Taiichi Matsushita woke up feeling… ordinary.
Not "Genin who can solo Jonin" ordinary.
Not "I have 23 Constitution and can punch through steel" ordinary.
Just… eight-year-old orphan ordinary.
He sat up, scratched his head, and opened the Panel out of habit.
> [SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT]
> Due to "Excessive Bullshit Overpowered Protagonist Syndrome," we are taking a 24-hour maintenance break.
> All skills, attributes, Nature Transformations, and cheat points are OFFLINE.
> You are now a completely normal Genin.
> Good luck, champ. Don't die.
> —Love, The Panel (currently sipping piña coladas on a beach in the Land of Tea)
Taiichi stared at the blue box for ten full seconds.
Then he screamed.
"WHAT THE HELL?! PANEL! PANEL YOU SON OF A—"
Jiji, who had been sleeping on the windowsill like a feathered bowling ball, woke up with a startled squawk and fell off. "Jiji! Taiichi is possessed! Jiji calls exorcist!"
Taiichi ignored the bird. He jumped out of bed, formed the Ram seal, and tried the simplest thing he could think of.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A sad little spark the size of a match head popped out of his mouth and died immediately.
Taiichi looked at the spark like it had personally betrayed him.
"...That's it? That's all I get? I used to make golden flames that could melt rocks!"
He tried again. This time he got a tiny orange puff that floated away like a depressed dandelion seed.
Jiji waddled over, pecked the puff, and immediately spat it out. "Jiji! Tastes like failure and broken dreams!"
Taiichi slumped against the wall. "I'm… normal. I'm actually normal. This is what normal feels like? This sucks."
> [Quest: Survive 24 Hours as a Normal Kid]
> Reward: Panel returns (probably)
> Penalty: Permanent normalcy (lol good luck)
---
Taiichi decided to test his limits. He went to his usual riverside spot.
He tried Advanced Taijutsu.
He lasted four kicks before his legs wobbled and he face-planted into the dirt.
He tried Chakra Enhanced Strength.
He punched a tree. The tree won. His knuckles bled.
He tried Body Flicker.
He tripped over his own feet and rolled down the riverbank like a tumbleweed.
A passing civilian auntie saw him and clapped. "Oh what a cute little ninja practicing! Keep going, dear!"
Taiichi wanted to die.
He sat on the rock, covered in mud and leaves, and whispered, "Panel… I take back every bad thing I ever said about you. Please come back. I'll add points to your ego. I'll give you five stars. I'll name my firstborn after you."
The Panel stayed silent. It was probably laughing somewhere.
Jiji landed on his head. "Jiji thinks Taiichi looks better this way. More… relatable. Like a normal weakling."
"Shut up, bird."
---
Yohei and Saori were waiting at Training Ground 3, excited.
"Taiichi! Let's do that new combo we planned! You do the giant Blaze Release dragon, I'll copy it with Sharingan, Saori will lightning-net the leftovers!"
Taiichi arrived looking like he had lost a fight with a washing machine.
Yohei blinked. "You okay? You look… shorter?"
"I'm the same height."
"You feel shorter."
Saori tilted her head. "Your chakra feels… normal?"
Taiichi took a deep breath. "Okay. Listen. The Panel took a vacation. All my cheats are gone. I'm running on factory settings right now. Please be gentle."
Silence.
Then Yohei burst out laughing so hard he fell over. "Oh man! This is the best day ever! The great Taiichi Matsushita is now just Taiichi!"
Saori tried to be nice. She really did. But her shoulders were shaking. "S-so… no more one-punching Jonin?"
"No."
"No more turning your arm into fire?"
"No."
"No more healing people with a touch while making medicine taste like death?"
"...I can still make medicine taste like death. That's skill, not cheat."
Yohei wiped tears. "Alright, normal Taiichi. Let's spar! I'll go easy on you!"
He did not go easy.
Three minutes later Taiichi was on the ground, breathing like a broken bellows, while Yohei stood over him doing victory poses.
"Behold! The Uchiha who defeated the former cheat god!"
Saori helped Taiichi up, trying not to laugh. "You're doing great… for a normal person."
"I hate all of you."
---
They decided to "help" Taiichi train the normal way.
Which meant Yohei and Saori took turns throwing kunai at him while he tried to dodge like a regular Genin.
He got hit. A lot.
At one point a kunai grazed his sleeve and he dramatically fell over like he'd been shot.
"Tell Nono-nee… I died… a normal death…"
Yohei poked him with a stick. "He's fine. Just dramatic."
Then Jiji showed up.
The fat bird had clearly heard the news. He landed on Taiichi's chest and strutted like a king.
"Jiji! Now stronger than Taiichi! Jiji demands tribute!"
He pecked Taiichi's forehead protector.
Taiichi tried to grab him. Normal speed meant Jiji simply hopped away, flapping lazily.
"Come back here you glorified pigeon!"
Jiji flew in a slow, mocking circle above him. "Jiji is now the strongest in the team! Bow to Jiji!"
Yohei was recording this with a memory crystal he "borrowed" from the Uchiha archives. "This is going in the clan hall. Title: 'The Day the Cheat God Got Owned by a Bird.'"
Saori was laughing so hard she had to sit down.
---
Taiichi tried to do something useful. He went to the hospital to help with basic medical duties, thinking "I still know the theory."
Director Fujita saw him and smiled. "Taiichi! Perfect timing. We have a Chunin with a broken leg. Can you handle the bone-setting?"
Taiichi nodded confidently.
Ten minutes later the Chunin was screaming.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! WHERE'S THE GREEN LIGHT?! WHY DOES IT HURT MORE THAN WHEN I BROKE IT?!"
Taiichi was sweating. "I… forgot how to do Mystical Palm without the skill boosting my control…"
Fujita walked in, took one look, and gently removed Taiichi from the room.
"Sweetie, go sit in the corner and drink some water. You look like you're having an existential crisis."
"I am."
---
Word spread fast.
By afternoon, a Root agent was following Taiichi "just to observe."
Taiichi noticed and decided to have fun.
He walked up to the agent (who was hiding poorly behind a tree) and said loudly, "Hey, tell Danzo I'm powerless today. Come assassinate me. I dare you."
The Root agent froze.
Taiichi continued, "I'm serious. No cheats. Normal kid. Come at me. I'll even close my eyes."
The agent slowly backed away like Taiichi had grown a second head.
Later that evening, Danzo received a report:
"Subject claims powers are gone. Offered free assassination. Behavior suggests possible trap or mental breakdown. Recommendation: Do not engage. He smiled too much."
Danzo stared at the paper for a long time, then muttered, "That brat is scarier when he's normal…"
---
As the sun set, Team 8 sat on the Hokage Monument (illegally, but who was going to stop them today?).
Taiichi was bruised, tired, and covered in dirt.
Yohei passed him a dango. "You know… you're still pretty cool even without the cheats."
Saori nodded. "Yeah. You didn't give up once. You kept trying. That's… actually more impressive."
Taiichi chewed the dango. "Thanks. But I still miss being able to turn my arm into fire."
Yohei grinned. "Tomorrow when the Panel comes back, you can burn me as revenge."
"Deal."
Jiji landed between them, now wearing a tiny Konoha headband he had stolen from somewhere.
"Jiji declares today a national holiday: 'Taiichi Is Normal Day'!"
Taiichi flicked the bird's forehead. Jiji squawked indignantly but didn't fly away.
For the first time all day, Taiichi laughed without any bitterness.
> [Quest Progress: 98% relaxed]
> [Hidden Achievement Unlocked: "Normal Is Hard"]
> [The Panel is proud of you. Sort of.]
---
Midnight. The Return.
Taiichi was half-asleep when the Panel finally pinged back online.
> [Maintenance Complete! Welcome back, Overpowered Protagonist!]
> [All cheats restored. As apology for today, you get +3 bonus Attribute Points and one free Skill Point.]
> [Also, Jiji gained 0.4 kg during your absence. You're welcome.]
Taiichi sat up, cracked his knuckles, and smiled a very dangerous smile.
"Tomorrow… I'm going to make the most over-the-top Blaze Release barbecue Konoha has ever seen."
From the windowsill came a terrified squawk.
"Jiji! Suddenly remembers urgent business in the Land of Tea! Jiji flies away now!"
Too late.
Taiichi's hand was already glowing gold.
"Get back here, you glorified snack thief. It's revenge time."
The night filled with the sound of a very fat bird screaming for mercy while a very happy (and very normal yesterday) Taiichi chased him across the rooftops with golden flames.
Somewhere in the village, Yohei woke up, activated his Sharingan, and grinned.
"Tomorrow is gonna be awesome."
---
Panel's Post-Credit Note:
> [Taiichi learned an important lesson today: Being normal is suffering.]
> [Jiji learned: Never mock the cheat god when he's temporarily mortal.]
> [Danzo learned: Some threats are too terrifying to act on.]
> [The author learned: Writing Taiichi without powers is way too fun.]
See you next time when Taiichi returns to regularly scheduled overpowered chaos!