Chapter – 4 Lost on the Path of Life (Patreon)

“Noooo…!!!!!!” With a loud scream, Tatsumi suddenly woke up.

As he saw his surrounding, and his clothes Tatsumi felt a little better, but he had to be sure, so he quickly moved his hands around his body and confirmed, “Thank God that was just a dream… I am a man!”

Tatsumi couldn’t believe that he saw such a scary dream, and cursed, “This damn system!”

After breathing a sigh of relief, Tatsumi noticed that the alarm clock hasn’t rung yet, meaning, he can still sleep for a while. Taking a morning nap after waking up is something Tatsumi likes very much, so he planned to lie down.

But just as his back touched the bed, Tatsumi suddenly remembered that he had forgotten to change the alarm timings, and today he had to wake up earlier compared to his usual schedule.

Today is Ninja Academy’s Enrollment Test, to take part in the test, he has to fill out the registration form, and the registration will close sharp at 08:00 AM!

It’s already 07:50 AM, meaning he has only 10 minutes left!

“Shit… I am going to be late!” Realizing this, Tatsumi hurriedly jumped out of the bed, put on his windbreaker, simply brushed his teeth, flushed his gut, washed his face, and adjusted his hair.

Tatsumi believes that the nose can be broken, and the head can be bloodied, but hair must never be messy, otherwise, he will lose his cool style. After a minute of making his hair, Tatsumi hurriedly picked up the bread that came out of the toaster and rushed out of his house, “I am off!”

…

As Tatsumi ran in the direction of the Academy, he could hear the chirping of countless birds.

While running towards the academy, Tatsumi glanced at the Hokage Rock.

In this era, the third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen is in power, he is from the same generation as Tatsumi’s father, Uchiha Kagami.

Unlike how he appeared in the Cannon, currently, he is in his prime. The number of Ninjutsu he has mastered is unimaginable and is therefore known as the Professor.

Later on, he also becomes renowned as the strongest Hokage, which is still obviously not true considering just how freaking strong First Hokage was.

Anyway, that’s not important, because, in the grand scheme of things, Konoha and the Land of Fire are at peace right now, Sarutobi Hiruzen definitely had a part to play in this.

Of course, Tatsumi also understands that this peace won’t last very long since it has already been a decade since the first great shinobi war ended. Within the next four to five years, the second great shinobi war will start, and he might have to go to the battlefield at that time.

For this, Tatsumi has to be ready, and enrolling in the Ninja Academy is his first step. He has three main goals, number one, to attract the attention of top brass and become a valuable existence in their eyes, earn as many points as he can, and rank up one of his attributes to Level 8.

…

As Tatsumi made his way towards the Academy, he could see pedestrians walking on the streets of Konoha, probably going for their jobs, and Shopkeepers were opening their stores. It was the time of morning rush hour.

Seeing everyone in a hurry, Tatsumi again realized that he is late and quickened his pace.

One thing he is grateful for is that he despite carrying out late-night training yesterday, Tatsumi is not tired. This must be the effect of the Physical Index Attribute. He is so happy with the benefits of increasing just one level, think of what will happen when his level increases to 15 or 20. Tatsumi gets goosebumps just imagining this.

Imagining these things, Tatsumi arrived in front of the academy and saw a large crowd going inside the campus.

“They are going inside… meaning the registration desk…” panicked, he looked in the direction where the registration desk is supposed to exist, “…Closed.”

‘Damn it… will I have to wait another six months to enrol?’ As Tatsumi thought this in a sad tone, suddenly, a soft voice came from behind him, “Tatsumi-kun.”

Hearing this familiar voice, Tatsumi raised his head and turned around. A cute and delicate face of a young girl appeared before him. She has fair skin, long black hair, and black pupils. She was wearing a dark blue Uchiha Wind-breaker just like him.

Seeing her, Tatsumi greeted, “Good Morning Mikoto.”

Everyone should have already guessed by now, she is the one and only Uchiha Mikoto, the supposed mother of the infamous Uchiha Itachi, and the secondary protagonist Uchiha Sasuke. Because Mikoto and Tatsumi are of the same generation, they are good friends.

Mikoto said with a pout, “Tatsumi-kun… you are late.”

Okay, maybe very good friends.

Tatsumi scratched the back of his head, and said, “Well how should I put it, I was lost in the path of gender… *ahem* life… yeah life.”

Mikoto tilted her head to the side and muttered with a puzzled expression, “What do you mean Tatsumi-kun?”

Tatsumi waved his hand and said, “Ah… nothing… forget what I said.”

Obviously, a six-year-old can’t understand such deep words, yes, Mikoto is a year older than Tatsumi.

‘Hmm, maybe I should use these words on a fifty-year-old grandma like Tsunade… she will definitely understand them… oh well, currently she is a teenager, so that’s still something far in the future. Let’s focus on the situation in front of me, Mikoto seems to be asking me something’ Thought Tatsumi as he brought his attention to Mikoto.

“Tatsumi-kun, everyone is going inside, shall we go too?” she asked pointing at the others.

Tatsumi sighed, “That… Mikoto… I got late, and the registration was closed… I am afraid I can’t enrol now, maybe after six months, when the next enrollment starts.”

Mikoto smiled, and said, “Oh, about that. Don’t worry, knowing you, I knew you would be late, so while I was doing my registration, I completed yours as well, I hope you don’t mind.”

As soon as he heard that Mikoto completed his registration, Tatsumi’s eyes widened and he thanked her excitedly, “Thank you Mikoto, you are a real lifesaver, I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Hearing Tatsumi’s words, Mikoto’s cheeks reddened and she lowered her head, “Th… there’s no need for thank you… after… all… we… we are friends!”

Tatsumi smiled, “Yes, but I still want to thank you, ah yes, but I will do that later, right now, we should also go inside.”

Mikoto nodded and they two proceeded in.

Mikoto is a very kind and gentle girl, and she is one of the very few Uchiha who has a good relationship with Tatsumi. Since both of them are orphans, so they understand each other’s loneliness and therefore, are much closer to each other.

Having known her for so long, sometimes Tatsumi even wonders how could she be the one who gave birth to Itachi and Sasuke.

‘Hmm, it must have been Fugaku’s work. It seems, Itachi and Sasuke only inherited Mikoto’s beauty, and kindness… the other unwanted things must have come from Fugaku. Sure enough, I will have to find a way to kill Uchiha Fugaku for the peace of the Uchiha Clan, Konoha, and the entire Shinobi World.’ Thought Tatsumi.

Of course, this is just his thought, he is obviously not going to do it.

While Tatsumi was busy with his thought, Mikoto called out, “Tatsumi-kun, did you have a proper breakfast?”

Tatsumi vaguely said, “Well, I did have a toast.”

Mikoto smiled, “I knew it…” then she took raised the bag she was carrying in her hand and took out something from it, and said shyly, “Here, Oba-san taught me how to make Rice Balls, would you like to taste them? Th… they might not be as good as the ones Oba-san makes, but they are still very healthy, I can promise.”

In this regard, Tatsumi happily took the Rice balls given to him by Mikoto and said before taking a bite, “Since you made it, then I have confidence that these rice balls are delicious.”

Mikoto was taken aback by Tatsumi’s words. But seeing his eyes that showed his confidence in her skills, her doubt gradually dispersed, and she nodded with a smile, “Yes.”

Tatsumi then picked up the rice ball and took a bite.

“Really good!” When it comes to taste, Tatsumi is very picky, however, he had to say that these simple rice balls made by Mikoto are unexpectedly delicious.

“I am happy that you liked them.” Mikoto said with flushed cheeks, and thought to herself, ‘All that effort was worth it.’

While eating, laughing, and talking, Tatsumi and Mikoto made their way to the crowd, the assessment is about to start shortly.