Chapter 1: The Loneliness of an Automatic Prodigy
Sunlight, thick with dust motes, streamed through the large windows of the Konoha Shinobi Academy. The room hummed with the low murmur of students and the scratch of chalk on the board as Iruka-sensei detailed the intricacies of a fundamental ninja art. In the midst of this focused energy, one student was a stark contrast.
Sprawled across his wooden desk, a mop of bright yellow hair visible even in the shadow he cast, Uzumaki Naruto appeared to be in a deep, bored doze. His signature orange jacket was a splash of defiant color in the monotonous classroom. But the boy resting his head on his arms was not the Uzumaki Naruto anyone knew. The original soul, the one destined for a life of struggle and eventual acclaim, was gone. In its place resided the consciousness of a young man from another world, once named Wang Yiming, who had met his end in the all-too-cliché fashion of a truck and a attempted rescue of a little girl.
He had awoken in this body a year ago, an eleven-year-old vessel of immense potential and profound loneliness. Initially, the new Naruto had been seized by a traveler's panic. Knowing the cataclysmic battles that lay ahead—the Akatsuki, the tailed beasts, Madara Uchiha himself—he had resolved to train relentlessly. He couldn't afford to be dead last; he had to be stronger than Sasuke, stronger than anyone, just to survive.
But then, the system had arrived.
A voice, clear and mechanical, had echoed in his mind, offering a path he had never imagined. [The host is bound to the Self-Competition System. The host does not need to work hard. The body will automatically become stronger!]
It was a lazy dream come true. His very cells, his chakra, his techniques—they all possessed a competitive spirit of their own, growing and refining themselves without him lifting a finger.
[Ding! Detecting that Iruka is explaining the secrets of the Clone Technique, your Clone Technique gets excited and has automatically reached the Grandmaster level.]
[Ding! It was detected that the host had a 'salty fish' attitude. Your physical fitness, feeling competitive, has raised itself to the level of a Chūnin.]
A wry, internal smile touched Naruto's mind. Salty fish… it was an apt, if strange, term from his past life. He was content to lie here, basking in the sun, while his body and jutsu engaged in their own private war games. Invincibility was being handed to him, and yet, a profound sense of isolation settled in its wake. To be this strong without any effort… it's lonely in a way, he thought.
From the podium, Iruka's brow furrowed. He saw Naruto, the boy he cared for like a son, seemingly wasting yet another day. The boy was a whirlwind of energy outside these walls, but in class, he was perpetually lethargic. A flicker of frustration sparked within him. "Uzumaki Naruto!" Iruka's voice cut through the classroom drone. "Since we've just finished explaining the profound principles of the Clone Technique, why don't you come up and demonstrate it for everyone?"
A wave of attention snapped toward the sleeping boy. From the front row, Uchiha Sasuke let out a quiet, derisive "Hn. The class dead-last, still napping. Pathetic." He didn't even bother to turn around.
Sakura Haruno, sitting nearby, grimaced. "Oh, great. Here comes the embarrassment." But she paused, a flicker of confusion crossing her face. "Wait… why does he look so calm? He's not even sweating."
In the back, barely visible behind her bangs, Hyūga Hinata clenched her small hands together, her pale eyes wide with hope and anxiety. "Please… you can do it, Naruto-kun."
Naruto, stirred from his not-quite-sleep, sluggishly pushed himself upright. He shuffled to the front of the class, the epitome of nonchalance. Under Iruka's watchful gaze, he formed a single, lazy hand seal. "Clone Technique," he mumbled.
There was a soft poof of smoke. As it cleared, standing beside the lethargic original was an equally lethargic, perfectly identical copy. The clone scratched its head, yawned, and looked just as bored as the real Naruto.
For a moment, there was silence. Then, the classroom erupted.
"Bwahahaha! I'm dying!" a boy yelled, clutching his stomach.
"His clone is as stupid-looking as he is!" another jeered.
"As expected of the class clown!"
But Iruka was not laughing. His experienced eyes scanned the two Narutos, and a chill of disbelief ran down his spine. The clone was… flawless. The texture of the orange jumpsuit, the stray strands of hair, the slight slump in the posture—it was a perfect, living mirror image. The only imperfection, the only thing that gave it away, was the faint, tell-tale shadow it cast on the floor. If not for that, he wouldn't have been able to tell them apart. This wasn't a failure; this was a level of control he'd only seen in Jōnin.
"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto's sleepy voice broke his reverie. "Are you okay?"
"Uh… that's… that's fine," Iruka stammered, his mind racing. "You may go sit down, Naruto." He watched the boy shuffle back to his seat, a new and unsettling thought forming. This isn't the same boy. What's changed?
Shaking his head to clear it, Iruka sought to restore order. "Alright, let's have another demonstration. Sasuke, if you please."
The classroom's atmosphere shifted instantly. As Sasuke strode confidently to the front, a chorus of sighs and cheers followed him.
"Wow, Sasuke-kun is so cool!"
"Look at that form! So perfect!"
"As expected of the best in our class! Handsome and powerful!"
With a sharp, precise movement, Sasuke formed his seal. "Clone Technique!" Two perfect replicas appeared beside him, standing with the same proud, hands-in-pockets stance. The class applauded enthusiastically.
Naruto, now resting his head back on his desk, paid the spectacle no mind. The adulation, the praise—it was meaningless noise. His strength wasn't for winning popularity contests. It was for survival. He was acutely aware of his position as the village's Jinchūriki, a fact that came with invisible chains. How many ANBU watched him from the shadows? How many agents of Danzo's Root division noted his every move?
If they were to discover that the container of the Nine-Tailed Fox was not a failure, but a genius who mastered jutsu in his sleep… the consequences were unthinkable. He had read enough in the forbidden section of the library to know that Danzo had long advocated for turning the Jinchūriki into a mindless weapon. It was only the protection offered by his secret status as the Fourth Hokage's son that had shielded him from that fate. No, obscurity was his armor, and loneliness was its price.
As if in response to his thoughts, the system's voice chimed again in his mind.
[Ding! Your Clone Technique, feeling overshadowed by Sasuke's praised performance, is stimulated! Proficiency has automatically increased to Perfection Level!]
A warm, knowledge-like current flooded Naruto's senses. It wasn't just more chakra; it was understanding. He suddenly knew, on an instinctual level, the exact moment in combat to deploy a clone, how to use it for the perfect feint, and how to camouflage its creation with environmental sounds. His power was ensuring he would never be a theoretical master without practical application.
[Ding! Your Body Replacement Technique feels the pressure from the Clone Technique! Proficiency has automatically grown to the Grandmaster Level!]
[Ding! Your Transformation Technique feels the pressure from its sibling jutsu! Proficiency has automatically grown to the Grandmaster Level!]
Listening to the internal symphony of his own self-improving abilities, a genuine, quiet smile finally touched Naruto's lips. He closed his eyes, letting the sun warm his face once more. However, in his heart, he couldn't help but think: My system… it's really too competent for its own good.
(End of Chapter)