About Food

This was when Kabuto finally came to his senses. Feeling the kunai leave his neck, he instinctively touched it and felt a faint sting. Warm blood trickled down.

He rubbed his neck and looked at Uchiha Gen standing beside him. A genjutsu?

He instinctively licked the blood from his hand. His dormant heart began pounding, faster and faster. Kabuto's expression turned strange. A white glare reflected off his glasses, hiding his eyes. He opened his mouth, as if smiling.

Orochimaru glanced at him. "Kabuto, control your emotions. Since he can act independently, give him an identity."

Kabuto came back to himself. He had indeed been getting a little carried away lately. He quickly composed himself, bowed respectfully to Orochimaru, and said, "Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

"By the way, what do you think about having him serve as the Jonin leading this exam team?" Thinking of the look on Sarutobi Hiruzen's face when he saw this Uchiha, Orochimaru smiled wickedly. It wouldn't be as surprising as the First and Second Hokage, but a little scare before the show began would be delightful.

Kabuto lowered his head slightly. Light reflected off his glasses, making it impossible to see his eyes. "I'll do whatever you command, Lord Orochimaru." Seeing that Orochimaru had nothing else to say, Kabuto gestured for Uchiha Gen to follow him. Even so, after what had just happened, he instinctively kept a "safe distance" from him.

Orochimaru had seen the entire fight. In his eyes, Kabuto had merely tied up a rock beside Uchiha Gen and blown it to pieces, while Uchiha Gen had used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside him and hold a kunai to his neck. Another Uchiha skilled in genjutsu? What a pity about those Sharingan. If only they were real...

And Uchiha Gen hadn't moved particularly fast when he held the kunai to Kabuto's neck. If Orochimaru had wanted to, he could have saved Kabuto without waiting until the last possible moment.

At this thought, Orochimaru narrowed his eyes. Kabuto had been getting more and more presumptuous lately. This time, he had only given him a little warning.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Gen looked over the identity documents Kabuto had given him and touched the artificial skin Orochimaru had used to disguise his face. He still couldn't feel anything. Since he was a Reanimated Body and already dead, he couldn't be bothered to feel disgusted about it. Of course, he also had to admire how well he'd adapted. Maybe it was because he'd lost some of his senses?

Uchiha Gen now had short, spiky black hair and dark eyes. His face had no distinguishing features; he looked like an ordinary, rather young passerby.

He glanced at the Forehead Protector and finally decided to tie it around his left arm. Everyone knew that a forehead protector was just an ornament, whether you wore it on your forehead or not.

Now that the threat of being controlled at any moment as a Reanimated Body had been lifted, Uchiha Gen began thinking about how to get something more out of Orochimaru before he slipped away. After all, Orochimaru was a famous scientist in the Ninja World. It would be even better if Gen could get his hands on his research into Impure World Reincarnation, though he knew that was probably impossible.

Uchiha Gen's original name was Ye Yuan. He had no idea how he'd ended up here. His last memory before transmigrating was of helping a child find his parents. But given the current situation, um... he hoped the kid had found a good person. As for his personality: a drama queen with mild paranoia.

Name: Uchiha Gen (Ye Yuan)

Gender: Male

Age: 20

Clan: Human

Bloodline: Uchiha

Mental State: ?

Skills: Great Fireball, Phoenix Flower Fire, Great Fire Annihilation, Manipulating Shuriken, Genjutsu (?), Body Flicker Technique, Three Basic Jutsu.

As for the fight just now—if it could even be called a fight—Uchiha Gen didn't understand what had caused it. If he had to explain, it was probably instinct. The system panel had listed all sorts of information about him, and after learning what he could do, he found he could use the techniques naturally just by thinking about them. There was no awkwardness at all, as if he were gliding along a predetermined path, with every deviation corrected instinctively.

The one thing that puzzled him was Impure World Reincarnation. Wasn't it supposed to reincarnate a soul? Why had he been reincarnated as an Uchiha? Did that mean he'd transmigrated into another soul? What had happened to the original soul?

When he sensed someone approaching, he put those questions aside for the moment. He looked at the three Sound Ninja in front of him—two men and a woman—and gave them a slight nod in greeting. At the same time, a thought occurred to him. Are these the three? If so, the current timeline must be during the Chunin Ninja Exams.

The three looked Uchiha Gen over, disappointed by his unremarkable face. "You're the one Lord Orochimaru sent to lead us?" Dosu Kinata crossed his arms. Though he didn't say so outright, it was obvious he was unhappy about Gen's arrival. His words carried a hint of provocation.

The other two felt much the same way and made no attempt to stop Dosu.

Uchiha Gen simply ignored him, with no intention of saying more. As long as they didn't provoke him, he had no desire to put them in their place. Orochimaru was the one who regularly picked on children.

After all, one of them was already dead, and another was about to die. There wasn't much point in saying anything to them. They'd already had enough bad luck. They should all try to be happy. At most, if Dosu was brought back with Impure World Reincarnation later, Gen could say, "Well, fancy meeting you here. You're dead too."

Seeing that Uchiha Gen wasn't even going to answer him, Dosu couldn't do anything about it. He didn't want to disobey Orochimaru's orders.

The other two saw what happened and temporarily gave up on testing Uchiha Gen's strength. Lord Orochimaru was supposed to lead them himself, but this sudden arrival had taken his place. None of them were particularly happy about it.

Ignoring their thoughts—they were all unlucky kids, and Uchiha Gen was quite forgiving toward them—he gave a brief introduction. "Jiya. Jonin. Skilled in genjutsu. I like—"

He'd been about to say that he liked food, but there was no need. In his current state, even if he ate shit, he wouldn't taste anything. "I like going for walks."

The three responded absentmindedly, going through the motions.

"Dosu Kinata."

"Tos."

"Kin Tsuchi."

Silence fell between them. As the oldest member of the team, Tos felt the atmosphere growing awkward and took the initiative to speak. "We don't have anything against you. It's just that..."

Uchiha Gen cut him off with a nod. "I know."

"..." Tos had half a sentence stuck in his throat, which left him feeling very annoyed. Then he seemed to remember something and silently sighed to himself.

The main reason Uchiha Gen had so rudely interrupted Tos was that he was still thinking about something—for example, how to get rid of the damn system in his head.

After a few not particularly pleasant days together, they finally set out for Konoha. No one spoke along the way. When they reached their destination, Uchiha Gen finally noticed how haggard the three behind him looked, even though they were doing their best to hide it from him.

Only then did Uchiha Gen remember that, as a Reanimated Body, he didn't need rest or food. The three behind him, however, were still alive and needed both. Still, he didn't apologize.

After taking care of various formalities, they were shown to a rest area by some Konoha shinobi. Uchiha Gen watched the three collapse onto the tatami mats and eat. He couldn't just stand around doing nothing, so he decided to go for a walk. After all, this was the Naruto world he'd watched since childhood. It was impossible not to be curious.

After Uchiha Gen left, Dosu started complaining. "What was that guy's problem?!"

Tos took a deep breath and tried to keep his temper. They were teammates, after all, even if this guy wasn't very bright. "He was telling you to behave. Dosu, are you questioning Lord Orochimaru's decision?!"

"No!" Dosu panicked as soon as he heard Orochimaru's name, but he seemed to finally understand and said nothing more. Tos put down his bowl, feeling as if he were worrying over them like a father.

Kin Tsuchi chose to stay out of it. She was the weakest in the team, so she just needed to follow the others.

As an outsider shinobi, Uchiha Gen immediately felt two pairs of eyes on him when he stepped outside.

He paid no attention to the Anbu following him and slowly headed toward the center of town. The Anbu tailing him were somewhat nervous, wondering whether they should stop him from entering. But so far Uchiha Gen hadn't done anything out of line. As the foremost of the Five Great Nations, Konoha didn't need to treat a mere Jonin like an imminent threat.

On the street, Uchiha Gen kept a polite smile as he stopped a passerby to ask for directions to Ichiraku Ramen. He didn't need to eat, but he wanted to see the place, whether for cover or simply for the novelty.

As for the hundred thousand ryo, he'd already come up with an idea. Uchiha Gen wasn't going to pick a fight with the system for now. He knew the story, so it would be easy to make it happen. Whether he'd get paid depended on how the Chunin Ninja Exams went. The wealthy people betting on the matches would be his money tree~

"Hello, I'd like some Ichiraku Ramen to go..."

"Sure!"

"This one, this one, and some grilled meat to go..."

"Good eye!"

"One skewer of dango."

By the time he returned, Uchiha Gen was carrying bags full of food, and the Anbu assigned to watch him finally relaxed.

Uchiha Gen looked at the ramen, dango, skewers, and other food in his hands. As he stared at them, he suddenly felt like crying. He'd sampled everything, but none of it had any taste. Oh well, he'd bring it back for those three unlucky kids.

He pushed open the door. "Put down those rice balls! I brought you something delicious!" Uchiha Gen said warmly, a complete change from his earlier coldness.

Dosu and Kin Tsuchi exchanged bewildered looks, unable to figure out what Uchiha Gen was up to.

Since he hadn't rested at all along the way, they'd assumed he was trying to put them in their place. They'd also seen his strength from another angle. The fact that he'd finished the journey without even stopping to catch his breath was proof enough.

Tos thought it over, then picked up a dango and started eating. "Tastes good."

Uchiha Gen's heart bled, but he smiled amiably. "Of course."

Dosu and Kin Tsuchi also went to the table, knelt down, and began eating slowly.

Tos indicated something with his one eye. Uchiha Gen pretended not to notice. There was nothing special going on; he just couldn't eat the food, even though he'd wanted to buy it, so he was asking them to help finish it.

But Tos was still baffled by the whole thing and began to doubt himself. Had he been overthinking it? Was this Jonin mentally unstable?

The three ate the meal sitting on pins and needles. Jiya's behavior was just too strange. He acted like a doting father, didn't eat anything himself, and kept asking how the different foods tasted and whether they were good. If Lord Orochimaru weren't involved, they would almost have suspected the food was poisoned. Jiya's earlier don't-come-near-me attitude seemed like an illusion.