The System

He wandered from stall to stall, stopping whenever he came across something tasty—takoyaki, teppanyaki squid, grilled meat skewers, fried radish balls, colorful dango, specialty onsen eggs, oden, and all sorts of other treats—and absolutely stuffed himself. After making his way through several snack streets, he was only barely half full. After all, martial artists were full of vigor and burned through a lot of energy. Besides, Uchiha Zhuang trained with chakra, and every single one of his cells was training too! He strolled along with a large cup of mint-lemon soda in hand when he happened to spot some members of the Senju Clan up ahead. A few people were chasing after a lively, stocky little girl. He thought about the timeline. It fit—Tsunade Senju, surely! He paid them no mind and continued on, only to spot a white-haired little boy and another with a gloomy air. He guessed they were Jiraiya and Orochimaru. After all, the world still had to follow its usual course. This was his chance to get in with them, so Uchiha Zhuang sidled over and stopped the two boys. They looked at the tall, muscular, scruffy teenager—who was actually younger than they were—and noticed the Uchiha Clan crest on his clothes. They exchanged a glance and tried to walk around him without saying a word. "Wait, you two little brats. You're both handsome. Be my friends! I'd like to treat you to something to eat. Would you come with me?" Uchiha Zhuang asked. The two didn't want to hang out with a scruffy teenager. Their parents often warned them not to play with strangers or let themselves be led astray by punks. The white-haired Jiraiya said, "You look like a punk. I want to eat, but I don't have any money. If you treat us while we walk around, we'll hang out with you. How about it?" Orochimaru nodded beside him. He had none of the air of the great scientist he'd become decades later—but he was still a child, so there was no need to expect too much of him!

"No problem! I'm Uchiha Zhuang, and I'm twelve years old. I've been training with my clan, and I know ninjutsu! What are your names?" They didn't need any other enticement. The moment they heard he knew ninjutsu, Jiraiya and Orochimaru's eyes lit up. The three walked along chatting, stopping to buy snacks from one street vendor after another. As he munched on a giant squid, Jiraiya said, "Big bro, how come you have so much money? I only get a few hundred in allowance every month. There are so many snacks I want to try, but I can't afford them! I believe I'll make lots of money someday, but nobody else does!" "I believe you, Jiraiya!" said Orochimaru, munching on takoyaki. A strange sense of accomplishment stirred in Uchiha Zhuang's heart. Smiling, he said, "I believe in you too. Your dreams are my dreams. What do you want to do when you grow up, Orochimaru?" Orochimaru thought for a moment before answering, "I want to stay with my parents forever. I want to stay with my friends forever, too. I hope this kind of life never changes." Seeing the happiness in Orochimaru's eyes, Uchiha Zhuang sighed again. The great scientist's childhood wish had been so simple and kind! Yet the world was so troubled, and it had brought about countless tragic stories. "Don't worry. We're friends now. How about this: you two call me big bro, and I'll teach you ninjutsu. Then you can work toward your dreams!" The two innocent boys were overjoyed. This big bro had money, spoke gently, and knew ninjutsu. He had to be a gift from Amaterasu, sent to look after them! They nodded eagerly. Uchiha Zhuang said, "No rush. Tomorrow, then. Let's meet here tomorrow morning. I'll have you make a vow and perform a little ceremony, so Amaterasu will bless our dreams and help them come true. Sound good?" "Yes, Big Bro Zhuang is right! I agree!" "Me too." Looking at the two little fellows' youthful faces, Uchiha Zhuang felt both thrilled and delighted. He'd actually taken two important figures from the future ninja world as his underlings. A sense of accomplishment welled up inside him. The three of them ate and drank their way along as the snack vendors greeted them warmly, thinking, "These kids are such good customers! A few hundred coins straight into the till!" After wandering around for a while, Uchiha Zhuang sent Jiraiya and Orochimaru home. Children couldn't stay out too late, or their parents would worry and scold them.

Walking through the nighttime streets, Uchiha Zhuang checked the watch he'd just bought. It was only nine o'clock. What should he do now? Maybe he'd see what Akihime was up to. He made his way to the Hyuga Clan Compound. The guards there saw the Uchiha crest on his clothes and stepped forward, shouting, "What's an Uchiha doing here?" "I'd like to see Hyuga Hinotori. We're friends." "Lady Akihime isn't here. Please go home." Uchiha Zhuang scratched the back of his head and left the compound. He knew he definitely wouldn't be allowed inside. He'd only come to show his sincerity and let Akihime know he'd stopped by. Wait, was he starting to act like some pathetic simp? Loving someone he couldn't have, unable to let go, hating the separation—that was what being a simp felt like, right?

On the way back, Uchiha Zhuang opened the system. He'd accumulated another three thousand points during this time, enough to buy something! He first checked out the overpowered items in the myriad worlds. After browsing for a long while, he found that the powerful items cost far too many points, while the weaker ones were things he didn't need. So he turned to the lottery panel. Each draw cost a thousand points, and the prize pool contained everything under the heavens, with no level restrictions. That was pretty generous. He immediately did a double draw. After a short wait, the system chimed: Congratulations, transmigrator! You have received two lottery keys. Congratulations, transmigrator! You have received a legendary gift box. Congratulations, transmigrator! You have received a rare gift box. He opened them and got a "Fire Nature Enhancement Pill" (gold; the pill's name was garbled in ninja-world translation, so the system helpfully used a name understood throughout the myriad worlds) and five Senzu Beans (blue). Good grief, even the Senzu Beans were only blue! And whatever this untranslatable pill was, it had to be seriously overpowered. The system gave no reply. Once it had delivered the items, it fell silent. Uchiha Zhuang didn't dwell on it. He could take the pill tonight and see what happened.

Back home, Uchiha Zhuang hurried into his room and shut the door. He redeemed the pill and looked at the little ball, which resembled a chocolate malt candy. He wondered whether it would taste bitter or sweet, then popped it into his mouth and chewed. Mm! Sweet. Pretty tasty, too. Before long, the usual side effects kicked in: he collapsed onto the bed, writhing in pain, then blacked out. The next day, the sun shone on Uchiha Zhuang's face. He sprang out of bed, feeling refreshed from head to toe, then focused inward. His Fire Release chakra seemed unusually lively, and a warm, fluid-like substance slowly circulated in his abdomen. It was a novel sensation. He didn't have to do anything; his abdomen was circulating the energy on its own. How amazing. His first order of business after getting up was breakfast. Meiko had specially prepared a huge meal for Uchiha Zhuang, who seemed to be growing: a bowl of pork cutlet and squid-ball udon, plus a bucket of milk. Good grief, she was practically raising him like a pig. After enjoying his breakfast, Uchiha Zhuang headed early to the shopping street from the night before to wait for his two underlings.