Konoha Year 45 — Winter.
The sun slowly sank behind the distant forest surrounding the village. Its fading light stretched across the training grounds of the Konoha Ninja Academy, bathing the playground in a warm golden glow. The evening breeze carried the scent of cold air and dry leaves, while young ninja students continued their training with relentless determination.
Sweat dripped down their faces as they ran lap after lap around the academy field.
"Huff… huff… Guy… I can't keep going…"
A white-haired boy staggered to a stop, clutching his knees as he struggled to breathe.
His name was Ren.
Beside him, a boy wearing a tight green training suit and a bowl haircut continued running energetically.
He turned around with an enthusiastic grin and gave Ren a confident thumbs-up.
"Hang in there, Ren!" he shouted.
"You're almost there! We're already close to finishing our 200th lap! The first time always feels difficult, but once you push through it you'll understand!"
His eyes sparkled with passion.
"You'll feel the burning power of youth!"
The boy's dazzling smile reflected brightly in the golden sunset.
That boy was none other than Might Guy.
Unfortunately—
Before Guy could finish his motivational speech—
Thud!
Ren collapsed flat onto the ground.
Fortunately, he managed to catch himself with his hands before his face hit the dirt.
"I… I'll rest here for a moment…" Ren wheezed weakly.
"You go ahead, Guy… don't worry about me."
"...Alright!"
Might Guy nodded seriously.
After all, in his eyes, running two hundred laps was merely a warm-up.
There was simply no way someone could truly collapse from that.
"I'll come back after I finish the remaining eight hundred laps!"
With that declaration, Guy sprinted off again, his green figure rapidly disappearing into the distance like a determined hurricane.
Ren lay flat on the ground, staring up at the sky.
"...Man."
He sighed deeply.
It had been eight years since he arrived in this world.
Eight years since he had been reincarnated into the Naruto world.
At first, Ren had been incredibly excited.
Who wouldn't be?
This was the world of ninjas.
A world where people could breathe fire, summon giant beasts, and destroy mountains with incredible techniques.
Back then, Ren believed that with the knowledge from his previous life, he could easily become someone extraordinary.
He imagined himself standing proudly at the peak of the ninja world.
Punching Uchiha Madara in the face.
Kicking Black Zetsu and Obito aside.
And stabbing Ōtsutsuki Kaguya with a spear.
It sounded glorious.
But reality quickly taught him a painful lesson.
Especially after he entered the Ninja Academy.
Ren slowly realized something extremely important.
He…
Was completely ordinary.
In the ninja world, success required several things.
Powerful clans.
Strong connections.
And most importantly—
A bloodline.
Without those things, becoming strong was incredibly difficult.
Unfortunately, Ren had none of them.
He was born into a completely normal civilian family.
No secret techniques.
No powerful clan.
No inherited abilities.
Nothing.
The only advantage Ren possessed was the maturity and experience from living two lifetimes.
Because of that, he had started planning his life very early.
At the age of three, Ren created a daily training routine for himself.
Every night before bed, he drank a glass of warm milk and performed twenty minutes of light exercise.
When he entered the academy, he studied harder than anyone else.
He treated every written exam like he was preparing for the college entrance examinations of his previous life.
As a result, his academic performance was excellent.
But in the Practical Combat Classes…
Things were far less impressive.
Ren's ninjutsu results were mediocre at best.
He usually ranked somewhere in the middle of the class.
If this had been a peaceful era, that might have been acceptable.
He could have slowly worked his way up.
Graduate around twelve years old.
Become a Genin.
Gain some field experience.
Eventually return to the academy as a teacher.
Then, when Naruto's generation enrolled years later, Ren could conveniently replace Iruka as an instructor.
After that, he could gradually build a good relationship with the future Seventh Hokage.
If everything went smoothly…
When Naruto eventually got married years later, someone might even invite him on stage.
"Teacher Ren, please say a few words."
But unfortunately—
Ren had been born too early.
The current Ninja Academy followed a wartime training system.
Students enrolled at around four years old and graduated as early as eight or nine.
Even worse…
Ren's classmates were not ordinary people.
They included individuals who would later become legends.
Kakashi Hatake.
Uchiha Obito.
Rin Nohara.
Might Guy.
Asuma Sarutobi.
Among them, the most talented genius—Kakashi—had already graduated during his second year.
At only six years old, he had become a Chunin.
These days, Kakashi rarely appeared at the academy because he was constantly completing missions outside the village.
As for the so-called worst student in class…
Everyone said it was Obito.
But Ren knew the truth.
In the real ninja world…
Ordinary civilians like him were the true bottom tier.
Obito might appear clumsy, but he still possessed the powerful Uchiha bloodline.
Even if his development was slow, his potential was enormous.
But Ren?
Under normal circumstances…
He would simply become another disposable ninja.
Just another small stone lying beneath the massive war machine known as Konoha.
And the world of shinobi was becoming increasingly dangerous.
Conflicts between villages were intensifying every year.
The Third Great Ninja War would erupt within the next one or two years.
When that happened, even freshly graduated Genin would be sent directly to the battlefield.
If Ren was lucky…
He might survive with a few scars.
If he was unlucky…
He might never return.
Ren stared blankly at the sky.
"As a transmigrator… I'm already eight years old…"
"And I still don't have a cheat ability."
"Is that really fair?"
He sighed again.
Ren had already made a decision.
At the end of this month, the academy would hold the final exam for the semester.
It was also the last major exam before graduation next February.
If his combat performance remained this terrible…
He would quietly drop out.
After that, he would apply for a job at Ichiraku Ramen.
Yes.
As a noodle puller.
Honestly, it was the safest plan he could think of.
Being a powerful ninja sounded great.
Standing at the peak of the world sounded amazing.
But with his current abilities, it was basically suicide.
Meanwhile, pulling noodles required strong arms.
And after years of training…
Ren was confident he could handle that job perfectly.
Besides…
Uncle Teuchi's daughter was actually quite pretty.
If everything worked out, Ren could rely on his handsome appearance to marry into the family.
Maybe he could even change his name to something impressive like Ōtsutsuki Ren.
Not a bad life at all.
Just as Ren was imagining his peaceful ramen shop future—
[Ding! System binding successful!]
A glowing line of text suddenly appeared before his eyes.
"...Huh?"
Ren froze.
His eyes widened in shock.
Wait.
What?
His cheat ability had finally arrived?!
And it only took eight years to load?!
Another message appeared.
[System initialization complete. Core modules loading…]
Ren's heart began racing.
Finally.
His Golden Finger had appeared.
Even though the name sounded strange, any cheat ability was better than nothing.
[This system is the "Ninja World Galgame System."]
[Its purpose is to help the host establish romantic relationships with beautiful female characters. Through romance, the host will receive powerful rewards and eventually reach the peak of life.]
"Holy crap!"
Ren nearly jumped to his feet.
Hope exploded inside his chest.
So it was a romance system.
That wasn't bad at all.
After all, the ninja world had plenty of beautiful girls.
Girls his age included:
Rin Nohara.
Kurenai Yuhi.
Mei Terumī.
Older ones included:
Tsunade.
Even Kushina Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha were still unmarried during this era.
Ren's mind instantly imagined a glorious future.
Conquering the ninja world while surrounded by beauties.
But then—
The system delivered another message.
[Core modules loaded.]
[Scanning current targets…]
[Targets successfully detected.]
Transformation Technique
Clone Technique
Substitution Jutsu
"...Huh?"
Ren's smile slowly froze.
Wait.
Hold on.
Romancing…
What exactly?
The Three Basic Ninjutsu?!
Ren quickly opened the system interface.
A soft game-like interface appeared before his eyes.
In the center were three chibi icons.
Beside them were favorability bars.
[Current Romance Targets]
Transformation Technique — Favorability: 10/100 (Stranger)
Clone Technique — Favorability: 5/100 (Stranger)
Substitution Jutsu — Favorability: 5/100 (Stranger)
Ren hesitated before clicking Transformation Technique.
The interface changed.
On the left appeared a chibi girl avatar resembling a mischievous black-haired girl.
On the right side were several interaction options.
[Talk]
[Practice]
[Give Gift] (Locked)
[Leave]
Ren cautiously selected Talk.
A dialogue box appeared.
[Evening. You encounter the Transformation Technique strolling around the academy playground. She waves happily when she sees you.]
Transformation Technique:
"Eh~ It's little Ren! Who are you planning to transform into today?"
"Last time during the exam you transformed into Teacher Oki, but your movements were so stiff everyone laughed for ages!"
Three choices appeared.
A: Sorry. I was too clumsy last time. I'll work harder.
B: I only did that to make everyone laugh.
C: Remain silent and stare at her.
Ren stared at the screen.
His mouth twitched slightly.
"...Seriously?"
"Talking to ninjutsu… giving gifts… building favorability…"
"Is this even normal?"
Another system prompt appeared.
[Notice: The host's actions determine favorability.]
[When favorability reaches certain levels, the host's attributes will increase and special rewards may be unlocked.]
Ren rubbed his forehead.
"...Fine."
"If there are rewards… then there's nothing left to say."
He made his decision.
"Choose A."
After all—
Survival in the ninja world was far more important than dignity.