Hyuga Kirito, a twelve-year-old boy, carried two enormous secrets in his heart—secrets no one else knew.
The first was that he did not originally belong to this world.
Of course, that hardly mattered anymore. No matter where he had come from, the reality now was that he lived in a world ruled by shinobi.
The second secret was something residing within him—neither physical nor purely spiritual. It was an otherworldly existence known as the Arsenal System.
The reason Kirito described it as another dimension was because the system functioned entirely through automated data. There was no administrator, no artificial intelligence giving guidance—everything ran on its own.
At irregular intervals and without any predictable pattern, the system would issue strange and unusual missions. If Kirito managed to complete them within the required time, he would receive rewards.
And just as the name Arsenal System implied, the rewards were always weapons or tools.
According to the system's description, the arsenal contained weapons from different eras and different dimensions—everything from cold weapons to firearms.
So far, the cold weapons Kirito had obtained included straight swords, sleeve arrows, and large sabers. As for firearms, he had received things like old-fashioned single-shot rifles and electric stun batons.
Thanks to these weapons, Kirito had at least gained a small measure of survival ability in this ninja world—where human life often seemed frighteningly cheap.
Another convenient feature of the Arsenal System was its storage function.
All weapons could be stored within it, like items placed inside a dimensional bag. If one were to compare it to something in the ninja world, it worked very much like a shinobi storage scroll.
As for Kirito's personality—he was the easygoing type who simply went with the flow. He had no grand ambitions or lofty dreams. In short, he lived however he felt was right at the moment.
Which was exactly why, at this very moment in the Ninja Academy, while the teacher at the front of the classroom was explaining the basics of the Three Basic Techniques, Kirito had absolutely no interest in listening.
Instead, he lay sprawled over his desk, fast asleep.
Normally, he wouldn't have been the only student dozing off in class.
But things were different now.
The graduation exam was less than a week away. Even Uzumaki Naruto—the class's usual troublemaker who spent most lessons either causing chaos or sleeping—was forcing himself to stay awake and listen carefully.
Though, judging by his expression, he clearly understood none of it.
The next lesson was practice with basic ninja tools—shuriken throwing.
Kirito still wasn't particularly interested.
However, perhaps because of the Arsenal System, something about him changed the moment he held a weapon. The feeling was completely different.
Now standing fifty meters away from the target, Kirito looked casually at the bullseye nailed onto the wooden post.
He didn't seem especially focused.
With a simple flick of his wrist, he tossed the shuriken.
"I've finished counting," Iruka announced after a moment, staring at the target.
"Hyuga Kirito—perfect score!"
All five shuriken had landed dead center in the bullseye.
Iruka couldn't help glancing at Kirito with a bit more attention. Inwardly, he comforted himself with the thought that everyone had their strengths and weaknesses. Even if Kirito struggled terribly in other subjects, at least he had something he was good at.
But when Iruka remembered the upcoming graduation exam—and Kirito's consistently disastrous ninjutsu scores—he couldn't help sighing quietly.
"Uzumaki Naruto—fifty points. Failed."
"Damn it!"
Naruto stared at the five shuriken he had thrown. Only two had hit the target, while the other three missed entirely.
He immediately started rolling around on the grass in frustration.
"Why?! Why can even Kirito do it but I can't?!"
"Hey, hey. That's not something you should say right in front of the person you're talking about, idiot," Kirito laughed.
However, he wasn't offended at all. With his easygoing personality and gentle temper, he really didn't care about such things.
Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!
A rapid series of metallic sounds rang out almost simultaneously.
From the girls' side of the training field came an immediate wave of excited cheers.
Iruka nodded in approval.
"Uchiha Sasuke—perfect score!"
Hearing his result, Sasuke showed no surprise whatsoever. His expression remained cold and calm, as though the result was simply natural.
But that very attitude made Naruto even more irritated.
"Hey, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted from the grass. "Don't get so cocky! On exam day you might fail and have to repeat the year! Hahaha!"
Sasuke cast Naruto a brief, indifferent glance.
"Idiot."
After leaving those two words behind, he turned and walked away.
However, just before his gaze shifted away, it lingered on Kirito for a brief moment.
The Uchiha clan was famous for its mastery of shuriken techniques. Seeing someone his age achieve equally excellent results naturally caught Sasuke's attention.
Sasuke's attitude only made Naruto more annoyed.
Jumping to his feet, Naruto shouted, "Hey! Stupid Sasuke! What did you just say?! I challenge you to a duel!"
"Maybe you should spend that time practicing ninjutsu instead."
After saying that, Sasuke continued walking away.
It wasn't clear whether that remark was meant for Naruto—or for Kirito.
But Kirito noticed the subtle hint of goodwill in Sasuke's reminder. He responded with a small, appreciative nod.
"Hmph."
Sasuke snorted softly and left.
Perhaps in his mind, Kirito counted as a rival—at least when it came to shuriken skills. And for a rare competitor among his peers, Sasuke subconsciously didn't want to see him fail the exam.
"Hey, Kirito," Naruto suddenly asked, turning his head toward him.
"Don't you think Sasuke really cares about me?"
"Of course," Kirito replied with a gentle smile. "Aren't you two good friends?"
More like best buddies, Kirito thought to himself.
"Friends… really?" Naruto scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Heh… if he wants to be friends with me that badly, then I guess I wouldn't mind…"
"Yes, yes. Then you two should hurry up and get together."
"…?"
Naruto stared at Kirito with a strange expression.
"Kirito… why do I feel like your smile looks kind of sneaky and evil?"
"That's just your imagination."