Minamoto Takuya and the Sharingan Hero

In the Land of Fire, within Konoha.

Pale-faced Minamoto Takuya sat in Ichiraku Ramen, savoring one of the Hokage's most iconic foods while listening to the conversations around him.

Beneath his impassive expression, a faint sense of melancholy slowly surfaced.

The discussions in the ramen shop were rather scattered, but the biggest topic lately had been the youngest Jonin, Kakashi Hatake.

Though he had become a Jonin some time ago, such a young Jonin still drew countless discussions and sighs of admiration.

Yet the current discussion about Kakashi Hatake seemed to go beyond that. The reason it had stirred up such a huge commotion again was that after returning from the war against the Iwagakure Shinobi, Kakashi Hatake had gained a Sharingan that could not be closed!

It was said that Kakashi Hatake's left eye had been injured, and he had inherited the power of a Kekkei Genkai—the Sharingan—from Obito Uchiha, who had died in battle!

That was the symbol of the Uchiha Clan's bloodline in Konoha. Even within the Uchiha Clan, not many could awaken the Sharingan, and even among those who did, One Tomoe was the norm. Not to mention that Kakashi Hatake's Sharingan had Two Tomoe!

What kind of reaction the Sharingan would produce when paired with the most talented Kakashi Hatake in history was now a topic of fervent discussion among the villagers.

Minamoto Takuya, sitting nearby, could not help but sneer. Who could have imagined that this Sharingan was not a good thing for a genius like Kakashi Hatake?

It was not that the Sharingan was weak. It simply did not suit the current Kakashi Hatake.

Even though Kakashi Hatake had become a Jonin, that did not change the fact that he was only twelve years old. At his age, his body had not fully developed, and his chakra reserves were pitifully low.

Moreover, he did not possess Uchiha blood, so his Sharingan remained activated at all times. With so little chakra to begin with, gaining a Sharingan that constantly consumed chakra would undoubtedly severely hinder his growth.

Of course, the Sharingan was undeniably an excellent Kekkei Genkai and would absolutely provide a major boost to one's combat strength. That much could not be denied.

Thus, the best choice for Kakashi Hatake would have been to seal the Sharingan first, then remove the seal once his chakra reserves had grown. That way, neither his development nor the Sharingan's combat power would be delayed. At most, his proficiency with the Sharingan might decline a little.

But with Kakashi Hatake's talent, that slight loss of proficiency would not have mattered.

This should not have been difficult to think of, yet Kakashi Hatake had not chosen that path. His teacher's wife was Kushina Uzumaki, a master of Sealing Jutsu, while his teacher was Minato Namikaze, who had learned barrier-type Sealing Jutsu from Kushina Uzumaki and had gone even further.

It was not as though they could not complete the seal. So it was probably because it was a memento left behind by Obito Uchiha that he had refused to seal that Sharingan.

"Obito Uchiha's Sharingan..."

Minamoto Takuya muttered, a trace of envy appearing in his eyes. He wanted that Sharingan with the Kamui ability as well.

Unfortunately, when he considered Madara Uchiha behind Obito Uchiha and Minato Namikaze behind Kakashi Hatake, he could only abandon the idea.

He was still a Special Jonin of Konoha. This identity brought him convenience in many matters, so he had no intention of giving it up for the time being.

After shaking his head helplessly, Minamoto Takuya's eyes gleamed with fervor. It was not because he had thought of another way to obtain Kamui, but because...

"Has the time finally come?"

Minamoto Takuya looked at his pale face through the clear broth in his bowl, his gaze drifting into the distance. He had waited far too long for this day.

Minamoto Takuya, a Special Jonin of Konoha, was twenty-seven years old this year. Reaching Special Jonin only at this age basically meant that his strength had already hit its ceiling. Any further improvement would amount to learning a few unusual ninjutsu or gaining some insignificant boosts.

It was not because he did not work hard. His diligence was no less than Might Guy's.

Of course, that was not in terms of Taijutsu. He had also tried becoming stronger through Taijutsu, but the result was that his talent for it was equally mediocre. He simply could not train like Might Guy. If he forced it, he would only ruin his body.

When Minamoto Takuya realized that his chakra talent was average, his Taijutsu talent was average, and he had not even received the system cheat that every transmigrator was supposed to have, he was numb.

The Naruto World was not peaceful!

In his more than twenty years of life, he had experienced both the Second Ninja World War and the Third Ninja World War. Though he had survived, that could only be called luck.

In wars like these, ordinary Genin were cannon fodder, while Chunin were slightly stronger cannon fodder. As for Special Jonin?

That title merely sounded better than Jonin. In reality, their strength was that of elite Chunin, and elite Chunin were... elite cannon fodder?

Minamoto Takuya was not afraid of death. He simply did not want to die so inexplicably and meaninglessly.

In truth, he did not know how he had come to this world either. He had merely closed his eyes and opened them again, only to become a member of Konoha with memories of his previous life. He had not even been struck by a truck.

Thinking about it now, perhaps trucks did more than just hit people. Maybe they were also a means of handing out systems?

Minamoto Takuya shook his head. There was no use dwelling on such things now. At this point, if the system had not come, it probably never would. At most, he could hold onto a sliver of hope that it would arrive when the protagonist was born or when the plot began.

Did he have any outstanding qualities at all? He did.

His control over chakra was exceptionally precise, but no matter how strong his control was, it could not make up for his extremely low chakra reserves.

Even now, his chakra reserves were only at the level of an ordinary Chunin. That was right—at twenty-seven, his chakra reserves had merely reached the level of an ordinary Chunin, and they might even decline as he aged...

It was just... absurd.

If his talent for ninjutsu had not been fairly good, he might not even have managed to obtain the rank of Special Jonin!

Thinking of this, Minamoto Takuya felt rather depressed. It would have been one thing not to give him a system, but not giving him sufficient talent either was truly excessive.

Still, heaven never sealed off every path. At the very least, his memories could serve as his cheat.

For example, the ninjutsu he had been watching closely—the Chimera Technique—had finally opened up a way for him to obtain it.

Minamoto Takuya had been watching the Jonin named Hiruko for a long time. The reason he had not acted before was not that he had lacked opportunities, but that he had not been sure whether Hiruko had successfully developed the Chimera Technique.

But this was the moment when Hiruko coveted Kakashi Hatake's Sharingan and had even secretly used Puppet Technique on Kakashi Hatake. At this point, it could basically be determined that the Chimera Technique had been completed, or was at least mostly complete.

Afterward, Hiruko would be chased by the Sannin after his experiments were exposed, then leave Konoha to gather intact corpses with Kekkei Genkai. According to Minamoto Takuya's memories, it should be around this time.

And during this period, Hiruko would use Puppet Technique on Kakashi Hatake. Minamoto Takuya only needed to quietly wait for him to leave that Experiment Base.

Minamoto Takuya took a deep breath and quietly formed a hand seal with the hand not holding his chopsticks.

"Summoning Technique—Clairvoyance Technique."

The next moment, his gaze seemed to pass through Ichiraku Ramen and arrive above the hidden Experiment Base.

On a large tree beside the Experiment Base, a Crow was grooming its black feathers with its beak while watching the movements below with crimson eyes.

The Crow was Minamoto Takuya's summon. It had originally been an ordinary crow, but after Minamoto Takuya carefully nurtured it with chakra, it had barely developed intelligence and become his summon.

"Still no movement?"

Looking at the Experiment Base through the Crow's eyes, Minamoto Takuya was not surprised. Leaving aside whether the information had reached Hiruko, it was broad daylight, hardly a suitable time for him to act.

After observing Hiruko's Experiment Base for a while longer, Minamoto Takuya dispelled the Clairvoyance Technique.

Now he only needed to wait for his summon to notify him. Unfortunately, his summons had originally been ordinary crows and could not use reverse summoning like summons with inherited traditions. Still, they could notify him through chakra within a certain range.

After thinking for a while, Minamoto Takuya had his other crows gather there as well, spreading out around the Experiment Base and keeping watch from afar.

After finishing all that, Minamoto Takuya lifted the large bowl of Ichiraku Ramen and drank the remaining broth, sighing.

No wonder the protagonist never grew tired of this ramen. The taste truly was first-rate.

"Boss, the bill."