No Strength, No Skill

"Well, as far as I'm concerned, being alone is actually fine. I already said those guys would only drag me down." Yang Xing curled his lip, looking completely indifferent. Now that he had that phone, he really didn't need any other teachers. Although he didn't understand some of its functions, he should make progress after tinkering with it for a while. By then, his growth would surely be rapid, and for the sake of secrecy, being alone was a good choice.

Unfortunately, this was ultimately just Yang Xing's own wishful thinking.

The bespectacled teacher's expression changed noticeably. He raised a hand and couldn't help but press it onto Yang Xing's head. "Haha, although I've always thought you were a big talker, you really shouldn't joke about things like this."

Watching the teacher's face shift from a smile to a stern look, Yang Xing could only sigh lightly and spread his hands. "Fine, if there's a team that's actually suitable for me, I'd be quite willing."

"Yosh, yosh, that's a good boy of Konoha." The bespectacled teacher removed his hand, his face full of a brilliant smile. He couldn't help but rest his chin on one hand, looking Yang Xing up and down while muttering to himself, "Let me think... you brat are arrogant and your strength is so poor. It wouldn't be appropriate to just throw you into any squad, and besides, the students here..."

He swept a glance around the room; clearly, the other students were looking at Yang Xing with strange expressions.

This strangeness forced the bespectacled teacher to offer a helpless, bitter smile. "Well, in any case, I will provide you with a very suitable environment. Oh, right, I just remembered!"

The teacher clapped his hands, his eyes sparkling like starlight.

Huh, why do I have a sudden feeling of dread in my gut?

Hmm, it must be an illusion, just an illusion.

Facing the "chrysanthemum-like" smile of this cheap, good-natured teacher, Yang Xing couldn't help but gulp, waiting silently for the other to speak.

"Right, that person—that person will definitely be able to teach you well. They definitely will." The bespectacled teacher muttered to himself, as if he had decided on something. He nodded repeatedly while looking at Yang Xing; clearly, this had become a settled matter.

Yang Xing suppressed his curiosity and cleared his throat. "Ahem, well, if it's decided, I have nothing more to say, but can I ask one question first?"

"What is it?" Faced with Yang Xing's words, the bespectacled teacher was quite pleased. He happily patted Yang Xing on the shoulder. "Well, well, you can state any request you have. I will try my best to satisfy it as your teacher."

Yang Xing straightened his face and said with unprecedented seriousness, "I'll state this first: this is not a joke. This is a very serious and important matter."

The bespectacled teacher: "?"

"There will be cute girls in the team, right?"

The bespectacled teacher: "..."

"I'm being serious, very serious."

Facing Yang Xing's earnest expression, the bespectacled teacher didn't know how to respond. "Well, how should I put this?"

"You aren't going to say no, are you? No? Ah, I suddenly feel a sharp pain in my chest. I might have a terminal illness. Teacher, in the face of a terminally ill patient, do you not have even a shred of pity?"

"You brat, stop making such jokes with a straight face." The bespectacled teacher broke into a cold sweat. Watching Yang Xing clutch his chest, he could only explain helplessly, "Fine, fine. Every team will be assigned one girl. This is to encourage you all to work hard and improve together. Don't get any wrong ideas! Hey, brat, listen to me finish! You brat, ah, ah, you have to let your teacher finish speaking at least once!"

Little did he know, upon hearing that there would be girls, Yang Xing had already turned and slipped out of the classroom, not looking back once, even as the teacher shouted until his throat went hoarse.

In the afternoon, school lessons were very brief. Since it was time to assign teachers—which meant graduating from the academy—there was basically nothing left to learn.

It should be said that the teachers had already taught everything they could; whether one could grasp it depended on individual talent.

In a relatively open area near the back of the academy.

"Thwack!"

With a dull sound, a five-pointed throwing weapon—a shuriken—embedded itself into a large tree.

If one were to talk about the various abilities of a ninja, this kind of projectile weapon was the only thing Yang Xing could actually show off.

"Within a year, aside from shuriken, everything else is terrible. Am I really from this place?" After throwing a few shuriken with moderate proficiency, Yang Xing couldn't help but mutter, "Whose body is this, anyway?"

He remembered how to use chakra, but he couldn't execute it perfectly, which had always been a headache for Yang Xing. For instance, the Transformation Jutsu—the feat of succeeding once in ten tries was the reason Yang Xing was almost forgotten by the entire class.

"It looks like ordinary training won't cut it." Yang Xing took out his phone, looked at the interface, and wore a heavy expression. "I'd better try this."

Initialize?

The moment he tapped "Yes," the interface changed, and lines of text flashed by.

Fingerprint, DNA, chromosome, and gene identified; confirmed as host. Strife Game initiated. System Level: 1 (Upgradeable).

Among the rows of images were brief introductions to several functions.

Special Aura: None.
Achievement System: No achievements.
Items Owned: None.
Available Random Quests: 5 (Trigger conditions invisible; will refresh and reset based on years and frequency.)

Although there were five quests available, the "Claim" button was grayed out, which gave Yang Xing a headache. Looking at the description, the trigger conditions were invisible. Could it be that he had to trigger something to claim a quest?

This phone really was a test of one's luck.

Although he couldn't claim the quests, the strange occurrences with the phone still concerned Yang Xing. For example, it didn't need charging, and if he lost it, it seemed to return to him automatically. He had tested this last night; he didn't know what ability it used, but the phone would automatically return to his pocket, which saved Yang Xing some trouble.

After scanning it a few times, he saw only a few simple functions, none of which were active, so Yang Xing withdrew his attention from the phone and returned it to his pocket.

However, a slight rustle nearby made Yang Xing's nerves tense up.

"Who's there? Come out!" Reflexively, he couldn't help but grab another shuriken.

A little kid walked over from not far away. Despite having a snotty, dazed look on his face and staring at Yang Xing foolishly, he still maintained that silly appearance. "Yang Xing, what are you doing here?"

"I'm telling you..." Yang Xing swept a glance at the tag-alongs not far away and let out a helpless sigh.

He seemed to recall that today was also the time for the Junior Class to have their lessons; given the current extraordinary circumstances, this group of children was at the age to learn various ninjutsu, and they might even graduate earlier than he did.

But, oh, but...

Good heavens, Jade Emperor, Guanyin Bodhisattva, Almighty Jesus Lord!

Screw this, what I wanted wasn't a bunch of bratty tag-alongs, I wanted little lolis, fuck you!