New Mission: Become a Hidden Leaf Village Genin

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining the skill: [Paper Arts] (from One Piece). Load immediately?]

"Paper Arts?"

Ling Yue froze. The name sounded kind of flimsy, not like something useful in a fight. But anything from One Piece should be decent, right?

"Load it!"

Another stream of information flooded into her mind, this time about relaxing her body, sensing air currents, drifting with the wind like paper, and evading attacks.

"..."

Ling Yue stood where she was and gave it a try. Her body really did seem a little lighter and more agile.

But Ling Yue fell into deep thought. "...How is this thing supposed to attack? When an enemy comes at me, am I supposed to float away like a sheet of paper? Wouldn't that just mean I can only take hits?"

She looked at her utterly empty dimensional points bar, then felt her stomach growling with hunger, and was left speechless.

"Damn it, I traded a hundred points for this? System, are you even reliable?"

The system gave no response.

Fine. It looked like she could not count on this thing suddenly growing a conscience. Her top priority was finding something to eat, then making her way back to the Hidden Leaf Village.

She pulled herself together and maintained her Zetsu state, minimizing both consumption and the risk of being discovered while carefully sensing the movements and air currents around her—an additional boost to perception granted by Paper Arts.

After walking for over half an hour, the forest gradually thinned out.

Then her nose twitched, catching a faint fruity scent.

Food!

She immediately crept carefully toward the source of the smell and soon found several short trees bearing bright red wild fruits, somewhat like apples but smaller.

After confirming there was no danger nearby, Ling Yue released Zetsu and pounced without hesitation, plucking a fruit and stuffing it into her mouth.

The fruit was a little astringent, but it had plenty of juice and could barely fill her stomach. She wolfed down several before the gnawing hunger in her belly finally eased somewhat.

Once she was full, her mind began working properly again. She sat down against a fruit tree and started sorting through the chaotic fragments of memory in her head.

Naruto... Hidden Leaf Village... Naruto Uzumaki... Sasuke Uchiha...

She had really transmigrated into this high-risk world! And the timeline seemed fairly early—Naruto and the others were probably still at the Ninja Academy?

The original owner of this body had been an ordinary war orphan. Her name had also been Yue. Her parents had died during the Nine-Tails Incident, and she had survived on the meager relief money distributed by the village. She was introverted, had few friends, and possessed an extremely low presence.

"Starting as an orphan—hell difficulty." Ling Yue sighed. "Good thing I have a system, even if it seems a little scammy."

After resting for a while and recovering some strength, she decided to hurry back. Based on the memory fragments, this forest should be on the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Village, not too far away.

On the way back, she walked while trying to familiarize herself with [Zetsu] and [Paper Arts].

[Zetsu] could perfectly conceal her presence, but moving too quickly or using chakra seemed to weaken its effect.

[Paper Arts], meanwhile, required intense concentration to sense air currents and predict the path of attacks. It also demanded a high degree of bodily control.

"These two skills... seem like they're both for taking hits and running away, huh?" Ling Yue felt a little depressed. "Next time I draw, I'll get something that can actively beat people up even if it kills me!"

Just as she was thinking that, a burst of shouting and cursing suddenly came from ahead.

"Monster! Get lost!"

"It's because of you that my dad..."

"Beat him!"

Hearing the commotion, Ling Yue quietly moved closer and peered out from behind a large tree.

In a clearing among the trees, three boys a little older than her were surrounding a smaller blond-haired child, punching and kicking him.

The blond boy crouched on the ground with his head covered. He did not fight back, merely gritting his teeth and silently enduring it.

Naruto!!

Ling Yue immediately recognized that signature blond hair and the stubbornness in those blue eyes.

The three boys doing the beating were dressed ordinarily. They looked like civilian children from the village.

"Nine-Tails demon fox! You shouldn't even be in the village!"

"Beat him to death!"

Their insults were unbearable to hear.

Ling Yue frowned tightly. She knew Naruto had suffered terribly as a child, but seeing it with her own eyes was another matter entirely.

Those three brats showed no restraint, and Naruto already had a bruise on his face.

Should she interfere?

Subconsciously, she touched her thin arms and legs. This body's foundation was terrible, and it was malnourished. She probably could not beat those three boys.

Use her skills? Hide with [Zetsu]? Dodge with [Paper Arts]? Neither seemed very useful.

Just then, one of the taller boys seemed to have grown tired of hitting Naruto. Panting, he picked up a fist-sized rock from nearby.

"That's for scaring my little sister!" He raised the rock viciously, about to smash it down on Naruto's head!

If that hit landed, Naruto's head would be split open!

"Stop!"

Before Ling Yue's brain could react, her body had already rushed out, and she shouted.

The three boys jumped in fright, and the boy holding the rock froze mid-motion.

When they turned and saw a girl even smaller and skinnier than them, dressed in ragged clothes, they were stunned for a moment before contempt appeared on their faces.

"Where did this stinking girl come from? Mind your own business!" the tall boy cursed.

"Get lost! Or we'll beat you up too!" the short, chubby one echoed.

Naruto also lifted his head. Surprise and a faint, barely noticeable hope flickered in his blue eyes, but they quickly dimmed again. He shouted at her, "Hey! Go away! You don't need to worry about me!"

Ling Yue was a little scared, but she had already spoken up and stepped out. She could not back down now, could she?

She forced herself to act tough, crossing her arms as she had seen characters do in anime before. She tried to make her voice sound calm. "What kind of ability is ganging up three against one?"

"What the hell does it have to do with you? He's a demon fox!" The tall boy seemed enraged. He put down the rock and walked toward Ling Yue. "You want to stand up for him?"

The other two boys also closed in, their expressions hostile.

Ling Yue's heart pounded wildly as her mind raced. She definitely could not win in a fight. Run? She could probably use [Paper Arts] to avoid being caught by them, but what about Naruto?

Right! Scare them!

She took a deep breath, recalling the feeling from when the system had loaded her skill. Deliberately lowering her voice and adding a hint of mystery, she said, "I just came from that forest over there. I saw ANBU officers patrolling. What do you think will happen if they see you bullying someone here?"

"ANBU?" The faces of the three boys changed, fear appearing in their eyes.

To ordinary villagers and children, the masked ANBU were mysterious and terrifying, symbols of the village's authority and punishment.

"Y-You're lying!" the tall boy shouted fiercely, though his steps had already stopped.

"If you don't believe me, turn around and look for yourselves." Ling Yue deliberately tilted her chin toward the forest behind them, putting on an act as if it were true.

The three boys instinctively turned around in unison and looked nervously into the distance.

The forest was dark and deep. The wind rustled through the leaves, as though someone really were hiding there.

Seizing the chance, Ling Yue rushed over, grabbed Naruto, who was still crouching on the ground, and barked, "Run!"

Naruto froze for a moment, but his body was already being dragged into a run.

"Damn it! We got fooled! Get them!" The tall boy came to his senses and shouted furiously. The three of them took off after them.

Ling Yue dragged Naruto along as they ran for their lives, but Naruto seemed to have been beaten badly just now. He limped as he ran, and his speed was simply too slow. The three brats behind them cursed as they drew closer and closer.

"This way!" Naruto suddenly shouted. He pulled Ling Yue into a narrower path. He was clearly more familiar with this area.

After weaving through countless turns, they slipped behind a dilapidated shed piled with junk, held their breaths, and listened tensely to the sounds outside.

Footsteps and shouting ran past outside, gradually fading into the distance.

"Whew... We lost them..." Naruto plopped down on the ground, panting heavily. His face was still bruised, but he grinned. "Haha, we got away! I'm awesome, right?"

Ling Yue also slid down against the wall, her heart nearly leaping out of her throat. She rolled her eyes at him irritably. "Awesome at what? You almost got beaten to death."

Naruto scratched his messy blond hair and looked at Ling Yue with sparkling blue eyes. "Um... thanks. What's your name? I've never seen you before."

"My name is Yue." Ling Yue steadied her breathing. "I just... got back from outside."

"Oh! I'm Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto introduced himself loudly. Then, as though remembering something, his mood dropped slightly. "You... you aren't scared of me? They all say I'm a demon fox..."

"Demon fox, my ass." Ling Yue curled her lip. "You're just an unlucky kid."

Naruto froze and stared blankly at her, as though someone had denied that label so bluntly for the first time.

Ling Yue said nothing more. Having rested enough, she stood and patted the dust off her backside. "Let's go. Back to the village."

"O-Okay!" Naruto hurriedly climbed up and limped after her, but his chatterbox had already opened.

"Yue, you were so amazing just now! You actually dared to trick them! And you even said something about ANBU... Have you seen what ANBU look like? Are they really cool?"

"I didn't see them. I made it up."

"Huh? You made it up? Wow! That makes you even more amazing!..."

The two walked and talked, though it was mostly Naruto chirping nonstop while Ling Yue occasionally responded.

When they neared the edge of the village, Naruto suddenly stopped and looked at Ling Yue very seriously. "Um... Yue, we're friends from now on, right?"

Ling Yue looked at his bruised yet expectant face and nodded. "Yeah."

"That's great! I have another friend now!" Naruto jumped happily, nearly tugging at his injuries. He bared his teeth in pain but did not care at all.

Watching Naruto's excited figure run off into the distance, Ling Yue felt a little complicated.

So she had already met the protagonist? It... was not too bad.

She turned and headed toward the rundown little house from her memories, considering what she should do next.

She needed to find a way to make some money, improve her life, and then... quickly complete missions to earn points for draws!

If she had had an offensive skill just now, would things have been so embarrassing?

Just as she was thinking that, the system's emotionless mechanical voice suddenly sounded in her mind.

[Ding! New mission issued: Successfully pass the Ninja Academy graduation exam and become a Hidden Leaf Village genin.] [Mission reward: Dimensional Points x300, Skill Card Coupons (R) x2.]

Ling Yue stopped walking.

Ninja Academy? Graduation exam?

She suddenly remembered a crucial issue. At the original owner's age, she really was supposed to be graduating from the Ninja Academy! But the original owner had been dead last! Her theory classes were passable, but her practical classes were a complete disaster, especially the Clone Technique...

As for herself... forget the Clone Technique—she had only just learned how to refine chakra!

This mission... was a little too difficult!

And the reward was actually 300 points and two card coupons? Did this system have some kind of misunderstanding about what a "genin" was?