What to Do When Your Cheat Needs an Internet Connection?

Jiang Ming had always been wary of Jason Welton. Even his unexpected transmigration had revealed numerous suspicious details.

He treated rules as standards in his words, yet his actions contradicted them at every turn—exploiting loopholes and using "rules" as a cover.

In the end, he had even offered so many "powerful" cheats for him to choose from.

For all Jiang Ming knew, he might have had his bones dug out or his body taken over the moment he transmigrated. Or perhaps those so-called "cheats" contained all sorts of hidden dangers.

And the facts proved that Jiang Ming had indeed guessed right.

The auxiliary Chip required energy to activate. Since he had undergone a "soul transmigration," its physical energy module had been removed, leaving it to rely on extraordinary power instead. If he had not refined chakra, the auxiliary Chip would have been completely useless.

Of course, that was not even the biggest trap.

The biggest trap was that the auxiliary Chip actually needed an "internet connection."

That was something he had never anticipated.

The reason it gave was also completely flawless.

As for a place like the shinobi world, it clearly did not fall within the scope of the "network."

As for how to connect to the internet, Jiang Ming tried asking the Chip's built-in AI program, the 9527 Intelligent Sprite.

The result was a pile of perfectly correct answers.

"Wired network connection..."

"Connect to a shared device..."

"Offline action network..."

"..."

Clearly, it could not connect to the internet. Its intelligence was also severely lacking, having directly devolved into the level of artificial stupidity.

Fortunately, the smart program's underlying code was intact, and the Chip's assisted learning function still remained. Users could also feed it data on their own, allowing the sprite to gradually adapt to them.

Fortunately, after two years of constantly feeding it data, the smart program finally began to look somewhat "intelligent."

Though it seemed to have grown in the wrong direction. It had even learned mechanical worship.

"Now you're my system. We're the ones in the same boat, so don't take someone else's side. And don't interrupt unless I call you."

Aoba began educating his system on proper values. It had better not get its loyalties twisted.

"Understood, Lord Aoba!"

"...The Otsutsuki of this world possess the ability to cross the void of space and travel through time. Once we grasp the Otsutsuki's secrets, we can fight our way back. Then you'll be the next Jason Welton—the God of Systems!"

"Yes, Lord Aoba!"

"Together, we'll grow bigger and stronger. Then we'll kick..."

Aoba habitually educated the system in his mind—feeding it data—when a crisp, soft, adorable voice came from beside him.

"Aoba, see? I didn't lie to you, did I?!"

Aoba instinctively turned his head. A delicate little girl stood beside him, as if carved from pink jade.

Most eye-catching of all were her ruby-like eyes.

She was none other than the younger Yuhi Kurenai.

"I told you, call me Big Brother Aoba."

Yamashiro Aoba raised his hand like a blade and lightly tapped Yuhi Kurenai on the head.

She let out a soft "Ow," clutching her head as she glared at him unhappily.

"No. We'll be classmates from now on."

"And don't knock on my head. I won't grow taller if you do. Hmph, I'm angry!"

At this time, Yuhi Kurenai was two years younger than Aoba, yet only half a head shorter than him.

"Be good."

Aoba skillfully took out a hawthorn candy from his pocket and waved it before Yuhi Kurenai's eyes.

After a fierce internal struggle, she ultimately surrendered to the sweet candy and softly said,

"B-Big Brother Aoba..."

"Mm."

Aoba handed the candy to Yuhi Kurenai, casually ruffling her hair as well.

Yuhi Kurenai peeled off the wrapper and put the hawthorn candy into her mouth. Her eyes gleamed as she wondered about something.

Yamashiro Aoba's father and Kurenai's father had been friends. Although Shinku later rose to jonin through his exceptional genjutsu, it had not affected their friendship in the slightest. However, Aoba's parents had both later died in the Second Shinobi World War.

As the child left behind by his friend, Yuhi Shinku considered adopting Aoba.

But Aoba was already five years old. In the shinobi world, five was no longer considered particularly young; children already had independent awareness, and many children from shinobi clans had been sent to the Ninja Academy by that age.

Therefore, while respecting the child's wishes, Yuhi Shinku solemnly asked Aoba for his opinion.

It just so happened that, under the shock of losing his parents, Aoba had secretly cultivated chakra and awakened the memories of his past life.

And because he had memories of his previous life, Aoba naturally agreed.

After that, Yuhi Shinku smoothly became Yamashiro Aoba's guardian.

At that moment, Aoba also understood why Yamashiro Aoba and Yuhi Kurenai had almost no interaction in Naruto: Shippuden.

Given the original owner's state of mind, he would never have accepted Yuhi Shinku's adoption. Otherwise, he would not have rashly cultivated chakra without the guidance of an elder.

Aoba knew that the changes had begun here.

But he was more than happy with this change.

What a joke. With a jonin watching over him, how could he not cling tightly to that thigh?

Yuhi Shinku might only have been a civilian jonin, but jonin were the core strength of a shinobi village and belonged to the elite class.

As the saying went, choice mattered more than effort.

This alone would save him at least ten years of detours.

By the time the Naruto: Shippuden storyline began in the future, he would at least be a jonin.

"Kurenai, let's go. Uncle Shinku probably has something he wants to talk to me about."

"?"

Yuhi Kurenai looked utterly confused.

Aoba merely smiled without explaining. Taking Kurenai's hand, he left the Ninja Academy.

However, as he left, he spotted two bizarre green creatures.

It could not be helped. They were impossible to overlook; their entire style was completely different from everyone around them.

The second-to-last name on the supplementary admission list was Might Guy. At this moment, father and son were hugging each other, moved to tears by themselves. In particular, they kept talking about things no one else understood, causing everyone else to keep their distance.

At this time, Might Duy was still the Eternal Genin. Before the Eight Gates completely blossomed, probably no one would realize that even pure taijutsu could be incredibly powerful.

Might Guy's name had appeared on the supplementary admission list largely because the village needed to replenish its shinobi numbers and make up for those lost in the Second Shinobi World War. Otherwise, based on past admissions, there would have been no such thing as a supplementary admission list.

Because it was an adoption, the Yamashiro Clan's house had not been repossessed by the village. Instead, it had been directly transferred into Yuhi Shinku's name.

Of course, that was only in name. Yamashiro Aoba still lived there.

The two homes had never been far apart. When Aoba showed that he could take care of himself, Yuhi Shinku did not ask him to move in and let him continue living in his own home.

In the shinobi world, where everyone matured early, it was not unheard of for four-year-olds to go to the battlefield and kill enemies. Yuhi Shinku did not find it strange that five-year-old Aoba could care for himself.

With the adoption as a formal pretext, Aoba was also spared from being bullied.

With Nadeshiko looking after him as well, Yuhi Shinku was quite at ease.

And whenever Yuhi Shinku returned to the village, Aoba would come over to eat with them.

Polite, respectful toward elders, mature, and sensible—those were Yuhi Shinku's most immediate impressions of Aoba.

If he had to add one more, it would be genius.