Back in his secret base, Noah opened the 4D pocket and emptied its contents onto a wooden table created by his Mokuton, one by one, carefully observing the loot obtained from his raid into Doraemon's world. Each gadget fell with a soft "plop," and Noah mentally reviewed the utility and effects of each one:
Air Cannon: A device that fires powerful blasts of compressed air, capable of pushing, knocking down, or destabilizing objects and mechanisms without needing conventional ammunition.
Anywhere Door: A door that allows instant travel to any imaginable place, opening a spatial portal between two desired points.
Time Machine: A 22nd-century device that allows unconstrained travel to the past or future.
Time Mantel: A cloth that controls the passage of time over whatever it covers. If an object or person is covered with one side, it can rejuvenate or age them depending on how it's used.
Bamboo Copter: A small device that, placed on the head, allows the user to fly freely as if they had a built-in propeller.
Denkomaru Katana: A sword equipped with special sensors: it detects incoming attacks and automatically deflects or blocks them, immediately counterattacking with great speed.
Maximizing Flashlight: A device that enlarges any object by shining its light on it.
Restoring Flashlight: Restores objects or beings that have been altered to their original state.
Anymaker: Capable of creating objects or structures from precise instructions, replicating designs with available or automatically synthesized materials.
Duplicate Mirror: A special mirror that duplicates any object or being reflected in it, generating a functional and almost indistinguishable copy.
Copy Robot: A robot designed to imitate human form and even complex behaviors.
Dictator Switch: The switch is capable of erasing any subject from existence at the user's request (including traces of their existence and relevant memories), and the effect can be undone by pressing it again.
Animal Transformation Cookies: Special edibles that, when ingested, transform the user into the animal corresponding to the cookie, maintaining the physical and biological abilities of that form for a limited time.
Sherlock Holmes Set: A thematic collection that enhances the user's deductive abilities, used especially for analysis and solving visual clues.
Deppler Metal Machine: A unique prototype capable of transforming common alloys into Deppler metal with unique properties.
Noah observed all the objects lined up before him, each with enormous potential for future use, research, or strategic application. Many of them were already tools with practically divine functions, like the Dictator Switch or the time machine.
Right off the bat, he knew these artifacts weren't simple curiosities: they represented tools for systemic change in the sciences he himself studied, whether in space-time windows, energy manipulation, or advanced materials.
The future of his research had just become exponentially more complex… and more promising.
Storing all the gadgets inside the 4D pocket, Noah returned through the tunnel to his room in the Senju residence and immediately closed the underground tunnel, making sure to put the rug back in place.
Fortunately, when opening the portal back home, he didn't fail again and managed to open one just a few minutes after he had originally left, so no one noticed his absence.
—Alright, let's begin today's meditation.
Lying on the bed in his room, Noah entered a state of deep meditation, using the Magus Meditation Technique.
This particular Technique had six upper ranks and an apprentice rank, the latter divided into three sub-levels. To reach the official Rank 1 Mage, he needed to increase his spiritual energy to 20 points, but for now, he was still far from that number.
Within his mind, a group of runes glowed with a blue radiance.
Concentrating, he began to form a new rune.
Two hours later, the process was successfully completed.
—It's a shame… if my body were developed, I wouldn't need to limit my spiritual progress.
However, he wasn't too disappointed. He knew this growth was part of the process.
Sighing deeply, he closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
BANG!
The door to his room burst open, startling Noah.
—Nawaki! How many times have I told you to wake up on time?! Look at you! What time do you think it is?!
A twelve-year-old Tsunade stormed furiously into the room and dragged him to the bathroom, scolding him nonstop.
The mental exhaustion from the previous day had made him oversleep.
—Yeah, yeah, I get it. Stop yelling at me!
While brushing his teeth with one hand, he waved the other at Tsunade as if shooing away an annoying fly.
BOING!
A fist landed on his head.
—Grandma Mito! Tsunade hit me again!
Running out of the bathroom, he mockingly stuck his tongue out at Tsunade before heading to the dining room.
—Little Nawaki, come here.
Mito lifted him onto her lap with a warm smile as he hugged her.
—Grandma Mito! Tsunade lost all her money again at those gambling games!
Mito shook her head, amused, while Tsunade gritted her teeth in frustration.
Deep down, Noah sighed. This feeling of family was warm and comforting.
However, Mito would die in a few years… and he had his own plans.
—I hope you can forgive me in the future for leaving, Tsunade…
---
Two years later…
Today, Noah was turning five years old.
But within the Senju clan, they weren't in the mood for celebrations.
For weeks, Konoha had been buzzing with unease.
It wasn't hard to notice. Ninjas patrolling more frequently, messengers coming and going without rest, hushed conversations that stopped when someone passed nearby. Konoha's usual calm had been broken.
The First Great Ninja War had just broken out.
It was the first time the great hidden villages had clashed on such a scale since the founding of the modern shinobi system.
After the era of the founders, the peace dreamed of by Hashirama Senju began to crack. His death, and Madara's, removed the pillars that deterred conflict. The Five Great Villages, now established, saw both opportunity and threat in each other. The struggle was no longer about creating nations, but about asserting supremacy, controlling territories, and, above all, over the tailed beasts that Hashirama had distributed as a "balance."
For most, this war meant fear and uncertainty. But for Noah, barely five years old, it was simply historical context unfolding before his eyes.
This war meant that many rules were no longer so strict.
From inside the Senju dwelling, Noah watched the coming and going of the crowd with a neutral expression as he reflected to himself.
Tobirama Senju was at the front lines of Konoha's forces. That meant two things for him. First: the academy was operating with minimal supervision. Second: Tobirama would die in the next few years. Noah knew this with enough certainty to no longer worry about his attention.
That gave him room to exploit his talent without worrying about anything. Although deep down, he didn't really think Tobirama would do anything to him even if he knew about his talents; it was just that Tobirama's nature, which was very similar to his own, had made him distrust the man.
With that problem out of the equation, he had no more reasons to keep holding back.
That's why he had made the decision.
—I'm going to enter the Academy today —he said calmly.
Mito looked at him for a moment, evaluating him in silence.
—Are you sure?
—The sooner I finish, the better.
The ninja academy wasn't a challenge, but a waste of time. Designed for normal children, with slow paces and constant repetitions. Noah didn't intend to waste years inside there.
One year at most. Nothing more.
If Kakashi could do it later on, he could do it now. Even more so during wartime, when instructors were looking for prodigies like water in the desert.
—I'll speak with the instructors.
Mito didn't comment further. She simply nodded and continued with her own business.