A Body That Wanted to Make Its Owner Work Harder

The Uchiha Compound, central area.

In a spacious courtyard, an extremely lazy young man lounged in a rocking chair.

A gentle breeze brushed his face. Several cherry trees swayed in the wind, and the wind chimes hanging from their branches rang sweetly.

"Now this is the life. Going out and fighting to the death is just asking for trouble."

Uchiha Yang slowly opened his eyes, still heavy with sleep. He stretched and yawned.

In his previous life, he'd been an office drone. After dying from overwork under his boss's constant motivational speeches, he'd transmigrated into the Warring States era of Naruto. It was enough to make a man lose the will to live.

Fortunately, it would be decades before the Uchiha Clan was wiped out in the story. Maybe he'd die of old age before then, so there was no need to worry about it.

"Yang, you're sunbathing again."

A young man appeared atop the wall, looking at him with exasperation.

"You know the family has you and your brother. I feel perfectly at ease. I just want to be an ordinary person and keep an eye on the compound for you."

Uchiha Yang didn't care in the slightest. If anything, he was proud to be an ordinary person.

"You fight tooth and nail out there, all for the sake of the family's peace and quiet, right?"

"I get to enjoy the peace you bring us. That means all your hard work hasn't been wasted."

Uchiha Yang rattled off a string of twisted logic, yet somehow made it sound reasonable. Uchiha Izuna was left speechless.

"Actually, this chair really is comfortable. Coming here to relax after a mission helps a lot."

Uchiha Izuna jumped down beside him with a helpless look and settled into the other chair, a contented expression on his face.

The maid nearby was quick on the uptake. She'd already brought over fruit and iced drinks and set them on the table between the two of them.

"Brrr—"

Without even looking, Uchiha Izuna picked up a glass and took a sip. His face instantly twisted up, and the sour taste made his mouth water.

Uchiha Yang sipped his chilled watermelon juice and burst out laughing at the sight.

"Forgot to tell you, that's chilled lemonade. It's just a tiny bit sour."

"You jerk! Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

Uchiha Izuna quickly set the lemonade aside, but the sour taste lingered in his mouth.

"Come on, tell me. Did you come here for a reason?"

Uchiha Yang put down his watermelon juice and leaned back in the rocking chair, eyes comfortably half-closed.

Uchiha Izuna and he knew each other because they were relatives. Izuna was his cousin, and Uchiha Madara was his older cousin.

His maternal uncle was Uchiha Tajima. That was also why he could stay in the Uchiha Compound without having to go out and fight for his life.

Before his older cousin had come into his own, he could rely on his uncle. Once his older cousin was grown, he could rely on him instead.

Uchiha Tajima felt sorry for his sister's only surviving child. Besides, the Uchiha didn't exactly lack fighting strength.

Keeping him in the compound was no trouble. One more or one less made little difference.

They provided him with good food and drink, and to the Uchiha, the cost was negligible.

At his words, Uchiha Izuna sighed inwardly. It seemed that not being able to become a ninja had hit his cousin hard.

Otherwise, with his cousin's mind, he'd be every bit as capable as Izuna.

Uchiha Izuna looked at him with a complicated expression. Still, he opened his mouth as he'd agreed with his older brother beforehand.

"My brother said you can't go on like this. Even if you have people protecting you, you'd be safer if you could defend yourself."

"Even if you don't become a ninja, you could become a samurai. That'd give you another option."

"The clan's secret vault has methods for training as a samurai. As for a weapon, don't worry. My brother is already collecting the best materials to have one made for you."

"He really doesn't want to see you keep wasting away like this."

Uchiha Madara genuinely cared about Uchiha Yang. The two of them had always been very close.

Besides, Uchiha Madara had always believed that his inability to become a ninja and the loss of his parents had dealt Uchiha Yang such a blow that he'd become so listless.

"Don't bother. I just want to live out my life in peace. I stay in the compound and never go out. How could I possibly be in danger?"

Uchiha Yang quickly cut off Uchiha Izuna before he could continue.

First they'd tempt him into becoming a samurai, and then they'd have him go to war. Where would it end?

He'd seen plenty of this sort of thing in his previous life's workplace: one promise of future rewards after another, an endless supply. His fridge couldn't even hold them all.

"Enough, enough. I've said what I needed to say. Let's leave it at that. I'll head back now."

Seeing that Uchiha Yang was as unmoved as ever, Uchiha Izuna could do nothing but leave.

The little interruption didn't spoil Uchiha Yang's mood.

A samurai? Not even a dog would do it.

Besides, ten hidden guards left behind by his parents were protecting him in secret.

The leader of the guards, who commanded the other nine, was an elite Jonin with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

The other nine were ordinary Chunin and Jonin. They'd all been selected from orphans caught up in the chaos of war and trained.

The Uchiha Clan had been at war with those Senju bastards for years, and plenty of innocent civilians had been caught in the crossfire. Some of their orphans had naturally been taken in and raised as loyal, expendable fighters.

After his parents died, the ninjas they'd trained naturally transferred their loyalty to Uchiha Yang, their only surviving child.

With this kind of power at his disposal, Uchiha Yang had even more reason to laze around and take it easy.

What was wrong with lazing around?

His life was comfortable.

What was wrong with taking it easy?

Being able to lie around was a skill in itself.

[Sharingan: Master, I've reached the edge of the Two-Tomoe Sharingan. I'll keep growing stronger and make sure you get the Mangekyō Sharingan as soon as possible.]

[Brain: Guys, who gets it? The master's actually trying to rot me from the inside out with all this slacking. Ah, I feel like I have boundless energy. I'll stay up late and get in some extra training tonight.]

[Fire Style: I'm studying nature transformation. Work hard while you're young, or you'll regret it when you're old. I'll make sure the master can use me as soon as possible.]

[Water Style: You damn Fire Style! You've been secretly working me into the ground!]

[Fire Style: I haven't! You're making things up! You're seeing things!]

[Hand: To succeed, you have to go crazy first. Only training leads to success. Who even uses Hand Seals these days? I'll clap my hands and unleash a massive technique, so the master can experience the thrill of a big move as soon as possible. Then he'll stop slacking off.]

[Leg: My Shadowless Kick of Foshan is almost mastered. Soon I'll be ready to wreak havoc on the battlefield. It's only a matter of time.]

[Lightning Affinity: Master, don't lose heart. Get your groove back with me. One, two. One, two. One, two.]

Uchiha Yang ignored the annoying bunch and closed his eyes, continuing to lounge in the rocking chair.

The only thing stopping him from taking it easy now was his own body.

Maybe he was just too comfortable lazing around. His body had actually started developing a mind of its own, annoyed by how lazy he was, and that was why all these guys had started popping up one by one.

They were all as hyped up as if they'd taken stimulants, brimming with energy and even more overworked than office drones.

The way they worked so hard reminded him of how his supervisor used to pour motivational speeches down his throat in his previous life.

He could control them, but when he went to sleep, these guys would stay up late working overtime.

Damn it, didn't they know that overtime could kill them?

Especially the brain. If you croaked from working too hard, I'd skip right past taking it easy and end up in a coffin.

The one good thing was that the brain's overtime didn't affect him. Otherwise, he really would have to keep his guard up against trouble from within.

But the harder they worked, the more they reminded him of his previous life.

The more they reminded him, the more he resisted. His resolve to take it easy only grew stronger.

He wasn't a good-for-nothing to begin with. This body was a complete genius. Luckily, he'd kept that hidden from everyone.

As long as he didn't make a move, no one would know he was a ninja. All your hard work will be for nothing.