The smile on Uchiha Ryan's face had only just begun to spread, not yet reaching the point of full-blown Uchiha maniacal laughter, when it abruptly froze halfway.
This system…
Why does it feel kind of abstract?
Ryan thought he might've misheard. He immediately rolled over and jumped to his feet, walking back and forth as he patiently tried to explain things to the system.
"Did something go wrong?"
"System, this is the Naruto world… the kind where ninjas run with their arms behind their backs, okay?"
Before he could say much more, a possibility suddenly flashed through his mind. His blood rushed up, and his eyes lit up instantly.
"Could it be…?"
"The rewards you give are cultivation techniques, magical artifacts, that kind of stuff from the cultivation world?"
As the thought took shape, Uchiha Ryan almost saw his own future—crushing stars with one hand, casually suppressing the Ōtsutsuki clan with the other.
The mere Uchiha massacre night…
What was that, even?
Snapping out of his fantasy, Ryan's expression gradually turned arrogant.
He glanced sideways at the red-and-white clan crest nearby—the one that looked suspiciously like a ping-pong paddle—and spat disdainfully.
"What trash Mangekyō Sharingan…"
"I'm done playing with that."
"From today onward…"
"I'm going against the heavens!"
The system didn't seem very intelligent. It couldn't answer his questions at all, leaving him with no choice but to inspect it through a game-like interface.
[Status]
[Achievements]
[Inventory]
[Quests]
Without hesitation, Ryan tapped on [Status].
[Name: Uchiha Ryan]
[Age: 6]
[Cultivation: None]
[Techniques: None]
[Physique: None]
[Spirit Stones: None]
One "None" after another appeared, giving him an inexplicable sense of being silently mocked.
Fine—no techniques, no cultivation, he could accept that.
But physique too?
Couldn't you at least write "Uchiha bloodline" or something?!
Every word in the status panel seemed to be sneering at his existence, as if telling him that in the cultivation world, he was nothing more than an ant.
It's fine. It's fine…
You eat one bite at a time. You walk one step at a time.
Without accumulating small steps, there's no reaching a thousand miles. Without small streams, there's no forming rivers and seas.
Being weak today didn't mean anything. In the future, he might still ascend and become an immortal ancestor, standing at the peak of the world.
Ryan was surprisingly open-minded about it.
After all, this was a cultivation system. Looking down on the ninja world's power system was… understandable.
As for physique…
It was probably something like an Innate Dao Body or an Ancient Sacred Physique.
Mm.
This system is insanely overpowered.
Let's check the other options.
He tapped [Achievements], and a failure notification popped up immediately.
[This function will unlock after obtaining your first achievement.]
Ryan nodded calmly.
If it unlocked too easily, he'd start suspecting the system was weak.
A system with slightly harder unlock conditions only proved that his future potential was enormous!
Next—maybe there was a newbie gift pack…
He opened [Inventory]. Inside the massive 30×10 grid sat a dazzling, golden gift box.
[Newbie Gift Pack — Unlocks at Qi Refining Stage 1]
At that point, the smile on Ryan's face finally faded. He stood there, taking several deep breaths before barely steadying his emotions.
"Small problem. Just a small problem…"
"Qi Refining shouldn't be hard. According to novel logic, you usually get cultivation injected after completing the first newbie quest."
"Yeah! Breaking into Qi Refining won't be a problem!"
After readjusting his mindset, Ryan shifted his gaze to the [Quests] icon.
Before clicking it, he even started guessing what his first quest might be.
A newbie quest…
Challenge Uzumaki Naruto?
Or Momochi Zabuza?
Or maybe… defeat Uchiha Itachi?
Those might be a bit too hard. Not that Naruto was unbeatable or anything—mainly, getting close to Naruto as an Uchiha was way too sensitive right now.
Hmm…
Challenging Sasuke would be perfect.
That way, he could just wait until Sasuke fell asleep at night, pull the blanket over his head, beat him up, and complete the quest.
Ryan clasped his hands together and prayed devoutly. In that moment, he pretty much prayed to every god he knew. He even ran back inside, washed his hands several times, and only then clicked [Quests].
[Upon first entering the cultivation world, even mortals must have the courage to seek the Dao. Even ants must dare to shake the tree! Low birth is not shameful—knowing when to bend is the mark of a true man!]
[Newbie Quest Triggered!]
[Quest: A large number of Heaven-Rending Demonic Dogs have been detected in the surrounding area. The common people suffer greatly. Give them a lesson! Defeat 10 Heaven-Rending Demonic Dogs to intimidate nearby evil forces.]
[Reward: Physique enhancement. +100% chance to enter Qi Refining. +50% chance of successful Foundation Establishment.]
Uchiha Ryan: ?
He reread the quest panel several times.
Then his face instantly darkened, and he fell completely silent.
Slowly, he walked over to the stone table in the courtyard and sat down, lowering his head in deep thought.
From the origins of humanity…
All the way to the Trisolaran invasion of Earth…
After a long while, Ryan took a deep breath.
What the hell?!
You piece of trash!
System, what exactly did you detect?!
Since when did Konoha have something called Heaven-Rending Demonic Dogs?!
I'm in the Naruto world!
An Uchiha descendant!
Where the hell am I supposed to find something that sounds this terrifying?!
"You brat…"
"Why are you slacking off here again?!"
Just then, Sasuke appeared beside him at some point.
Wearing a blue shirt and black pants, his small face was stern and full of anger. Seeing his twin brother spacing out in the courtyard, Sasuke looked exactly like an elder scolding a disappointing junior.
Unfortunately, the puppy he was holding completely ruined the sense of authority.
"As the clan head's sons of the Uchiha, we must train hard so we can shoulder the glory of the entire Uchiha clan!"
Ryan stared blankly ahead. His eyes were dull and lifeless, completely devoid of light. Sasuke's words didn't even give him the urge to respond.
"Is the glory of the Uchiha clan… wetting the bed?"
The flat tone, combined with the embarrassing truth, was like an invisible blade stabbing straight through Sasuke's heart.
His face flushed red at a visible speed.
"Nonsense! That was… that was water I spilled when I drank last night!"
"I—I didn't wet the bed!!"
Sasuke shouted at the top of his lungs, as if yelling loudly enough could erase last night's incident.
Mikoto happened to be passing through the corridor and heard her younger son's outburst. She covered her mouth and laughed softly, giving Ryan a meaningful look.
Clearly Sasuke was the one who wet the bed, yet he'd come over first thing in the morning and practically confessed himself.
Mikoto knew Ryan would never do something like that. Taking the blame was obviously his way of protecting Sasuke's fragile pride.
Such a good child…
Unwilling to disturb the brothers, Mikoto turned and headed for the kitchen to prepare hot tea for the father and son chatting in the living room.
"Go play somewhere else."
"I'm not in the mood to play with you today."
Ryan was irritated to the core. His mind was full of questions aimed at his garbage system, and he had no interest whatsoever in dealing with this kid.
"Uchiha Ryan!!"
"Who wants you to play with me anyway?!"
Sasuke yelled back, his neck stiff, though his face was already filled with grievance.
Clutching the puppy he'd picked up, he turned and walked back toward his room in disappointment.
"Wait!!"
"Sasuke—what exactly are you holding in your arms?"
...
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