Character, Please

On the hillside, green grass swayed in the breeze.

Yang Xing looked at his phone. The crooked smile tugging at his lips couldn't hide how pleased he was.

A line of dark text appeared on the phone's widescreen. The words and images displayed there carried a strange air.

Welcome, Strife Game player. The Level 1 system has been automatically obtained. Please check the instructions.

Below a series of introductions came an explanation of the system's functions, along with a particularly eye-catching overview of his attributes.

Character: Yang Xing

Age: 11

Current World Status:

Constitution: Low

Agility: Low

Chakra: Low

Endurance: Low

He had been in this world for over a year, and now Yang Xing had finally found a glimmer of hope. He hadn't expected his phone to awaken today, after a whole year.

Was this what they meant by luck?

Still, it had taken an awfully long time for his luck to kick in!

Although every attribute was listed as low, Yang Xing wasn't the least bit disappointed. Instead, he gazed at the sunlight on the horizon, his eyes shining. "It's time to show them what I can do."

"Um, Yang Xing, what does 'show them what I can do' mean?" A boy wearing a Forehead Protector and what looked like a set of leg guards and knee pads—definitely not modern clothing—had appeared behind Yang Xing at some point.

The little boy looked dazed, and with two strings of snot hanging below his nose, he seemed a bit dim-witted.

"Ahem! I was just talking to myself. When did you get here?" Yang Xing turned around with a cough and looked at the little tagalong. He could almost feel sweat beading on his forehead. He hadn't even noticed the boy approaching. The kid had almost seen the contents of his phone.

This was no joke. He'd have to be much more careful from now on.

Paying no attention to Yang Xing's words, the little boy sniffed and pointed into the distance. "There. The others want us to go play hide-and-seek with them."

"Foolish. So foolish! Will playing make us stronger? Will it make me a top-tier ninja? Will it bring me closer to the current Hokage?" Yang Xing shook his head, his gaze deep as he looked ahead. His words rang with fervor. "Those genius ninjas had already started to emerge at our age."

He clenched his fist, his expression far too intense for an eleven-year-old.

"Oh!" The snotty little boy stared blankly at the suddenly impassioned Yang Xing, a hint of admiration in his eyes. "You make it sound so impressive, but I still don't understand. Are we going to play or not?"

"What a stupid question." Yang Xing shook his head and turned away, heading down the hillside. As he strolled off, he waved to the snotty little boy standing there in a daze. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up. They might have already started."

The snotty little boy: "..."

At the foot of the hill, a small clearing was surrounded by trees.

A group of eleven- and twelve-year-olds stood out against the greenery.

Whenever a group of children gathered, there was bound to be a leader. One little brat stood up ahead, one leg propped on a large stone. He was slightly turned to the side, doing his best to look like a grown-up. At a glance, it was clear he was the leader of the group.

He was also one of the strongest students in the class.

The little leader put on his most serious expression, raised one hand, and addressed the noisy children. "This time, we're playing Konoha Village fighting bandits from several countries. Who wants to be a bandit, and who wants to be a Konoha ninja?"

"I do, I do! I want to be the Hokage!"

"No, no! I want to be Lord Hokage!"

"What? I said it first! You can just be a bandit!"

The little brats chattered away, loudly arguing over who got to play the strongest Hokage in Konoha Village.

Watching the chaos, the little leader up front looked troubled. "You lot, quiet down! All of you, quiet down!"

Among the rowdy children, one boy still seemed completely out of place.

No matter what, Yang Xing just couldn't fit in. After all, his real age was far beyond the stage of being a little brat.

"What a bunch of little kids." He curled his lip and sighed, without bothering to lower his voice much.

"Hey, you over there. I heard that!" The remark wasn't particularly loud, but the little leader was one of the best students in the class at controlling chakra. There was no way he wouldn't hear it. He narrowed his eyes when he saw Yang Xing in the distance, then frowned. "I remember you. You're the lousy student from school. What was your name again, Yang Tao?"

In an instant, the children stopped arguing in perfect unison. Pair after pair of eyes turned toward Yang Xing.

"Who's that?"

"You don't know? That guy... what was his name again?"

Yang Xing had to cough before he could answer in a solemn voice. "Yang Xing. The sun that can outshine the stars. Yang as in sun, Xing as in starlight."

"Oh, so that's what your name means. But for someone like you, it's way too grand."

"Haha, I remember him! In the chakra test, his chakra level was even worse than a rabbit's."

"Uh, so there really was someone like that."

The children immediately burst out laughing, but not a trace of emotion showed on Yang Xing's face.

As an adult, how could he take the words of children seriously? That was the sort of self-control expected of a grown-up.

Right. Just be patient.

"Um, Yang Xing, right?" The little leader seemed to notice that Yang Xing wasn't reacting. A strange look flashed across his face, but soon he was grinning teasingly. "Don't tell me you want to be the Hokage too? Hey, hey, with your terrible chakra control, you couldn't even play the part properly."

"Heh. Foolish. The Hokage is nothing but a minor character."

"Huh? Is your brain broken? Lord Hokage is incredibly powerful." The little leader was clearly displeased with Yang Xing's words, and his eyes showed a hint of disdain.

Yang Xing simply pretended not to notice. He smiled faintly and continued, "Compared to my goal, the Hokage is just a minor character."

"Your goal?"

"That's right. My goal is to conquer the world. Compared to that, the Hokage is as insignificant as dust." Yang Xing folded his arms and nodded to himself, completely ignoring the strange looks from everyone around him.

The young boys and girls: "..."

"Is this guy's brain broken? Hey, everyone, hanging around with this guy isn't any fun. Let's go play somewhere else." Clearly annoyed by Yang Xing's attitude, the little leader led the children away.