“Oi, Inugami!”

Having finished breakfast, Inugami was just about to leave the house to make his way to the academy. However, he was intercepted in the hallway by his brother.

Still wearing his sleepwear and having even messier hair than normal, Kiba Inuzuka called out to him. His slit-like eyes were brimming with confidence as he was holding little Akamaru proudly in his arms.

“I hope you are prepared to hand the ‘Rookie of the Year’ title over! I may have not been the best on the taijutsu test, but I have totally aced the theoretical part. And today I will beat you, and that stuck-up Uchiha, on the ninjutsu test. I’ve practiced hard after all.”

Akamaru backed him up with an enthusiastic bark.

“So you have practiced hard…” Inugami’s handsome face was filled with skepticism. After all, his brother was incredibly lazy, either sleeping in class or skipping it. In his free time, he played with Akamaru, neglecting his training and making Tsume mad.

“Yup, it would be embarrassing for the future Hokage to not graduate at the top of the class, you see. So sucks for you I guess, but don’t be sad, being second best to me is still admirable!”

There was another bark from Akamaru.

Not knowing how to break Kiba out of his self-induced genjutsu, Inugami simply averted his eyes and made his way out of the house.

“Oi, at least say something!”

But Inugami never turned back.

—————————————————————————————————————————

Currently, Inugami was performing one of his new favorite activities. Jumping between the countless rooftops of Konoha. The wind currents were tousling his slightly spiky black hair, as he was making sure to not mess the chakra flow to his feet. A genuine smile was on his lips.

Learning wall-walking early proved to be one of the best decisions he made!

Of course, he was not the only person currently jumping around. Various shinobi from varying ages and ranks were swooshing around far above the civilian heads. Though the only indications of the few high-ranking shinobis that were in the area were the sound of wind being cut, and the smell of sweat, provided by a bit of chakra being supplied to Inugami’s nose.

Inugami strained his dark eyes to perceive them, but like always, it proved to be unfruitful. The gap between him and Jonin was still too big. The only thing he got were hints of hair colors or clothing, like the Konoha Police logo he just saw right now.

Right…

This brought Inugami back to reality and his face went slack.

With passing time, it became clear to Inugami that the butterfly wings were fluttering, and he couldn’t rely on the knowledge from his last life. Not that he ever planned to do that, anyway. He was not that stupid.

Honestly, when Inugami realized for the first time that he was reborn into the Naruto world, he was devastated. You see, Inugami was not your average, no-life, depressed weeb like those Isekai main characters, that naively rejoiced when they were thrown into dangerous fantasy worlds, supported by their trusty game systems and denseness that attracted all the cardboard cutout women around them.

No, he was a well-adjusted young man that was cruelly ripped from his normal life by a dog. Thrown into a world filled with supernatural killers and godly aliens, as a part of a weak clan and forced to be a child soldier.

And on top, he didn’t get any of the fancy systems that made sure that those shitty weebs didn’t die on their first day. Seriously, those things were over-powered! They stuff so many OP things down your throat, the MC’s of those stories aren’t even able to use half of the OP rewards they get, while Inugami didn’t even receive one paltry technique! Additionally, they provide stuff like the Gamers- mind and body.

Inugami shook his head. Gamer systems are bullshit!

He took a deep breath to calm himself. There is no use crying over spilled milk. But his bad mood did not improve.

Today, he would graduate and enter a world out for his blood. He had no bloodline, special technique, large chakra capacity, or something that would attract a legendary teacher to take him under their wing. His chances of survival were low even without beings like Nagato, Madara, Obito and Kaguya. Any Jonin would end him currently, and there was no fox inside him to help him out if things get dire.

And the worst thing was, that he wasn’t even sure if the world won’t be destroyed in the future, even if he survived. In the original, everything only went well because of a huge dose of special abilities, fate, luck and plot-armor. Honestly, it was baffling that from the Konoha 11 only Neji end up dying. It was a miracle! But now that things were different, the future was looking dark and uncertain.

Inugami doesn’t even know if Sasuke and Naruto are still reincarnations of Indra and Ashura…

Snapping out of his depressed musings, Inugami realized he had arrived in front of the academy. Letting his somber eyes wander from the big sign, with the kanji for fire on it, to the swing next to a tree, Inugami’ attention was taken by a familiar smooth voice.

“Yo Inugami, early here, as always. Ready to lose today?” Standing behind him, unbothered and with his hands in his pockets, was the only person that Inugami could call his friend.

Sasuke Uchiha.

“Yo, Sasuke, you took the words right out of my mouth.” Inugami replied to him, equally unbothered.

Inugami never thought that he would ever make friends in this life, let alone with Sasuke Uchiha, of all people. But it happened. He remembered the day when he asked the aloof, raven-haired kid to be his sparring partner outside of school. Sasuke surprisingly agreed and from that day onward they slowly became friends.

Outwardly Sasuke may have seemed distant, but if you got to know him, he was a surprisingly cheerful and chill kid. The only reason that he had no friends, besides Inugami, was his social awkwardness and his prideful nature. If you are not up to par with him in skills, he won’t bother with you. And in their class, only Inugami fit the bill. For Inugami their relationship was strictly business at the beginning, taking advantage of Sasuke’s talent to further his own skill. But soon he enjoyed going on the grind with the kid, his quiet personality helping the process.

Smirking, Sasuke was about to retort, but was interrupted by a gentle and mature voice that sent shivers down to Inugami’s spine.

“Oh my, is that you, Inugami? It has been a while since the last time I saw you… you’ve grown into a splendid young man, didn’t you?”

Speaking to him was a fair-skinned beauty with black hair, wearing a simple purple sun dress that accentuated her motherly curves and shapely, long legs. This woman was Sasuke’s mother, and a frequent visitor of Inugami’s fantasies, Mikoto Uchiha.

She smiled at him, and the smell of her perfume was invading his nostrils. He couldn’t stop the sudden flush of heat that came from his groin.

He inwardly shook his head to calm himself down. ‘Damn hormones! Calm down Inugami… it’s one thing to sexualize your friend’s mom while you are jacking off. But it’s an entirely different thing to do it while he is standing right next to you!’.

After his self-bonk, Inugami stopped being horny and replied to Mikoto in a calm and collected voice. “Greetings Mrs. Uchiha, it’s nice to see you again. I’m sorry for not visiting, I was busy with training.”

At that Mikoto sighed. “Don’t worry Inugami, I am well aware of the hard path that lies in front of you and Sasuke. So I can’t fault you for not wasting your time with an old woman like me.”

Shaking his head, Inugami shot her an affronted look. “You are hardly old Mrs. Uchiha! In fact, the first time I saw you, I mistook you for Sasuke’s older sister.”

Mikoto put a hand to her cheek and giggled. “Thank you for your kind words. Tsume sure is lucky to have such a sweet son...”

Sasuke was glaring at him.

“Anyway mother, we are about to leave. Honestly, I don’t know why you insisted to walk me to school today, since you are going to pick me up later, anyway.”

At that her smile grew fixed. “So? Does my son not want to spend time with me anymore? Do you feel embarrassed to be seen with me?”

Sasuke’s eyes grew wide, and he instantly backtracked. “No of course not, it’s just…”

Mikoto shook her head. “No I understand, from today onwards you will be an adult, so I can’t baby you anymore…” She put a finger to her glossy lips and pondered. “Though, it sure will lonely with you going on missions as well from now on… maybe I should come back from retirement?”

After that Mikoto gathered her bearings and shot them one last smile. “Now, I won’t hold you guys up anymore. I wish you both luck for the upcoming test. It was lovely talking with you again Inugami, don’t be a stranger!” With that, she turned on her heel and left.

Inugami noticed Sasuke was still glaring at him.

With one raised brow, he asked him with an innocent voice. “What?”

“Hmph, nothing! Let’s just go inside.”