Uchiha Jin's mouth twitched.
Stuck with such a salted-fish system, he truly felt helpless.
Still, at least he had scored the novice pack, and from now on he did not need to chase quests. As long as he slacked off as much as possible, he would get rewards.
From that angle, maybe it was not so bad.
But seriously.
In this messed up shinobi world, ninja were the village's weapons.
If you dared to lie flat during wartime, even if Shimura Danzo did not make a move, the village would not let you off.
Even in peacetime, you had to take missions.
What a headache.
Just as Jin fretted, Sarutobi Taiga finally wrapped up his blood-pumping speech on the podium.
"Ahem, one last thing."
"Rest well for the next few days. Squad assignments begin in three days."
"Class dismissed."
With that, Sarutobi Taiga strode out of the classroom.
Inside, noise swelled the moment the teacher left. The civilian-born students burst into excited shouts.
"I finally became a ninja. I can fight to protect the village."
"I will surpass Kakashi, even the Three Legendary Ninja of the Leaf."
"I am going to be Hokage."
"…"
Their eyes blazed like they had just chugged a stimulant, as if they already saw themselves carving through armies and growing into pillars of the village.
The clan kids were different. Brows drawn tight, their eyes kept flickering.
They had access to more information and understood the village's real situation.
Even so, they did not warn the civilians. Instead, they slipped out in twos and threes.
Jin's eyes narrowed.
His face stayed calm, but when he looked at the civilian students, there was a complicated glint and a trace of pity.
He had no intention of warning them. He slipped out and headed straight home.
The reason was simple.
They had been thoroughly indoctrinated. If he spoke his mind, they would not thank him. They might even report him to the Hokage.
Then he would get nothing but trouble.
Add in his Uchiha identity and he might find Shimura Danzo himself waiting at his door.
The street bustled with foot traffic.
Feeling loose, Jin glanced up at the blue sky, yawned, and made his way to Ichiraku Ramen.
"Teuchi-san, one ultra deluxe seafood ramen."
He sat and ordered without ceremony.
He was a regular. Ever since he transmigrated, he had come often.
First, he could not cook.
In his previous life he lived on delivery every day and had already turned into a homebody who forgot how to handle a kitchen.
Second, while his parents had died tragically, he was not short on money.
More importantly, he wanted to grow familiar with the owner.
When chaos hit the Leaf, he hoped to lie low here for a while.
Yes.
It was a small shop, only a row of seats by the door, maybe five customers at once.
But in the minds of fans from his previous life, the owner had a nickname: the Ichiraku of Ichiraku.
Exaggerated, maybe, yet neither the Nine Tails' attack nor the later Six Paths of Pain ever shut this place down.
That was a fact.
Even in the Boruto era, the shop still stood and had even expanded.
"Yo, Jin."
"It is your graduation day, you should celebrate."
"Today I will add chashu and tempura on the house."
Teuchi's eyes curved with a warm smile.
Hearing him, Ayame came out from the back and chatted with Jin as she worked.
Jin smiled, waiting for his bowl while making small talk with the father and daughter.
Just then, a masked ninja stepped in.
"One extra large tonkotsu ramen."
His face was cold.
White hair, a black face mask, an aura that said strangers keep out.
Hatake Kakashi.
Jin's classmate in name.
After ordering, Kakashi sat right beside Jin and even shot him a sidelong glance.
A hint of puzzlement flickered in his eyes.
Kakashi did not know this old classmate by face.
But the flame fan of the Uchiha was famous across Konoha and beyond.
What he could not figure out was this. Most Uchiha carried themselves with haughty disdain toward ordinary folk.
The one in front of him was truly strange.
Who would have thought that besides the loudmouth Obito who shadowed him every day, the Uchiha clan could produce an oddball like this.
On the other side, while Kakashi observed Jin, Jin quietly observed Kakashi.
He had not expected to run into him here.
Thinking it through, it made sense.
Anyone with a name in the original story tended to show up at Ichiraku.
Even so, Jin had no intention of striking up a conversation. He kept chatting with Ayame and dug into dinner with big, steady bites.
They were not close.
Jin only wanted to lie low, and the system that awakened today was a diehard couch potato.
In this situation, he had even less desire to mingle with key figures of the plot.
That spelled trouble.
"Teuchi-san, Ayame, thanks for the meal."
"I am heading out."
After he finished, he thanked them with a smile.
He stood, stretched lazily, and left the ramen shop.
Meanwhile, Kakashi kept turning thoughts over in his mind.
"Kakashi, why did you stop eating?"
"Is the flavor off today?"
Arms folded, Ayame came over and fixed him with an annoyed stare.
Clearly, if he did not explain himself, she would be mad.
Kakashi gave an awkward smile.
He shoveled in a few mouthfuls, apologized, then asked about Uchiha Jin.
Ayame did not hide anything.
"You mean Jin-kun."
"He is a different sort of Uchiha. He has been coming here for seven or eight years. He counts as one of our oldest customers."
"Jin-kun speaks gently and is very polite. He is a truly good person."
"…"
Kakashi relaxed a little.
Truth be told, when he first saw Jin, his instinct was that the boy was deliberately approaching him.
Because of his teacher, Namikaze Minato.
Ordinary people might not know, but Kakashi knew very well that his teacher was a strong contender for the Fourth Hokage.
He also understood the Uchiha's issues.
So when he saw Jin, his reflex was to wonder if this guy wanted to get close to his teacher through him.
Luckily, Ayame's words dispelled his doubts.
Seven or eight years of regular visits made Jin a bona fide old customer.
Kakashi shook his head.
"Truly, a strange Uchiha."