*Konoha Ninja Academy*
Yuto Hayashi flopped against the tree like a discarded ragdoll, his dead-fish eyes tracking his classmates as they dutifully baked under the midday sun. Sweat? Effort? Sigh.
'Ah, to be young and full of misplaced enthusiasm.'
He, on the other hand, was a man of culture—specifically, the culture of napping in shade and avoiding responsibility at all costs.
**Flashback!**
Ten years ago, he'd been your average guy at a comic convention, cosplaying as son goku (complete with an overly stuffy headpiece that probably caused heatstroke). Then he stepped out of the venue and, in a tragic lack of spatial awareness, fell straight into an open sewer.
Next thing he knew *poof!* baby yuto isekai'd and plopped straight into the Naruto-verse.His parents? Gone.blown to pieces by explosion tags.
Classic backstory. Very tragic.
Now, at the ripe old age of ten, he'd fully embraced his destiny as Konoha's most unbothered civilian. No secret bloodline, no overpowered cheat ability, just the quiet dignity of a guy who'd long since accepted his role as background character with a handsome face in this world with overpowered aliens.
Who said transmigrators had to be special?
**Present Time**
"Yuto. knew I'd find you here."
The voice belonged to the only person in class who matched (or possibly exceeded) his dedication to laziness. Nara Shikamaru, future genius strategist and current expert in doing the bare minimum.
"Shikamaru" Yuto acknowledged, not moving an inch. "You get it. This heat is crime."
"Troublesome," Shikamaru sighed like a man who'd already lived three lifetimes of inconvenience. "Why's Iruka-sensei making us spar in this heat? And why are the others so excited about it?"
He gestured vaguely toward the crowd, where their classmates were whooping and hollering like this was the Chunin Exams and not just another Tuesday.
At the center of it all? Uchiha Sasuke, the academy's resident brooding pretty boy, currently absorbing fangirl admiration like a plant photosynthesizing sunlight.
Meanwhile, Naruto stood off to the side, sulking so hard his lips might permanently fuse to his teeth.
Yuto and Shikamaru exchanged a glance.
"Ah, youth," Yuto mused, stretching like a cat. "So full of passion"
"What does that make us?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.
"Elderly souls trapped in tiny, unfortunate bodies."
"Nara Shikamaru! Hayashi Yuto! You're up next!"
Both boys groaned in perfect sync.
"Guess we're being dragged back into the horrors of childhood," Shikamaru muttered.
"Just end me quickly," Yuto said, rolling to his feet with all the enthusiasm of a sloth on sedatives.
"YUTO! SHIKAMARU! YOU GOT THIS!" Naruto bellowed, waving his arms like a windmill on caffeine. His face was still a patchwork of bruises from his own match.
Chōji blinked. "Aren't they fighting each other?"
Naruto paused, then grinned. "Whoever loses worse is my best friend!"
"..."
The entire class stared.
'Ah. The legendary "Uzumaki Friendship Scale" measured purely in bruises.'
Sakura squinted. "Have these two ever actually fought before?"
Ino's eyes gleamed. "Now that you mentioned it."
Ignoring the peanut gallery, Yuto cracked his neck.
'Time to disappoint everyone.'
Sasuke, who'd been watching with his hands in his pockets, tensed slightly. 'Something was off.'
Yuto's usual sluggish aura had sharpened, like a knife finally unsheathed.
'Was this guy... hiding his skills all along?'
"BEGIN!"
At Iruka's command, Yuto's dead-fish eyes snapped into focus.
"Ninja Art:Stardust Surprise!"
*WHOOSH!*
A cloud of sand and dust exploded directly into Shikamaru's face. The pineapple-haired boy yelped, clutching his eyes.
just in time for Yuto to deliver a devastating low kick.
THUD.
Shikamaru crumpled to the ground, knees instinctively clamping together.
Silence.
Absolute, deafening silence.
Even Iruka looked like he'd just witnessed a war crime. "...Are you... okay?"
"...Peachy" Shikamaru wheezed, shooting Yuto the most betrayed glare in existence.
Yuto, meanwhile, winked.
[*See? Told you we'd finish fast.*]
[*You... absolute bastard.*]
[*Dinner's on me.*]
[...*Premium beef.*]
And just like that, the two were back to being best buds, casually strolling off the field, arms slung over each other's shoulders with the weight of their classmates' judgmental stares on their back.
Among those stares, however, one pair of pale gray eyes watched with particular intensity.
Hinata Hyūga bit her lip, cheeks flushing pink.
'If only... Yuto kun would carry me like that…'
She shook her head violently, dispelling her thoughts.
*Konoha – Evening at Yakiniki Q*
Shikamaru was devouring meat like a man on a mission. Getting Yuto to pay up was rare, and after that cheap shot earlier he had zero guilt about eating until his heart was full.
Yuto, however, wasn't eating.
He was staring blankly at the air in front of him, chopsticks frozen mid-bite.
Because floating before him was a shimmering golden screen.
[Welcome to the Romantic Life Choice System! We're here to make your love life magical!]
Yuto's eyes twitched.
'A... what system?'
After ten goddamn years of waiting, his golden finger had finally arrived and it was a dating sim mechanic?!
In the Naruto world?!
'WHAT KIND OF CRUEL JOKE WAS THIS?!'