Konoha Orphanage.
Five-year-old Kintaro had woken up earlier than usual today. The sunlight streaming through the window was pale and chilly.
"Mom!" he called out the moment he finished getting dressed and spotted Nono standing at the door.
"Call me sister," Nono corrected him with a frown.
She stepped forward, straightened the collar of his shirt, and smoothed out the wrinkles on his clothes with a few practiced pats to his chest and back.
"Big sis…" Kintaro mumbled with clear reluctance. He preferred calling her mom, but Nono always refused, mostly because she wasn't married or in love with anyone yet.
"I know what you're thinking." Nono tapped his forehead and sighed. "Now go wake the others."
"Okay!"
Kintaro jumped off the bed, shoved his feet into his shoes, and dashed into the hallway shouting at the top of his lungs,
"Get up, get up! The sun's already shining on your butt!"
It was a line he picked up from Dean Haruki.
The morning soon turned lively.
Nono and the other caretakers moved around the sunlit hall, placing milk, bread, eggs, steamed buns, and other breakfast items on a long ten-meter table.
Soon after, nearly a hundred children filed into the room, filling up three long dining tables.
At Nono's cue, breakfast began.
The fireplace crackled with warmth, chasing away the lingering bite of early April's chill.
"No being picky about food," Nono said as she made her way down the rows, watching each child eat. "Kintaro, if you leave the egg yolk again today, I'm going straight to Master Haruki."
"I'll eat it!" Kintaro jolted upright like he'd been hit.
Haruki was kind to all of them, but when someone messed up, he didn't hold back. Getting scolded by him was no joke.
Kintaro drew in a deep breath, clamped down on half the egg yolk, and immediately washed it down with milk. His face twisted like he was making the most painful decision of his life.
Nono nodded in approval. She remembered when Haruki had first approached her about opening this orphanage.
Back then, she thought he was just being idealistic, maybe doing it for show.
She never expected him to follow through so seriously, much less provide this much support.
Looking at the kids now, laughing, eating, full of energy, they were living better than she ever had at their age.
Haruki always said, No matter how hard life gets, kids shouldn't be the ones to suffer.
'Lord Haruki really has a good heart,' she thought.
Once breakfast wrapped up under Nono's watchful gaze, she cleared her throat.
"Dean Haruki has a mission for all of you."
The moment she mentioned his name, the dining hall snapped to attention.
In the Naruto world, kids matured faster than usual. Every child here knew exactly who was responsible for their warm beds, full bellies, and second chances.
Being able to help Haruki in any way was an honor.
Nono didn't bother dragging it out. She pulled out a stack of newspapers and placed them on the table.
"Classes are canceled today. Instead, you're all doing fieldwork. These newspapers were published by Dean Haruki himself. Each one sells for ten ryo. For every one you sell, one ryo goes into your pocket."
The moment she finished, the hall erupted.
"Awesome!"
"This is great!"
"Long live the Dean!"
Ten ryo might not seem like much, but for these kids, it was huge.
None of them had any income. And money aside, what really mattered was being able to help the dean.
"I want a hundred copies!" Kintaro shouted when it was his turn, holding up one finger proudly.
"Think you can carry that many?"Nono raised an eyebrow.
"Sis, don't look down on me!" Kintaro rolled up his sleeves, flexed his arms dramatically, and tensed his tiny biceps.
"The Dean said I can join the Ninja Academy during the next enrollment!"
Nono chuckled at his performance, her eyes softening. His muscles were nothing more than baby fat, but his spirit was something else.
Still, she was surprised.
Getting into the Academy wasn't that hard, but becoming a full-fledged ninja took time, money, and talent.
The villages were notorious for prioritizing clans with kekkei genkai and natural gifts. Civilians with average aptitude were often left behind, no matter how hard they worked.
Once the newspapers were handed out, Nono gave instructions to notify Haruki. She knew he'd send someone to keep an eye on the kids.
Nono picked up a copy of the newspaper, intrigued.
The boldest and most eye-catching text on the front page read, "Konoha Daily" in large, stylized kanji.
The paper still carried the faint, sharp scent of fresh ink. It measured 42 centimeters in length and 30 centimeters in width, neatly divided into four distinct sections.
Nono skimmed through the first section quickly.
The headline covered Konoha's recent victory over Sunagakure in the ongoing war.
However, midway through, the article unexpectedly shifted focus to Jiraiya's latest book release.
A photo accompanied the piece.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting under the soft glow of a lamp, intently reading. His face, captured in profile, looked completely immersed and contemplative.
Beneath the image, a caption in small print read.
[The latest masterpiece by one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya! A novel so gripping, even the Hokage reads it day and night.]
A sudden, irrational urge hit Nono. 'I need to buy it.'
Whether it was Jiraiya, one of the most celebrated shinobi of the era, or the highly revered Hiruzen, both were practically icons in the world of ninjas.
Anything they endorsed had weight.
Suppressing her impulsive thoughts, she continued flipping through the paper.
The next three sections were devoted to food, daily life, and serialized fiction.
She couldn't help but be amazed. 'Since when did Konoha have so much going on?'
There were updates on rising and falling food prices, a feature on vegetables newly imported from the Land of Rain, coverage of a newly opened eatery, and a ramen shop currently hosting a gluttonous eating challenge.
One bizarre story even mentioned a Genin stealing a chicken, only to be chased down the street by a furious hen in front of half the village. Another tale talked about a mysterious mermaid spotted off the coast of the Land of Water.
With its quirky, informative, and humorous conten and the orphanage kids singing playful rhymes as they ran through the streets, the Konoha Daily quickly spread like wildfire, igniting the alleys and avenues with chatter.
It was like watching sparks dance across the village, merging into a constellation against the night sky.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen had a copy of the newspaper in his hand as well.
He was puffing on his pipe, his eyes glazed over in thought.
When Haruki had asked for his cooperation the day before, he hadn't imagined it would result in something like this.
That said, the first section was… flattering.
It praised his strategic brilliance during the war, highlighted his commanding presence during peace negotiations, and painted him as a heroic figure with unmatched foresight.
It was an image that even he had to admit, looked great on paper.
But a sense of unease lingered.
Hiruzen couldn't help but feel like something of this nature, especially something so public and powerful in narrative, should be under his direct control.
"This kid is always pulling new stunts…" he muttered with a small smirk, shaking his head.
But he didn't interfere. Not this time.
He was still in his prime, after all. Even Danzo was within his grasp. Haruki hadn't crossed any lines.
So far, the paper had only helped him.
———
Elsewhere, inside the Uchiha compound.
It hadn't even been a full day, yet Mikoto could already feel a dramatic shift in how people treated her.
Especially her peers, those around her age.
The way they looked at her had changed. There was curiosity, fear and awe.
With Minato's rising fame, it was only natural that his teammates, Mikoto and Kushina, would be pulled into the spotlight too. Reports had confirmed that she went head-to-head with the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki and with her Sharingan fully awakened into three tomoe.
Now, she and Fugaku were being hailed as the twin prodigies of the Uchiha clan.
It wasn't something she'd expected at all.
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