Shock Value Brings Shock

Konoha Ninja Academy plaza.

"In the future, all of you will become the gems of Konoha, the very foundation of this village!"

The Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, stood upon the podium, gesturing grandly as he surveyed the small children below.

Uchiha Kei hid in an inconspicuous corner and let out a massive yawn.

This was his second year since arriving in the world of Naruto.

It had taken him half a year to go from being inexplicably thrust into this world to begrudgingly accepting reality.

He had spent the remaining half-year frantically refining his chakra and practicing ninjutsu.

Since he couldn't resist, he might as well enjoy it.

In that half-year, Uchiha Kei had learned one fact.

Not all members of the Uchiha Clan were geniuses; there were losers like him, too...

"Kei, you're bored too, right?"

Beside him, a blond-haired kid with six symmetrical whisker marks squeezed over.

"Yeah, incredibly bored."

Uchiha Kei didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

If he had any friends in Konoha, Uzumaki Naruto was definitely the only one.

Both had lost their parents, both were perennial bottom-feeders, and both were equally unwelcome.

"How about we go graffiti the Hokage Monument after the entrance exam is over?"

Uzumaki Naruto looked left and right before whispering mysteriously.

Uchiha Kei rolled his eyes. As a good youth who had grown up under the red flag and the spring breeze, would he really do such a thing?

"And after we're done, we'll go eat Three-Color Dango together!"

"Deal!"

In the end, Uchiha Kei couldn't resist the temptation of Three-Color Dango; he couldn't help it, he just loved the stuff.

More importantly, he was poor—far poorer than Uzumaki Naruto.

"Alright, let us now begin the entrance exam!"

Sarutobi Hiruzen waved his hand, and the group of children below immediately erupted into cheers.

The massive crowd made their way to the Training Ground. With the exception of a very few, everyone else was rubbing their hands and eager to give it a try.

"The examination item is shuriken throwing."

Uchiha Kei and Uzumaki Naruto belonged to that small minority; they quietly hid at the back, watching their peers skillfully throw shurikens.

"How do you think they trained for that?"

Uchiha Kei felt a twinge of envy. No matter how hard he tried, his shurikens just wouldn't hit the target.

"Who knows? It's fine, you've got me here with you, don't you?"

Uzumaki Naruto also wore a look of envy. He and Uchiha Kei were two of a kind—the type of contestants who couldn't hit the target no matter what.

"Sigh."

Uchiha Kei let out a long breath.

He had watched Naruto three times over, so he naturally knew Uzumaki Naruto's future.

Sage Mode, Kurama Mode, all sorts of Rasengan variations—a classic child of destiny.

And him?

In seven hundred and twenty episodes, there wasn't even a shadow of a character named Uchiha Kei.

A classic background extra.

Life is so unfair...

Uchiha Kei lay on the ground, bored out of his mind, staring at the azure sky until he slowly drifted off to sleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed.

"Kei, Kei, Kei, wake up! It's your turn for the exam!"

Uzumaki Naruto shook the sleeping Uchiha Kei anxiously.

"Don't... don't mess around, let me sleep for ten more minutes, just ten minutes..." Uchiha Kei mumbled groggily.

"It's your turn! Stop sleeping..."

Uchiha Kei rose with sleepy eyes, the gaze of the entire field focused on him.

"Is that the crest of the Uchiha Clan on his clothes?"

"It seems to be. How come I've never seen him before?"

"He seems to be called... called Uchiha... Uchiha what was it again?"

"Looking at how relaxed he is, I bet he's another genius from the Uchiha Clan."

"Exactly, just look at Sasuke Uchiha from a moment ago; his shuriken throwing was a perfect score!"

A group of people whispered among themselves, their gazes curiously sizing up Uchiha Kei.

"Holy crap..."

Uchiha Kei woke up instantly and hurriedly ran to the proctor.

"Uchiha... Kei?"

The proctor looked him up and down.

"Yes!"

"We will begin your exam now," the proctor said with a kind smile, patting him on the shoulder. "Even if you have talent, you shouldn't be blindly arrogant."

Uchiha Kei felt a wave of embarrassment.

These people... they seemed to have misunderstood something, didn't they?

Uchiha Kei tremblingly picked up the shuriken, struggling to aim at the target.

"Why doesn't he look like he has any talent at all?"

"I know, his hands are shaking. It would be a miracle if he actually hit it."

"The Uchiha Clan's shuriken skills have always been the best; maybe he has his own unique throwing technique."

Amidst the discussion, a youth with an arrogant expression stood with his arms crossed, looking utterly disdainful.

"Sasuke, is this one of your clansmen?"

Sasuke Uchiha let out a cold snort. "I don't acknowledge him as part of the Uchiha Clan. He's an absolute disgrace!"

"Huh?"

Uchiha Kei adjusted his mood, took a deep breath, aimed at the target, and threw it with all his might.

The shuriken spun through the air, carrying a sharp whistling sound, and with a "whoosh"...

It vanished without a trace.

"Holy crap!"

"Holy crap!"

"Holy crap!"

The crowd's jaws dropped to the floor, everyone staring at Uchiha Kei with wide eyes.

"Smack."

Sasuke Uchiha covered his face with his hand.

He knew this would be the result; it was truly a disgrace to the Uchiha Clan.

Uchiha Kei, however, didn't have much of a reaction, other than a slight blush.

There was no helping it; this was his standard performance, and he had even performed better than usual today.

Hadn't they seen it fly past the target? Usually, he couldn't even hit the board.

Because of this, he even felt a bit smug, glancing provocatively at Uzumaki Naruto standing to the side.

Uzumaki Naruto was also looking on in disbelief, especially since he hadn't hit the target himself just a moment ago.

"Ding, received shock from Nozawa Koten, Shock Value +9."

"Ding, received shock from Miyamoto Tanaka, Shock Value +10."

"Ding, received shock from Kamikami Kazuya, Shock Value +19."

"Ding..."

A series of notification sounds rang out in Uchiha Kei's mind.

"What shock?"

Uchiha Kei looked at Uzumaki Naruto beside him.

"Shock? What are you talking about?"

Uzumaki Naruto was completely confused, not understanding what his friend meant.

"Wasn't that you talking just now? About Shock +9 or something?"

Uchiha Kei was also full of question marks.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Haven't you woken up yet?"

Uzumaki Naruto slapped him on the forehead carelessly, a silly grin on his face.

"No... just now..."

"Ding, Shock Value 1000, can randomly exchange for a Basic Ninjutsu. Do you wish to exchange?"

The notification sound rang in his head once again.

"No duh, of course I'm exchanging it," Uchiha Kei said instinctively.

"Ding. Ninjutsu exchange successful. All Shock Points deducted."

"Obtained Ninja Tool Mastery."

In an instant, a sharp pain pierced Uchiha Kei's brain as a flood of complex knowledge surged into his mind.

"This... what is this?"

A moment later, Uchiha Kei stared blankly at his hands as he reached out, and a shuriken appeared without a sound.

"Holy crap, how did you just pull out that shuriken?"

Uzumaki Naruto stared at the shuriken in his hand, his face full of shock.

"Ding. Received shock from Uzumaki Naruto. Shock Points +9."

This time, Uchiha Kei knew the source of the voice.

It was coming from inside his head!