The God of Ninjas System!

A crushing victory!

A complete, utter crushing victory!

The students who had been gasping over Kiba's Fang Over Fang moments ago were now all standing there with their mouths agape.

Uchiha Yao had barely moved from his spot, yet he'd countered the Inuzuka Clan's secret technique?

"He... he won?"

"Yo-kun is so strong!"

"Is... is he really a Genin like us?"

Ino, Sakura, and the other girls practically had stars in their eyes. All their earlier worries had turned to admiration.

Yo... was just too cool! He was so cool he'd stolen their hearts!

If only he could be their boyfriend, it'd be worth dying for!

Naruto was even more excited. He jumped up, waving his arms and shouting.

Sasuke pressed his lips together. He'd seen more than the others.

Yao's movements had looked simple, but they'd shown absolute control over timing, angles, and force.

This guy... his taijutsu has reached this level? He's improving way too fast!

Sasuke felt a little discouraged.

One year ago,

he could beat this older brother of his with ease.

But ever since a year ago, Yao had acted like he'd gotten some kind of cheat.

The Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques, taijutsu, shuriken, kunai throwing... He mastered every one of them at an absurd speed.

Sasuke was quickly overtaken, and then left far behind.

Over the course of that year, Sasuke had fought him many times and been crushed again and again.

He'd fought and fought until he was numb to it. Now, he only hoped Yao wouldn't leave him too far behind.

Teacher Iruka finally came to his senses and hurriedly announced, "The winner... Uchiha Yao!"

Iruka looked at Yao with admiration, too.

That effortless display was already far beyond the average level of a Ninja Academy student.

Or rather... beyond the level of an ordinary Genin.

But when Iruka remembered that Yao was an Uchiha, it seemed only natural.

After all, the Uchiha Clan had once been Konoha's foremost clan, and the ninja world knew it for producing talented shinobi.

And Uchiha Yao was the most talented shinobi Iruka had ever seen!

Yao stepped forward and offered a hand to Kiba, who had just gotten back up.

There was still some reluctance on Kiba's face, but he took Yao's hand and stood. "You're a real monster!"

"You fought well!"

"Keep the matches going! Next up: Uzumaki Naruto versus Nara Shikamaru!"

"All right, that's it for today's lesson. Remember, everyone, be sure to review when you get home!"

Iruka reminded them, "The Graduation Exam is in one week. I hope everyone in our class passes!"

"I don't want to see anyone sent back to the Ninja Academy!"

"Class dismissed!"

The students cheered and gathered their things before heading out.

"Yo-kun! Want to walk together?"

"Yo-kun! I made these rice balls last night. Want to share them?"

"Yo..."

Kids in the ninja world tended to grow up early. Even though they'd only just turned twelve, they were all unbelievably bold.

Faced with all these enthusiastic girls, Yao was honestly tempted to flirt back.

But they were too young. He'd wait until they were eighteen.

Sasuke passed Yao with an expressionless face, his hands in his pockets.

When he drew even with Yao, he stopped and asked in his usual cool tone,

"What are we having for dinner?"

Yao was used to this way of talking. "It's our birthday today, so how about barbecue?"

As the last surviving orphans of the Uchiha Clan, they'd inherited the immense fortune accumulated by the Uchiha family.

There was no way they could spend it all!

They really couldn't spend it all!

That was a world apart from Uzumaki Naruto, who struggled to get by on expired milk and cup noodles.

So,

Yao had never denied himself good food or drink. He ate and drank whatever he wanted and never scrimped.

The brothers had clearly divided up their chores:

Sasuke handled grocery shopping and washed the pots, bowls, and chopsticks after meals.

Yao did the cooking, so he got to decide what they ate.

At the mention of barbecue, Sasuke's Adam's apple bobbed almost imperceptibly. His expression remained unchanged.

He only gave a nearly inaudible "hm" through his nose, then walked away with his hands in his pockets, cool as ever.

"Yao! Yao!"

Naruto rushed over, excitement and admiration shining in his blue eyes as he chattered away.

"You're so strong! You beat Kiba to a pulp without even breaking a sweat! When will I be able to beat you?"

Looking at the excited Naruto, Yao couldn't help laughing.

"You have an enormous amount of chakra. As long as you can put it to good use, beating me shouldn't be a problem!"

Of course, that was just a polite thing to say.

A year ago,

he'd decided to unleash his talent openly instead of hiding it.

Naturally, he had absolute confidence in his own strength.

The Naruto of today beating him? That was a pipe dream!

"All right, let's go! It's my and Sasuke's birthday today, so come over to my place for dinner. I'll treat you to barbecue!"

Naruto swallowed, scratched his hair, and hesitated.

"Huh? Going over again... No, you don't have to! I feel bad eating at your place all the time!"

His voice grew quieter as he spoke, and his eyes darted away.

"Quit pretending!"

Yao knew Naruto too well to miss his little scheme. He called him out at once.

"I've been craving fish! When you have time, you can make it up to me by catching a few big ones!"

Having Naruto help catch fish was, of course, Yao's way of giving him an out.

Yao and Naruto were so close because Yao had gone out of his way to befriend him.

It wasn't because he wanted to curry favor with Naruto!

Yao simply thought befriending Naruto was an investment that required very little and promised enormous returns in the future.

So he'd done it on a whim!

After all,

Naruto was unbearably lonely inside and desperately wanted other people's approval.

So,

all it took was a little kindness for Naruto to become utterly devoted.

Just like Iruka in the original story: all he'd done was accept Naruto, and he'd become Naruto's... dad!

Sure enough,

the moment Naruto heard that, his hesitation vanished. He thumped his chest and declared loudly,

"Leave it to me! I'll catch you the biggest, fattest fish there is!"

"Let's go!"

That night,

it was already late!

Moonlight streamed through the glass window and fell across the two beds set side by side.

Sasuke was already fast asleep in the bed beside him. The room was quiet.

Yao focused his thoughts.

Whoosh!

A pale blue screen, visible only to him, unfolded out of thin air.

[Host: Uchiha Yao]

[Age: 12]

[Chakra: Chunin-level]

[Chakra Affinities: Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Yin]

[Mode: None]

[Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan (Not Awakened)]

[Constitution: None]

[Ninjutsu: Three Basic Ninjutsu Techniques, Shadow Clone Technique, Flying Thunder God Technique, Fire Release Ninjutsu (108 types)]

As one of the many who'd crossed over into another world, Yao had his own cheat:

the God of Ninjas System.

The name was a little over the top, but the system's function was simple and straightforward:

Every year on his birthday, Yao could draw a prize.

The prize could be any item in the Naruto world, including but not limited to:

ninjutsu, taijutsu, Illusion Techniques, Kekkei Genkai, Tailed Beasts, weapons, chakra affinities and total chakra, and special constitutions!

The God of Ninjas System had officially awakened on his tenth birthday.

His first draw had awarded him the [Uchiha Fire Release Bundle]!

The Uchiha Clan specialized in Fire Release, and the bundle included 108 Fire Release Ninjutsu techniques collected by the clan.

From C-rank Fire Release Ninjutsu to A-rank Fire Release Ninjutsu...

It had just about everything!

Because the prize came from the system, it was directly imparted to him. Yao didn't have to study; he simply learned all 108 Fire Release Ninjutsu techniques.

And he'd mastered them!

Unfortunately, his chakra limited how many he could use.

He could only manage a few Great Fireball Techniques before running out of chakra.

His chakra reserves were also his greatest weakness at the moment. There was nothing he could do about it; the Uchiha weren't the Uzumaki or the Senju, after all!

On his eleventh birthday, Yao drew for the second time. This time, he got an incredible prize: the Flying Thunder God Technique.

The Flying Thunder God Technique!

An S-rank space-time ninjutsu invented by the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

The Flying Thunder God Technique's power spoke for itself. The Fourth Hokage owed a great deal of his reputation as the Yellow Flash to it!

Unfortunately...