Konoha, the Ninja Academy.
Yoruha sat by the window, quietly watching the leaves swaying outside.
"Twelve years… It's already been twelve years since I came to this world. Time really flies."
Yoruha was a transmigrator. The very moment he was born, he had experienced the chaos of the Nine-Tails' attack.
His parents had died during the Nine-Tails' rampage.
Six years later, he successfully enrolled in the Ninja Academy.
He was no different from the other students.
After entering the Academy, his grades were average. His ranking was average. The only thing remotely worth mentioning was that he looked fairly decent.
With such ordinary results, he was practically invisible in class.
No one paid attention to him.
Unlike Uchiha Sasuke, who ranked first in every exam.
Unlike Uzumaki Naruto, who constantly placed last yet still drew everyone's attention.
Yoruha had no special encounters. No dramatic turning points. He had lived these twelve years plainly and uneventfully.
He had never displayed anything remarkable enough to attract the attention of the Third Hokage or Shimura Danzo.
There had never been an invitation from Root to "have tea," either.
"Idle System activated. Binding host: Yoruha."
Yoruha froze.
"System?"
"Idle System, at your service."
He frowned, momentarily wondering if he had fallen under a genjutsu.
He bit the back of his hand hard. The sharp pain confirmed it—this was no illusion.
"System, you're twelve years late."
His tone remained calm, without the slightest emotional ripple.
After twelve years in this world, he had long since come to terms with everything.
And now the system decided to appear.
The Idle System offered no response.
"What a cold system."
What Yoruha didn't know was that the Idle System had no emotions, nor any true intelligence.
Seeing that it wouldn't reply, he didn't press further.
"What exactly are your functions?"
Idle System: "This is an Idle System. Simply remain idle for a certain period of time, and you will receive rewards."
Yoruha smiled faintly. "That's straightforward enough."
"So how do I use it?"
Idle System: "You are already using it. The Idle System is currently serving you."
That caught him slightly off guard. "I'm already using it?"
"I wonder what kind of rewards I'll get."
After twelve years, Yoruha was already familiar with this world.
Whether he had an Idle System or not didn't matter much to him.
Without it, he would drift along with the current of fate.
With it, he might live a little more freely.
Just a slight difference.
He withdrew his attention from his inner consciousness and looked toward the front of the classroom, where Iruka was speaking at the podium.
"So it's finally graduation… I wonder which squad I'll be assigned to."
The graduation exam was about to begin.
The test would be the Clone Technique.
Though Yoruha's grades over the past six years had been average, graduating posed no problem. He had already mastered the Three Basic Techniques.
In fact, aside from someone like Naruto—whose chakra was affected by the Nine-Tails—every student in the class had mastered them by this point.
Iruka called out from the front, "When I call your name, come to the room next door."
"First—Uchiha Sasuke."
As always, Sasuke was called first.
Since the day he entered the Academy, his grades had consistently ranked at the top.
Even the roster placed his name first.
Sasuke stood up expressionlessly, hands in his pockets, and walked coolly toward the adjacent room.
Several girls in the class stared at him with starry eyes.
"Sasuke is so handsome!"
"Good luck, Sasuke!"
"Sasuke, I love you!"
They fawned over him like devoted idol fans.
Naruto, sitting below, clenched his teeth as he watched Sasuke's aloof back.
"Damn it, that jerk Sasuke… What's so great about him?"
Nara Shikamaru, seated not far from Naruto, spoke lazily, "He's number one in the class. Always number one."
"Shikamaru, I'll surpass him sooner or later! I'm the man who's going to become Hokage!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and promptly laid his head down to sleep.
In the entire class, only Shikamaru and Inuzuka Kiba could really get along with Naruto.
The others kept their distance—including Yoruha.
Most avoided Naruto because of their parents' influence.
Yoruha avoided him because he didn't want trouble.
A few minutes later, Sasuke returned.
He had passed effortlessly.
Iruka had even considered exempting him from the exam entirely.
As early as his first year at the Academy, Sasuke had already mastered the Three Basic Techniques.
In Iruka's eyes, Sasuke was unquestionably the strongest of this graduating class.
Just as Yoruha expected, every student passed—except Naruto.
Soon after, the Third Hokage appeared to deliver a speech to the newly graduated students.
His words filled these children—who still held unrealistic fantasies about the ninja profession—with even greater dreams about the path ahead.
Naruto sat alone on a swing beneath a tree, watching his classmates celebrate their graduation, envy written all over his face.
Before long, he disappeared from beneath the tree.
"He's probably been tricked by Mizuki," Yoruha thought.
He had no intention of getting involved in Naruto's theft of the Scroll of Seals.
On his way home from the Academy, he passed by Ichiraku Ramen.
Not wanting to cook for himself, he decided to settle dinner there.
But the moment he stepped inside, he saw Iruka treating Naruto to ramen.
After twelve years in this world, Yoruha had forgotten many details.
He hadn't expected Iruka to be treating Naruto at this moment.
He was just about to step back out when Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku, called out to him.
"Yoruha! What'll it be today?"
Yoruha ate at Ichiraku even more frequently than Naruto.
Over the years, he had grown quite familiar with Teuchi.
Teuchi's greeting drew the attention of both Iruka and Naruto.
With no way to retreat now, Yoruha walked in.
"Good evening, Iruka-sensei. Naruto, you're eating ramen here too?"
Both of Yoruha's parents had been ninja, leaving him enough money to live normally until adulthood.
Usually, he deliberately avoided the times Naruto came to eat here.
In all these years, he had never once run into Naruto at Ichiraku.
Seeing him, Iruka smiled. "Yoruha, you performed well today."
Naruto, on the other hand, didn't recognize him at all.
Yoruha's presence in class was about the same as Aburame Shino's—easy to overlook.
Naruto didn't even remember seeing him before.
After taking a seat, Yoruha gave a polite smile. "It's all thanks to your teaching, Iruka-sensei."
He spoke with practiced courtesy.
Naruto frowned at him, staring for a long time, trying to place the face.
He couldn't remember him at all.
Yoruha didn't mind.
Finally, unable to figure it out, Naruto leaned close to Iruka and whispered, "Iruka-sensei… who's that? Is he in my class?"
Iruka, who had been about to say something to Yoruha, was left speechless.
The corner of his mouth twitched as he looked at Naruto.
"Naruto, that's Yoruha. Your classmate. You don't recognize him?"
Naruto laughed awkwardly. "Hahaha… Iruka-sensei, I seriously have no memory of him."
He answered with complete honesty