Yin Xiang's Team Leader

"Sharingan!?" Yin Xiang's pupils constricted sharply. If it were the Sharingan from twelve years ago... did that mean it was Obito?

"We beg our Lord to grant us death!"

"If you want to die, go die. Why come looking for me?" Yin Xiang sat back down cross-legged. Since they weren't going to harm him, he felt relieved.

"Without our Lord's command to die, we dare not end our lives at will."

"Is the Insoro Clan's upbringing really that strict?" Yin Xiang curled his lip. "Forget about dying. You're free. Go do whatever you want. From now on, the Insoro Clan no longer exists."

The four men looked at each other in confusion, then back at Yin Xiang. "Does our Lord not wish to avenge the clan?"

"Avenge? Setting aside whether I have the heart for it," Yin Xiang smiled, "even if I did, I don't have the strength."

"We are willing to serve you through thick and thin, and we would die without regret!"

"Through thick and thin? What use is that? The enemy controlled you in a single encounter. I can't even beat you, let alone the person who controlled you so easily." Yin Xiang shook his head.

"Since you were here earlier, you must have heard me. I only want a peaceful life; having the ability to protect myself is enough. As for the Insoro Clan, let it vanish from history." In any case, this clan shouldn't have existed in the history of ninjas anyway, Yin Xiang thought to himself.

As for avenging the clan, Yin Xiang hadn't considered it. He wasn't originally from this world; even if this body was a descendant of the Insoro Clan, it had nothing to do with him personally.

"Since our Lord grants us freedom, we now have the right to end our own lives. We hope that one day our Lord will see reason and avenge the Insoro Clan! We shall now pay for our sins with our lives!" one of them said. Then, the four men cleanly drew the blades from their backs and slit their own throats.

Thud...

Four corpses fell before Yin Xiang's eyes.

"This..." Yin Xiang was stunned. What were they doing? Did they care so little for their own lives?

Yin Xiang stared blankly at the four bodies, the wine in his cup losing its flavor.

Gulp.

Yin Xiang swallowed hard. This was the first time he had truly seen a corpse, and he couldn't help but feel a bit panicked.

After a long while, Yin Xiang created a Shadow Clone, and together they buried the four men in the woods. During the process, he scavenged some items from them.

Scrolls, ninja blades, kunai, shuriken, explosive tags, military rations, and some money that was useless to him.

"If you were going to die, you could have at least left one person alive to bury you. You're just making things difficult for me." After shoveling the last of the dirt, Yin Xiang stuck the shovel into the ground and sighed.

"What kind of clan rules does this Insoro Clan have? They don't even dare to commit suicide without an order, and they care nothing for their own lives. It seems Insoro Hen must have been a cold-blooded, heartless person. He must have been my great-grandfather."

"A descendant of a transmigrator giving birth to another transmigrator—if that got out, it would be a huge joke." Yin Xiang muttered to himself. It was getting late, so he packed up the items, washed up, and went to sleep. Tomorrow, he had to go to the Ninja Academy for class assignments.

The incident with the four Insoro clansmen caused no stir in Konoha. They arrived silently and died silently, as if they had never existed at all. Aside from Yin Xiang, no one knew they had ever appeared.

When he arrived at school the next day, the girls noticed that Yin Xiang didn't pay them any mind or respond to them. They felt disappointed, but none of them approached him again.

"Class assignments are today. I wonder who I'll be in a class with," Tenten said to Yin Xiang.

"Yin Xiang, who do you want to be in a class with?"

"Me? As long as they don't hold me back or cause trouble, it's fine. Someone like you? No thanks," Yin Xiang said with a smile.

"What is that supposed to mean! Are you saying I'd hold you back?" Tenten slammed her hand on the desk and shouted, drawing the attention of the whole class. She quickly sat back down.

"See? You just caused trouble for me," Yin Xiang shrugged. Tenten glared at him, grinding her teeth, but said nothing more.

Soon, teachers came in to collect their students. Finally, a man with thick eyebrows and a bowl cut entered and took Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee away. By now, Yin Xiang was the only one left in the classroom.

Yin Xiang wasn't in a hurry. He couldn't imagine who would come to lead him, and since it seemed he was the only one in this class, this person must be special.

After waiting a while longer, the classroom door finally opened, and a man with a pineapple-shaped hairstyle walked in.

"What a drag. I didn't expect to be leading a brat like you." The first thing he said upon entering was exactly that.

"Shikaku Nara..." Yin Xiang frowned. He hadn't expected this man to be his teacher.

However, seeing him, Yin Xiang understood why he was the only one in this class. Shikaku Nara hated trouble, so he would be ten thousand times unwilling to lead a team. Leading three people was bad enough; he'd find leading even one person to be a chore.

"I didn't expect Senior Nara to be leading the team. What a surprise." Yin Xiang stood up from his seat and walked toward Shikaku Nara.

"I didn't want to lead a team, but the Third Hokage insisted I take you, so I had no choice." Shikaku Nara wasn't just doing this for the Third Hokage; he was also doing it for his old comrade, Minato.

"Very well, Teacher Shikaku. I'll be in your care from now on." Yin Xiang bowed slightly to Shikaku, showing the proper respect for a teacher.

"The classroom is empty, so let's talk here." Shikaku nodded and sat in a seat in the front row. Yin Xiang sat opposite him, and the two sat face-to-face.

"I have a general understanding of your situation. Tell me about your dreams," Shikaku said with a smile.

"Dreams? Just be a ninja, have the strength to protect myself, have a gentle wife, an obedient child, a happy family of three, and live a plain, peaceful life forever. Yeah, that's about it."

"Oh?" Shikaku paused, then laughed. "Hahaha, that sounds a lot like Shikamaru."

Shikamaru's dream was also just to be a ninja, earn some money... then marry a woman who wasn't too beautiful or too ugly, have two children—the first a girl, the second a boy... retire from ninja work once his daughter was married and his son could stand on his own... and then spend his days playing shogi or Go in a leisurely, secluded life... and die before his wife did...