The Third Shinobi World War.

'Fortunately, I am still too young to be sent to the front. I can't say the same for Jun, it was inevitable, but I still had a small hope that he wouldn't have to go.

I ended up growing attached to my two new parents. I don't know if it's because I have a more mature perspective, but I find their way of treating me very tender, a feeling I never want to let go of. It's nothing like my previous parents who might not even be aware of my death!'

Indeed, Hugo's parents were not what one would describe as parental figures. They were separated, and while his mother was too busy going out all day and coming home late at night with her 'friends' to take care of her son, his father was a poor drunkard too occupied with his psychological problems to take care of his son.

That was also one of the main reasons why Hugo ended up getting involved in street fights. Perhaps it was to attract his parents' attention? Well, it didn't seem to work because no one ever came to pick him up from the police station. It was often his uncle who came to get him.

Hugo also found it despicable that his parents started paying attention to him once he became a famous and successful fighter. After that, he decided to completely cut ties with them.

Ronin had developed a strong attachment to Jun and Saki, who took care of him every day and got along so well together.

He could only hope that Jun wouldn't die during the war and that he would come back safe and sound. As for Saki, since she wasn't a ninja, he didn't have to worry, although he felt a pang in his heart seeing her cry when her husband left for the front, despite expecting this situation.

Ronin had finally decided to put his thoughts aside and focus more on his training. Now that he had much better control of his body, he could finally practice the martial arts and combat sports he had learned in his previous life.

But before that, he decided to strengthen his physique. He didn't really have equipment like in his previous world, but he could still train with his body weight, even though he would quickly reach the limit of this method.

He planned to kill two birds with one stone by focusing on his physical training because he could, on one hand, increase one of the two components of chakra (physical energy) and develop an athletic body while relearning combat.

Being a former coach, he didn't have much trouble finding a suitable training program.

In the morning, he practiced meditation for a few hours to increase his chakra and clear his mind. In the afternoon, he followed his physical exercise program, and in the evening, he trained to better control his chakra.

He used the excuse of going to the park to play with friends so that his mother wouldn't worry or realize that her three-year-old son was following an exercise program.

Even though he was absorbed in his training, Ronin provided emotional support to Saki, well, as much as he could. Considering the fact that he was still a three-year-old child, he behaved as such and sometimes made Saki laugh and smile, as she had been very depressed since her husband left to fight.

During his morning meditations, Ronin thought about his future and tried to organize his memories regarding his favorite anime. He took the precaution of not writing down what he knew about the future out of fear that one of his parents would discover it, especially with his ninja father in the house.

So during his morning meditation, he organized his thoughts, thinking about what he remembered and what he planned to do in the near and distant future.

'From what I remember, the Third Ninja War is relatively short. It's not well indicated in the anime, so I need another reference point…

Ah! Kakashi. I'm sure he was nine years old when he was promoted to Jonin. It was during that time that the war started. Then... He joined ANBU at around 12 years old, and the war ended shortly after that event... So the Third War lasts between two and three years.

I'll probably join the academy when I'm five years old, when the war is over or about to end. Considering the losses Iwa will suffer if everything goes as in the anime, they will be short of manpower.

I think I'll keep a low profile until this manpower issue is resolved. At least then I won't have to worry about being drafted too early or by force,' Ronin thought during his meditation session.

Interestingly, no passerby questioned Ronin's afternoon training sessions. They saw him as a simple child playing with his imagination or a child with some mental issues, but his exercises were advanced and different from what was practiced in this world, which prevented him from being questioned about what he was doing.

For chakra control, he mainly trained at night. For two or three hours each night, he practiced the leaf concentration exercise with leaves he had picked up at the park.

His routine continued undisturbed for several years. The village had not experienced any real attacks, and the battlefield was far from Iwa.

Now at the age of five, Ronin had changed a lot. He had a strong physique for a five-year-old child, although he remained fairly thin due to his constant growth. His muscles were well defined, and his hair had grown long and was tied in a small ponytail.

As for his chakra level, it had started to increase faster when he began his physical training. He now had a chakra level comparable to children his age from ninja clans who had been raised to become ninja since their early childhood.

He was very proud of this achievement because bridging such a significant genetic gap had required a lot of training and patience.

Regarding Saki, Ronin made sure to spend time with her to make her happy and distract her mind. She often thought of Jun and cried a lot at night, worried about him.

To fill the financial gap left by Jun's departure for the war, Saki had opened a small tapestry shop. Although Jun sent money from time to time, it was not enough to feed Ronin, who was growing and needed good nutrition for their physical training.

Saki's tapestry shop had some success! She sold tapestries that she made herself.

So Ronin could fully focus on his training.

During his training, he was also saddened by not being able to practice jutsus. These techniques were secret, and he was neither old enough nor entitled to learn them. He was not even in the academy yet.

He could not develop his own techniques either because he did not know much about chakra itself, except for the two elements it consists of and how to train it.

His chakra control had significantly increased! He could keep a leaf on his forehead for thirty minutes. It was quite remarkable considering he had no guidance or sensei to guide him.

During the war, many ninjas returned to the village either gravely injured or dead. Every morning, Saki went to the village entrance, hoping not to see Jun returning. Every morning, she prayed for her husband to still be alive.

Then the war came to an end. A short but devastating war that had ravaged many territories and cost the lives of numerous ninjas.

One morning, as Saki and a few others waited, as they did every day, for the return of the ninjas who had gone to the front, the door opened.

This time, it was not the dead or severely wounded ninjas who returned, but the warfighters themselves. The war was finally over.

One thing Saki immediately noticed was the look in the ninjas' eyes. They displayed a gaze as empty as the Thousand-Yard Stare. These individuals had witnessed the hell of war and had come back from it.

A man followed the hundreds of ninjas entering the village. He had the same look as the others and longed to reunite with his family. The tall man, standing at 1.85 meters, with light brown hair and an oceanic gaze, walked desperately without his right arm.

"Jun!" exclaimed Saki, not even noticing the absence of his right arm, before rushing towards Jun, tears in her eyes, wearing a smile so radiant it could melt the sun.

Without a word, Jun extended his arm and embraced his wife, whom he hadn't seen for two years.