Konoha Year 45, winter.
The sun was setting.
The afterglow spilled across the Ninja Academy's training field, turning the sweat rolling down people's skin into a warm, golden shimmer.
"Haa… haa… Guy, I'm done… I can't take it anymore…"
A good-looking white-haired boy panted as he spoke.
"Hang in there a little longer, Yuu! It's always like this the first time. But if you keep going, you'll feel something even more wonderful…"
"That feeling is called youth! We're almost done with our 200th lap!"
Might Guy—sporting his signature bowl cut and wearing an outfit that looked like a green frog's skin—kept running while twisting his head back to give a thumbs-up. His gleaming white front teeth sparkled under the sunlight.
Unfortunately, before he could finish—
The white-haired boy collapsed with a thud. Luckily, he managed to brace himself with his arm at the last second, so he didn't smash his face into the ground. "I-I'll sit here for a bit… Guy, you keep running. Don't worry about me."
"…Alright then!"
Guy didn't think much of it.
In his mind, no matter how lousy someone's stamina was, there was no way they'd collapse after only 200 laps around the field, right?
"I'll come back after I finish the remaining 800 laps!"
…
Watching Guy run off into the distance, Mikami Yuu let out a long sigh.
It had been eight years since he'd been reincarnated into the world of Naruto.
In the first few years, Mikami Yuu had actually fantasized about making a name for himself in this world with his earth-shaking intellect and peerless talent—punching Uchiha Madara, kicking Black Zetsu and Obito, and spearing Ōtsutsuki Kaguya like some kind of legend…
But as time passed—especially after he entered the Ninja Academy—he was forced to face one simple truth:
He was just an ordinary person.
Everyone knows how the ninja world works: you need connections, backing, and above all… bloodline.
And Mikami Yuu was a civilian.
Sure, having lived two lives made him calmer and more composed than kids his age. And starting around three or four, he'd put himself on strict training and diet routines—warm milk before bed every night, twenty minutes of stretching, the works. After enrolling, he even studied with the same intensity he'd used back on his old world's college entrance exams…
But all of that only made him outstanding in written classes.
As for practical combat classes…
His ninjutsu grades weren't great—barely middle of the pack.
If this were peacetime, maybe he could grind hard, reach genin level by the time he graduated at twelve, tough out a few years of seniority, apply to return to the Academy as an instructor… and once Naruto's class enrolled, find a way to squeeze Iruka out of the job. Then he could farm "affection points" with the Chosen One whenever he felt like it, coast until graduation, and basically lie flat for life.
If everything went smoothly, years later when the Seventh Hokage got married, they'd still have to invite "Mikami-sensei" up on stage to say a few words.
But unfortunately…
Mikami Yuu was born a little too early.
Right now, the Konoha Academy was still running a wartime system: kids enrolled at four and graduated at eight or nine. In Mikami Yuu's cohort were Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, Might Guy, Nohara Rin, Sarutobi Asuma… absolute monsters everywhere you looked.
Among them, the most gifted white-haired prodigy graduated in his second year, made chūnin in his third, and now spent most of his time on missions outside the village.
And the worst one…
Everyone said Obito was the dead last.
But in the real Naruto world, kids like Mikami Yuu—born to civilians—were the true bottom rung.
Obito had a "cheat" on him. Even if his early growth was slower, it didn't matter—and honestly, it wasn't even that slow. He was just kind of dumb and couldn't properly use the strength he had.
Mikami Yuu, on the other hand, under normal circumstances could only lie under Konoha's wagon like a speed bump—
Because this era of the ninja world wasn't peaceful. Conflicts between villages never stopped, and the Third Great Ninja War would fully erupt in, at most, one or two years. When that happened, even freshly graduated genin would be thrown onto the battlefield.
If you were lucky, you'd survive the war with a few minor injuries.
If you were unlucky…
Maybe you'd get to enroll in the Academy together with Naruto and Sasuke in your next life.
"As a transmigrator, I'm already eight years old and I still don't have any kind of cheat… is that even reasonable?"
Mikami Yuu felt awful.
He'd already made up his mind.
At the end of this month was the Academy's final exam for the term—and the last major test before graduation next February. If his practical combat class was still this bad by then, he'd make up an excuse to drop out and go apply at Ichiraku Ramen as a noodle-pulling craftsman.
—It was the safest plan he could think of.
Sure, being a powerful ninja and seeing the world from the top sounded great.
But with the arm strength he'd built through years of training, becoming a noodle-pulling master? That future looked even wider and brighter.
Besides, Teuchi's daughter wasn't bad-looking either. When the time came, with his handsome face, he could "reluctantly" marry into the family, change his surname to Ōtsutsuki Yuu, and call it a win-win…
[Ding! System Binding Successful!]
A line of text drifted across his vision.
"Huh???"
Mikami Yuu jolted. What was going on—he actually had a cheat? It took a full eight years to finally arrive??
[System Initialization Complete. Loading Core Modules…]
[This system is the 'Ninja World Galgame System'. Its purpose is to help the host form bonds with qualified pretty-girl characters. While enjoying sweet romance, you will gain generous rewards and reach the peak of life.]
"No way—holy crap!"
Mikami Yuu's eyes lit up, like he'd just been saved at the edge of despair.
It's here!
His golden finger!
The name sounded kind of weird, but hey—a cheat is a cheat.
And in this era, there were plenty of characters who could qualify as "pretty girls." His age had Nohara Rin, Yūhi Kurenai, Terumī Mei; older than him there was Tsunade; and even Uzumaki Kushina and Uchiha Mikoto weren't married yet…
Conquering the ninja world, surrounded by beauties—an incredible blueprint was already slowly unfolding!
And then—
[Core Modules Loaded.]
[Scanned and loaded the "pretty girl" targets the host is currently interacting with: Transformation Technique, Clone Technique, Substitution Technique. Have fun Wooing!]
"…Huh?"
The smile froze on Mikami Yuu's face.
W-wait.
Wooing what, exactly?
The Three Basic Jutsu???
Clinging to his last shred of hope, Mikami Yuu silently thought: "Open the system main interface."
As soon as the thought fell, a Japanese-style GAL game UI unfurled before his eyes like a halo. In the center of a soft, gentle background image were three chibi-style ninjutsu icons—each with a name and an affection bar beside it.
Current romanceable targets:
[Transformation Technique (Affection: 10/100 — Stranger)]
[Clone Technique (Affection: 5/100 — Stranger)]
[Substitution Technique (Affection: 5/100 — Stranger)]
Mikami Yuu tapped the Transformation Technique icon.
The interface switched. On the left was the same chibi avatar icon—vaguely shaped like a black-haired girl with a slightly mischievous smile. On the right appeared a detailed status panel and several raised option buttons:
[Selected Target]:Transformation Technique
[Talk] [Practice] [Give Gift (Locked: insufficient affection)] [Leave]
Mikami Yuu selected [Talk].
[At dusk, you run into Transformation Technique while she's taking a walk on the school field. She seems happy to see you, waving from afar and joking with you.]
[Transformation Technique: Ehh~ it's Mikami-chan! Who are you turning into today? Last time during the test you transformed into Ooki-sensei, but you walked with your arms and legs on the same side—everyone laughed at you for ages! (￣▽￣*)~]
Three options appeared below:
A: Sorry, I was too clumsy last time. I'll work hard this time.
B: I did it to make everyone laugh!
C: (Stay silent, just stare at her seriously.)
"…"
Mikami Yuu's mouth twitched, completely speechless.
Dude…
You're actually serious?
Talking to jutsu, giving them gifts, raising a jutsu's affection level… what kind of human being would even do this?
Forget it. It's probably just a dumb system. I'll pretend it doesn't exist…
[Tip: The host's words and actions determine the target's affection. Each time affection reaches a certain stage, it will slightly increase the host's attributes, with a chance to obtain special rewards related to the target.]
"…Pick A," Mikami Yuu said.
There are rewards, so what's there to argue about.