"Bring on the cheats!"
But his excitement did not last long.
Maybe he had spent too long being a slacker, or maybe he simply liked lazing around. Either way, once his enthusiasm faded, Uchiha Gua became surprisingly calm.
There was hardly a ripple in his heart.
He was like an NPC.
But now that I have a cheat, does that mean that bastard Itachi won't get to off me?
Even if I don't think about myself, I have to think about Mom.
And Lady Mikoto.
She's really pretty.
Of course, none of that was the point. The point was that Itachi would not let him keep idling.
"Gua, it's time to go to class."
Itachi's call brought Uchiha Gua back to his senses. "Oh~"
He followed Itachi to the classroom.
Some students were already scattered around the classroom.
There were not many, but there were not exactly few, either.
The classroom was simply so big that a few dozen students looked sparse.
Itachi found a seat and sat down.
When he looked back, he found Gua idling in the hallway.
Itachi cupped a hand around his mouth and called out.
The teacher had already come in through the doorway.
"Gua."
Uchiha Gua did not hear Itachi calling him. He simply checked the system in his head, then went over and sat beside Itachi.
Itachi stared blankly at Uchiha Gua.
Gua seemed to be idling a little longer than usual today.
"Gua, we're at school today. You need to pay a little more attention."
"Oh~"
Gua indicated that he understood.
First of all, he was not particularly fond of Itachi, who was sitting beside him. After all, if you knew the person beside you would slaughter your entire family a few years later, you would not like him either. You might even want to bash him to death with a brick right now!
Gua had reincarnated before birth. To him, his mom really was his mom, and his dad really was his dad.
Second, Gua seemed to have figured out a little about what his system could do.
[Idle slot (10× boost)] [Idle slot (10× boost)] [Idle slot (10× boost)]
Three simple idle slots, with no further explanation beyond the notes.
Beside the idle slots were a few options he could set to idle.
[Eyesight] [Taijutsu] [Perception]
Gua guessed it was so simple because he had not learned any ninjutsu yet.
He was different from Itachi.
Itachi had been deemed a genius from birth. On top of that, his father was the clan leader, so the clan focused on nurturing him.
Gua, on the other hand, had been deemed poorly gifted from birth.
His parents were easygoing, too. Their main concern was that their son was happy.
"So what if he isn't talented? Our son is great at roasting sweet potatoes!"
Even Uchiha Oyama could say something that funny.
The truth, however, was that Gua did not know how to roast sweet potatoes.
What he did best was idle at home, idle outside, idle while eating, idle while sleeping...
Fortunately, persistence paid off. After six years of idling, he had finally made it!
Facing the three idle slots, Gua hesitated for a moment.
At this point, someone might ask: three idle slots, three abilities-what the hell was there to hesitate about?
Gua did not see it that way.
After six years of idling, he had grasped some of its deeper truths.
I have three idle slots now, each with a tenfold boost. What if I put Taijutsu in all three?
Wouldn't that give me a 10×10×10 boost to Taijutsu?
So Gua tried it.
Unfortunately, he failed.
[This ability already occupies an idle slot. Please switch and try again.]
His plan to idle Taijutsu in all three slots had failed.
Now Gua had no reason to hesitate.
Three idle slots, three skills available for idling.
He put them all in.
Once the three skills were assigned, the displays in the idle slots changed.
[Eyesight (10× boost active)] [Taijutsu (10× boost active)] [Perception (10× boost active)]
The three idle slots glowed white, pulsing brighter and dimmer with a little animated effect.
"Hello, everyone. Congratulations on officially entering our Ninja Academy today and becoming part of this big family. We'll be spending the next six years here together, so let's all look after one another. I'm Funaya Daikoku, your basic theory teacher and your homeroom teacher."
The teacher looked kindly and honest, with a small mustache, and spoke in an exceptionally gentle manner.
Perhaps that was precisely why Funaya Daikoku had been assigned to teach these little children.
The children, only a few years old, clapped away in their seats.
Ye Chuan Dahei chuckled.
"Then let's have everyone introduce themselves today, so we can get to know one another."
"Okay!"
"My name is Uchiha Izumi. I like playing with my friends and eating tricolor dango."
"My name is Hana Inuzuka. I like dogs."
"My name is Konoha Qiba..."
"My name is Sarutobi Zhan..."
"My name is Uchiha Itachi..."
"..."
Before long, all the dozens of students in the class had introduced themselves.
Only Uchiha Gua remained.
Gua's attention was still on his system. Once he had set the skills to idle, it displayed a tenfold boost. He figured that even with his lousy talent, a tenfold boost ought to produce results pretty quickly.
Reality was not so kind.
Even a tenfold boost did not work that quickly. His talent was simply that terrible.
If a genius like Uchiha Itachi had a tenfold boost running day and night, he could probably start slaughtering the clan within a few days.
"Oh, my name is Uchiha Gua."
Realizing everyone was looking at him, Gua hurriedly stood up and spoke politely.
Funaya Daikoku paused at the sight. He had heard Uchiha Gua's name before.
He had started idling at birth and kept at it for six years.
He had rarely left home in those six years. He was practically the ultimate idler.
If Uchiha Gua had shown anything else unusual over those six years, people outside would have suspected he had awakened some cheat that made him stronger by idling.
In reality, however, Uchiha Gua was very ordinary.
His aptitude was even a little... pathetic.
"Gua, even if you aren't very talented, don't give up on yourself. You still have a long road ahead."
Funaya Daikoku spoke gently.
"Oh~"
An NPC-like answer, followed by an NPC-like return to his seat.
Ye Chuan Dahei went on with the lesson.
"For our first lesson, I'll tell you about the history of ninja villages! Does anyone know anything about it? Raise your hand if you do."
"Me!"
"Me!"
"I know!"
The students scrambled to raise their hands.
Itachi did not move. He simply observed Uchiha Gua beside him.
Uchiha Gua's eyes were open, but his attention clearly had no focus. He looked rather spaced out.
He seemed to be idling again.
What Itachi did not know was that Gua was still fiddling with his system.
He kept swapping the three skills between slots, trying to see if he could find any little Easter eggs.
Maybe he was bored, or maybe he simply liked immersing himself in his own world.
Uchiha Gua never tired of it.
The day passed quickly.
The dismissal bell rang.
The students scattered in a rush, hurrying out the door to go home and tell their parents about the fun things that had happened at school that day.
Gua trailed behind the crowd.
Itachi trailed behind Gua.
"Why are you following me?"
Gua looked back with a frown.
"I want to see how long you can keep idling," Itachi said honestly, blinking.
Gua: "..."
Can't you freaking tell I don't like you?
"Oh, right, Gua. How are you planning to do today's homework? Do you need my help? I learned how to mold chakra ages ago." Suddenly remembering something, Itachi asked with concern.
"Uh-huh~ You're really strong, then."
Gua waved him off with that perfunctory reply, ignored Itachi, and turned to head home.
Itachi: "..."
"Why do I get the feeling Gua doesn't really like me?"
Before you continue