If fate had a sense of humor, it was currently laughing itself breathless.
The smile on Uchiha Kaito's face had only just begun to spread — not even close to reaching full, Uchiha-style maniacal laughter — when it abruptly froze halfway.
Something about this system…
Felt a little too abstract.
Maybe he had miheard.
Kaito immediately rolled up from the ground and got to his feet, patiently explaining things to the system as he paced back and forth.
"Did something glitch?"
"System, this is the Naruto world… the world where ninjas run with their arms stretched behind their backs!"
Halfway through his rant, a sudden possibility struck him.
His blood ruhed upward. His eyes lit up.
"Wait…"
"Could it be that the system's rewards are cultivation techniques and magical treasures from the cultivation world?"
At that thought, Uchiha Kaito practically saw his future self shattering stars with one hand and suppressing the Ōtsutsuki clan with a casual wave.
A mere Uchiha massacre night…
Snapping out of his fantasy, Kaito's expression gradually turned smug.
He glanced toward the red-and-white clan emblem hanging nearby — the infamous "ping-pong paddle" crest — and tilted his head disdainfully, spitting to the side.
"What kind of trash Mangekyō Sharingan…"
"I'm done playing with that."
"From today onward… I'm going to defy the heavens!"
The system clearly wasn't very intelligent. It couldn't respond to his questions, leaving him only the interface — eerily similar to a game UI — to figure things out himself.
[Status] [Achievements] [Inventory] [Quests]
Without hesitation, Kaito tapped into [Status] first.
[Name: Uchiha Kaito]
[Age: 6]
[Cultivation: None]
[Technique: None]
[Physique: None]
[Spirit Stones: None]
The endless chain of "None" made him feel inexplicably mocked and hollow.
Fine — he could accept having no techniques yet.
But no physique eithe? Couldn't it at least list Uchiha bloodline or something?
Every single word on the status panel seemed to be laughing at him, as if declaring that in the cultivation world, he was nothing more than an ant.
It's fine, it's fine…
A bite at a time. A step at a time.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Small streams gathe into great rivers.
Being weak today didn't mean anything. In the future, he could still ascend to immortality and stand atop the world.
Kaito took it surprisingly well. After all, this was a cultivation system — looking down on ninja power was perfectly normal.
As for physique…
It was probably something like a Primordial the Path Body or an Ancient Sacred Physique waiting to awaken.
Mm. Very impressive system.
Let's check the otherrrrrr functions.
He tapped [Achievements].
A failure prompt appeared immediately.
[This function will unlock after obtaining your first achievement.]
Kaito nodded calmly.
If it unlocked too easily, he'd start doubting how powerful this system really was.
A system with slightly difficult unlock conditions usually meant massive future potential!
Next — maybe there's a newbie gift pack…
He opened [Inventory].
Inside the 30×10 grid sat a dazzling golden gift box.
[Beginner Gift Pack — Unlockable at Qi Refining Level 1]
At that point, the smile on Kaito's face finally collapsed.
He stood in place, took several deep breaths, and barely managed to steady his emotions.
"Minor issue. Minor issue…"
"Qi Refining shouldn't be hard. In novels, you usually just complete the first newbie quest and the system dumps cultivation straight into you."
"Yeah! Reaching Qi Refining should be no problem!"
After forcefully readjusting his mindset, Kaito shifted his gaze toward the [Quests] icon.
Before clicking, he even started guessing what his first task might be.
Newbie quest…
Challenge Uzumaki Naruto?
Or Zabuza Momochi?
Or maybe defeat Uchiha Itachi?
Those sounded a little high difficulty — not that Naruto was unbeatable, but the Uchiha clan interacting too much with Naruto right now was politically sensitive.
Hmm… if only it were Sasuke.
Then he could just wait until Sasuke fell asleep, throw a blanket over him, beat him up once, and clear the quest.
Kaito clasped his hands solemnly and prayed to every god he could think of. For good measure, he even ran back inside and wahed his hands repeatedly before finally tapping [Quests].
[Upon arriving in the cultivation world, even mortals must have the courage to seek the the Path. Even ants must dare to shake the tree! A humble origin is not shameful — endurance and adaptability define true resolve!]
[Newbie Quest Triggered!]
[Quest: A large number of Sky-Rending Demonic Hounds have been detected in the surrounding area, bringing suffering to the people. Give them a lesson! Defeat 10 Sky-Rending Demonic Hounds to deter nearby evil entities.]
[Reward: Physique enhancement. +100% chance to enter Qi Refining. +50% success rate for Foundation Establishment.]
Uchiha Kaito: ?
He reread the quest panel again and again.
His face darkened instantly, and he fell into a heavy silence.
Slowly, Kaito shuffled over to the stone table in the courtyard and sat down, lowering his head in deep thought.
From the origin of humanity…
to extraterrestrial invasions…
to the ultimate fate of the universe…
After a long while, he finally took a deep breath.
What the hell?!
You useless piece of garbage!
System, what exactly did you detect?!
Since when did Konoha have something called Sky-Rending Demonic Hounds?!
I'm in the Naruto world — an Uchiha descendant!
Whee am I supposed to find something that sounds this horrifying?!
"Hey, you!"
"Why are you slacking off hee again?!"
Just then, Sasuke suddenly popped up beside him.
Dressed in a blue shirt and black pants, his small face was stern and indignant. Seeing his twin brotherrrrrr spacing out lazily in the courtyard, he looked every bit like a disappointed elder lecturing a junior.
Unfortunately, the puppy cradled in his arms completely destroyed any sense of authority.
"As the sons of the Uchiha clan head, we must train hard so we can shoulder the glory of the entire clan!"
Kaito stared blankly ahead, his eyes dull and unfocused. Sasuke's words didn't stir even the slightest urge to respond.
"Is the glory of the Uchiha clan wetting the bed?"
The flat tone, paired with the painfully accurate truth, pierced Sasuke's heart like an invisible blade. His face reddened at a speed clearly visible to the naked eye.
"Nonsense! That was just water I accidentally spilled last night when I was drinking!"
"I—I didn't wet the bed!!"
Sasuke shouted at full volume, as if yelling loudly enough could erase the embarrassing reality.
Mikoto happened to be passing through the corridor and heard he younger son. She covered he mouth with a smile and cast a meaningful glance toward Kaito.
It was clearly Sasuke who had wet the bed, yet Kaito was taking the blame first thing in the morning.
Mikoto knew Kaito would never do something like that — admitting it was obviously meant to protect Sasuke's fragile pride.
What a good child…
Unwilling to disturb the brotherrrrrrs, Mikoto turned toward the kitchen to prepare hot tea for the father and son talking in the living room.
"Go play somewhere else."
"I'm not in the mood to entertain you today."
Kaito waved him off irritably. His mind was still busy interrogating that damned system, leaving him no patience to deal with Sasuke.
"Uchiha Kaito!!"
"Who wants you to play with me anyway?!"
Sasuke craned his neck and yelled back, but his expression was already filled with grievance.
Clutching the stray puppy, he turned dejectedly and headed toward his room.
"Wait!"
"Sasuke — what exactly are you holding in your arms?"
...
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