The Forgotten

Two weeks had passed since Yueshu's duel with Minato Namikaze. Yueshu's daily life was still the same as ever, with nothing changed except that Minato was no longer in his class.

Minato had passed the early graduation exam and become an honored Genin ahead of everyone else, instead of remaining a student like Yueshu, who still had to attend class.

Yueshu didn't really care about it. To him, being a Genin was no better than being a student. He only had to go to school for a little while each day, and could spend the rest of his time lazing around. He had to admit, it was just too blissful.

In his previous life, he'd been a homebody. He wasn't ambitious, and his personality hadn't changed. How could he possibly become driven the moment he crossed into another world, forever striving toward the summit?

Besides, this was a time of peace. Why force himself? Life was meant to be enjoyed.

That was Yueshu's philosophy and motto. If the sky fell, someone taller could hold it up. He shouldn't always think he was some sort of savior or protagonist. This world wasn't a game; everyone here was real. What gave him the right to say he was the protagonist?

Yueshu looked down on those male leads who crossed into another world and immediately changed personality, devoted themselves to getting stronger, and then built a harem. They acted as if transmigration had made them evolve. They'd been useless homebodies for more than twenty years, yet after crossing over, they behaved like entirely different people.

"You really are lazy, you know."

Tsunade had gone out for a walk for the first time in a while. As soon as she got home, she saw Yueshu lying on the tatami after returning from school.

"You're the last person I want to hear that from."

Yueshu yawned and shot Tsunade a sidelong glance.

She was much lazier than he was. She usually had nothing to do and just lay around without lifting a finger.

Tsunade didn't reply. She simply lay down beside Yueshu.

"Hey, don't you have any goals? Like becoming Hokage or something? You're so young, but you act like an old man. That can't be good."

"My goal is to open a shop. Simple as that. All right, end of discussion."

Tsunade had barely finished speaking when Yueshu immediately cut in, leaving her dumbfounded.

"If the people who want to become Hokage heard that, they'd be heartbroken, Konoha's number-one genius."

"If they want to, they can go ahead. I'm not stopping them."

"You're not cute at all."

"Sorry about that."

Tsunade and Yueshu lay on the tatami. It was the middle of the afternoon, and before long, they both started to feel sleepy.

"Lady Tsunade! Lady Tsunade!"

Shizune's voice came from outside, and most of Yueshu and Tsunade's drowsiness vanished in an instant.

The door slid open with a bang, and, just as expected, Shizune appeared, dressed all in black.

"What is it, Shizune?"

"You haven't taught me Medical Ninjutsu today."

Tsunade put a hand to her forehead. She'd suddenly remembered that troublesome obligation.

"All right, let's go out to the yard."

Tsunade always wanted to skip work, but when she saw Shizune's eyes, she could only obediently play the teacher and instruct her.

"Good luck."

Yueshu waved a fist, then rolled over and lay back down.

With Shizune watching her eagerly from beside her, Tsunade had no choice but to take her out to the yard.

The afternoon temperature was just right. It was warm enough without a blanket—the perfect temperature for a nap.

Yueshu had only been lying down for a little while when his eyes closed on their own.

"Is anyone there? Is anyone there? Please, save me! I don't want to die yet!"

"If there's another life, I hope I can be someone who takes things easy. I don't want to spend every day scrambling to make a living. I'll open a little shop and make the food I love, and have a gentle wife, too. That's all I want. God, my wish is really that simple!"

"Yueshu! Yueshu!"

Two different voices echoed over and over in his mind. Yueshu slowly opened his eyes.

Shizune and Tsunade were right in front of him, only a few dozen centimeters away. There was a hint of worry in their eyes.

"Weren't you two going to study Medical Ninjutsu?"

Yueshu asked. Tsunade and Shizune were staring right at him.

"It's already dinnertime."

Shizune said nothing. Tsunade was the one who answered.

"Huh?"

Yueshu looked to the side. The yard had turned red in the dusk, and the setting sun bathed the yard and the tatami in its glow.

"Is it that late already? I must have slept for ages. It's my turn to make dinner today, isn't it? Wait, I'll go make it right away."

Yueshu said, and started to get up.

"You should wipe your face first."

Tsunade sighed and spoke slowly.

"I think so too. And I'll make dinner tonight. Yueshu, take the evening off. You seem a little tired."

Shizune's voice was usually gentle, but today it was even softer, like a spring breeze.

Yueshu didn't understand. Following their suggestion, he raised a hand to wipe his face, only to find that his hand was wet.

His eyes were crying without his noticing, and his mind hadn't registered it at all.

Yueshu stared blankly at his damp arm.

"Get some rest. I'll go make dinner."

Shizune said softly, then got up and headed to the kitchen. Only Tsunade remained there.

"Hey."

Yueshu raised his head to look at Tsunade. He had no idea what had happened to him. He'd only taken a nap, but now he was like this. And then there were those two sentences. He had no memory of them at all, yet they'd stirred his peaceful heart.

"Do you remember? Things from before?"

"What do you mean?"

"Looks like you don't remember."

Tsunade scratched her head while Yueshu watched her.

"Well, I'm not sure either. Go find out for yourself."

Tsunade said it in one breath, then walked away, leaving Yueshu frozen in place.

"What is she talking about now?"

Yueshu made his usual quip, but the next moment he fell silent.

"Is she talking about who I used to be? The past of this body?"

Yueshu murmured softly, in a voice only he could hear.

The smell of dinner drifted over from the kitchen. The system's electronic voice hadn't sounded in quite a while, either. Dinner that night was quieter than usual. Even Tsunade, who was normally noisy, had fallen silent.

Yueshu noticed.

He knew that before crossing over, he'd been a homebody who exercised and worked out. But he had no idea how he'd crossed over in the first place. And that wasn't all: he had no memories of the original owner of this body, either. It wasn't like in the novels he'd read, where the protagonist immediately inherited the original owner's memories after crossing over.

The system was a single-player one. It barely ever spoke, and it couldn't give him any hints or answers.

For some unknown reason, when Yueshu tried to recall his life before crossing over, everything seemed hazy.

He didn't think that was a good sign.

Even a single drop of water could send ripples across a still surface. The same was true of the Naruto World. With Yueshu, an outsider, added to the mix, everything was changing.

The sun had quietly set. After dinner, Yueshu returned to his room.

There wasn't much entertainment in the Naruto World. As usual, Yueshu lay down with the window wide open. He liked to relax in the evening and feel the breeze.

"Well, I'll take it slowly."

Yueshu stopped thinking about all that and closed his eyes, quietly enjoying the cool evening breeze.

The nights in Konoha were quiet. Unlike his previous life, there was no such thing as late-night businesses here. There were no street-food stalls or karaoke bars; nothing like that existed in the Naruto World.

At the thought, Yueshu smiled without realizing it.