Character, Oh Character

On the hillside, the green grass swayed gently.

Yang Xing stared at his phone, the slight curl of his lips unable to hide the amusement in his heart.

On the wide screen of the phone, a line of faint black text appeared. The words and images displayed carried a strange, inexplicable aura.

Welcome, Strife Gamer, to the system. Level 1 system acquired automatically; please view the instructions.

Below a series of brief introductions were the functions of this system and an exceptionally eye-catching display of his own attributes.

Character: Yang Xing

Age: 11

Current World Status:

Physique: Low-end

Agility: Low-end

Chakra: Low-end

Tolerance: Low-end

Having been in this world for over a year, this was the first time Yang Xing had finally seen a glimmer of hope. He never expected that his phone would awaken after a year.

Could this be what they call good luck?

Though, the "luck" cost for this year had been far too long!

Even though his status was displayed as low-end across the board, it didn't cause Yang Xing a shred of disappointment. Instead, looking at the sunlight on the horizon, his eyes shone with spirit: "It is time to show them who I am."

"Um, Yang Xing, what does 'show them' mean?" A young boy wearing a forehead protector, dressed in light leg guards and knee pads—clearly not modern attire—had appeared behind Yang Xing at some point.

The little boy's dazed expression, paired with two trails of snot under his nose, gave him a rather foolish air.

"Ahem! That, I was just talking to myself. When did you get here?" With a dry cough, Yang Xing turned his head to look at his tag-along, feeling a bead of sweat on his forehead. He hadn't noticed him at all; he had almost let someone see the contents of his phone.

This was no joke; he would have to be much more careful in the future.

The little boy, not paying much attention to Yang Xing's words, sniffled and pointed not far away: "Hey, the others want us to go over. We're going to play hide-and-seek."

"Foolish, how foolish! Can playing make us stronger? Can it make me a top-tier ninja? Can it bring us any closer to the current Hokage?" Yang Xing shook his head, his gaze deep as he looked ahead, his words carrying a hint of fervor: "Those genius ninjas, they were already making a name for themselves back when they were our age."

Clenching his fists, his expression was truly ill-suited for his mere eleven years of age.

"Oh!" The snotty little boy still stared blankly at the suddenly agitated Yang Xing, his eyes even holding a hint of admiration: "Even though what you said sounds really impressive, I still don't understand. Are we, or are we not, going over to play?"

"What a waste of breath." Yang Xing shook his head and turned to walk down the hillside. As he slowly departed, he didn't forget to wave at the little boy left standing in place: "What are you standing there for? Hurry up, they might have already started."

The snotty little boy: "..."

At the bottom of the hill, in a small plain surrounded by woods.

A group of 11 and 12-year-olds stood out conspicuously.

In any group of children, there is bound to be a leader. Not far ahead, a little brat with one leg propped on a large rock, his small frame tilted as he tried his best to mimic an adult's expression, was clearly the leader of this group.

He was also the one with the most outstanding strength in the class.

The little leader, trying hard to look serious, raised a hand and said to the noisy group of children: "This time, we are playing a game of Konoha versus the bandits from several nations. Who wants to be the bandits, and who wants to be the ninjas of Konoha?"

"Me, me! I want to be the Hokage!"

"Ah, no, no! I'm the one who's going to be Lord Hokage."

"What? I said it first, so you just stay put and be a bandit."

The group of little brats chattered away, arguing loudly over who would get to be the most powerful Hokage of Konoha.

The little leader in front looked troubled by the situation: "You guys, be quiet! Everyone, be quiet!"

Among the rowdy group of children, one stood out as being extremely out of place.

Or rather, no matter what, Yang Xing couldn't blend in; after all, his true age had long since passed the stage of being a little brat.

"What a bunch of little kids." He muttered to himself with a sneer, not even bothering to lower his voice.

"Hey, you over there, I heard what you said!" The voice wasn't particularly loud, but as the class standout with flexible chakra control, the little leader couldn't have missed it. His eyes narrowed as he saw it was Yang Xing, and his brows furrowed: "I remember you. You're that kid in class with the terrible grades, what was it... Yang Tao?"

In an instant, the group of children stopped arguing in perfect unison, their eyes all casting toward Yang Xing.

"Who's that?"

"Don't you know? That guy... right, what was his name again?"

Yang Xing had no choice but to cough dryly and say with a serious face: "Yang Xing. The sun that can obscure the starlight—'Yang' for sun, 'Xing' for starlight."

"Oh, so the name has that kind of meaning? But for a guy like you, that name is a bit too extravagant, isn't it?"

"Haha, I remember this guy now. In the chakra level test, he was weaker than a rabbit."

"Oh, oh! So there really is a person like that."

The group of children burst into laughter, but this did not cause the slightest change in Yang Xing's expression.

As an adult, how could one possibly take the words of a brat seriously? This was the basic composure expected of a grown-up.

Mm, patience, patience.

"Hey, Yangxing, right?" Seemingly noticing that Yangxing's expression remained perfectly normal, a flash of surprise crossed the lead brat's face, though he quickly put on a joking tone. "Don't tell me you want to be Hokage, too? Hey, hey, with your level of skill where you can't even use chakra properly, you couldn't possibly play that role well."

"Heh, foolish. The Hokage is nothing more than a minor character."

"Huh? Is your brain broken? Lord Hokage is incredibly powerful." The lead brat was very dissatisfied with Yangxing's words, his gaze even carrying a hint of contempt.

Unfortunately, Yangxing simply acted as if he didn't see it, continuing with a light chuckle: "Compared to my goal, the Hokage is nothing but a bit player."

"Goal?"

"That's right, conquering the world is my goal. Compared to this, the Hokage is as insignificant as a speck of dust." Crossing his arms over his chest, Yangxing nodded to himself, completely ignoring the strange looks the people around him were casting his way.

A group of young boys and girls: "..."

"Is this guy's brain broken? Hey everyone, it's no fun hanging out with a guy like this. Let's go play somewhere else." Clearly displeased with Yangxing's attitude, the lead brat led the group of children away.