Yan: Damn You, Obito Uchiha!

A month later.

Yan struggled free of his blankets' grip and rubbed his bleary eyes.

To prevent the birth of a certain devoted son, Yan had listened at the wall until midnight before finally falling asleep.

He opened the system panel.

Gold Coins: 990

Yan hurried through washing up, then went into the yard to practice swinging at empty air.

Inside, Mikoto watched Yan train so diligently, her mouth twitching. If she had the time right, he was about to be late.

[Today's training complete. Received 10 Gold Coins.]

Yan stopped at once and eagerly ordered the system: Draw!

A potato appeared before his eyes. Cracks spread across it, and it began to shake violently.

Light slowly shone through the cracks.

I got something!

Yan watched excitedly as the potato burst apart, leaving only a mass of golden light.

When the light faded, a line of text appeared before him:

[Counterattack] Lv1: Successfully block an attack within one second of taking a defensive stance to gain a buff that enhances all attributes for 5 seconds.

Yan fought to keep a grin off his face. He could already picture himself tearing into an enemy after landing a Counterattack.

"Hey, Yan, you're about to be late."

Mikoto looked helplessly at her somewhat unhinged younger cousin.

"I know, I know."

Suppressing his excitement, Yan waved goodbye to Mikoto and left the house.

"Yan, you forgot your lunch!"

Mikoto's voice never reached Yan, who was already far away.

At the Ninja Academy gates.

Yan called up the system in his mind.

[True Immersion System (Mortal Realm Version)]

Gold Coins: 0

Current skills: [True Immersion Substitution Technique] MAX: ...

[Counterattack] Lv1: ...

His Gold Coins were gone again. Time to find a new source of experience.

Yan entered the classroom just as the bell rang.

"Yan, you're late again. Did you help an old lady cross the street today, like Obito?"

As their teacher, Taro found those two habitually late Uchiha particularly troublesome.

"Ahem. A poor black cat blocked my way to school today. You know me, sir. I, Yan Uchiha, have always loved cats."

Taro's fist clenched.

"Forget it. Go to your seat." Taro decided to let Yan off. He might often be late, but his scores in theory were always good.

"Huff, huff." Just as Yan turned to leave, a boy in goggles and dark blue clothes ran into the classroom, gasping for breath.

"So, Obito, were you late because a black cat blocked your way too?"

"Huh? How did you know, sir? I was late because I helped a black cat find its owner..."

Obito failed to notice his teacher's face darkening and prepared to recount his good deed from that morning.

Sensing trouble, Yan tried to reach his seat before the teacher changed his mind.

He had barely taken a step when Taro grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"You two can stand outside and listen to this lesson!"

Taro tossed Yan and Obito out the door, one in each hand.

"Yan, why'd you use my story as an excuse? Damn it, now the teacher thinks we planned this together! Maybe Rin does too..."

Obito glared indignantly at Yan beside him.

Just days after school started, Yan had suddenly said, "Let me see what you're capable of as an Uchiha," and beaten him black and blue. Afterward, he had even looked disappointed and muttered something about not being able to "exploit a bug by crushing a weakling."

"Yan, you'd better pray you don't face me in practical combat today. I've learned a Ninjutsu, and when the time comes..."

Obito pictured himself using his Ninjutsu in practical combat to defeat Yan, then Kakashi, and earn Rin's admiring gaze. A silly grin spread across his face.

"Heh heh."

Yan looked at the future big Boss grinning like an idiot beside him and sighed inwardly.

If only this idiot could stay this way forever.

Practical combat class.

Yan watched the weaklings on the field peck at each other, bored out of his mind.

"Yan, that excuse for being late was ridiculous. You even picked the same one as Obito."

Anko, her dark purple hair tied in a high ponytail, nudged Yan with her elbow.

"Mine was made up. Obito's actually happened."

Yan turned toward the girl beside him. "He even said he'd crush me in practical combat."

"Pfft! Hahaha! The Uchiha's two losers are finally going head-to-head? This class just got interesting."

Anko teased Yan mercilessly.

"Hey, what do you mean, two losers? Obito's the only loser here."

"Oh, really? I've never seen you fight, but Obito says he often hears about you getting thrashed at the clan training ground. You can't be much stronger than him."

Yan's mouth twitched. Damn you, Obito Uchiha. So that's what you've been telling people about me.

Sure, I once tried to use my status as Fugaku's brother-in-law to get a look at the Uchiha Clan's Book Collection. After the old man guarding it threw me out, I threatened to have Fugaku cut off his pension. In the end, Fugaku made me apologize to the old man, Mikoto spanked me, and the whole clan heard about it.

But I, Yan Uchiha, am the hope of the Uchiha!

All I did was try to farm Gold Coins off Obito that one time. I barely said a word before I ambushed him.

Stupid system. It wouldn't give me any Gold Coins because Obito was too weak to count as an opponent.

As Yan grumbled inwardly, Taro announced the next match.

"Next up: Kakashi Hatake versus Homura Uchiha."

Anko elbowed Yan. "Good thing it's Kakashi. Losing to him won't expose what a colossal loser you are."

Yan's foot slipped as he headed onto the field, and he nearly fell.

He turned back to Anko. "Is that how you see your partner in crime?"

Anko blushed. "What partner in crime? You just dragged me out of class to eat Dango! And then you insisted on trying to knock the teacher out so we could stroll through the front gate. We almost got caught!"

"Ahem. That was an accident. Anyway, I'm strong, all right?"

"Sure."

Seeing Anko's unconvinced look, Yan suddenly remembered he had forgotten his lunch.

"Anko, let's make a bet."

"On what? How many seconds you'll last?"

"If I win, you buy me lunch. If I lose, I'll buy you Dango."

Anko's eyes lit up. "Deal."

Kakashi watched Yan ignore him, his mouth twitching beneath his mask.

Ever since school started, this guy had kept staring at him and had repeatedly tried to find a chance to pull off his mask.

Today was a perfect chance to teach him a lesson.

"Ahem."

Seeing that Yan still hadn't entered the field, Taro walked over, grabbed him by the back of his collar, and tossed him in.

The two took their positions and formed the Seal of Confrontation.

"Begin!"

At Taro's command, Kakashi moved, swiftly closing in on his opponent. Yan stood rooted to the spot, as though stunned.

[Battle begins! Opponent: Kakashi Hatake (Ninja Academy)!]

Yan looked at the panel before him and smiled faintly. Apparently, the system only counted characters from the original story who were stronger than him as sources of experience. No wonder it hadn't triggered when he ambushed Taro.

Kakashi had reached Yan and naturally noticed the smile on his face.

Does this guy think I'm no threat?

Kakashi threw a heavy punch straight at Yan's stomach.

Watching the blow land, Anko muttered, "He really is a loser!"

With a poof, a cloud of white smoke appeared where Yan stood.

Everyone's eyes widened. Even Kakashi's pupils contracted.