Upholding the Ninja Way

(Bullying + harem, a must-read for Naruto transmigrators, not missing a single one, with hidden menus—the main goal is to have it all! Eat! Eat! Eat!)

(Starting in Sunagakure, readers who want to experience the local customs of the Hidden Leaf Village directly can skip to chapter 44 to face the Will of Fire head-on!)

On the day Lin Chongshu turned 23, he had just finished his shift at the hospital where he was doing his residency, his feet still feeling a bit light.

He squinted toward the direction of Los Angeles at 4:00 AM, turning his head just in time to meet his own great fortune.

Immediately after, a flash of white light exploded before his eyes, and his consciousness was instantly snuffed out.

In the chaos, he seemed to float for a long time, yet it also felt like the blink of an eye.

His sense of smell woke up before his consciousness.

A suffocating, earthy stench, mixed with the dry heat of the sun baking the sand, drilled straight into his nose.

Lin Chongshu lay on the ground, the back of his head aching until it felt numb, pebbles digging into his back, his whole body feeling as if it were spread out on an iron plate.

He struggled to pry his eyes open a crack, seeing nothing but yellow—a dusky sky, earthy-yellow houses, all huddled together in a low, cramped mess.

As far as his vision reached, let alone trees, he couldn't find a single speck of green.

Where the hell did you bring me?

Is this still the country?

Lin Chongshu reflexively tried to push his body up, only to find his arms limp and unable to muster any strength.

This was definitely not how he was supposed to be.

A massive influx of memories that didn't belong to him flooded in frantically.

The original owner was also named Lin Chongshu, his parents were Sand ninjas who died in battle during the Shukaku riot.

Naruto?

This is the world of Naruto!

He jerked his head up, and a massive circular building in the distance slammed into his view, with a large "Wind" character written on its semi-circular roof.

"Haha! Naruto! It's Naruto!" Lin Chongshu was so excited he jumped up, his inner chuunibyou soul instantly igniting, and he shouted at the top of his lungs,

"I have no regrets in this life entering Naruto, in the next life I wish to be a Hidden Leaf..."

Smack!

Before he could finish his shout, the back of his head took another heavy blow, the pain making his vision go black as he pitched forward.

A few blood-stained pebbles fell beside him.

"What is this black-haired brat going crazy about again! Stop the noise!" A voice came from behind him.

Lin Chongshu clutched his head and turned around; four or five half-grown boys were swaying out from the corner of the alley.

"Why did you stop playing dead?" The red-haired Fatty in the lead cursed as he rushed up.

Before Lin Chongshu could react, the fists and palms of the group were already raining down on him.

"Stop hitting me! I'm not doing it, I'm not doing it anymore!" Lin Chongshu roared at the top of his lungs.

No one paid him any mind; the kicks and punches continued to land.

The original owner's memories continued to pour into his brain.

The cramped, dilapidated shack, the endless earthy-yellow sky, the loneliness of being all by himself, the day-after-day of beatings.

The final scene was the clearest: the original owner was cornered by this group, fists and feet smashing down, the back of his head accidentally hitting a stone ledge, and then, everything faded into darkness.

That was exactly how the original owner had been beaten to death.

Lin Chongshu mustered all his strength and roared again: "Stop! Don't hit me yet!"

The group finally stopped.

The red-haired Fatty panted heavily, looking down at him from above: "What kind of crap do you have now?"

Lin Chongshu touched the back of his head, his fingers coming away with sticky blood: "Why are you hitting me? Give me a reason first."

In the original owner's memories, he hadn't seen any grievances with these people; it seemed to be just fragments of being bullied, without any cause.

The few boys looked at each other, all a bit bewildered.

Fatty thought for a moment, puffed out his chest, and said righteously: "Because you're an orphan."

"What kind of reason is that! Did my parents offend you while they were alive?" Lin Chongshu pressed.

"No." Fatty answered fluently.

"Did they offend your parents?"

"Neither did they, we're all orphans too."

Lin Chongshu scrambled up, the movement too violent, nearly fainting again: "Then why are you hitting me? Are you sick!"

As he stood up, carrying an air of having nothing left to lose, the boys were actually startled into taking two steps back.

Fatty looked back, saw his companions shrinking away, and unable to save face, he roared at them:

"Don't overthink it! He deserves to be bullied!"

Seeing no one respond, he stiffened his neck and roared again, "Our Ninja Way is to do whatever we want! Have you all forgotten? As ninjas, we must carry out our own Ninja Way! There's no need for so many excuses!"

"Carry out your mother!" Lin Chongshu cursed loudly, "Did you eat shit or something?"

The red-haired Fatty froze for a moment, then his face flushed red. He kicked Lin Chongshu in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

The back of his head struck the ground again, and the sharp pain made Lin Chongshu's vision go black: Damn it, am I going to die right after transmigrating?

"Gaara! He's here!" someone suddenly shouted from the alley entrance.

The group acted as if a switch had been flipped; they immediately abandoned Lin Chongshu and turned their heads in unison.

A child stood at the mouth of the alley, a head shorter than Lin Chongshu.

He had red hair, skin pale as a sheet, and deep, dark circles under his eyes. He clutched a tattered rag doll and looked toward them timidly.

The child was very small, looking only six or seven years old, shorter than everyone else present.

The moment Gaara appeared, those people began to curse.

"Monster!"

"Stay away from everyone! Get out of Sunagakure!"

"Why hasn't your father thrown you away yet!"

Not satisfied with just cursing, someone even turned and spat in Gaara's direction.

Gaara stood where he was, motionless.

His gaze swept over slowly, his eyes empty, holding nothing at all.

He looked at the red-haired Fatty and his group, finally resting his eyes on Lin Chongshu, who had just stood up in the middle of the crowd.

At that moment, a voice suddenly exploded in Lin Chongshu's mind.

[Negative Emotion Collection System successfully activated.]

[When the host causes a target to experience extreme negative emotions, you may randomly extract one of their abilities.]

[Including but not limited to: ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, Kekkei Genkai, and other specialties.]

[Detected that the host has engaged in bullying behavior toward Gaara, causing Gaara to feel intense rejection and malice. Reward extraction complete.]

[Obtained: Shukaku's Power: Sand Manipulation, proficiency +1.]

[Note: Extracted proficiency cannot exceed the target's current level, but the host may break the limit through personal training.]

Lin Chongshu felt a surge of joy as a translucent box popped up before his eyes.

[Name: Lin Chongshu]
[Adolescence (Mental age: 23)]
[Strength: 1]
[Spirit: 4]
[Agility: 2]
[Physique: 1]
[Speed: 2]
[Shukaku's Power: Sand Manipulation (Proficiency 1)]

Lin Chongshu stared at the panel for two seconds.

Strength 1, physique 1; with this pathetic body, it was no wonder he had been beaten up earlier.

He looked at the "Spirit" column again, which finally made him feel a bit more balanced.

Although his body had shrunk, his mind remained agile and omniscient... wait! Now was not the time to think about that! There were more important things to do.

He looked up at the small, red-haired child.

The group was still cursing, their words growing increasingly vicious.

"You monster who killed your own mother!"

"Your mother died because of you! No one will ever love you in your entire life!"

Gaara's lips began to tremble uncontrollably, his small body tensing until it was rigid.

Wisps of sand began to rise from around his feet.

Lin Chongshu was just about to join in, ready to show off his fanboy spirit and farm some proficiency.

Bang!

That mass of sand slammed violently into the boy standing closest to Gaara.

The person didn't even have time to groan; it was as if he had been gripped by the sand, instantly crushed into a pulp.

Blood splattered all over the ground.

Gaara clutched his head, suddenly crouching on the ground, his entire body trembling violently as he wailed.

"Waaah..."

Lin Chongshu looked at the mess on the ground, his stomach churning. "Holy crap, you're the one acting aggrieved now..."

This wasn't bullying anymore! This was way too dangerous!

A dark shadow lunged out from the darkness; it was a ninja wearing a Sand Village headband.

Without a word, he tucked the crouching Gaara under his arm and ran.

Immediately after, three or four more ninjas appeared out of thin air, each grabbing one of the remaining boys, including Lin Chongshu, tucking them under their arms and retreating rapidly.

Lin Chongshu was held tight, the wind rushing into his ears.

He struggled to turn his head, taking one last look at the pool of blood on the ground as it grew smaller and smaller in the distance.

The sun overhead was blindingly white, so bright that he couldn't see anything clearly, hearing only Gaara's crying stretched out long and thin in the wind.