Uchiha clan district.
Sasuke jogged home, excitedly greeting the adults along the way before pushing open his front door.
He couldn't wait to show his father his final exam results.
Instead, he walked straight into a heavy atmosphere.
Uchiha Fugaku, clan head and Sasuke's father, was sternly scolding a cold-faced teenager.
"Itachi, remember your position!"
Uchiha Itachi's eyes were half-lidded. He glanced briefly at Sasuke standing in the entryway, then stood up and walked out without looking back.
"I understand."
The oppressive mood instantly killed Sasuke's excitement. He nervously pressed his lips together and hesitantly reached out toward his brother as he passed.
But Itachi didn't stop. He silently brushed past Sasuke's small arm and left with complete indifference.
Only after Itachi's figure completely disappeared did Fugaku finally turn his gaze to Sasuke. Arms crossed, he asked in a deep voice:
"How were your final exam results?"
The dark clouds in Sasuke's heart vanished. He eagerly pulled out his report card.
"Father, I got first in the entire grade!"
Fugaku didn't even take the paper. He only glanced at it before looking away.
"Not bad."
"But you're still nowhere near your brother."
"Keep working harder."
With that, he turned and walked back into the house.
All that excitement, only to be met with his brother's coldness and his father's indifference. A wave of sadness hit Sasuke.
Still, as a child of a great clan who idolized Itachi, he quickly pulled himself together.
He took a deep breath, eyes filled with determination.
"I have to train even harder. I can't embarrass Father and Brother!"
With that thought, he grabbed a few rice balls for dinner, told his mother he was heading out, and ran toward the Naka River forest.
That was Itachi's old training ground — and the place where Itachi used to personally train him.
Even though Itachi was now too busy with missions to spend much time with him, Sasuke still went there out of habit.
The evening wind carried the warm voices of Konoha villagers past his hair.
A pang of envy hit him, but it only strengthened his resolve.
...
"Last one."
Shikage wiped the sweat from his forehead. His gaze shifted, and the shadow behind him suddenly stretched and twisted. In a single breath, it captured a small deer foraging nearby.
The moment the system confirmed success and displayed [Quest Complete], he released the shadow binding and collapsed onto the ground.
Watching the terrified deer sprint away, Shikage chuckled:
"Finally done."
"If it wasn't for chakra limits, I would've finished all the daily tasks hours ago."
"Unfortunately, I'm not from the Uzumaki or Senju clan. The Nara bloodline doesn't give us that much chakra compared to average shinobi."
"Gotta find a way to increase my chakra reserves."
The thought triggered something. He quickly opened his system panel to check the daily quest rewards.
[Daily Quest Completed. Rewards Issuing Now]
[Reward 1: Full Status Recovery (100%)]
[Reward 2: +3 Attribute Points]
[Reward 3: Random Box]
Without hesitation, he claimed Reward 1 first.
A cool, refreshing sensation instantly washed over his entire body. His sore, aching muscles relaxed as if they'd never been strained. Even his depleted chakra was fully replenished.
Clenching his fist and feeling the surge of energy, Shikage grinned with satisfaction.
"From now on, as long as I finish the daily quests… I basically have a second life!"
Reward 1 already exceeded his expectations. He eagerly moved on to the next two.
"If I'm understanding this right…"
"Intelligence should affect my 'blue bar' — chakra."
The second he claimed Reward 2, he dumped all three attribute points straight into Intelligence.
The change wasn't as dramatic as before, but after focusing inward, he could clearly feel the difference.
His eyes snapped open with excitement as he stared at the Intelligence stat.
"Just as I thought!"
"Both chakra synthesis speed and total volume have increased!"
Calming down, he noticed his other stats had also seen small gains from the training itself.
[Strength: 20.2 (10)]
[Stamina: 23.3 (10)]
[Agility: 27.1 (10)]
[Intelligence: 32 (10)]
[Perception: 26 (10)]
A slight but noticeable boost across Strength, Stamina, and Agility.
After a moment of thought, the answer clicked.
"So the daily training itself also raises the five basic stats. Nice two-for-one."
Compared to the earlier excitement, this felt normal, so he turned his attention to the third reward.
From his past life memories, this Random Box could be anything — from snacks to skill books or even dungeon tickets. Pure gambling.
He didn't have high hopes. In his previous life, he was always the guy who hit pity on every gacha.
"Plenty of time. I'll pull something good eventually."
Muttering to himself, he claimed Reward 3.
A flash of white light appeared, and the box contents revealed themselves.
One glance and his eyebrows shot up.
"Well, this is a pleasant surprise!"
While he was still examining his new reward, a young voice rang out from nearby.
The voice was familiar. He didn't even need to think twice to know who it belonged to.
"Maybe I can give this a try…"
Murmuring softly, Shikage leaped through the treetops.
...
"Hah!"
Sasuke tensed his core and swung his crossed arms forward with a sharp exhale.
Ten kunai flew from his fingers.
Only one hit the center. Six landed in the middle and outer rings. Three missed the target entirely.
Seeing the result, Sasuke lowered his head in disappointment.
He was already seven. At the same age, Itachi could easily hit ten targets dead center at once.
Not to mention, Itachi had already graduated from the Academy by seven… while he was still proudly waving around a first-grade final exam report.
The gap was obvious.
No wonder Father barely looked at him.
The thought made self-doubt creep in.
Not just the gap itself — but the fear that he might never catch up to his brother's level.
"Sigh… I just have to keep working harder."
That was all he could do.
Sasuke picked up more kunai and started throwing again, but the more he tried, the worse his performance became.
"Your heart's a mess, so your technique is a mess too."
"How about calming down first, Sasuke?"