For as long as he could remember, the looming wars of the future and all the terrifying crises scattered across the timeline had weighed on Bei Yuan Feng's chest like a boulder. Back then, he'd had no way out.
In this world, the gap between people wasn't like the gap between a strong man and a weak man. It was like the gap between a person and a dog. He'd learned that more than ten years ago.
He still remembered seeing Itachi Uchiha at the Academy. The kid didn't just outshine his peers. Even the older students couldn't come close.
Before drawing the Uchiha clan's standard bloodline, Bei Yuan Feng wouldn't even have beaten the Itachi from back then. The Itachi of today, who was probably already sitting at the peak of Kage-level? Meeting him would mean instant death.
Not to mention, Itachi's talent and mastery of the Mangekyo Sharingan far surpassed that of most Uchiha. If not for his bloodline illness, reaching levels beyond Kage someday wouldn't have been impossible.
Right now, all Bei Yuan Feng had gained was a ticket. A pass that allowed him to step onto the starting line of the strong.
But that was fine. This was only his first lottery. There would be countless more chances ahead. He would definitely draw more powerful Kekkei Genkai and jutsu.
And in the future, when people looked up at the summit of the ninja world… why couldn't he be standing there too?
The night passed quietly. Early the next morning, Bei Yuan Feng woke before sunrise. Even after just one night, he could feel that his chakra had increased again.
Being able to grow stronger without even actively extracting chakra felt incredible.
He remembered how much effort it used to take just to gather a small amount of chakra, and how carefully he had to ration it. That had been pure suffering.
So this was how good the lives of clan heirs were.
And that made him think of Naruto Uzumaki. Ignoring the Nine-Tails, the kid had one hundred Kakashi-units of chakra at just twelve years old. How ridiculous was that?
People joked that Kakashi had low chakra, but that was only compared to the level he fought at. His actual reserves were far above the average jonin. Which only showed how monstrous Naruto's chakra truly was.
At dawn, Bei Yuan Feng headed off to meet his teammates.
Inside a small breakfast shop, he sat at a table. Across from him, a boy about his age with a messy middle-part haircut was wolfing down food without the slightest concern for appearances.
This was Xiangtian Yuanlong, his teammate for the past three years. Just like him, Yuanlong had no special abilities and probably wouldn't even appear in the original story. A typical cannon-fodder configuration.
Beside Bei Yuan Feng sat a girl around the same age, her appearance delicate and elegant. The most distinctive part of her was her eyes, pale and milky like a person with cataracts.
Anyone with basic ninja knowledge could recognize that appearance. A member of the famous Hyuga clan.
This girl was his teammate, Hyuga Keiko.
Even though she came from a prestigious clan, her talent was fairly average. Clan heritage didn't guarantee outstanding skill. Plenty of heirs lacked the aptitude to match their family name.
This was their standard three-man team. When a middle-aged man with a scar across his face stepped into the shop, their squad was complete.
Their teacher, Akai Akimoto. A quiet, unremarkable elite chunin.
People often assumed every genin squad got a jonin teacher like the Konoha 12 did in the original story, but that was only for the top students of each graduating year. Most academy graduates wound up with elite chunin instructors.
And during the war era, when manpower was scarce, even newly promoted chunin were sometimes forced into the position of team leader.
Meaning that if this were wartime, Bei Yuan Feng himself could already qualify to lead a squad. But that was the last thing he wanted.
If this were wartime, his current teammates might've already been swapped out—or dead. And he probably would have died in some mission by now as well.
Peace was boring, but at least the death rate wasn't terrifying.
"Good morning, Akai-sensei!"
The three stood up quickly when he approached.
Akimoto waved a hand and sat down. "I came here today to give you all an update. I've been promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin."
The group froze for a second.
A Tokubetsu Jonin specialized in a particular field. They could compete with regular jonin in certain areas, though not across the board.
Still, it meant they were no longer in the realm of chunin. They had real jonin status and voting rights in major village decisions.
"Teacher's a jonin now? That means we're jonin disciples! That's awesome!" Xiangtian Yuanlong slapped the table.
He knew very well that having a jonin teacher versus a chunin teacher made a huge difference in their future.
"It's Tokubetsu Jonin," Akimoto corrected, rapping his knuckles lightly on Yuanlong's head.
"Wait," Bei Yuan Feng said as a thought struck him. "Doesn't that mean you're leaving?"
"Yes." Akimoto nodded. "You're already a chunin, Bei Yuan. You can serve as an independent team leader. My role as your instructor is complete. I've been assigned to the Anbu. Today's mission will be handled by Bei Yuan. Get used to being a squad leader."
Xiangtian Yuanlong slumped forward. "But that means we won't see you anymore."
"Idiot," Hyuga Keiko muttered. "He's going to the Anbu. It's not like he's disappearing forever. Only elite ninja get assigned there. This is a good thing."
Bei Yuan Feng nodded. In the original story, the Anbu didn't always look impressive, but that didn't mean they weren't strong.
To even enter the Anbu, you needed to be at least elite chunin. Many were Tokubetsu Jonin or even full jonin. They were the Hokage's direct force.
But joining the Anbu at this exact moment wasn't necessarily a blessing. The first chunin exams after the Konoha 12 graduated weren't far away. Orochimaru's attack was coming. Anyone too close to the Third Hokage on that day would be in danger.
He couldn't exactly say that out loud. No one would believe him if he tried to claim Orochimaru was plotting to destroy the Leaf and that standing near the Hokage would be lethal.
"Alright. I need to report in." Akimoto stood and adjusted his headband. "From now on, Bei Yuan will be in charge of mission assignments. Listen to him."
Without another word, their teacher handed authority over to Bei Yuan Feng and left the shop.