Chapter 4: And You, My Friend, You Are the Real Luffy
7:30 AM.
After Minato Namikaze woke up and finished packing his things, he put on his tracksuit, grabbed his messenger bag, and planned to head out to Hoshino Yu's house to wake him up.
The two had agreed to go out for breakfast early today; after all, now that school had started, they couldn't sleep in like they used to.
Upon reaching Hoshino Yu's door, Minato knocked.
Knock, knock, knock—
"Yu, it's time to get up. Don't be late later."
After waiting for a moment and seeing no movement at the door, Minato felt a bit puzzled. Usually at this time, Hoshino Yu's voice should have come from inside.
"Is he not awake yet?" Minato thought for a bit and knocked again. "Yu?"
A moment later, Hoshino Yu's lazy and slightly pained voice finally drifted out from the house:
"Minato, just come in…"
Minato Namikaze frowned slightly at his words and quickly took the key out of his bag.
As best friends, they each had a spare key to the other's house, which was something they had agreed upon. If one day there was no response to a knock, they could just open the door and go in.
When he opened the door, Minato Namikaze was somewhat dumbfounded.
What met his eyes wasn't the usual tidy house, but a complete mess. Vases and such that were usually on the table were shattered on the floor, the wooden table was chipped and missing corners, and there was even a faint smell of something scorched.
"This…" Minato's heart tightened. Hearing Hoshino Yu's voice coming from the upstairs bedroom, he hurriedly ran up to check.
The bedroom was even messier.
At the same time, Hoshino Yu was lying on the bed grimacing, moving his limbs in a somewhat strange way, and his hair was a bit curled.
"Yu!"
"Hiss~ Don't move!" Hoshino Yu winced in pain. "Muscle strain. I overdid it last night."
Minato rushed forward, but seeing he was stopped, he said with a worried face:
"Did something happen during the night?"
Hoshino Yu's eyes shifted as he recalled the excuse he had prepared long ago, and he gave a bitter smile:
"It's about my late old man. He left behind three Ninjutsu scrolls and said I could only open them after starting school. Last night I was curious and tried out a Lightning Release Ninjutsu. I didn't control it well, and it ended up like this."
As he spoke, he pointed to the three dusty scrolls that had been specially placed on the nightstand. His parents had been ordinary Chunin who died in the line of duty, so it made sense for scrolls to be their only legacy.
Minato leaned over to take a look and finally breathed a sigh of relief, then frowned:
"You're far too impatient. Who practices Ninjutsu at home?"
As he spoke, he skillfully rummaged through the nearby cabinet for some medicinal liniment, threw it to Hoshino Yu, and then began cleaning up the mess in the room.
After finishing the cleanup, he went home and brought back some bread and milk.
"Eat something first. I'll go buy breakfast. By the way, do you want me to ask for leave for you?"
"Sure," Hoshino Yu forced himself to sit up. "I'll rest for two days; I can't move much right now."
Seeing that Hoshino Yu was mostly fine, Minato Namikaze put his right hand to his forehead and shook his head:
"I really can't do anything with you."
After doing all this and bringing back breakfast, he gave a few more instructions before heading to school alone.
Seeing that he had left, Hoshino Yu lay on the bed, looking at the refreshed room and the fresh breakfast and medicine on the table, and couldn't help but smile:
"That guy Minato really is a Little Sun."
"Hiss~ But I still need to get used to this speed."
He rubbed the bruised, dark spots on his body where he had crashed. The muscle strain was real, and the body aches were real, but it wasn't to the point where he couldn't move. It was mainly because he had just obtained the power and couldn't fully control it yet, so he needed a day or two to adapt. Otherwise, if something went wrong, it would be hard to explain.
After exhaling a breath of turbid air, Hoshino Yu's consciousness sank as he looked at the personal information panel in his mind.
[Name: Hoshino Yu]
[Age: 6 years old]
[Chakra Amount: 0.9 (Small amount)]
[Five Dimensions: Power 1 / Speed 1.2 / Constitution 1.3 / Spirit 6.1 / Seals 0.7]
[Chakra Nature: Lightning, Water, Fire, Yin, Yang]
[Ninjutsu/Taijutsu/Genjutsu: None]
[Items: None]
[Allocatable Attribute Points: 0]
(Reference Note: The various values for an average 20-year-old adult are all 1, except for Seals and Chakra.)
"In just one night, my various values have reached or even exceeded those of an adult…"
Hoshino Yu was secretly amazed by the absurdity of the Devil Fruit, while at the same time raising his hand to clench his fist, feeling his further refined strength.
Since he was an adult before transmigrating, it was easy to control his Power attribute now that it had returned to its original level. The main issue now was the Speed aspect.
After getting up and limping to the table to finish his breakfast, he lay back down on the bed and soon fell into a deep sleep…
Somewhere in a hidden location in Konoha Village.
"Lord Danzo, last night there was some activity in Hoshino Yu's home. It seemed like there was a fight inside, and subtle Chakra fluctuations appeared."
"Everything was normal at Minato Namikaze's house."
A Ninja wearing a simple patterned mask knelt on one knee and reported to Danzo Shimura, who was sitting at the main desk in the office reviewing intelligence scrolls. Danzo did not respond, simply continuing to read the scroll on his own.
A moment later, he spoke in a low, flat voice:
"Were there any accidents?"
"Reporting to my lord, Minato Namikaze opened the door early this morning. Aside from the room being a bit messy, there were no other accidents."
"Mm, I understand. Continue surveillance."
"Yes."
After the Ninja left, Danzo glanced at the closed door, then opened the cabinet under the desk and took out a brand-new book. Looking at the cover with the three large characters for "one piece" and the author's name written as Hoshino Yu, Danzo gave a disdainful smile.
"Hiruzen, this Ninja World has been stable for too long, and you, the Hokage, have become quite decadent, reading even this kind of children's literature."
After mocking him, he slowly turned to the first page…
Two days later, in the early morning hours, Hoshino Yu had been lying down for two full days. Fortunately, he had gained proficient control over the rumble-rumble fruit's abilities. Now that he couldn't sleep, it was the perfect time to consider the future development path for the fruit.
Elemental Transformation was definitely the most important. That speed, which was infinitely close to the speed of light, could basically dodge all attacks.
As for Genjutsu and Sealing Jutsu, it depended on the situation. He would have to research those two later as well; after all, more methods meant more security.
As for others, he didn't need to think about big moves like Raigo for now, but he could develop smaller skills, though it would be best to use Lightning Release Ninjutsu as a cover.
Just as he was pondering how to develop, a faint noise came from outside.
"What's that sound…" Hoshino Yu keenly noticed it. He rolled out of bed and grabbed the family heirloom Kunai from the cabinet.
With the enhancement of the rumble-rumble fruit, his physical qualities had already improved. He didn't think he was hallucinating. Moreover, there had been prying eyes outside earlier, and now it was even more direct.
After walking out of the bedroom and seeing that the noise was coming from the window, Hoshino Yu hid behind the door with his eyes narrowed, staring fixedly in that direction.
"Is it the 'Root' organization? Or…"
"It must be Danzo."
He directly settled his suspicion. The only ones who could sneak around the Village in the middle of the night were the members of Danzo's Root. With the methods of Root Ninjas, entering a civilian's home silently in the middle of the night was quite easy.
Seeing that the window was about to be opened, Hoshino Yu's alertness was at its peak, and at the same time, several electric arcs flashed on the Kunai in his hand.
Now that he had the fruit, he could show off a bit of his talent.
Kakashi graduated at five, became a Chunin at six, and was already a Jonin by twelve. So at six years old, it shouldn't be a problem if he discovered a Root Ninja and threw a Kunai at him, right?
When the window was silently opened and a figure slipped in from outside, the window was closed again.
The Ninja wearing the simple patterned mask sensed something was wrong the moment he landed. After a quick scan, the masked Ninja decisively chose to retreat, but at the same time, a Kunai flashing with lightning shot toward him from the shadows!
"!"
The reacting masked Ninja instantly drew the Short blade on his back and precisely parried the Kunai.
Clang—
The sound of clashing metal rang out, and the Kunai was pinned directly to the wall, the lightning on its tip instantly dissipating.
The masked Ninja didn't hesitate, vanishing into the night in the blink of an eye.
The curtains swayed incessantly in the wind, and after a while, silence returned to the room.
Hoshino Yu stepped out from behind the door, looking at the Kunai on the wall with a cold gaze.
"It shouldn't be. Based on Danzo's personality, he wouldn't be so impatient. I haven't shown any talent before…"
He gave a light leap, pulled the Kunai down, and thought to himself.
The masks of Root Ninjas were different from those of the Anbu, so he could naturally recognize them at a glance.
The Kunai throw just now was at full strength, and with the electric enhancement, it should have had the power of a Genin's throw, yet it was directly parried by that Root Ninja.
Yeah, the gap between me and a Jonin is still quite large.
As for being able to insta-kill the opponent with speed after Elemental Transformation, that was another matter…
"Lord Danzo! The mission failed, and the Manuscript was not obtained. It was my negligence! Please punish me, my lord!"
"You're saying that you sneaked into a six-year-old child's home in the middle of the night and were discovered?"
Hearing this, the gaze of Danzo, who was sitting in the main seat, turned sharp, and his voice carried some displeasure.
Hearing Danzo's low tone, the kneeling masked Ninja's Adam's apple moved slightly as he quickly explained:
"Lord Danzo, as soon as I entered the room, a Kunai was thrown at me. The speed was extremely fast, and the force was even greater than that of an ordinary Genin."
"Furthermore, the Kunai was imbued with Lightning Release Ninjutsu…"
"Lightning Release? Genin-level strength?" Danzo raised his hand to stroke his chin and looked at the book on the desk again. "Hoshino Yu, six years old… He really is a good piece of forging material."
…Before dawn, Hoshino Yu had finished washing up and changed into the brand-new set of clothes Minato had bought over the last two days.
Minato probably wasn't awake yet, so he went straight out to buy breakfast. Since Minato had been cooking and washing dishes for two days straight, he wanted to reward his best friend after all.
After the incident in the early morning, there had been no more movement. Presumably, things would quiet down for a few days.
However, Hoshino Yu had thought all night and couldn't figure out why they would come for him now.
It couldn't be because of his comments on the Will of Fire; he was more inclined to believe that the "one piece" novel had attracted them.
When he reached the street, Hoshino Yu was thinking about what there was to eat at this hour, but he found that only the bakery was open.
Just as he was about to enter, he heard an excited and urgent voice from behind him.
"Oi! Yu-kun!"
Hearing that familiar voice, Hoshino Yu turned around.
He saw Senior Mizuhashira dressed as Luffy, holding a blade, waving and jogging toward him.
This scene… if he didn't know the man's character and wasn't a fellow eccentric himself, he probably would have run away by now.
"Senior Mizuhashira, are you also here to buy breakfast this early?" Hoshino Yu asked politely once Senior Mizuhashira reached him.
Senior Mizuhashira was panting, though he wasn't as excited as he had been a few days ago.
He brandished the blade in his hand and said with a smile:
"No, I just went to the woods to chop some wood. Now I'm planning to head to the pond."
"What are you chopping wood for?"
"To build a ship, of course!" Senior Mizuhashira said with a grin, hands on his hips as he rubbed his nose. "To build my own going merry!"
Before Hoshino Yu could react, Senior Mizuhashira grabbed his hand and led him toward the pond, saying at the same time:
"Come, come, Yu-kun, you're the author. Come see if the going merry I'm building looks right!"
Hoshino Yu was led all the way by Senior Mizuhashira, and soon they arrived at a pond on the edge of the forest.
"This is my going merry!"
"It's just in the initial stages right now…" Senior Mizuhashira scratched his head, sounding a bit embarrassed.
[You have received a Main Quest: Help the future Pirate King—Monkey D. Luffy, obtain his first real ship and assist him in sailing the seas.]
[Quest Reward: 0.2 Free Attribute Points.]
[Current Progress: 50%]
Here it comes, that familiar 'half-completed just by looking at it' thing.
"Luffy's first ship was indeed a small wooden boat, but the quest says 'Merry,' right?"
"But this boat…"
Seeing the change in the quest progress, Hoshino Yu crossed his arms and looked at the half-finished small wooden boat by the pond, then couldn't help but sigh to Senior Mizuhashira:
"And you, my friend, you are the real Luffy."