Kenta sat sprawled across the low cushions of his grandmother's modest house in Konoha, one leg dangling over the armrest as he stared up at the wooden beams of the ceiling.
His arms were crossed behind his head, and his sharp, eight-year-old eyes traced imaginary patterns in the grain, though his mind was far from idle.
Outside, the world teetered on the edge of war, and here he was—just daydreaming.
The Second Great Shinobi War hadn't 'officially' started yet, but anyone with half a brain—or in Kenta's case, a past life's worth of anime trivia—could see it brewing like a storm on the horizon.
Skirmishes had already erupted along nearly every border, from the rocky cliffs of the Land of Earth to the sea bordering the Land of Water.
Alliances were fraying, tested by every minor provocation, and the so-called smart people in power—the Daimyōs, the Kages, the shadowy advisors pulling strings—were busy sharpening their kunai and drafting contingency plans.
Yet no one had the guts to slap a formal declaration on it. It was like watching a festival where everyone was setting up stalls, stringing lanterns, and hauling out the fireworks, but no one wanted to admit they were hosting the damn thing.
Kenta smirked faintly to himself. 'Cowards. They're all just waiting for someone else to throw the first punch so they can pretend they're the victim.'
From what he remembered of Naruto's messy timeline, this war was going to drag on longer than anyone wanted. The First Shinobi War had been a brutal free-for-all—five great villages slugging it out until the landscape was a graveyard of ambitions.
The cost? Every single Nidaime Kage dead. Tobirama Senju, cut down by almost 20 S Rank Shinobi of Kinkaku and Ginkaku Squad; Mu of the Hidden Stone, vanished in a cloud of dust taking out the second Mizukage with him and vice versa; the Second Raikage killed by the shinobi of his own village and Second Kazekage was assassinated inside his village which had left the world reeling, the survivors scrambling to rebuild from the ashes.
No wonder the current generation of leaders hesitated to dive headfirst into round two. No Kages willing to go to battlefield unless absolutely necessary.
For nearly two decades, an uneasy peace had held, a fragile thread stretched taut across the nations. But peace in the shinobi world was like a nap between fights—it never lasted.
Now, the tension was palpable. Even the smaller villages, the ones that had dodged the first war's carnage, were flexing their muscles. Places like the Land of Rain or the Land of Grass had spent those quiet years building strength, training ninja, forging alliances. This time, they weren't content to sit on the sidelines while the big players tore each other apart. They wanted a piece of the chaos, and Kenta couldn't blame them.
'If you're not at the table, you're on the menu,' he mused, a saying from his old life that felt all too fitting now.
The smaller villages would be invaded by the big ones anyways. It was better to pick a side and join a war now.
Kenta shifted on the cushion, propping himself up on one elbow. The official declaration of war was still a ways off—he figured maybe a year or two, if the timeline held.
By the time he graduated from the Shinobi Academy, the war would probably be in its late, bloody stages, assuming nothing threw the schedule off. And that was a big assumption.
The Naruto anime timeline he'd binged in his past life was a jumbled mess—dates contradicted each other, events overlapped, and half the details were left vague enough to drive a lore nerd insane.
'For all I know, some random butterfly effect from my Boogie Woogie switch could speed this whole thing up,' he thought, half-amused, half-worried. He'd learned to take it all with a grain of salt, but still, the uncertainty gnawed at him.
His brooding was interrupted by a soft, warm brush against his dangling leg. Kenta froze, every muscle tensing like he'd just sensed a blade at his throat. Slowly, cautiously, he tilted his head down to look.
It was Tora.
That damned demon cat.
His eye twitched as the orange tabby purred with an innocence so fake it could've been a genjutsu. The cat just got right next to him without him noticing even though he had his sensory field on him.
Tora's wide, golden eyes locked onto his, radiating a smugness that only a creature fueled by pure malice could muster.
This wasn't just any cat—this was the Tora, the notorious feline terror of Konoha, the bane of every genin assigned to chase her down for Madam Shijimi's endless retrieval missions both now and in future.
Generations of shinobi had suffered under those claws and would continue to suffer, and now she was here, in his space, acting like she owned it.
"I WILL KILL YOU, DEMONIC CAT!" Kenta roared, leaping onto the couch in a single fluid motion, his voice echoing off the walls. He stood there, fists clenched, glaring down at the fluffy menace like it was a rogue ninja sent to assassinate him.
Tora, unfazed, swiped at his ankle with a lazy paw, her claws just barely grazing his skin. It wasn't an attack—it was a taunt, a reminder that she could end him whenever she pleased.
Kenta yelped, hopping back and pointing an accusing finger. "You little—! I knew it! You're not a cat, you're a tailed beast in disguise! Where's your scroll, huh? Who summoned you?!"
The sound of footsteps interrupted his tirade as his grandmother, Madam Shijimi, shuffled into the room, her gray hair tied back in a neat bun. She paused in the doorway, taking in the sight of her grandson perched on the couch, locked in a staring contest with her beloved pet. She sighed, a long-suffering sound that suggested this wasn't the first time she'd walked into such a scene.
"Kenta, don't antagonize Tora," she said, her voice gentle but firm. "She's very sensitive."
"Sensitive?!" Kenta sputtered, nearly toppling off the couch in disbelief. He jabbed his finger at Tora again, who had the audacity to yawn mid-accusation. "That thing is a menace to society! It would single-handedly traumatize generations of genin! This cat needs to be exorcised—or better yet, locked in a sealing scroll and launched into the ocean!"
Tora meowed, a soft, melodic sound that somehow managed to drip with mockery. She stretched luxuriously, her tail flicking in Kenta's direction as if to say, 'Try it, punk.'
Kenta flopped back onto the couch with a dramatic groan, throwing an arm over his eyes. "This is my life now. A war's about to break out, villages are gearing up to slaughter each other, and I'm stuck fighting a furball with an ego bigger than mine."
Madam Shijimi chuckled, her eyes crinkling with amusement as she crossed the room to sit beside him. "Welcome to Konoha, dear. It's never dull here."
Tora, sensing her victory, sauntered off toward the kitchen, her tail swaying like a conqueror's banner. Kenta peeked out from under his arm, glaring after her. "If I mysteriously disappear, just know the cat did it. Tell Sayaka to avenge me."
His grandmother patted his head, her touch warm and grounding. "Oh, don't be so dramatic, Kenta. She likes you."
Kenta turned his head slowly, narrowing his eyes at her. "That's what she wants you to think. It's all part of her evil plan—lure you in with the purring, then bam, claws to the face." He mimed a swipe at the air, his expression deadly serious.
Madam Shijimi laughed outright this time, a sound that reminded Kenta of his mother's rare, unguarded moments. "You're too much, little one. She's just a cat."
"Just a cat," Kenta muttered darkly, slumping further into the cushions. "That's how it starts. Next thing you know, she's leading an army of strays to overthrow the Hokage."
Kenta's hatred for cats had carried from one life to another life. How he developed this hatred is a story for another time.....
His grandmother shook her head, still smiling, and rose to fetch something from the kitchen—probably tea, knowing her. Kenta stayed where he was, staring at the ceiling again, his mind drifting back to his own thoughts.
-------Author Notes-------
Y'all can read 15 extra chapters of the novel on my pat*reon. It would also motivate me to write more and well pay for my tuition. But I would continue to write with or without you joining my pat*reon. Your support even here on Webnovel means a lot! Thankyou!
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