Good news: after transmigrating, there's a system.
Bad news: the system belongs to the world next door, and even its activation conditions are in that other world.
How is this supposed to work?
In the Naruto world, where is he supposed to find the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy from the world of Bleach to activate the system?
What kind of idiotic system is this?
It's way too unreliable!
And that wasn't even the worst part. Not being able to activate it would've been one thing, but ever since the first notification on day one, it had gone off punctually at midnight every single day…
Whenever asked, it would only respond that there was nothing wrong with it.
Pure noise—annoying as hell.
Just like now—
[Ding! This is the system's sixty-first reminder. Please do not slack off. Proceed to the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy to register, activate the system, achieve the supreme title of Soul King as soon as possible, and fulfill the responsibility of governing the Three Realms!]
Hearing the notification in his mind and seeing the floating text before his eyes, Akira felt irritation surge up. Gritting his teeth, he cursed inwardly, "Ding your sister! I'm in the Naruto world—where the hell am I supposed to find the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy to activate your stupid system?!"
"And what do you mean 'achieve the supreme title of Soul King' and 'govern the Three Realms'? Anyone who's watched Bleach knows the Soul King is basically a pit! Sealed up as a human stick!"
"Even pyramid schemes aren't as scammy as you!"
"A legendary life? More like a human-stick life!"
Even after two months, Akira was still brooding over this. After venting silently, he finally felt a bit less stifled.
This stupid system!
Honestly, transmigrating into the Naruto world while the system belonged to Bleach—Akira didn't even know whether that was good or bad…
The good part was that the system couldn't be activated.
The bad part was also that the system couldn't be activated.
It was just depressing!
Of course, as someone who possessed a system, not even trying to activate it would go against the nature of a transmigrator. Maybe it was one of those two-world back-and-forth travel setups?
With that thought in mind, Akira had made plenty of attempts over the past two months.
Renaming his room "Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy" in an attempt to exploit a loophole…
Trying to sense a so-called "Gate of Space Traversal"…
The result was naturally useless!
In the Naruto world, where would he find the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy from the world of Bleach to activate the system?
Wasn't this complete nonsense?
Aside from preventing this body from dying of severe injuries at the beginning, this stupid system was practically nonexistent. It even felt like it took up space as mere decoration.
And on top of that, it chimed in every night at exactly midnight to harass him. Just hearing it was irritating!
"Stupid system!"
After cursing it with utter disdain, Akira stopped paying attention to the annoying thing and muttered to himself, "The stupid system is useless. I can't count on it. From now on, I can only rely on myself…"
To be honest, when he realized what world he was in and at what point in the timeline, Akira had panicked a little.
At one point, he even thought that being an ordinary person wasn't bad. At least he wouldn't have to go to the battlefield. The Third Great Ninja War was a brutal meat grinder where even Kage-level shinobi could die.
Let alone ordinary ninjas—at best they would just make up the numbers and serve as cannon fodder.
Akira didn't think his small frame, without cheats or a functioning system, could survive a war.
It would be better to open a shop next to Ichiraku Ramen. If he kept things stable, maybe he could even last until the Boruto era. Living a peaceful life with a wife and kids wouldn't be bad.
The problem was that Ichiraku Ramen didn't even exist yet. Who knew where it would be located in the future? And opening a shop required money. Where was a little kid like him supposed to get that?
No way.
What about becoming a copycat writer—rewriting web novels from his previous life and starting a cultural invasion in the Naruto world?
Not likely. His essays in his previous life were never praised by teachers.
Without money, nothing moves. A single penny can stump a hero. That's true in any world.
Of course, that had been Akira's thinking back when he realized the system couldn't be activated.
Now he had changed his mind.
After two months of living together, Akira had already regarded Yuhi Shinku and Kurenai Yuhi as family. He didn't want anything to happen to them.
Yuhi Shinku dying in the Nine-Tails' attack. Kurenai Yuhi getting whisked away by some blond-haired guy…
Absolutely not!
The Naruto world was one where strength ruled. If he wanted to change tragedies, he couldn't do it without power.
Helplessly, he could only head to the Ninja Academy and become a ninja…
"I'm a transmigrator! So what if I don't have a cheat? So what if I don't have a system? I can still carve out a place for myself in this world!!"
"Stupid system, get lost!"
He refused to believe that, as someone who knew the plot, he couldn't make a name for himself here.
Knowing the storyline was his cheat.
As for the system?
Heh.
"Sleep!"
The alarm rang right on time, meaning it was already midnight. Time to sleep.
Tomorrow was registration day for the Ninja Academy. Since he had decided to take the risk and become a ninja, Akira wouldn't hesitate. Who knew—maybe he was a genius?
After all, he had red hair. Maybe he really did have Uzumaki blood.
Anyone who had watched Naruto knew that aside from the Nine-Tails, the protagonist had another cheat—the Uzumaki clan physique.
Looking at the entire series, "Naruto-sama" was ridiculously durable. Rasengan after Rasengan—he barely ever ran out of chakra.
Unlike a certain well-known "Chakra-Limited Copy Ninja · Fifty-Fifty Kakashi," who would get exhausted after using a single dōjutsu. There was no comparison…
...
Morning.
At the dining table.
Yuhi Shinku looked at Akira with some surprise. Even his usually stern expression showed a hint of a smile. "You've decided?"
Not long ago, he had been completely resistant to becoming a ninja. Why the sudden change of heart?
Sure enough, words from a peer were more effective than those from an adult!
Akira nodded seriously. "I can't just keep eating and using your things forever, right? I'm part of the Yuhi family now. If I become a ninja and earn mission rewards, I can help with household expenses."
Yuhi Shinku smiled. "It's not like I can't afford your meals, kid. But going to the Ninja Academy, making some new friends—that's good too."
There was a ninety-percent chance this kid was a survivor of the Uzumaki clan. It would be a waste of talent not to become a ninja. Guiding him onto that path was also a task assigned by the Third Hokage…
Akira shrugged. "Let's just say I'm going to look after Kurenai. With me around, no one will bully her. After all, I'm the big brother!"
Kurenai Yuhi puffed up her cheeks while taking small bites of breakfast. She stopped eating entirely, speaking in an unhappy tone. "What do you mean! I'm obviously the big sister, okay? And what happened just now… just now doesn't count!"
Just now, to fulfill last night's agreement, she had been forced to call Akira "oni-chan"…
And her father had heard it. It made her furious!
"..." Yuhi Shinku glanced at his daughter, revealing a fatherly smile.
She had clearly called Akira "big brother" earlier—why was it suddenly invalid?
Little girls' moods really do change in an instant.
Not paying much attention, Yuhi Shinku smiled at Akira. "Then I'll leave Kurenai in the care of you, big brother."
To be honest, aside from occasionally doing things even he couldn't understand, Akira was usually quite reassuring.
He had a maturity that didn't belong to his age.
Some experiences truly do make people grow…
"I will." Akira nodded, then raised his eyebrows at Kurenai Yuhi.
The meaning was obvious—see? Official recognition from the head of the family!
"How am I the little sister?!" Kurenai Yuhi's delicate face was full of dissatisfaction. Even her own father was saying this now?
Was it just because she had been forced to say "oni-chan"?
Thinking of that, she puffed up her lips so much they could hang something from them, muttering softly, "I'm clearly the big sister…"
She decided that she would definitely make Akira call her "big sister" voluntarily. What happened earlier didn't count!!
Soon, the three of them finished breakfast.
Under Yuhi Shinku's lead, they headed toward the Ninja Academy.
Before long, they arrived.
Today was registration day. The entrance to the Ninja Academy was bustling with people, mostly parents bringing their children to enroll.
Akira's gaze swept across the crowd—adults and kids alike—while he thought to himself: 'The original timeline is pretty chaotic. I wonder how many familiar faces there will be?'
The Naruto timeline was as messy as his system.
Just the kind that made you want to complain endlessly…
'Forget it. I'll see tomorrow after classes officially start.'
Muttering inwardly, Akira decided not to dwell on it. He would know soon enough.
Following Yuhi Shinku and Kurenai Yuhi, he walked into the Ninja Academy to handle the enrollment procedures.
However…
just as Akira's foot stepped past the academy gates—
"Ding."
A sound suddenly echoed in his mind…