Chapter 1: The Tragic Life of a Background Character
Question: How tragic can your life be when you're living it as a nameless background character?
Answer: Your parents died during the Nine-Tails' attack. At age six, you were deemed to have no talent for being a ninja. At thirteen, you were forced to work to support yourself. And right now, you're being choked by a drunken, one-eyed Genin.
This NPC-like figure was Akiyama Makoto.
His face was flushed red, his eyes bulging.
His pale, clenched fists beat against the man's head, but this only made the one-eyed Konoha Genin tighten his grip.
"I bet he's a spy from Kumogakure. You can tell just by looking at his face."
The one-eyed Genin let out a drunken hiccup, his foul breath hitting Makoto's face, before laughing triumphantly. During a previous mission, he had lost an eye to a Kumogakure ninja. Ever since, his temperament had turned vicious, and he was convinced everyone was mocking him behind his back.
Just moments ago, he had seen Makoto dare to mimic him by closing one eye while yawning. To him, the brat was death wish.
"Don't kill him," one of the Genin's teammates mumbled through a mouthful of grilled meat. "Even though those stuck-up, heartless Uchiha are gone, you'll still end up in the Konoha Military Police Force's jail if you kill someone."
"Hmph. As if anyone would dare report me this late at night," the one-eyed Genin scoffed dismissively. He even arrogantly shouted toward the back of the barbecue restaurant, "Hey, boss! Something interesting is happening out here, how about joining us for a drink?"
A woman's tearful voice came from the kitchen. "N-No, thank you! I still have to prepare dishes for you esteemed ninja. I'll be busy for a long time, so I won't disturb your meal."
The one-eyed Genin turned his cruel gaze back to Akiyama Makoto, like a feral cat toying with a mouse. He wanted to see fear and despair in Makoto's eyes.
But Makoto disappointed him.
Even as his consciousness began to fade, Makoto's fists stubbornly kept striking him. This caused the one-eyed Genin's anger to explode once more, and his fingers began to curl tighter.
Just as Makoto's neck was about to be snapped, a girl's complaining voice came from outside the door.
"Ah, I'm exhausted! We're finally back."
"Hey, there's a barbecue place still open! Guy-sensei, how about you treat us?"
Following the girl's voice was a powerful, energetic male voice. "Tenten, eating barbecue this late at night? Aren't you afraid of gaining weight?"
Anyone familiar with them could identify the voices instantly. It was the Konoha Jōnin, Might Guy, and the members of Team 3 under his command.
"Guy-sensei, we've been eating nothing but soldier pills for days! One barbecue meal won't make me fat. Hurry, hurry, let's go in!"
"Alright, alright. Let's just call it a celebration feast."
Guy feigned helplessness, but his voice was clearly filled with amusement. Their squad had just completed a rather difficult C-rank mission, and his three students hadn't backed down when facing rogue ninja. This made Guy very proud, and he had already intended to treat them to a good meal, just not quite this soon.
"Yay!"
Tenten's voice was full of joy. The next second, she pushed the door open and rushed inside. Her eyes were curved into crescents as she muttered about barbecue, only to see the scene of Akiyama Makoto being choked to the point of passing out.
Tenten immediately drew a kunai and entered a battle stance, shouting sharply, "Who are you people?! Why are you hurting him!"
The one-eyed Genin frowned. Tenten looked like a freshly graduated Genin. Although he was also a Genin, he was her senior. What right did this brat have to yell at a veteran like him?
He was about to scold Tenten and tell her to get out when Neji, Lee, and Guy entered one after another.
The moment he saw Might Guy, the one-eyed Genin immediately threw Makoto to the ground and snapped to attention.
"L-Lord Guy!"
"I didn't expect to run into you this late. It's truly an honor!"
"I wonder if I could buy you a drink?"
As he spoke, the one-eyed Genin tried to block Guy's view, but how could such a petty trick deceive Guy?
Guy looked at Makoto, who was lying on the ground with a barely perceptible breath, and his expression turned grim. "Tenten, go see if the boy is alright."
Tenten flickered to Makoto's side, checking for his breath and then examining his neck. After confirming that his life wasn't in danger, she let out a sigh of relief. "He's okay, Guy-sensei. He just needs to rest for a while."
Only then did Guy turn to the one-eyed Genin, who was now covered in sweat.
"Your name is Miyoshi Kazuya, isn't it? I remember you. We graduated in the same year."
A fawning smile appeared on Kazuya's face, thinking he was off the hook. Just as he was about to get friendly with Guy, Guy spoke bluntly, "I'll give you two choices."
"One, you give this boy 10,000 Ryō and never come to this restaurant again."
"Two, I send you to the Konoha Military Police Force to explain everything. My student will take this boy to the Konoha Hospital."
"You have ten seconds to think."
Seeing he had no real choice, Miyoshi Kazuya lowered his head and fumbled through his pockets. He and his companion managed to scrape together 8,000 Ryō in loose change and handed it to Tenten. Only then did Guy, along with Lee and Neji who were guarding the door, move aside to let them pass.
After the two Konoha Genin scurried away, Tenten complained, "Honestly, why are there scum like that among Konoha ninja!"
"He looks like he's our age, yet he was being abused like that. His neck and windpipe were almost crushed."
Tenten carefully helped Makoto up, letting him rest in her arms while gently supporting his head to avoid putting any more strain on his neck.
Guy walked over, knelt down, and personally checked Makoto's injuries. After confirming he was fine, he said, "Alright, Tenten, you take him to Konoha Hospital for treatment. The other two and I will stay here to handle the follow-up."
Tenten nodded and immediately did as she was told.
After Tenten left carrying Makoto, Guy said to his remaining two students, "You two, follow those guys and confirm where they live."
"I'll ask the restaurant owner exactly what happened, then go to the hospital to get the boy's injury report. After that, the three of us will meet at the Military Police headquarters."
Lee and Neji's spirits lifted. They had thought Guy was going to let his former classmate off the hook, but it turned out to be just a delaying tactic.
Team Guy then split up to act. At that moment, Akiyama Makoto opened his eyes in Tenten's arms.
The first thing he saw was a line of strange text, causing his body to tense up instinctively.
[Continuous contact with a high-aptitude female ninja detected. System binding will be complete in 50 minutes. Please maintain contact...]
Had his golden finger... finally arrived?
Though he didn't know what the system did yet, Makoto clung to it like his last lifeline, tightly wrapping his arms around Tenten's neck.