Chapter 1: Study Hard, Grow Strong
The pink-haired little girl sat in silence by the riverbank, staring at her reflection on the water's surface.
The face staring back was almost annoyingly cute — a button nose, delicate features, fair skin, and a pair of vivid green eyes as clear as polished emeralds.
Green eyes paired with cherry-blossom pink hair. She looked like a porcelain doll.
She'd been sitting here for a long time.
Even after a full month, she still couldn't wrap her head around what was now an undeniable fact.
Him — a five-foot-eleven grown man.
Her — a three-foot-eleven little girl.
They were the same damn person!!!
How was this even possible?!
All she'd done in her past life was main Wartime Sakura in Ninja Storm — combo-canceling through Substitution into Summoning into Ultimate, clawing her way up to 3,000 points in Super Kage rank!
She liked playing Ninja Storm Sakura — she didn't want to become her, dammit!
At that thought, Sakura's mood sank even further. She snatched up a rock and hurled it at the water.
Splash. Ripples spread across the surface, then slowly faded, and her reflection reappeared — as if mocking her.
"Sakura!"
Her father's voice called from somewhere behind her.
Sakura turned to look. A man with a ridiculous starfish-shaped hairdo was waving at her from a nearby bridge.
Kizashi Haruno. Her father.
"Coming…"
Sakura dragged herself to her feet and shuffled over.
"Sakura, you shouldn't go to the river by yourself. What if you fell in?"
Kizashi regarded his daughter — who was currently sporting the deadest pair of eyes he'd ever seen — and spoke with fatherly concern.
"But of course, if Daddy's with you, that's a different story entirely! After all, Daddy can handle anything!"
He pivoted on a dime, thumped his chest, and flashed a smug grin.
"…"
Sakura looked at the man and his absurd starfish hair. She pressed her lips together and sighed.
"…Sure."
"You know, you haven't seemed like yourself lately, Sakura."
"…Sure."
"Is it because you haven't been sleeping well?"
"…Sure."
"Want Daddy to sing you a lullaby tonight?"
"…Su—"
!!!
"Absolutely not!"
Sakura caught herself a beat too late and immediately refused.
"Ahahahaha! There's the Sakura I know!"
"You've been moping around for days — your mother's been worried sick, you know."
Kizashi laughed and ruffled her hair.
Sakura looked up at the grinning man and pouted.
So she'd been making them worry without even realizing it…
She stared down at her tiny, delicate hands and sighed inwardly.
Gazing at the sunset bleeding across the horizon, she offered a silent farewell.
Goodbye, little buddy…
Goodbye, my manhood…
"Oh! Mommy made your favorite tonight — gyōza!"
Seeing the melancholy creep back onto his daughter's face, Kizashi immediately launched into a series of ridiculous faces, desperately trying to cheer her up.
Watching this clumsy man flail around for her sake, Sakura's expression softened. She reached up and grabbed his hand.
"Then let's hurry home. We shouldn't keep Mom waiting."
"You got it!"
"Oh hey — want a ride on Daddy's shoulders? You can see way farther from up there, you know!"
He slapped his decidedly not broad shoulders and struck a few flexing poses that were more comedy than muscle.
"No."
Sakura's flat rejection was instant and merciless.
"Huh? Come on, why not?!"
Kizashi wilted on the spot, turning a comical shade of grey.
Watching him, Sakura became fully convinced: this man was a certified daughter-obsessed disaster.
The two of them walked along the river under the fading light, heading toward the place called home.
Sakura glanced at the man beside her, a flicker of resignation passing through those green eyes.
What's done is done…
But if anyone thought she was going to simp her way into some romance plotline — absolutely not!
Not in a million years!
As they passed along a section of the embankment, a small figure caught her eye.
Looked about her age. Spiky blond hair like a hedgehog, a white t-shirt with a red spiral on the front.
Ah. Him.
Sakura glanced at the Child of Prophecy. She wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone right now.
"Oh, that kid…"
"Sakura, you should stay away from that boy. He's… bad luck."
Once they were well past the blond kid, Kizashi spoke up.
Sakura looked up at him, surprised.
"If anything happened to you… Mommy and Daddy would be beside themselves."
Seeing how serious he was, Sakura found herself pushing back before she could stop herself.
"But… he's just a kid. Same age as me."
"If he were really some kind of bad omen, Lord Hokage wouldn't let him stay in the village."
"It's just rumors."
She shook her head.
Kizashi didn't argue. He thought it over for a moment, then said:
"Sakura, you've got a kind heart."
"But more than whether it's rumors or not, what Daddy cares about is making sure you don't get hurt."
Sakura didn't press the issue. She just gave a halfhearted "I know."
He meant well, after all. This man who was now her father — he was just looking out for her. No point arguing.
Later that night, the pink-haired girl lay curled up in bed, gazing through the window at a sky full of stars.
She could feel it — her tiny, almost negligible reserves of chakra, slowly gathering at the center of her forehead. And it was completely automatic.
The moment any excess chakra appeared, it flowed straight to that spot.
Not a single drop wasted.
She buried her face in the covers. Her head was starting to throb.
So this is my transmigration cheat, huh…
The Yin Seal — Strength of a Hundred Technique.
But if the Yin Seal formed before she became Tsunade's apprentice at twelve… how the hell was she supposed to explain that?!
And another thing — why did she have to be a Sakura main in her past life?!
Could've mained Momoshiki Ōtsutsuki! Could've mained Kinshiki! Both way stronger than Wartime Sakura!
Dammit!
She stared up at the stars, those emerald eyes shimmering with thought.
I need to find a way to make the Yin Seal look legitimate…
But how?
Her brain felt like it was going to explode.
A six-year-old kid walking around with the Yin Seal? That was a one-way ticket to the Konoha Intelligence Division's interrogation room.
Followed by the full hundred-and-eight-course torture menu…
Suddenly—
The pink-haired girl sat bolt upright in bed.
A fierce glint flashed in her eyes.
Study hard! Train every day!
Become enough of a genius to catch the attention of the Konoha higher-ups — then find a way to get her hands on the Yin Seal training method legitimately!
God damn it — she'd been reborn as a girl and she STILL had to study her ass off!