Accompanied by the crisp chirping of birds, clear dewdrops condensed on the eaves of Konoha Village in the sunrise, and today the Village was uncommonly covered in a thin layer of fog.
Some restaurants had opened their doors, and employees at the entrance were continuously unloading packages of varying sizes from delivery trucks.
At this moment, a flurry of hurried footsteps echoed through the fog. Some idle employees glanced in that direction and saw a cute little boy wrapped in a large scarf, his rosy complexion easily inspiring goodwill.
Shuichi walked quickly, glancing at those who watched him. Occasionally, he would grin and smile at them, which surprised some people.
"Doesn't that child sleep in?"
They thought to themselves, yet felt that his smile brought a new experience to their daily, repetitive, and monotonous work.
After successfully earning a wave of goodwill from the Konoha villagers, Shuichi, as planned, walked towards the more forested areas on the outskirts of the Village.
It wasn't that Shuichi deliberately practiced his acting to become the good child in everyone's eyes.
In this chaotic era where lives were as cheap as grass, everyone had their own unpleasant experiences, and those as tragic as Shuichi, who had lost both parents, were commonplace.
Life was already hard enough; how could people who vented their negative emotions on others be accepted by everyone?
The Uchiha Clan in the original story was the most typical negative example. Even among the true elites of the Uchiha, there were many who could think rationally, but most gave the impression of being prone to losing control.
These days, Shuichi occasionally saw members of the Konoha Military Police Force wearing clothes with the Uchiha fan crest.
Although they hadn't reached a confrontational situation with the Konoha villagers, most villagers would instinctively avoid Uchiha people when they encountered them.
Thinking as he walked, Shuichi quickly found a secluded forest path. After roughly estimating the distance of a circuit, he began his physical training for the day.
The reason he chose this location was that a small river, which flowed through the forest outside Konoha's residential area, was not far away.
Shuichi planned to go to the river after his physical training to see if there was a chance to catch fish. This would both pass the time and potentially provide meat.
Because his body was just beginning to develop, Shuichi did not follow the protagonists he had seen in manga and spin-off works, who trained to their limits from a very young age, firmly believing that effort could always surpass genius.
In his previous life, he had watched too many videos on scientific diet, fitness, and so on, and understood that physical training should be done in moderation. If improper handling led to hidden injuries later, he would be beyond tears.
Thinking of Uchiha Itachi dying young from illness and Gekkō Hayate looking like he had kidney deficiency, Shuichi felt it was better to take it easy.
What he needed to do was to gradually improve while ensuring stability. So, when he became a little breathless from running, he would slowly walk to recover.
He had arranged for himself to increase his running distance a little each day. The enrollment for the Ninja Academy was not far off, but there was still plenty of time.
…
After finishing his morning training, and after a simple rest and meal, Shuichi began to wander around the Village in the afternoon, looking for suitable odd jobs.
In his previous life, Shuichi studied big data and finance, so he was well-versed in statistics and accounting.
In this Ninja World, with his knowledge base and the system's enhancements, he could even become the Land of Fire's Minister of Finance.
However, Shuichi visited various shops but couldn't find any place willing to take him. Firstly, the bosses felt Shuichi was too young, and his work efficiency would definitely be much lower than an adult's.
Shuichi's initial offer to work as an assistant was just a way to gauge their interest. When the bosses rejected him due to his age, he suddenly told them:
"Actually, I'm a genius! Really, I can organize your shop's ledgers with the highest efficiency. If you ask me any addition or subtraction problem within 100,000, I can tell you the answer within seconds."
The bosses: "…"
In the end, no shop was willing to take him. Some bosses thought he was joking and impatiently shooed him away, while most others became curious. After asking some related questions, they found that this kid indeed had something to him.
The fundamental reason for leaving was that the bosses were unwilling to pay him a high price. Although some offered to provide basic meals,
Shuichi saw that the regular employees ate rather plain meals with vegetables, and such nutrition was insufficient for his training.
Moreover, the turnover and cash flow of these shops were really small. The bosses could roughly calculate everything by just counting on their fingers each day.
Although he was very capable and dealing with these financial tasks was like using an ox-slaughtering knife to kill a chicken, the problem was that these shops were all like chickens that could be killed by hand. This sharp knife was truly a hero with no place to show his prowess.
Shuichi himself was not discouraged. If it was about long-term money-making plans, he had countless schemes in mind. When he first arrived and before the system was activated, he had already organized what he could do in the future.
He had envisioned that when he was a little older, he could research a unique snack recipe and open a small shop. After all, he had been an international student for many years in his previous life, and having a certain level of cooking skills when alone abroad made life much more comfortable.
He could also publish novels or even draw manga in the future. Combining the characteristics of the Ninja World, he could write stories similar to Onmyoji, samurai, or even tragic love stories about a reincarnated miko from another time and a handsome dog demon, which would definitely catch the attention of the Ninja World natives.
He even had many classic Japanese songs on his usual playlist that he had listened to countless times. Becoming a celebrity would probably make him a honored guest of the Daimyo.
However, all the above ideas required a lot of time for preliminary preparation. He couldn't help being so young when he transmigrated, and wouldn't it be a waste of a lifetime to come to a Chakra world and not become a Ninja?
Since he had decided to become a Ninja, he wouldn't waste too much time on irrelevant matters.