The Eight-Year-Old Me Became Hokage

Replacing Sarutobi Hiruzen as the Third Hokage before the age of twenty wasn't just some wild fantasy for Kazekaze. As a transmigrator, he knew exactly how the future would unfold. Senju Hashirama might have been the God of Shinobi, but he had a terminal illness.

The moment he passed away, the other ninja villages, long suppressed by his overwhelming power, would seize the opportunity, igniting the First Great Ninja War! And at the end of that war, Senju Tobirama would sacrifice himself to hold off Kinkaku and Ginkaku's pursuit. It was then that Tobirama tested Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others. Whoever was willing to stay behind and cover their retreat was named the Third Hokage.

Now that Kazekaze had the strongest family connections in Konoha, sneaking into the elite circle wouldn't be hard. As long as he acted before Hiruzen at that crucial moment— He would be the Third Hokage!

That was the real reason why Kazekaze had suddenly set Hokage as his "small" goal. But before that… 

"System, initiate the first check-in!"

While packing his belongings—which was really just grabbing a few sets of fitting clothes—Kazekaze activated the check-in within his mind. The moment he finished his mental command, a pleasant voice echoed in his ears.

[Check-in successful!]

[Congratulations, Host! You have received your first check-in reward package!]

[Would you like to open it?]

"Yes," Kazekaze answered, maintaining a calm, expressionless demeanor.

[Opening package!]

[Congratulations, Host! You have obtained "Hashirama's Chakra"!]

The moment Kazekaze heard "Hashirama's Chakra," his brain practically short-circuited. Anyone with basic knowledge of Naruto knew— For ordinary people, chakra was just chakra. But for Senju Hashirama, it was written as chakra and read as "chatonra" (tons of chakra)! Even Uchiha Madara plus the Nine-Tails combined couldn't outmatch Hashirama in chakra reserves!

The true God of Shinobi.

Undisputed.

And yet, Kazekaze had obtained this as his first check-in reward? He couldn't help but wonder if his character setting was actually… The Ultimate Nepotism Protagonist + Supreme Luck God?

This was beyond broken. So many people struggled to even pull a single SSR character in gacha games.

Whoosh…

Taking a deep breath, Kazekaze felt a surge of chakra rapidly increasing within his body. It spread like a warm current throughout his entire being. From childhood to now, he had never experienced such a feeling before.

Absolute euphoria.

At the same time, a wave of foundational knowledge flooded into his mind.

How to extract chakra.

How to convert chakra into airflow for release.

How to precisely control chakra.

All of it became a natural part of his memory. Now, controlling chakra felt as instinctive as breathing or drinking water. As if this power had been his all along—something he could use freely at will! But just then, Kazekaze noticed another presence in his mind—a status panel. It looked exactly like the ones from novels he had read before transmigrating.

[Host: Kazekaze]

[Strength: 3]

[Speed: 2]

[Endurance: 5]

[Abilities: Hashirama's Chakra (Lv.1)]

Kazekaze examined himself from head to toe. Even though he had gained Hashirama's Chakra, his other stats were still low. But that was expected. After all, his body was only seven years old. He was still just a kid, with no structured training experience.

"The Naruto world has always been high offense, low defense. Might Guy's Eighth Gate punch can distort space, yet he could still die from a kunai.

Even with Hashirama's Chakra, there are still plenty of people who could crush me.

But this is just the beginning. If I strengthen my body with training and keep stacking check-in rewards…

I believe I will become strong enough to control my own destiny!"

Kazekaze had never been someone to hesitate or second-guess himself. If he had remained an ordinary person, that would have been one thing. But now that he had both the strongest family connections and a cheat-like check-in system— There was no way he was going to let Black Zetsu's thousand-year scheme dictate his fate.

And so, Kazekaze packed his things and returned to Konoha with his father, Mokuken.

A Few Days Later

Konoha was still in its early development stages, nowhere near as grand as in the official storyline. The Hokage Rock was still being slowly carved. The moment news spread that Kazekaze's family had returned to the village, Hashirama and Tobirama put aside their work and personally visited their home.

As soon as Hashirama saw Kazekaze, he completely abandoned his image and pulled him into a bone-crushing bear hug. Despite being an absolute powerhouse, Hashirama looked nothing like a man suffering from a terminal illness.

"Good, good! You've finally returned!" Tobirama, meanwhile, kept his usual stoic expression.

Deep down, he deeply cared about his older brother and valued his family. But his childhood experiences had shaped him into someone who struggled to express emotions. Plus, while Hashirama was Hokage in name, he lacked the proper methods to govern effectively. Now that he was sick, Tobirama was the one handling everything in the village. After a while, the conversation shifted.

Tobirama suddenly said, "You should just spend time with big brother. I have matters to attend to."

"Is it the training exercise with Hiruzen and the others?" Hashirama tried to persuade him. "It can wait a day. Stay and eat with us."

"It's been a long time since we all had a meal together. We should invite Mito too. Oh, by the way, daughter-in-law, do you know if it's a boy or a girl in your belly?"

Hashirama was radiating excitement, like a retired grandpa meddling in family affairs. Tobirama could only sigh in exasperation. His older brother's illness meant a decline in Konoha's combat strength. Training the next generation was urgently necessary. Sometimes, Tobirama really wondered who the real Hokage was. Of course, he wouldn't ruin the atmosphere by voicing such thoughts.

But then—

"Can I join the training?"

No one expected Kazekaze to suddenly break free from Hashirama's embrace and volunteer. After all, Hashirama had just mentioned Hiruzen.

'If I'm not mistaken, this training includes all the future Konoha high-ranking officials.And it's a great way to train my body too.'

To Kazekaze, this was a perfect win-win. Train his body and build early connections with Konoha's future elites.Tobirama scrutinized Kazekaze. He had always liked his older brother's grandson. In his mind, the true ninja way meant training from childhood. But due to the atmosphere of the gathering, he hadn't said anything earlier.

"Are you sure?" Tobirama asked. "This is a survival training exercise. You could get injured—possibly even die."

Kazekaze's unwavering eyes told Tobirama he was different from ordinary children. But Tobirama still hoped he would back down. The training ground was the Forest of Death. A seven-year-old with just "courage" wasn't enough to survive.

"Of course," Kazekaze replied nonchalantly, unfazed by Tobirama's warning.

For one, the others in the exercise were all future high-ranking officials—he could just coast along. For another, he genuinely wanted to test the strength of Hashirama's Chakra.

"Hahahaha!"

Hashirama suddenly burst into laughter.

"As expected of my grandson! Such boldness! Tobirama, want to bet? My grandson will become an even greater Hokage than me one day!"