Disclaimer: I don't own either Naruto or One Punch Man. Also, shoutout to Murata for absolute grinding through these recent chapters. Pure fire.

Chapter 3: The Prankster Fox

Familiarity. That was the first feeling that washed over Child Emperor as he passed through the door of his assigned classroom. Despite the Konoha Shinobi Academy being essentially a grade school for aspiring assassins, the rooms were astonishingly similar to the university lecture halls he attended. The room sloped downwards steep enough so that every couple of steps had a row of several long tables. This resulted in a wide open area in the front of the classroom where a massive chalkboard stretched from just a bit above the floor to the ceiling towering high above.

Just replace the wood with tile floors, throw some computers on the tables, install some fluorescent lighting and a projector and Child Emperor would feel right at home.

Even the fact that more than half of the room was staring at him as he walked down the steps wasn't too abnormal to him. Instead of a bunch of young adults wondering how a nine year old got lost and wound up in their class, it was several dozen tweens and early teens eyeing up the new kid on the block. Sure, he may still be the youngest and smallest in the room, but at least the disparity is significantly less pronounced.

Isamu theorized that it should be easier for him to make connections and avoid confrontations in this setup. Unlike during his couple of years in high school or his first months in the Hero Association, he shouldn't have to constantly prove himself against insecure colleagues who viewed him as the pinnacle threat against their position in whatever hierarchy he needed to compete in.

Here, for the first time, he is close to the average age of his peers. Even if he does manage to make it to the top of the class, he shouldn't be too out of place to make some allies. If working with them was anything like him meeting Sakura, then the next three months might actually be bearable.

"Oy brat." A coarse voice called out next to him as he passed by a table. "You are in the wrong room."

Then again, theories have often to be proven wrong. He would just have to adjust them along the way. Child Emperor narrowed his eyes at where the voice came from.

From a table at the far side of the room sat five boys each donning blue zip-up jackets. In the middle of the group was a boy with black hair tied underneath a blue bandana. On his back strapped a short katana while he chewed a long piece of wheat in his mouth. To his sides sat two shorter twins with spiky brown and behind him was a large chubby kid with brown hair tied into a ponytail. The boy's cheeks were marked with two red crosses and he had a patch on his jacket with the kanji for food signifying that he hailed from the Akimichi clan. The last boy in the group was a kid with neatly-combed brown hair and thick glasses sitting on top of the table, a scowl plastered deep into this face.

From the way the group sat around, it was clear to Isamu that the guy in the middle with the katana was most likely the de-facto leader.

"The first years are downstairs. If you don't hurry you might be put into the timeout corner." The group leader called out to Isamu, earning a snicker from his members.

Isamu let out a sigh. Introductory taunting and hazing got old for him a long time ago. "Is the teacher for this class Mizuki Isozaki?"

"And if he is?" The boy sitting on the table asked, his voice hitched in condescension.

"Then I am in the right place. Nice to meet you all." Isamu said succinctly before he continued walking forwards, ignoring the incredulous stares of the group.

"Oy 'Kata, you're just gonna let him walk away like that?" Whispered one of the twins.

"Of course not, but we can just wait until sparring day this week." Kata shrugged as he laid back in his chair. "He probably got into the class by being a bookworm or something. He'd be a shriveling mess once any action starts."

"What do you mean 'we?' You are just going to challenge the new kid all to yourself like you do with Neji." The boy sitting on the table stated, his arms crossed.

"You'd get your ass stomped on by that preppy Hyuuga freak. I am protecting you, Rinji." Kata snorted. "I am not wasting my time sparring the new kid. I only fight people with talent."

A slight grin etched across his face. "I won't stop any of y'all from beating the shit out of him though."

At the front of the room, Child Emperor made his way to the table in front of the chalkboard where a man wearing a green flak jacket sat shuffling through papers. He wore a blue bandana with the Konoha forehead protector on the front, covering his shiny silver hair which reached down towards his shoulders. He looked up towards the boy as Isamu got closer.

"Good morning Mizuki-sensei." Isamu bowed, handing him the note he was supposed to give him. "My name is Isamu Dotei and I will be attending your class for the rest of the year."

Mizuki glanced over the note for a second before nodding. "Ah, so you are the replacement, welcome. You know, the Hokage holds you in high regard. I look forward to seeing how well you do here given such short notice."

He pointed towards a seat on the edge of a table next to the wall. "There is an unclaimed seat over there next to the girl. Please have a seat, class will begin in three minutes."

"I won't disappoint, Mizuki-sensei." Isamu said before heading off to his now assigned seat. In the adjacent chair sat a girl with several books stacked neatly on her portion of the table. Her dark violet hair was cleanly cut to her shoulders while bangs covered her eyes. Isamu wondered how she could be reading the book in front of her while her hair seemed to completely block her eyes.

"Hey, guess I'll be your new classmate. My name is Isamu." Child Emperor greeted the girl as he sat in the chair.

"Kayami. Greetings." The girl said in a soft, monotone voice. She did not move her head from the literature she was reading.

"So, how is Mizuki-sensei? Do you feel like he's a good teacher?"

"He's adequate." Kayami stated as she flipped a page. "Please keep it down, I am trying to focus."

Isamu sighed as he took out a notebook. 'She is not one for small talk, I suppose.' As long as she was cooperative during any potential group projects or exercises then it wouldn't matter too much that she is seated next to him. He watched more students fill up the room as Mizuki rose from his desk and stepped towards the front of the class. 'Well, ninja school time. Might as well focus up.'

.

- Seven hours later; Konoha Academy Courtyard -

Child Emperor took a breath of fresh air as he exited through the towering red doors of the academy. He had been grinding the entire day with very little downtime. While the material taught in class wasn't difficult by any means to him, it was the amount of things he had to do and keep track of which kept him thoroughly busy.

Since there was only three months left until his year would test for field duty, the lessons were much more 'relevant' and hands-on than Sakura's year and earlier. For the first two hours, Mizuki reviewed various ambush and counter-ambush strategies including when to utilize them and what their weaknesses were. While the tactics taught seemed very elementary to him and could use plenty of variations, the lecture did expose him to what to look for in genjutsu-based traps as well as the several different squad compositions commonly used by the village.

Following the tactics lecture the class spent an hour practicing their henge and clone jutsu. Mizuki sent Isamu to another teacher who spent a couple hours with him going over chakra control in order to help him 'catch up' with the rest of the class. Since he already knew how to channel chakra, he spent the entire time using chakra to make leaves stick on various parts of his body. While the exercise became tiresome after the first half hour and even more so once he had to stick several leaves at once, he grew fascinated by how he could utilize the energy outside of his body.

If he could create or transfer chakra externally, he could avoid having to install boosters, suction cups, or another adhesive to make his drones reach tall structures. Even with his own body, there are some potential uses to this technique. If he could pump out enough chakra and stabilize it, he theorized that it should be possible to make his body stick firmly to a moving platform or even a vertical surface.

Yet another potential use case for chakra, one that he needed to test out as soon as he got the time.

After that chakra control session Isamu was sent back to his class where he spent another two hours doing "advanced shinobi mathematics," which was basically algebra and physics using potential field situations as word problems. The class was given a massive packet filled with projectile problems which was supposed to take a week to complete. Interestingly enough, no work was required, just that there was a handwritten solution for each problem. That enabled Isamu to simply calculate the solution in his head, write it down, and move on. At first he wondered how Mizuki was supposed to counter potential cheating; until he remembered that he was in a ninja school. While many students would try to solve most of the problems on their own, those who can cheat in an elusive way would also be viewed as a net positive. He wondered if this would change if computers become mainstream in this world.

Not that Child Emperor had any need or desire to cheat, not after going from quantum field theory to algebra. By the time the class had to move on to the history lecture Isamu had completed three-quarters of the packet.

The last hour of school for the day was kunai throwing practice, something Isamu knew he needed work on. Fortunately, he wasn't called on first which allowed him to observe and analyze several students in front of him before it was his turn. He paid extra close attention to a girl with black buns and a pink oriental blouse who was hitting every single target regardless of the range or throwing style tested, many of which were hitting at or close to dead center.

While spectating isn't the same as observing, he was able to pick up on how to throw the kunai without making it spin in the air along with how to throw it with enough force to make them stick despite being blunted. Most of his throws were able to hit his target up to mid-range but only a couple hit dead center.

Once target practice finished, the class went inside. Homework and some minor announcements were given out and they were dismissed.

Child Emperor glanced down at his watch. 3:10pm. He had some time to head back to his place, wash up, and then practice utilizing his chakra before meeting up with Sakura again. He still had a mission to escape this world and if there were any leads for a solution, this elusive but yet oh so crucial energy source was the biggest and only one he had so far.

As he maneuvered his way through the crowds of students, making sure to avoid anyone from his class, something in the corner of his eye caught his attention. At the far side of the courtyard sat a blonde boy sitting alone on a swing.

'Isn't he the guy from yesterday outrunning those ninja hounds?' Isamu thought as he glanced over at the boy. Despite no longer being covered in what he can only assume was catnip, the boy's bright orange jacket was still memorable enough for Isamu to recognize him.

While he knew whatever the boy did was none of his business, he was always curious about any anomalies which occurred around him. While most of them lead to nothing more than wasted time, all it takes is one out of place phenomenon, one peculiar event, to unlock the floodgates of opportunity and discovery. The eureka moment which all inventors, scientists, and innovators seek for thousand upon thousand of hours of investigation. It was through going after every interesting piece of information which allowed him to consistently design and invent hundreds of gadgets, drones, and weaponry which are used to save countless millions of lives.

For a kid to try to pick a fight with a ninja clan known for their feral nature and escape without injury? That was as obvious of an anomaly as Child Emperor knew. Well, that and the monster issue back home… plus the minor Out of Context event of being thrown into another reality, but who's counting at this point?

Regardless, moments like these often come at times when people least expect them to, which is what makes them so rare to begin with. By taking advantage of each opportunity presented eventually one of them will yield such an abundance of fruit it would change the very nature of the person who put in the effort to seek after it.

'I should head out, but I do wonder what caused that whole situation.' He paused for a second before shrugging and heading over to the boy's direction. 'At worst, I'll waste a couple minutes. Why not see what happens?'

As Child Emperor got closer the boy's forlorn expression shifted into curiosity as his luminous blue eyes gazed upon the visitor. This allowed Isamu to get a better view of his face, particularly of the most unusual feature which were three whisker-like marks on both of the boy's cheeks which reminded him of foxes.

"Hey. I saw you running away from those Inuzukas yesterday. I got to say, I am impressed that you managed to get away uninjured." Isamu began the conversation. The blonde kid seemed to perk up in attention as a bright disarming grin expanded on his face.

"Hah, as if those guys would be able to take me down!" The kid puffed his chest out, his demeanor turning a complete 180 from just a few seconds ago. "I just did one of my best pranks yet and I almost got away with it too!"

Isamu raised an eyebrow at this. "Almost? That means they did catch up to you eventually."

The orange-clad boy shook his head. "Nope! I kept running long enough to get them off my trail. Just as I was about to get home, Iruka-sensei just so happen to be nearby and caught me." He crossed his arms and grumbled. "I told him what happened but he went on and on again about not seeking revenge, respecting noble clans, and yadda yadda yadda."

'Again? Sounds like this isn't a one-time occurrence. This guy doesn't have an ounce of respect for the rules.' Isamu sweatdropped. "What exactly did you do anyways? Tried to tar and feather their dogs?"

The blonde's eyes widened before his grin grew wider. "That… is an amazing idea! Those dogs would be walking around like giant ducks!"

Isamu's face whitened. He was not getting on a hitlist before his first week in the village even finished. "That was a joke. I won't be responsible if you get yourself killed."

"Hehehe. It will be the greatest joke of all time, buuuut that will be for when they least expect it."

'This guy is going to turn himself into an oversized chew toy. It doesn't help that he is as brightly colored as one.' Isamu watched the boy giggled as he undoubtedly was planning out how to perform that unintentional suggestion. He needs to drive the conversation back on track. "Well, what was this 'revenge' that you did to them anyways?"

The blonde snapped out of his thoughts and grinned. "One of their dogs left a massive pile of crap near my door again. As I was cleaning that out I saw some old guy nearby throwing out some bags of some green stuff which a bunch of cats were going crazy over. Right there, a spark of my super genius hits me. I took the bags and began rushing to their compound."

Child Emperor stared incredulously at the prankster as he continued to detail the run from his apartment to the Inuzuka clan compounds with a small horde of stray cats chasing after him.

"Once I finally reached one of their training fields, I began blasting the stuff all over the place. While I was doing that however, one of their dogs popped up from around a corner and tried to bite my butt off! While I was trying to escape, a couple more massive dogs as well as some ninjas started chasing after me and I got a bunch of the green stuff on me as I got away. It took a massive chase throughout the village to get them off my tail but of course, they couldn't keep up with my awesomeness."

As the kid finished up his tale, Isamu couldn't quite tell which one was more ludicrous: that the guy concocted a massive prank against a ninja clan on a whim, that said managed to sneak that far into the ninja clan compound without getting caught, or that he was able to get away with all of that and still be in one piece. How did the guy even know if an Inuzuka hound did the mess or if it was a random stray dog? Regardless, this guy clearly had experience pulling off shenanigans even if a portion of his story may be exaggerated. "I take it that this isn't your first time pulling a prank like that off."

"Ha! I have been making pranks for years but that one is definitely one of my most creative! They will be cleaning up that mess for days with a bunch of angry cats around. Serves them right for not cleaning up after themselves." The blonde crossed his arms. "If only I had more time, I could've covered much more ground. Bah, no matter, I will just figure out a prank so awesome, no one would ever forget my name!"

Isamu sweatdropped. "Aren't you in the academy? I am pretty sure self-preservation and being unseen are key parts of being a good ninja."

"So is being an absolute badass. Everyone knows about the best ninjas and soon, the whole world will know of the very best. Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage! Believe it!" Naruto grinned, extending a thumbs up.

'Hokage? Like the God of Shinobi or the Yellow Flash?' Child Emperor envisioned Naruto sitting in the Hokage's office wearing his orange jacket with an oversized Hokage hat on top of his head while he cackled loudly out the window of the office. He had a hard time imagining someone with as much disregard for proper procedure replacing Hiruzen and being the strongest ninja in the village. However, the guy did manage to get his attention enough to actually spend time talking to him and he did sneak into a major clan compound of ninjas known for their tracking and detection skills and escaped. That was as mark of a good ninja as any despite his unorthodox methods or reasons for doing so.

Plus, it would be slightly hypocritical for Child Emperor to suggest that Naruto couldn't at least make it far up in the shinobi ladder. Very few people believed he would have lasted a month as a professional hero and even less thought he could actually rise to be a top tier hero. He had to grind day after day juggling a mountain of schoolwork while responding to increasingly difficult and dangerous threats, often without help. Who would want a little kid on their team when there are much older and 'experienced' players also competing for the top ranks?

It was through sheer force of will and borderline reckless determination that Child Emperor powered through hundreds of failed inventions and projects to develop enough highly advanced weapons and gadgets to take down even the most destructive monsters. By the end of his first year he was able to take down threats the same groups of heroes who looked down on him wouldn't even dare facing. He became a fan favorite and soon enough he rose to the top of not only S-Class, but one of the top five.

It doesn't seem unreasonable that with enough guidance, perhaps Naruto could eventually become a halfway decent shinobi.

Isamu shrugged. "It is good to have ambition. Keep going at it, you never know how far you could go."

Naruto paused for a moment before smiling. It was not often someone aside from Iruka or the Hokage gave him any sort of encouragement even if only a vague one. "You bet! Hey, wanna get some ramen? I know of a really good place nearby."

Isamu realized at that point that he had been so focused on everything going on throughout the day that he forgot that he hadn't eaten lunch yet. Unlike in the schools back home, in the academy there was no free meal or lunches served at the cafeteria he could pay for. Everyone brought their own food from home and Isamu pretty much spent the time working on his chakra control. He figured that he might as well try out this ramen place. Hopefully it won't be too much money.

"Sure, why not? Lead the way."

xXxXx

It wasn't long once the two boys left the gates of the academy that Child Emperor noticed something very off-putting. When he was walking alone throughout the villagers he was essentially invisible to its inhabitants; just another child among dozens in the passing crowds. Nothing out of the ordinary for anyone to stop the flow of their day over.

This time, however, plentiful eyes focused on him and especially Naruto. Isamu was pretty sure that neither of them were high-profile heroes, at least not in this world. The stares were not of awe and admiration but of subtle yet persistent animosity. A suspicious glare from an aging shopkeeper sweeping outside his store. An inhospitable scowl from a waitress attending a table. Several surly sneers from a group of shinobi smoking near a wooden fence. A curious stare from a young girl before the mother rushed her inside upon seeing the two. Isamu saw all sorts of similar unwelcoming expressions as he walked through several blocks.

No one tried to stop and antagonize them and many kept their distance, but their covert hostility was on full display. Isamu glanced at Naruto as the boys continued making their way through the village. He couldn't tell if Naruto either didn't notice or paid much attention to the animosity, did noticed and didn't care, or simply hid it really well.

Child Emperor figured that Naruto's antics and pranks were probably numerous and frequent enough across the village to be known by the majority of the populace. Unless the guy had something seriously bad, however, the reaction to the boy felt extremely excessive. If Naruto had done something egregious such as actively harming someone or destroying a large piece of property, Isamu figured that the boy would either be killed, imprisoned, or at the very least not be allowed into the academy. The student manual Child Emperor received upon enrolling into the academy was small but it was made crystal clear that any actions which harmed civilians were grounds for immediate expulsion and a potential trip to a civilian prison.

So if it was not a particular prank gone wrong, then what? The only explanation which made sense to Isamu was that Naruto's parents were infamous criminals but that solution fell off the table since well, he hasn't even met the guy's parents yet, if he had any at all. He wasn't aware of much of Konoha's specific laws and nuances but he doubted that the village would allow some criminal's child into one of their most respected institutions.

Just as one mystery about the guy closed up, another one immediately opened. Isamu briefly wondered whether it was even a good idea to follow Naruto to begin with but the guy was offering to take him out to a place to eat. If he frequented the place then it indicated that the owners at the very least tolerated his presence.

As if on cue, the strong aroma of chicken broth swept up into his nose. "Ah yes, we're here! Come on!" Naruto chirped, rushing towards the location where the smell came from.

A small wooden building opened up towards the street where about half a dozen stools sat in front of a counter. Light smoke flowed out from the kitchen and through the large sheets which spelled out the name of the establishment: Ichiraku Ramen.

"Naruto, welcome back! You are here a bit earlier than usual!" A voice called out from the stall. A tan middle-aged man wearing a white chef's uniform stirred a large pot of broth. Alongside him, a girl with brown hair wearing a white bonnet was cleaning several stacks of dishes in the sink. Aside from one citizen sitting in the stool in the corner eating his meal, the stall was relatively empty. As Naruto and Isamu sat on two of the open stools, the owner of the restaurant spotted the brown-haired kid and smiled. "Ah, I see you finally brought a new friend! What is his name?"

Naruto paused for a moment before sheepishly scratching the back of his head. "Ah! His name is… urm…"

"Isamu Dotei." Child Emperor answered for him. "Nice to meet you."

"Yeah, his name is Isamu!" Naruto said immediately after, causing the man to chuckle.

"Well, nice to meet you too, Isamu. My name is Teuchi." The man pointed towards the girl in the stall. "And this right here is my lovely assistant and daughter, Ayame." The girl smiled and walked towards Naruto, pinching his cheeks.

"Aw, look at you, all finally growing up!"

Naruto gushed. "Oy oy, careful with the cheeks!" He waved her hands off. "And what do you mean, finally? I am already grown up, all I need is one more year and I'll be a ninja!"

"Sure you're grown, Naruto." Ayame giggled at the fuming blonde before looking over at Isamu. "What can I get for you?"

Child Emperor looked over the menu above the counter. For the limited amount of selections, the menu was surprisingly detailed with pictures for each menu item. Most of the ramen available had a wide variety of toppings and the price seemed fairly cheap. He wasn't exactly sure about how food prices are relative to income in this world but even a moderately priced meal here won't place too much of a dent in his budget.

After a moment, he decided to go with something basic to test the waters. "I will be taking beef ramen. Medium bowl, default ingredients."

Ayame nodded and glanced towards. "And let me guess, the usual, Naruto?"

"Of course!"

Teuchi nodded and began grabbing several pans. "Alright, one medium beef and two large miso, coming right up!"

Isamu raised an eyebrow at the fact that Naruto's "usual" consisted of two large bowls. From looking at the pictures in the menu, the medium bowl was more than enough to fill a normal person up. He didn't say anything about that however. He had been in the company of enough heroes who required a gargantuan amount of food to fuel their enhanced metabolism. Pig God could probably consume Teuchi's entire stock with ease.

"So what year are you in anyways? I haven't seen ya around before." Naruto asked.

"Fourth year. " Isamu said, causing Naruto's eyes to widen. " I am new here but I am supposed to graduate in three months. Needless to say, I got a lot of things to catch up on."

"What, no way! But I am like, totally older than you though!"

"I'm ten." Isamu deadpanned.

"Exactly! I am much older than you." Naruto thought for a moment and then a grin. "Hey, I could even be your senpai for the year."

"You are only older by one year, Naruto!" Ayame called out from the kitchen. "Besides, he is in the class above you which means he would be your senpai."

Naruto crossed his arms. "Still. A year is like a long time though. Have you ever tried counting down the days to a year? It takes forever, believe me, I tried!"

Child Emperor let out a small smile. That definitely sounded like something Naruto would do. Probably counting down the day until Christmas or his next birthday. Do they even celebrate Christmas in this world? It was currently spring so it would be a little less than a year out. He hoped that he would be able to figure out a way back home by then.

"So how is the academy for you anyways, Naruto? I heard that your year had a test to do today." Isamu asked.

Naruto grumbled. "It was a stupid test. I am pretty sure half of the things in it Iruka-sensei made up because we won't even use them as a ninja anyways. Why do we need to know about the different types of rocks? They are all rocks! Just smash them whenever you fight an earth user and then beat their face in!"

Isamu sweatdropped. He remembered seeing those geology notes in Sakura's notebook. There was a village in the Land of Earth where most of their shinobi are proficient in earth jutsu. They are also a frequent adversary of Konoha so it made a bit of sense why knowing the properties of different types of rocks, stones, and other geodes would be beneficial.

Just having a bit more information than your enemy could completely shift the outcome of a battle and thus, a war. It was why espionage and reconnaissance are such vital components of any organization.

"Well, why do you think the Hokage keeps a lot of books in his office?" Isamu asked, causing a puzzled expression on Naruto

"I don't know. I guess he likes collecting them or something. Makes his office look more 'professional-looking' and less boring." Naruto shrugged.

"That may be a reason, however there is a far more important explanation as to why."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "And what could that be?"

Isamu pointed a finger up. "Knowledge. The best way to defeat an enemy is to stay at least one step ahead. If you know something they don't, that makes the chances of your success just a bit higher."

"So, you are saying that the Hokage is strong because he knows a lot of stuff?"

"Why do you think the man called 'The God of Shinobi' also has the title of 'The Professor?'" Isamu inquired, causing Naruto's eyes to widen as the question seemed to stick. "Information is king, Naruto. Once you get enough of it and know how to wield it, you could become very powerful. Best way to do so is to learn something new every day and see where it takes you."

Naruto thought about what Isamu said. He guessed that is why Iruka-sensei kept hounding him to pay attention in class but most of the things taught were so pointless and boring. No one is going to think about what's the powerhouse of a cell when they are being ambushed by a bunch of bad guys wanting to cut their heads off. A powerful ninja would be using one of their many secret techniques to handle the situation without a sweat.

However, he did want to become Hokage and the best one at that. If he needed to learn something new every day, it would be something that interested him and helped him towards being the most badass ninja to ever walk the earth.

Naruto turned towards Isamu. "Yeah, I guess. But Iruka-sensei still could've taught us something like, an earth jutsu or something cool to use instead!"

'I don't think he would want to deal with students burying themselves alive.' Isamu thought. A couple seconds later Teuchi brought forth three steaming hot bowls from the kitchen, two large and one medium.

"Alright boys, lunch is served. Enjoy!" Naruto immediately dug into one of the two bowls of ramen in front of him, slurping up the noodles in delight with zero regard for the temperature.

Child Emperor sighed and picked up a pair of chopsticks. Even though he had seen the pictures in the menu he was still surprised by the generous amount of toppings packed into his bowl. Tender strips of beef laid on top a bed of seaweed, green onions, and mushrooms while slices of boiled eggs and narutomaki sat next to it. All of the toppings floated lightly on the still steaming hot broth while the rest of the bowl was filled with thick ramen noodles.

A ramen bowl at a restaurant back home wouldn't contain nearly as much toppings while probably costing about twice as much. The taste and quality of this ramen was one of the best he had in a while

The two boys ate in relative silence savoring the quality of their meal. Despite having two chow down large bowls, Naruto finished eating first.

"Whew! That was gooood!" Naruto exclaimed, patting his bloated belly. "Hey Isamu, you wanna go train after this? There is field near my place that isn't used too much."

Child Emperor glanced at his watch. There was barely enough time to head back home and clean up before meeting up with Sakura. He did however, see some use in having someone to train with while he is going through the academy. Even if Naruto didn't pose as much of a challenge to him, if the prankster's stamina and metabolism suggested anything it was that he would be able to give the hero at least a decent workout.

"I got somewhere to go after this, but meet me after class tomorrow. We could train then."

Naruto perked up. "Alright, you bet!" He slapped down some ryo on the counter before heading off. "Thanks for the meal. See you later old man!"

"Damn it Naruto, I am not old yet! I am forty-three!" Teuchi hollered at the boy before sighing. After a few moments he turned towards Isamu. "It's been a long time since I have seen him this excited. While he may be a handful at times, he is a good kid."

Child Emperor nodded as he finished the last of his meal. Throughout his time at the ramen stall he almost forgot about that unwelcoming walk to the place. The way Teuchi and his daughter treated the two was a stark juxtaposition from that venture and he needed to figure out why.

"That, I have no doubt about. However, I would like to ask you a question." Isamu began, getting the full attention of the ramen chef. "While Naruto and I were walking through the village, I noticed that several villagers appeared to be rather antagonistic about his presence. Was there anything he or any of his relatives did to warrant such reactions?

Teuchi paused for a moment before shaking his head and sighing. "Naruto is an orphan, no one knows who any of his parents are. While I am unable to say why some of the villagers may feel the way they do to him, I will say it has nothing to do with anything Naruto himself has done."

Isamu frowned. Not only was the animosity not associated with any of Naruto's actions but it also couldn't be attributed to his background since his was unknown. Despite these two variables, it seems that the chef might have a clue as to why but seems a bit unwilling to say. "Don't know or can't say?"

"Can't say."

Child Emperor internally groaned. Well that confirms it, yet another massive village wide secret. He doesn't know why he is even a bit surprised. It was a ninja village and thus by nature nearly everything ought to be on a need to know basis. Trying to solve each and every mystery would only put him behind on the biggest and most dire one he needed to solve. He pulled out some ryo from his wallet. "Figures, but I guess it can't be helped. Thank you for the meal."

Teuchi shook his head at the payment. "Keep the money; consider this meal on the house. You are welcome to come back whenever you get the chance too."

That was convenient. Isamu bid Teuchi and Ayame farewell as he headed off to his place. It wouldn't do good to enter the library smelling like a soup kitchen.

Author's Note: Alright, another chapter down, hope you all enjoyed!

Originally this chapter was going to include several more scenes but by that point it would be well over 12k words. I like to keep my chapters roughly 6k to 10k words in length: long enough to draw readers into the world without interruption and short enough so that they can more easily bookmark for future reading. Thus I had to cut this in half. Plus it allows for an earlier update. The next chapter should be out in a couple weeks as I need to finish writing some more scenes and then polish them up.

Now would be as good of a time any the address some reviews!

GODABOVEALL - There will be a point in the story where we look into what is happening in the OPM world. There might even be other heroes who got transported to throughout the shinobi nations. Who are they, when they will be revealed, and where they wound up will be revealed once we get there. The first one isn't too far away from this point in the story but that is as much as I am going to say. Don't want to be a spoiler!

Alex X-12C - Thanks for the compliments! As far as I know, this is the only story on which is Child Emperor centric which seems like an untapped potential. He is almost as much shonen (or in this case isekai) potential as Genos and Garou. While the path to get to being a powerful shinobi, if Child Emperor even chooses to be one, will be long and insanely difficult, if he survives long enough he will definitely create a variety of techniques and inventions which will completely shift the playing field and catch the interest of major players. Whether what he creates and the allies he make will be enough to take out the massive threats to come, who knows?

Awesomeguy246 - Glad you lied the story! Eventually Child Emperor will repair and upgrade the recorder lightsaber or perhaps even replace it with something better. For now, it is inoperable along with most of his equipment which of course, significantly nerfs him until he can get everything back together. It would be quite boring with a challenge after all!

Bluzerker - Whew, I am glad that you think I got the personality done well. It always peeved me when writers make a character's personality so OOC without at least tagging it first. The contrast in different ethics from the Naruto and OPM world as well as what it means to be a hero and a good person will be one of the big themes as the story progress. There will be a lot of grey areas and situations in which there will be no perfect or ideal solution. If Isamu chooses to stay in Konoha, there may be some interesting developments in regards to how the higher-up view him. For now, he is just an intriguing footnote with some potential.

Guest - Originally I was planning on having Child Emperor not have any chakra. However, there are several things in the manga and webcomic which completely eradicated that idea. In the manga, one of the heroes was shown using the substitution technique plus there are some highly capable ninjas in the webcomic. This indicates that there is some form of chakra and in this story, it will be roughly the same as the Naruto's world chakra. Now, how that chakra came to that world and why it didn't become mainstream as compared to the Shinobi Nations will be a very important plot point later down the road, but we will get there when we get there.

Anon - It is definitely a grind but I don't plan to give up anytime soon. There may be times where the updates may slow to just once a month or two, I have a lot planned for this story and I myself would hate if it is cut short!

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Anyways, thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows. Until next time!