Make the Uchiha Great Again

Shinji Uchiha bent down and wiped the snot hanging from the little beggar's nose.

"You're just a little kid, and I'm a Jonin. Why would I be afraid of you?"

As he spoke,

he gently patted the boy's head.

The boy froze. "But... huh? Oh, right!"

Shinji Uchiha smiled. "What's your name, little guy?"

"...I-I'm Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto paused and lowered his head. "Big brother, everyone says I'm a Fox Demon... Are you really not afraid of me?"

"Lift your head and look at me. Is a Fox Demon stronger than a Jonin?"

Shinji firmly lifted Naruto's grubby face. Little Guy's eyes darted about, too afraid to meet his gaze.

"I-I don't know..."

Shinji stroked his hair. "Naruto, remember this: just because everyone points a finger at someone doesn't mean they're evil. As long as you know you're not a Fox Demon, you don't have to care what anyone thinks or how coldly they look at you."

"You are you, Naruto Uzumaki!"

"..."

Naruto stared blankly at Shinji's warm, gentle face.

He didn't know what "everyone points a finger at someone" meant, but he understood what his big brother was trying to say...

"Yeah!"

"I'm me! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, believe it!"

Naruto bit his lip. He trembled slightly, tears welling in his eyes.

"Big brother, I'll remember! Besides Hokage Grandpa, you're the second person who hasn't been afraid of me and has treated me kindly. I'll remember you forever! And... hehe! I'm gonna be Hokage someday!"

"Good spirit. But future Hokage, it's getting late. Shouldn't you head home?"

Shinji raised a hand

and pointed toward the end of the dark street.

Naruto Uzumaki jolted. "Whoa! It's that late already? I gotta get home, believe it!"

"Thanks, big brother!"

With that, he became a yellow whirlwind and vanished down the street...

Shinji stood and dusted off his hands, looking into the distance. "What a sweet kid. Don't you think, Shisui?"

"Brother Shinji."

At some point, a boy with slightly curly hair and a round nose had appeared behind Shinji. His ninja gear was immaculate, and a short sword hung across his back.

Shinji turned with a smile. "That was fast. Body Flicker Shisui lives up to his name."

"..."

The boy's expression stiffened. He bowed ninety degrees. "Please! Stop calling me by that nickname!"

The corners of Shinji's mouth lifted. "Busy? If not, let's get ramen."

Shisui looked troubled. He nodded, then shook his head. "Brother Shinji, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is... a sensitive matter. We should probably avoid getting too close to him."

As he spoke, Shisui glanced behind Shinji. A dark figure flashed across a nearby rooftop and disappeared.

He frowned.

Shinji narrowed his eyes. "He's just a child. What are you worried about?"

Shisui hesitated. "Forget it. I shouldn't have said anything."

"That's right. I told you before: if you can't figure something out, don't dwell on it. Your brain is made for fighting, not philosophy."

Shisui: "..."

"What are you standing there for? Go order two bowls of ramen!"

"...Yes!"

Watching Shisui hurry into the Ramen Shop, Shinji smiled with genuine warmth.

Shisui...

I spent seventeen years patiently trying to change you. Hearing you say "we" means all that effort wasn't wasted.

In truth,

Shinji Uchiha wasn't native to the Shinobi World. He had come from another world.

How he had arrived wasn't worth getting into.

What mattered was that he had a cheat ability.

It was a rudimentary "panel."

The panel issued countless "challenge quests," "collection quests," and "side quests," as well as the most important kind: main quests.

Main quests were straightforward. His previous one had been "Participate in the Third Shinobi World War and survive."

That battle had given him a real foothold in the Shinobi World.

Challenge quests—

As the name suggested, they might require him to kill a few Genin or Jonin, or defeat the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Collection quests were just as easy to understand—a collector's dream. Gather Kirigakure's seven Ninja Blades, the Banana Palm Fan, the Seven-Star Sword, and so on...

There was something else.

Some challenge quests were downright strange.

For example—"Win Mei Terumi's heart."

When Shinji saw that quest, he was locked in a fight to the death with Mei Terumi, who was four years older than him.

Though that crazy thirteen- or fourteen-year-old woman "harassed" Shinji more than once during the fight,

she attacked as viciously as if he'd murdered her entire family. Every move was lethal...

The absurd part was

that alongside the quest to win her heart,

there was another quest involving Mei Terumi: "Taste Mei Terumi's spit"!

No one could understand the tangle of emotions Shinji had felt at the time.

He seriously suspected

that this shitty system was the ultimate fantasy of some Hokage-obsessed shut-in made real!

Did it have any fucking idea what Mei Terumi's spit was?

It was Boil Release and Lava Release!!!

As for side quests,

they were smaller offshoots of the main quests, such as taking part in the Battle of Kikyo Mountain or the Battle of Kannabi Bridge...

Shinji recalled a few of the "interesting" things that had happened during the Third Shinobi World War.

He shook his head.

It's been a long time since I took stock of everything... And I probably won't open the panel again for a long while. Shinji considered it for a moment.

Then he silently commanded, Open panel.

Name: Shinji Uchiha

Age: 17

Life energy (body): 4100 (standard Jonin physique: 1000)

Mental energy (eyes): 5300 (standard genjutsu-specialist Special Jōnin: 1000)

Chakra energy: 5750 (standard Jonin: 1000; Sharingan Kakashi: 2000)

Kekkei Genkai: Three Tomoe Sharingan

Talent: Space-Time Adaptation (S)

Chakra Nature Transformation proficiency: Fire Release (S), Lightning (A), Wind (A), Earth Release (A), Water (A), Yin (S), Yang Release (S)

Five-nature Ninjutsu proficiency: Fire Release (S), Lightning Release (A), Wind Release (A), Water Release (A), Earth Release (B)

[Main Quest] A man born beneath heaven and earth cannot remain under another's thumb forever—stage a coup and become the Clan Head of the Uchiha Clan! (Long-term)

Reward: Purple Chest

[Side Quest] Lead the clan back to its former glory! Make the Uchiha great again! (Recurring management quest)

Current prosperity: 300 (Increase the clan's population, improve happiness, strengthen its defenses, or increase its number of ninja to gain prosperity.)

Next reward threshold: 500 prosperity

Reward: 300 Gold Coins

[Challenge Quests] Omitted.

[Remaining Gold Coins]: 1251

Overall assessment: With mastery of all seven natures, you are a Fire God who can forge an inferno, a rose dancing with grace. But a true master always keeps the heart of an apprentice. The road ahead of you has no end!

Shinji glanced at the system's assessment, which never seemed to run out of praise.

Shinji had no comment.

He remembered the assessment he'd received when he learned the Great Fireball Technique at age three—

You have taken one small step toward becoming a ninja, but one giant leap toward becoming invincible!

"Mangekyō Sharingan..."

Seven years ago,

Shinji had spent the 1,000 Gold Coins he'd saved for so long to raise his Yin Release talent to S-rank.

Even now,

his mental energy kept surging. His Ocular Power was like an abyss, accumulated to unfathomable depths.

Yet he still couldn't break through that thin barrier to the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Phew..."

He breathed out a warm puff of air.

Shinji brushed the worry from his face, put on his trademark gentle smile, and walked into the Ramen Shop.