Chapter 5: Chapter 4. Stage Debut.
As the obsidian sky started to set upon Konoha, there was someone lurking in it's shadows. Hidden from everyone's senses, this person started walking towards the woods of the village.
He moved freely and at a moderate pace, as if on a casual stroll, without being perceived. The cover of the night was an element that he didn't plan for. Rather, it was the time that surrounded the first incident of a certain problematic kid.
After having failed the graduation test the previous day, Naruto Uzumaki was on a poor mental state. Seeing his opportunity, Mizuki approached him and, after conversing with him a little bit, made the suggestion that Naruto should steal the Scroll of Seals. He convinced him with the argument that, if he learned one of the jutsu there, he would be able to graduate from the academy. That was a clear lie, one that Naruto wasn't able to see through.
Succeeding on stealing the Scroll of Seals sometime in the evening, it wasn't till half a day later that the Konoha ninjas chased after him. The first person to found Naruto was none other than Iruka. But with the addition of Sora, that would change.
Closing in on the spot Naruto was practicing at, a smile formed under the mask that Sora wore, 'The first act of my play starts here. Planting a seed of trust on this kid will be the first scene.' Taking a deep breath, he was ready to start performing.
The camouflage he had on was removed, and at that moment that happened, he was noticed immediately.
Naruto's eyes opened in surprise at the sudden appearance of someone in front of him, and, as befitting of him, he loudly asked, "Who are you?"
A figure clad in a robe that was as dark as the night itself, with a full-face white mask adorning their face. The mask had a golden half note printed alongside the right eye hole of it. Above the mask, were visible strands of light red hair.
Naruto also noticed they were around the same height. As he tried to rack his brain to identify someone with that hair color, the person answered him.
"Who am I? Well, I suppose you may call me Kenja, Kenja Shin." Folding his arms, the figure that called himself Kenja stood there, as if awaiting a response.
Trying to hide the Scroll of Seals behind him, Naruto said, "Mhm, okay. And what are you doing here Kenja-san?"
Narrowing his eyes behind the mask, Kenja responded to Naruto with his deep voice, "That's easy—I'm here for you, Naruto."
Confused by that answer, Naruto pointed to himself, "For me? What do you want from me?"
"I came here to tell you something. That I believe that one day you will become the Hokage. Mastering that jutsu you are trying will be the first step towards that."
Hearing such words coming from the masked person's mouth, Naruto stopped for a second, not believing that what he just heard was real.
All his life he has been ridiculed, bullied, and humiliated by the people of the village. Even if he acts cheerful on the outside, the loneliness in his heart is still there. But now, he has received words of encouragement from someone, which took him by surprise.
Snapping out of it, Naruto remained doubtful about those words, so he questioned Kenja, "Hey, do you really believe what you just said? If it is a prank then you better know that I don't care, I will become the greatest Hokage ever. Believe it!"
Under the mask, Kenja face had a big smirk plastered in his face, but that wasn't visible to Naruto. With a voice filled with conviction, he responded, "Of course I believe it. This is a not a prank. It is my confidence in you, Uzumaki Naruto. You better believe it."
Taking this in, Naruto couldn't help but get a little emotional, but containing his emotions he asserted, "That's right, I will do it! When I become Hokage everyone will acknowledge me, just like you did."
With that belief, Sora was able to assess the outcome of his act, 'That's Uzumaki Naruto for you. Well, this should be enough for now. Time to finish this performance.'
"Having said what I wanted to say, it's time for me to go. I wouldn't want to disturb your training more than I already did. Good night, Naruto. I hope the next time we meet you can show me how you perform this jutsu. And also, don't tell anyone you saw me, I'm only letting you meet me."
As soon as he finished saying that, he vanished from Naruto's field of vision, leaving just as silently as he appeared.
Seeing this, Naruto was startled. He tried looking around for sings of Kenja, but wasn't able to find any.
Lost in the though of what just happened, Naruto stood still for a moment, 'That was strange, I wonder how did he do that? Well, besides that, he did say he believes in me. Heh I knew some day people will acknowledge me. Yosh, let's continue practicing this jutsu, I can feel I'm close to succeeding.'
Hidden from Naruto senses, Sora was satisfied with this first interaction with the protagonist.
With his performance done, he started walking back home.
Sora knew that his performance wasn't the greatest acting display ever, but he also knew that he was dealing with someone whom he could afford to trick in such a sloppy way.
Obviously, even if it is Uzumaki Naruto, falling for such an act isn't guaranteed. With that in mind, Sora used Telos Karma to augment the possibility of Naruto buying whatever bullshit he told him. He also used it to make sure that the kid wouldn't speak about him to anyone.
Using Telos Karma in such a way costed him around 90% of his chakra. That amount is not too small, considering that in the month of training he was able to grow his chakra reserves to the level of a genin on the stronger side of the scale.
Making it so that the probability of Naruto talking about him was close to zero costed him more than the other application. He attributed this to Naruto's shonen protagonist mentality, that makes him trust people more easily if he is shown goodwill. Even if the person showing him goodwill was extremely suspicious.
'Thankfully this time it worked out. I would have to practice a little bit more for my next play.'
After finishing his training early that day, he wrote the lines that he would use in his short chat with the main character. He rehearsed them a few times, till he had a satisfactory delivery for his current level.
With the idea of having his real identity hidden from the world, he made a disguise that was good enough for the occasion.
Going with simplicity, he decided for the black coat, adding to the sense of mystery with the night. The mask was inspired by Arthur Leywin's note mask, changing the note to the other eye, and with a different color.
He also though about the issue of his hair. The one he has is very flashy, and is a easily recognizable feature of his. Thinking about which colour to use he ended up settling for red. His thought process was that people would mistake him for an Uzumaki, which could be used for his advantage in the future.
While he was reminiscing these events, he came to a stop. After a second, he started laughing loudly, making it so that his voice wouldn't be heard by other people. Without resisting the impulse to laugh, he kept on going, till the point that he started rolling around on the floor while holding his stomach.
Finally, when he stopped, he stood up and removed the mask from his face. Creating a small handkerchief, he used to wipe the tears that formed in his eyes from his fit of laughter.
"I guess this is what it feels to be alive, huh? The world sure is wonderful". Said Sora, looking at the moon for a moment, and then getting back to returning home.
When he gazed at the moon the memory of Infinite Tsukuyomi, and the Project Tsuki no Me flashed on his mind. A project based on the deception that the ones working on it have created. Be it on themselves, or on others.
From Obito, to Madara, to Black Zetsu, to him. Of the chess players on this board there will only remain one at the end. 'I have it all to win this chess game, therefore I won't lose against any of them'. Sora concluded confidently.
Leaving the forest behind, he continued walking through the streets of the village.
'The village will be a fun playground as well, and so will the entire shinobi world. Though I must not get overconfident. I've already seen what happens when someone underestimates their opponents, and I'm not down for that.'
At last, he reached his home. Having dismissed his disguise, he went to take a quick bath before eating.
Getting into the hot bath, he allowed himself to relax for some time.
Leaving this day behind, it has been a month since Sora arrived at this world. The first month of many to come.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone