After bonding with the God-Level Growth System, Uchiha Shinichi gradually found his confusion and unease about this world replaced by a strange sense of acceptance: since he was here, he might as well settle in.
After all, whatever else happened, he had already bonded with a "system." In theory, he shouldn't meet an untimely end now.
In other words, even if the system seemed a little dubious, he was at least better off than the cannon-fodder Uchiha members in the original story who had nothing, right?
Shinichi mulled it over for a long while, gradually figuring out what role he wanted to play in this world.
Well... I'll leave saving the world to Naruto and Sasuke. As for me? I just need to lie low until the night of the massacre, then beat that Uchiha Weasel.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt this was the way to go.
The geniuses of the Uchiha Clan were all ridiculously strong. As a dedicated slacker, he couldn't possibly compete with those lunatics, no matter how he looked at it.
Picking his nose, Shinichi lounged against the pillow in his crib, his legs sprawled haphazardly and his head tilted back as his dead-fish eyes stared straight at the ceiling.
Shinichi figured that even with a system, if he had no talent, his only option was to lie low.
All I need to do is survive the night of the massacre anyway, right?
With that thought, he completely embraced doing nothing.
Shinichi lay sprawled in his crib, his eyes lifeless and his posture that of someone who had entirely given up on thinking.
His right hand casually reached into his nostril to pick his nose, while his left rested loosely on the crib rail.
His legs were sprawled haphazardly, his head tilted back, and his dead-fish eyes fixed on the ceiling.
If his body hadn't still been the size of a baby's, he would have looked exactly like a corporate drone who had completely given up on life.
Sigh... I really am better suited to the slacker life... he told himself.
Whatever, the system can wait. I'll use it when I need it. There's no point wasting energy figuring out how to get stronger right now.
I'll lie low for now and worry about the rest when I'm older.
But while Shinichi was perfectly comfortable slacking off, his air of elderly resignation left his biological parents utterly baffled.
Uchiha Raishin and Uchiha Setsuri, his young parents, stood beside the crib with confusion and bewilderment written all over their faces.
Looking at their newborn son, who neither cried nor fussed and instead adopted the world-weary pose of someone who had lost all hope, they began to wonder whether they had somehow gotten a fake baby.
"This child... did his head get caught in a door?"
Raishin muttered under his breath, his tone full of disbelief.
Shouldn't a normal newborn be crying nonstop and brimming with energy?
Why was his son lying in bed looking like he had nothing left to live for—and even picking his nose?!
Xueli also stared at Shinichi with a puzzled look, her eyes filled with suspicion.
The corner of her mouth twitched as she whispered, "Did we... bring home the wrong baby? Is this really our son?"
"N-no way, right?" Raishin replied, his mouth twitching, but there wasn't a shred of confidence in his voice.
Why was this child nothing like either of them?
The Uchiha Clan had always been a family brimming with fighting spirit and talent. Every member was a genius who displayed extraordinary aptitude as a ninja from an early age.
Even the less intelligent ones should at least wave their arms and kick their legs as babies, full of energy, right?
But!
Their son showed none of the bearing of an elite Uchiha. Instead, he looked as though he had completely given up on trying.
What—what on earth was going on?!
Raishin and Setsuri exchanged glances, an inexplicable worry beginning to creep into their hearts.
"He isn't a complete failure, is he...?" Raishin asked quietly.
"N-no way!" Xueli looked just as shocked. "The Uchiha bloodline is so powerful. No matter how much of a slacker he is, he couldn't possibly have no talent at all!"
Yet the reality before them was that their son displayed none of the Uchiha Clan's "noble bearing." He looked more like a dead-eyed good-for-nothing without an ounce of fighting spirit.
Xueli frowned, suddenly struck by a bad feeling.
She cautiously glanced at Shinichi, still lounging in his crib, then tentatively reached out and gently poked his cheek.
"Shinichi?" she called softly. "Why... why are you so quiet? Don't you cry?"
Shinichi's dead-fish eyes shifted, and he gave her a lazy glance.
Then he opened his mouth—
"...Ah."
His voice was so faint it was almost inaudible, like the final struggle of a fish hauled out of the water.
Xueli: "..."
Raishin: "..."
The room instantly fell deathly silent.
Several seconds passed before Raishin slowly drew a deep breath, the look in his eyes as he watched Shinichi completely changed.
“Xueli.”
"Yes?"
"This child... did he... really get his head caught in a door?"
Meanwhile, Shinichi lay in his crib, looking at his parents' faces full of worry and distaste, and silently rolled his eyes.
You two don't know a damn thing...
I'm not a failure. This is strategic slacking!
Shinichi knew perfectly well that in this dangerous world, those who stood out too much were often the first to die!
Just how tragic was the Uchiha Clan's fate?
One look at the original story was enough.
Uchiha Weasel became famous at a young age, awakened his Sharingan at eight, joined the Anbu at eleven, wiped out the Uchiha Clan at thirteen, and died of severe injuries and illness at twenty—practically the shortest-lived genius in Naruto.
—Kakashi graduated from the Ninja Academy at five, became a Jonin at twelve, turned into a slacker at twenty, and was killed by Pain at thirty before being brought back to life.
So, a genius's life... was far too miserable!
By comparison, slackers had it much better!
Lie low until the night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre, kill the Weasel, pick up a few perks in Konoha along the way, then find a mountain hideout and retire—that was the perfect script!
And so—
Shinichi calmly closed his eyes again, maintaining his dead-eyed slacker demeanor. No matter what his parents did, he couldn't be bothered to respond.
"...This child isn't an idiot, is he?"
Seeing Shinichi's dead-fish eyes and his utter unwillingness to acknowledge anyone, Raishin's expression darkened, and he began to panic in earnest.
Had there ever been such a "strange" baby in the Uchiha Clan's history?!
Even so, Setsuri continued to care for him gently, adjusting the little blanket in his crib and checking every so often to see whether he was hungry.
After all, the child looked quite "clever," as though he could get through each day peacefully without much attention.
And although Shinichi looked like a baby, he already had the mind of an adult.
His behavior and thinking had long since surpassed the limitations of his tiny body.
Whenever he was hungry, he would reach out with his little hands and cry for food. Whenever he needed the toilet, he would try to crawl there himself, without his parents' help.
In short, his behavior made life very easy for Raishin and Setsuri. Though this child seemed incredibly lazy, he was remarkably independent and caused them no trouble at all.
Hey, this life is pretty nice.
Shinichi picked his nose and looked up at the ceiling, muttering, "I don't have to do anything important. I just need to stay alive and enjoy a leisurely life."
To him, this world didn't seem all that stressful.
If anything, it was his parents' concerned gazes that made him a little uncomfortable.
Because he knew they didn't understand what he had in mind.
He had never intended to become a hero who saved the world. He hadn't even considered something like "being a good person."
To him, this world probably existed so he could scrape by, enjoy some good food along the way, and take it easy. Ideally, every bit of trouble would stay far away from him.
After all, the ultimate goal in life was to keep living at a leisurely pace without wearing himself out.
Before you continue