"That's just your wishful thinking. I won't agree, and neither will the elders!" Samuel Harris laughed angrily, pointing at Edward and shouting, "I won't let Konoha be destroyed by your hands. If you insist on going your own way, don't blame me for disregarding our years of friendship."

Edward was so furious he nearly exploded, clenching his fists tightly. He knew his plan had fallen through. Samuel Harris was right—the shortsighted and timid elders would never agree to his approach. That group was clinging to Samuel Harris's coattails, singing songs of conquest!

"You'll regret this, Sarutobi. You're the real sinner of Konoha." Edward turned away with a dark expression, leaving without another word. These idiots can't possibly understand my greatness. As expected, I should be the Hokage. Only I can lead Konoha to glory.

"Wait, that child from the Land of Water—what bloodline does he have?" Samuel Harris asked.

"Mizunomizu!" Edward didn't even look back, pushing open the Hokage office door and leaving straight away. He had already made up his mind—no matter what, he would become Hokage. By then, no one could stop him from leading Konoha to glory.

"Mizunomizu, huh?" Samuel Harris held his forehead. "This really is a headache. Who should I get to handle such a troublesome matter?"

An hour later, a bewildered William Baker left the Hokage office holding an S-rank mission personally written by Samuel Harris. Why is it always me who gets hurt? I already said I wouldn't get involved in muddy waters, so why do I have to do this mission? I'm at least the head of the Anbu, I've bled for Konoha, earned merit—this is just too much.

William Baker figured he'd never forget the ugly look on his boss's face.

"Zixiao! Your talent is unmatched in Konoha. This mission can only be entrusted to you. I have complete faith in you, haha!" Samuel Harris patted William Baker's shoulder kindly, very kindly.

Haha, my ass! My shoulder's gone numb! Fine, pat if you want, but why is your other hand forming seals? Is this a threat? It must be a threat!

With tears streaming down his face, William Baker admitted that a small arm can't twist a big thigh. When the boss digs a pit for you, you have to jump in, even if you have to do it with tears in your eyes. And while jumping, you still have to say, "I really like this pit, let me jump in again next time."

……

When Henry Carter woke up, he only felt a headache, chest pain, and pain all over his body.

So this is how much it hurts to be struck by lightning! Wait, I was hit head-on by an alien's planet-destroying cannon in the bathroom—how am I just in pain and still alive? Damn, I remember I hadn't even pulled up my pants! Filthy little alien brat! This dull ache in my butt—could it be I lost my virginity? No way, that's just too tragic!

"How unlucky!"

Before Henry Carter could even open his eyes, a sharp pain shot through his brain. He only had time to let out a wail before passing out again. Fragmented memories surged from the depths of his mind, a tangled mess. The central processor reported insufficient memory and automatically shut down.

"An unfamiliar ceiling!"

When he woke up again, Henry Carter clutched his head and groaned. After receiving that bundle of memories—or rather, fully merging with this body—he already knew which world he was in.

Naruto!

At first, Henry Carter refused to accept it. Anyone who's watched Naruto knows this world is extremely cruel. Take the protagonist for example! The main character lost both parents at birth, falling from the top of Konoha's hierarchy to a stray dog on the street. The second lead, at seven or eight years old, lost his entire family—his whole clan, except for his brother, who turned out to be the killer. It's enough to make anyone cry. After finally making it to the finale, both protagonists lost an arm. If even the main characters live like dogs, what hope is there for side characters and extras? Rumor has it that even the super side character's brother-in-law died in the final battle. Who knows what kind of crazy flag he raised before the war.

Now, Henry Carter still refused to accept it, because his identity was just an ordinary kid from a peasant family on the border of the Land of Water—a commoner among commoners, a loser among losers. In the five great nations, there are countless like him. In this world where lineage is everything, he's just a weed by the roadside, ready to be trampled at any moment.

"By the way, where am I now?" Henry Carter was confused. In this life, his name was also Henry Carter, just as ordinary as the Henry Carter who grew up in the Red Flag. An ordinary background, an ordinary square-faced dad, an ordinary oval-faced mom... Well, his mom was actually quite pretty. Barring any surprises, their family would never have anything to do with ninjas.

But if surprises could be predicted, they wouldn't be called surprises. Masked ninjas burst into the village, starting a massacre. The one-sided slaughter left no suspense. Henry Carter's last memory was of his parents lying in a pool of blood, and a masked ninja walking toward him. Then everything went black.

"Why aren't there any knife wounds?" Looking at the few bandages on his body, Henry Carter was puzzled. The masked ninja used a sword about a meter long, but there were no wounds from sharp weapons on him—just a numb, tingling sensation.

Could it be that the masked ninja gave me a full-body massage? The technique wasn't bad. What day was it again... Bah, how could it be a massage! I must have been rescued. To save someone from a ninja, the rescuer must also be a ninja—probably a Kirigakure ninja from the Land of Water. After all, I'm a third-generation good citizen of the Land of Water!