Konoha, Year 50.
Land of Fire.
Ninja Academy, Fifth Grade Class B.
"First of all, congratulations to all of you."
"From today on, you are proud genin."
"Where leaves dance, the fire never dies."
"As long as leaves are dancing, the flames will keep lighting the village and help new leaves sprout and grow."
"…"
On the podium.
Sarutobi Taiga wore a green chunin flak jacket and was shouting at the top of his lungs.
Below.
Countless civilian students, forehead protectors gleaming with the Leaf emblem, stared with eyes full of excitement and fervor, because becoming a ninja was their dream.
Students from the great clans, however, frowned and kept their eyes shifting, their faces heavy.
Back row, by the window.
A pale, frail-looking boy sighed softly, resignation clouding his gaze.
The fan of flame embroidered on his clothes was proof enough of who he was.
Yes.
His name was Uchiha Jin, and he was an Uchiha.
More importantly, he was a transmigrator.
"Ugh, my head hurts."
"I thought I could stall graduation until next year, but that old man Sarutobi Hiruzen would not even spare the fifth-years."
"Looks like the front lines are desperate for cannon fodder."
Uchiha Jin's thoughts churned.
He was twelve, the same age as Hatake Kakashi.
As for the dutiful son Uchiha Itachi, he was only four this year.
Right now, thanks to the brainless Uchiha Fugaku, he had already been dragged to the battlefield for so-called training.
Jin had been here seven or eight years and still had not awakened any kind of system.
Family matters, though, were plentiful and messy.
His parents were die-hard loyalists of Uchiha Kagami. After Kagami's death, they lost the trust of the Third's faction, then fell prey to a purge by the Uchiha hardliners, and died a few years ago on a mission.
So now, for him.
He could not get close to the Hokage faction, and the Uchiha clan did not trust him either.
To put it bluntly, he was disliked by people on both sides.
Fortunately, his parents left a sizable inheritance, so his living expenses were secure.
He had not awakened a system, but his strength was not weak.
With the ninjutsu scrolls his parents left behind, beyond the basic Three Body Technique and chakra extraction, he had mastered five Fire Style jutsu.
Three C rank: Great Fireball, Phoenix Sage Fire, and Flame Bullet.
Two B rank: Majestic Destroyer Flame and Tempest Rampage.
As for Sharingan-exclusive techniques like Izanagi and Izanami, those were not even worth dreaming about.
Though his parents had been jonin, their closeness to Uchiha Kagami meant they never had a chance to learn such clan-only arts.
Of course.
Because of his parents' deaths, he had already awakened the Sharingan.
Most importantly, it was three tomoe.
If he were willing to show his hand, he could immediately become an Uchiha elite.
Even against his old classmate Hatake Kakashi, who had just been promoted to jonin a few days ago, he was confident he could at least fight to a draw if not take him down.
But, too bad.
The Uchiha clan was sick at heart and doomed to be wiped out by Uchiha Itachi sooner or later.
He had no interest in joining a faction fated for extinction.
As for saving the Uchiha clan?
Forget it.
First, the difficulty was sky-high.
They were the definition of headstrong fools, all talk about armed rebellion without the resolve to act, forever running their mouths.
Proud to a fault.
Clinging to ancestral glory while looking down on everyone, yet lacking any sense.
The Hokage faction had infiltrated them like a sieve without their notice, and their leader Uchiha Fugaku had no leadership whatsoever, forever patching holes left and right like a paperer, with no other ability to speak of.
He had awakened the Mangekyo and still never used it once, got outplayed by the Third's faction, then was cut down by his own son.
In public life, a leader with no leadership.
In private life, a father who could not raise his own child.
With a leader like that, it was hard not to get annihilated.
Change it? Forget it.
More importantly, he felt nothing for them.
Because his parents had been Kagami's loyalists, the clan never treated him as one of their own.
He was not Uchiha Shisui, and he could not forgive unconditionally.
So he only wanted to quietly build his strength, then defect the night of the massacre.
For now, he just wanted to lie low and grow.
Even with jonin-level ability, he chose to stay at school.
Too bad the heavens were not giving him that chance.
The Third Great Ninja War had erupted. The Third Kazekage and Sasori had vanished at the same time, and Sunagakure dumped the blame on Konoha, then brazenly launched war.
Iwagakure and Kumogakure saw their chance. They had long coveted the Land of Fire and struck without hesitation.
Under these circumstances, Kirigakure prepared to loot a burning house.
Konoha had no troops to spare.
That was likely why this entire class had been rushed to graduate as cannon fodder.
DING.
Congratulations to the host for comprehending the true meaning of life. The Lie Flat and Slack Off System has officially activated.
This system is lazy and cannot be bothered to explain. As long as you lie flat, you will receive rewards.
Core doctrine: if you can lie down, never sit. If you can sit, never stand.
Everything else, please explore on your own.
This system is going to lie flat and slack off now. Bye bye, muah.
Uchiha Jin: "…"
Hearing the synthesized voice in his head, he first froze, then burst with joy.
Wow, there was hope.
At his current level, he could at best protect himself.
And that was only for the early stage. When the Six Paths of Pain showed up later, the entire ninja world's power ceiling would skyrocket.
Forget Kaguya and the Sage-level monsters. He could not beat Obito, Shisui, or even the Legendary Sannin.
Thankfully, the system had awakened.
Except.
After he finished listening to the intro, he was completely baffled.
Lie flat and slack off?
He wanted to.
But in the ninja world right in front of him, if he tried that, he would be branded a traitor on the spot.
Especially when the system was too lazy to even introduce itself. Outrageous.
Explore on his own?
Give me a break.
Whatever. He would figure things out later. First, he needed benefits. That was the priority.
"Hey, system, do not run."
"The novice pack. Do not tell me there is none."
"Hurry up."
Anxious, Uchiha Jin shouted inwardly.
DING. Distributing novice pack.
Congratulations to the host. Reward: Six Powers Navy Training Method.
Now that was a treasure.
Jin's pulse quickened. In the pirate world, the Six Powers of the Navy were a secret canon of taijutsu.
He closed his eyes.
The cultivation method for the Six Powers slid into place in an instant.
After a moment's thought, he went on.
"System, any quests?"
DING. No.
This system is extremely salted fish and not interested in those messy things.
As long as you are detected lying flat, ninjutsu, chakra and other abilities will passively gain experience. When you level up, rewards will be issued automatically.
An attribute panel has been delivered. Please stop bothering me.
Later.
"…"