Hyuga Kirito, twelve years old, carried within him two ground breaking secrets that no one else knew.
First of all, he wasn't originally from this world. But that didn't matter much anymore. The reality was: this world, the one dominated by ninjas, was now his.
The second secret was far more incredible. It was something residing within him, not in a physical or even spiritual sense, but in an entirely different dimension altogether: a unique and mysterious existence known as the Arsenal System.
Why call it a different dimension? Because this system was fully data-driven and operated autonomously. There was no AI, no operator behind the scenes. No voice guided him, no interface responded to his questions.
The system would randomly and without warning issue all kinds of strange and whimsical missions. If Kirito completed them on time, he would receive a reward. And, true to its name, every reward was a weapon. No skills, no jutsu, no special powers… only tools of war.
Over time, Kirito's Arsenal had become a veritable trove of deadly instruments, drawn from all eras and all realities. Cold weapons, hot weapons, anything you could imagine. So far, he had received straight swords, hidden wrist blades, great sabers... even a primitive single-shot rifle and an electric stun baton.
And it was thanks to these weapons that Kirito had managed to scrape together a sliver of survivability in this world, where life and death often meant little more than a flick of the wrist.
What's more, the system had its own storage function, like a ninja's storage scroll or, in gaming terms, a dimensional inventory. Weapons could be summoned and stowed away at will.
As for Kirito himself, his personality could only be described as "easygoing to a fault." He didn't have any grand ambitions or lofty goals. He just went with the flow, living according to his own instincts.
Take now, for example. In class at the Ninja Academy, the teacher was currently going over the basics of the Clone, Substitution, and Transformation techniques. But Kirito? He was sprawled out over his desk, sound asleep.
To be fair, he wasn't the only one who usually slept during lectures. But this wasn't just any day. The Academy's graduation exams were less than a week away. Even Naruto Uzumaki, usually the first to slack off or make trouble, was trying his best to stay focused. Not that he actually understood anything…
Next came the basic ninja tool training: the shuriken throwing class. Kirito wasn't especially interested in that either.
Yet the moment he picked up a weapon, any weapon, something inside him would stir. Perhaps it was a side-effect of the Arsenal System, but every time he held a tool of war in his hands, the sensation was unlike anything else.
Now standing fifty meters away from the target, he glanced lazily at the wooden post with its bullseye. Without even taking careful aim, he casually flicked his wrist.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Hyuga Kirito, full marks!" Iruka-sensei announced as he saw all five shuriken hit dead center. He couldn't help but give Kirito a second look, quietly comforted.
Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, after all. Even if a student struggled in most areas, they were bound to excel in something. But as Iruka thought about the upcoming graduation exam, and Kirito's perpetually abysmal ninjutsu scores, he could only sigh.
"Naruto Uzumaki, fifty points. Not passing!"
"Damn it!" Naruto cried out, staring in despair at the five shuriken he'd thrown. Only two had hit the board, while the other three landed uselessly in the grass. "Why can Kirito hit them all and I can't?!"
"Hey hey, you're not supposed to say that right in front of the person you're talking about, idiot~" Kirito laughed, not the least bit upset by Naruto's outburst. His mild temper and easygoing nature meant he rarely took offense at anything.
Ding ding ding ding ding!
A volley of perfectly timed impacts echoed across the field, triggering a wave of squeals and cheers from the girls' side of the class.
Iruka gave an approving nod. "Uchiha Sasuke, full marks!"
Sasuke showed no reaction at all, his expression remained cold and indifferent, as if the result were only natural. That very air of inevitability made Naruto even more irritated.
"Sasuke! You smug jerk! Just wait until exam day, you'll fail and have to repeat a year, haha!"
Sasuke shot him a bored glance and replied flatly, "Idiot."
He turned to walk away, but as his gaze passed over Kirito, he stopped for a brief second.
The Uchiha clan was famous for their shuriken techniques. And for someone like Kirito, who could match his own performance in that domain, Sasuke couldn't help but take notice.
That tiny moment of acknowledgment only made Naruto more agitated. He jumped to his feet and shouted, "Stupid Sasuke! What the hell are you looking at?! Fight me right now!"
"You'd be better off spending that time practicing your ninjutsu," Sasuke muttered without turning around. It wasn't clear whether he meant Naruto or Kirito. But Kirito, ever perceptive, recognized it for what it was, a rare, if gruff, gesture of goodwill. He nodded quietly in thanks.
"Hmph." Sasuke snorted and walked away, perhaps silently accepting Kirito as a rare peer. At the very least, in the field of weaponry, Kirito was one of the few classmates he saw as a potential rival. And maybe, just maybe, Sasuke didn't want to see that rival flunk out.
"Hey hey, Kirito, do you think Sasuke's… like, obsessed with me or something?" Naruto suddenly turned to him and asked seriously.
Kirito smiled. "Aren't you two best friends?"
"F-Friends? Really?" Naruto stammered awkwardly. "Hmph. Well, I guess if he wants to be friends so badly, I wouldn't say no..."
"Sure, sure~ Then why don't you two hurry up and get together already?"
"...Kirito, why does your smile suddenly look really sketchy and shady?"
"That's just your imagination."