"My name is Uchiha Shingen."
"I'm thirteen years old."
"My dream is to live to a ripe old age without illness or disaster, then die painlessly one morning or afternoon."
Konoha.
On the outskirts of the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Dressed in the uniform of the Konoha Military Police Force, Uchiha Shingen stood in front of the entryway mirror, tidying his appearance as he muttered to himself.
"Ah Bin..."
"Pfft!"
"My Ninja Academy grades weren't great."
"But that didn't matter. After all, my last name was Uchiha!"
"Even with mediocre talent, I could easily land a secure job with the Konoha Military Police Force."
"A permanent position, with food and lodging provided, and a decent salary. It was basically a government job in Konoha."
"In my previous life, if you wanted a position like that, you had to fight tooth and nail against thousands of other applicants."
"Even worse, you could work yourself to the point of throwing up, compete until you passed out, and then find out the job was tailor-made for someone else. They might as well have put the person's ID number in the job requirements."
"What?"
"Now the job was tailor-made for me?!"
"Well, in that case, no problem."
"As everyone knew, the Konoha Military Police Force stood by three principles—fairness, fairness, and more fairness!"
"I got this job through my own ability, all right?"
"If you can't get a job, take a good look at yourself and figure out why."
"Society's still a pretty good place. It's not as dark as you think. Everyone has their own life..."
"..."
Uchiha Shingen wasn't from this world.
Six months ago, on a rainy night, on an overpass. No Maybach.
A heavy-duty truck with its high beams on had sent Uchiha Shingen to the world of Naruto.
At first, Uchiha Shingen had been a little worried about his circumstances.
After all, this was a world with supernatural powers. Powerful shinobi could fly through the skies and burrow underground, slaughtering people like weeds. Ordinary lives were as fragile as paper.
But once Uchiha Shingen had quickly sorted out his situation, he'd calmed down—and even felt a little lucky.
One reason, of course, was his surname: Uchiha.
Uchiha Shingen wasn't familiar with the plot of the original Naruto series.
He'd only occasionally heard friends mention memes like "The Legend of the Eyes," "The Ōtsutsuki Grudge Record," and "Black Zetsu's Mother-Saving Chronicle."
Uchiha Shingen didn't know what the latter two meant, but he had something to say about "The Legend of the Eyes."
The Uchiha were a major clan in Konoha, and the Kekkei Genkai they took pride in was the Sharingan.
It was true that the Uchiha Clan had made plenty of mistakes in the past.
For example, Uchiha Madara, the clan leader two generations ago, had indirectly caused the death of the First. And Setsuna Uchiha, an elder of the clan, had secretly plotted a coup and the assassination of Konoha's High Command.
Even after Setsuna Uchiha was imprisoned, his followers still occasionally called for a coup within the clan.
In any case, all that was in the past.
The unceasing wars had left Konoha stretched thin. Even though they knew the Uchiha were dangerous, they had no choice but to use them.
After the Third Hokage took office, Fugaku Uchiha, the current clan leader, also came to hold considerable power.
The two typical doves had tacitly begun easing tensions. The conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha Clan was slowly fading.
Everything was moving in a positive direction!
What did that mean?
The future belonged to the Uchiha!
Uchiha Shingen believed that, barring any unexpected mishaps, in a few years—or maybe a decade or so—the two sides would most likely come to understand each other.
And he'd arrived just in time to catch that early train.
As long as he kept his head down and stayed in the Police Force, he might not rise rapidly through the ranks, but at least he'd never have to worry about food or clothes.
He also wouldn't have to work himself to the bone on missions like the other shinobi, only to be squeezed at every turn by Konoha.
We all had a bright future!
"Beep, beep, beep—!"
His alarm suddenly rang out.
Uchiha Shingen glanced back and realized it was already 7:45.
He hurriedly tied on his Forehead Protector, rushed out the door, and headed toward the Konoha Military Police Force.
Eight o'clock sharp.
Uchiha Shingen reached the entrance to the Konoha Military Police Force and looked down at his watch.
Click!
The minute hand landed exactly on eight in the morning.
A translucent notification window appeared in Uchiha Shingen's field of vision:
[Daily check-in complete!] [7 cumulative check-in days, Attribute Point +1]
That was the other reason.
He'd unlocked...
The notification window that had suddenly appeared was Uchiha Shingen's cheat.
He'd decided to call it the Check-in Device.
As long as he checked in at the entrance to the Konoha Military Police Force at eight every morning, without missing a day for seven consecutive days, he'd receive one Attribute Point.
Attribute Points could be used to strengthen his abilities, including his Kekkei Genkai.
Naturally, the stronger the ability and the higher its level, the more Attribute Points it required.
In other words, the longer he checked in, the stronger he became.
Once he'd figured out his identity and how his cheat worked, Uchiha Shingen had immediately decided to coast.
A permanent job, and checking in made him stronger.
With a setup like this, who'd want to live on the edge of a blade like those shinobi, risking death just to scrape by?
Don't drag me into this, okay?!
Uchiha Shingen was going to put all his talent into the Konoha Military Police Force!
"Another seven days already?"
Noticing the notification, Uchiha Shingen's eyes lit up. He immediately brought up his status panel:
[Uchiha Shingen] [Rank—Chunin] [Position—South District 4 Third Squad Captain, Konoha Military Police Force] [Abilities: --Chakra Level 4 --Kekkei Genkai—Sharingan—Two-Tomoe Level 4 --Fire Release Mastery Level 3 (+) --Taijutsu Mastery Level 2 (+) --Genjutsu Mastery Level 2 (+) --Ninja Tool Mastery Level 1 (+)] [Ninjutsu: Fire Release—Great Fireball Technique, Fire Release—Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson, Body Flicker Technique...] [Evaluation—B+: An outstanding Chunin, an elite of the Konoha Military Police Force.] [Remaining Skill Points—3]
"Still not enough?!"
Uchiha Shingen was a little surprised.
Some of the abilities on the panel had a "+" after them, which meant he had enough remaining Attribute Points to raise them by one level.
Naturally, what Uchiha Shingen most wanted to improve right now was either his Chakra or his Sharingan.
After all, according to the clan elders,
in most cases, shinobi battles came down to Chakra. The side with more Chakra had a tremendous advantage.
The other was the foundation of the Uchiha. Nearly every shinobi in the clan who awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan had become a Konoha Jonin. Its value went without saying.
Unfortunately, raising either of those abilities by one level required far more Attribute Points than Uchiha Shingen had expected.
After a brief calculation, Uchiha Shingen gave up on spending his points on his other abilities.
Anyone who'd played games knew this.
It was extremely unwise to spend too many resources on skills you could grind out just by putting in time.
By contrast, abilities like Chakra and Kekkei Genkai, which were difficult to improve through conventional means and extremely valuable, were worth investing in.
He closed the panel.
Uchiha Shingen picked up a rice ball delivered from the Police Force cafeteria, took a big bite, and lowered his head to read the patrol records left by the night-shift squad.
He might be coasting, but he still had to do his job.
Uchiha Shingen's squad was mainly responsible for patrolling Konoha South District 4 between nine in the morning and five in the afternoon. They also handled some unexpected incidents.
His teammates gradually arrived. They still had some free time, so while waiting to hand over the shift, they gathered together and chatted.
"Have you heard?!"
"A new guy joined the Police Force yesterday. The clan leader assigned him to our squad. They say it's for experience, but he's probably just here to pad his résumé."
"You mean Shisui, right?!"
"That kid's a well-known genius. The Third Hokage even made an exception and let him join the Hokage Direct Anbu."
"I heard Shisui could've graduated from the Konoha Ninja Academy ages ago, but he stayed for two extra years to complete the Will of Fire course."
"Who even studies that stuff? How far has it strayed from the version compiled by the First?"
"Heh..."
"But don't let Shisui's age fool you. He's terrifyingly strong. Ordinary Chunin probably wouldn't stand a chance against him."
"Now that's what an Uchiha should be like!"
The Police Force lobby.
Uchiha Shingen stood by the wall, listening to his colleagues' conversation. He couldn't help becoming curious about the boy named Shisui.
A young genius, carrying his clan's name, in a hot-blooded shonen manga like this...
That was a textbook protagonist setup!
Even if he wasn't the protagonist, he was definitely an important character who'd make it to the finale.
Surely no manga author would kill off someone like that early—and have me run into him right after, of all things?!
A person shouldn't be—at the very least, a person shouldn't be—this spectacularly unlucky.
Before you continue