Konoha, Ninja Academy.
Yoruha gazed out the window at the drifting leaves.
He sighed in his heart.
"Twelve years... It's already been twelve years since I came to this world. Time really flies."
Yoruha was a transmigrator. The moment he arrived, he found himself caught in the chaos of the Nine-Tails' attack.
His father died in that disaster.
A few years later, he managed to enter the Ninja Academy.
He was no different from any other student.
After joining the academy, his grades were average, his ranking was average—his only redeeming feature was that he looked decent.
With such ordinary performance, he was practically invisible in class.
No one noticed him.
He wasn't like Uchiha Sasuke, who ranked first in every exam, nor like Uzumaki Naruto, who always came last and still drew everyone's attention.
Yoruha had no adventures or lucky encounters. He simply spent twelve uneventful years in this world.
He never showed any talent that would make the Third Hokage or Danzo take notice.
Root never invited him for "tea," either.
---
"AFK System — Activation Successful. Binding Host: Yoruha."
Yoruha froze for a moment.
"A system?"
"AFK System, at your service."
Yoruha frowned, thinking he might be caught in a genjutsu.
He bit the back of his hand; the sharp pain told him clearly—he wasn't under any illusion.
"System, you're twelve years late."
He said flatly, without any emotion.
After twelve years, he had already learned to let go.
But now, of all times, the system appeared.
The AFK System didn't respond.
"What a cold system," Yoruha muttered.
He didn't know that the AFK System had no emotions at all—nor any real intelligence.
Seeing that it didn't reply, Yoruha simply asked,
"So, what exactly can you do?"
"This system functions through AFK accumulation. As long as you remain idle for a certain period, you will receive rewards."
Yoruha smiled faintly.
"That's simple enough."
"So how do I use it?"
"You are already using it. The AFK System is currently in service."
Yoruha raised a brow.
"Already? So it's running right now?"
"I wonder what kind of rewards I'll get."
After twelve years, Yoruha was very familiar with this world.
System or no system—it didn't really matter to him.
Without one, he'd drift through life as usual; with one, he'd just live a little more freely. That was all.
He pulled his attention back from his consciousness space.
Looking at Iruka, who was lecturing on stage, Yoruha thought,
"Graduation at last. I wonder which team I'll be assigned to."
The graduation exam was about to begin.
The test was the Clone Technique.
Although Yoruha's grades had always been average, passing the exam wasn't a problem. He had long since mastered the Three Basic Techniques.
In fact, except for Naruto—whose control was disrupted by the Nine-Tails—every student in the class had already learned them by now.
---
On the podium, Iruka called out,
"Now, when I read your name, please go next door."
"The first one—Uchiha Sasuke."
Of course, Sasuke was called first.
Since enrollment, he had always been the top student in the class—and his name came first alphabetically too.
Expressionless and cool as ever, Sasuke stood up, hands in pockets, and walked to the next room.
Many of the girls in the class stared at him with hearts in their eyes.
"Sasuke is so handsome!"
"Go, Sasuke!"
"I love you, Sasuke!"
The girls were practically fangirling like he was a celebrity.
Below the stage, Naruto glared at Sasuke, teeth clenched.
"Damn it, that bastard Sasuke!"
"What's so great about him anyway?"
Not far away, Shikamaru lazily replied,
"Sasuke's the top of the class... always has been."
"Just you wait," Naruto said, puffing his chest. "I'll surpass him someday! This great Naruto will become Hokage!"
Shikamaru gave him a bored glance, then laid his head back down on the desk to nap.
In class, only Shikamaru and Choji would still hang out with Naruto.
Everyone else kept their distance—including Yoruha.
Most avoided Naruto because of what their parents said; Yoruha simply didn't want trouble.
A few minutes later, Sasuke returned from the exam—of course, he'd passed easily.
Iruka even considered letting him skip the test altogether.
Sasuke had already mastered the Three Basic Techniques in his first year.
To Iruka, Sasuke was unquestionably the strongest of his generation.
As Yoruha expected, everyone passed the exam smoothly—except Naruto.
Afterward, the Third Hokage arrived to give a speech to the new graduates, filling their hearts with idealistic dreams about their future lives as ninja.
---
Later that evening, Naruto sat on the swing beneath the tree, watching the other students celebrate their graduation with envy in his eyes.
Before long, he disappeared from sight.
Yoruha thought to himself,
"He must've been tricked by Mizuki."
He had no intention of getting involved in Naruto's scroll-stealing incident.
On his way home from the academy, he passed by Ichiraku Ramen.
Not wanting to cook, he decided to eat dinner there.
But just as he stepped inside, he saw Iruka treating Naruto to a bowl of ramen.
After twelve years in this world, Yoruha had forgotten most of the anime's details.
He didn't even remember that Iruka treated Naruto to ramen at this point in the story.
He was about to turn and leave when the shop owner, Teuchi, stopped him.
"Hey, Yoruha! What'll it be today?"
Yoruha often ate ramen here—more often than Naruto, in fact.
Over the years, he'd gotten familiar with Teuchi.
The old man's greeting caught Iruka and Naruto's attention.
Left with no choice, Yoruha walked in.
"Hello, Iruka-sensei. Naruto, you're here for ramen too?"
Yoruha's parents had both been ninja. The money they left him was enough to live comfortably for years.
Usually, he timed his meals to avoid Naruto's visits.
Until today, they'd never met here.
Iruka smiled. "Yoruha, you did pretty well today."
Naruto, however, had no idea who Yoruha was.
His presence in class was about as noticeable as Shino's.
Naruto honestly couldn't remember him at all.
Yoruha sat down with a faint smile.
"All thanks to your good teaching, sensei."
He said it politely and smoothly.
Naruto frowned, trying hard to recall who Yoruha was, but no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't remember.
Yoruha didn't care.
Naruto finally leaned close to Iruka and whispered,
"Iruka-sensei, who is he? Is he one of my classmates?"
Iruka, who'd just been about to speak to Yoruha, froze at Naruto's words, his mouth twitching helplessly.
"Naruto," Iruka sighed, "this is your classmate Yoruha. You really don't know him?"
Naruto scratched his head with an awkward laugh.
"Hahaha... sorry, Iruka-sensei, I really don't remember him."
He said it honestly.
---
Advance chapters at Ko-Fi (currently at Chapter 50)
https:// ko-fi.com/sami27