.
"What a beautiful shuriken technique..." Jiraiya murmured, stroking his chin as he studied Minato's handsome, youthful face with keen interest. "Hmm~ And the looks are as dashing and handsome as this great lord's!"
As the saying goes: amateurs watch the spectacle, while experts observe the skill.
Because each person's fingers differ in length and strength, every shuriken thrown will vary slightly in force and trajectory. For Minato to hit the bullseye with three shuriken simultaneously required not only exceptional shuriken proficiency, but also outstanding dynamic vision, muscle control, body coordination, and finger flexibility—among other factors.
In other words, it was pure talent!
Even among the Uchiha Clan, renowned for their mastery of shuriken, few could match Minato's skill at his age.
"Namikaze Minato! Full score!" the scoring teacher announced loudly, his gaze toward Minato filled with undisguised admiration.
"Hmph, not bad. But I won't lose to you!"
Tsuchiya Naoto, the boy beside him, looked eager to try. He swung his arm forcefully, tracing three wildly crooked lines through the air.
Two shuriken clattered to the ground, while one lodged in the target.
"Tsuchiya Naoto, zero points."
"Unbelievable!"
His face flushed crimson upon hearing his score. Wiping away tears, he fled, drawing laughter from the surrounding crowd.
Minato was momentarily speechless, tempted to chuckle but sensing it would be impolite.
However, when he saw Naoto throw himself into his mother's arms, sobbing uncontrollably, any trace of amusement vanished.
This kid had a mother.
And likely a father too...
To understand this, we must go back half a year, when Minato was still just an ordinary child.
His father had once been a Chūnin in the village, but due to his wife's poor health, he'd left the ninja ranks to become a merchant. Their family had lived comfortably enough.
But misfortunes struck without warning. During a torrential rainstorm, a landslip struck the merchant caravan. While trying to save others, his father was crushed by a falling boulder and died before help could arrive.
As Roronoa Zoro from the neighboring film set once said, "Disasters always come in threes"—that's just how the world works.
When news of his father's death reached home, Minato's mother's health rapidly deteriorated. Within a month, she passed away suddenly one night, succumbing to grief.
It was at that moment, witnessing his mother's passing, that a sudden, chilling force erupted within Minato's mind. Countless fragments of memory flooded his consciousness like shattered glass, causing an excruciating headache.
In these memories, he was an ordinary university student, kind-hearted and humble, deeply loved by his parents and teachers.
After his parents' unexpected deaths, he began working part-time to support himself. Due to his gentle nature and handsome looks, he was recruited by a wealthy upperclassman from the anime club to cosplay as Namikaze Minato at anime conventions, earning 300 yuan per day.
But on the day the convention ended, as he was crossing the street with a box of figurines, a speeding Daewoo suddenly appeared.
Perhaps due to the skin-enhancing effects of cosplaying as Namikaze Minato, his instincts kicked in. He lunged forward like a flash of yellow light, narrowly dodging the reckless collision.
Before he could even get to his feet, the Daewoo transformed into a Cybertronian right before his eyes! The alien twisted its torso and threw a punch!
Then everything went black. In the darkness, a faint electronic voice echoed mockingly: "It's time to journey to another world, young man!"
As Minato's memories cleared, his consciousness arrived in a peculiar realm.
The space was brightly lit, boundless, as if time and space had no meaning. Before him stood three statues.
When Minato clearly saw the three statues, he was instantly stunned.
The reason was simple: these three statues were exactly the hand figures he had packed in his box before his transmigration!
The three statues were: the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, clad in red armor with a wooden dragon coiling around him.
Uchiha Madara, also in red armor, his Mangekyō Sharingan open, with Susanoo's upper body standing behind him.
And Kizaru Borsalino, the Marine Admiral, who Minato had casually stuffed into the box while organizing his figures to save space.
As if sensing Minato's gaze, the three statues suddenly trembled and transformed into three streaks of red, yellow, and green light, merging into his body.
When he awoke again, he was in Konoha Hospital, having been brought there after losing consciousness. With the help of his parents' friends and neighbors, his mother had been buried beside his father's grave.
It was hellish. That day, he lost his mother, but at the same time, he awakened the power of Kizaru's Glint-Glint Fruit, Senju Hashirama's Wood Release, and a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan...
[ Author's Note: This story is based on the original timeline where the protagonist, Naruto, was born in the 51st year, and Minato died at the age of 24. This timeline is slightly longer than the original, and due to the chaotic timeline in the original work, there may be discrepancies in character ages and the timing of certain events. If you're going to criticize, please direct your comments at the original work first. Thank you! ]