"Akira, what is your dream?"
"To open a barbecue shop next to a ramen restaurant. Safe and profitable."
The summer moonlight poured into a small courtyard. On the steps sat two small children, a boy and a girl, both around six years old, chatting idly.
"Barbecue? Grilled meat?"
"Mm, more or less…"
Kurenai Yuhi tilted her cute little head and asked tentatively, "Shouldn't it be becoming the Hokage? That's a lot of people's dream."
Hearing this, Akira shook his head like a rattle-drum. "What's so great about being Hokage? You work yourself to death for that tiny bit of salary. It's better to open a barbecue shop next to a ramen restaurant and earn more."
"And if you open it next to a ramen restaurant, the safety factor is guaranteed!"
What kind of good job is Hokage?
It seems prestigious and powerful.
But Akira knew very clearly that it was just a trap. Only hot-blooded fools would rack their brains trying to become Hokage.
He wouldn't do it even if he were paid!
Kurenai Yuhi rested her finger on her chin, looking extremely cute, and said doubtfully, "But Konoha is very safe right now. And the competition for barbecue restaurants is fierce. As far as I know, there are already several in Konoha, and they all taste pretty good!"
'Only safe for now…' Akira muttered inwardly before explaining, "Competition and profit don't matter. The key is opening the shop next to a ramen restaurant—that's what's important!"
Kurenai Yuhi: "?"
If you're not considering competition or money, then what are you aiming for?
Although she had already been getting along with Akira for two months, she still couldn't understand some of his thoughts and behaviors.
For example—
For some unknown reason, Akira hung a sign outside his room that read "Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy."
He would sit cross-legged on the floor, saying seriously that he was trying to sense some kind of "Gate of Space Traversal."
She didn't understand, but she was greatly shocked!
At one point, she even suspected there was something wrong with Akira's brain. Fortunately, he seemed normal afterward—just occasionally saying things she couldn't quite comprehend.
Kurenai Yuhi blinked her bright red eyes and looked at him. "But do you have money? Opening a shop requires a lot of money!"
At the mention of money, Akira's expression darkened. "No…"
Even a hero can be stumped by a single penny. Dreams are dreams precisely because they are hard to realize!
Kurenai Yuhi's eyes lit up and she giggled. "Then become a ninja! As a Genin, you can take missions and earn rewards. The pay isn't low. Once you've saved enough, you can open your shop!"
"I see through you now!" Akira narrowed his eyes at her.
Ruffling her slightly curled black hair, he pretended to be fierce. "Tell me, did Uncle Shinku send you to do ideological work on me?"
Becoming a ninja…
Too dangerous!
Didn't she realize what time period this was? It wouldn't be long before the Third Great Ninja War broke out. Was this a good time to become a ninja?
With a smack, she swatted away Akira's mischievous hand. Kurenai Yuhi felt a little guilty and didn't dare look him in the eye. "N-no! I… I just…"
She couldn't find a good excuse.
Pouting pitifully, she decisively played the emotional card. "Actually, tomorrow is the registration day for the Ninja Academy. I want you to go with me. If I go alone, I'll be a little nervous…"
To get Akira to attend the Ninja Academy with her, Kurenai Yuhi decided to make a huge sacrifice. Blushing, she stammered, "At worst… at worst… I can call you 'big brother'!"
She had noticed that Akira always wanted her to call him "oni-chan." Who knew what strange hobby that was?
But for the pocket money her father promised, she decided to make the sacrifice.
Of course, she truly did want to go to school with Akira…
Looking at her adorable expression, Akira couldn't help but laugh inwardly, though his face remained serious. "I'm older than you. I'm naturally the big brother!"
Kurenai Yuhi snorted softly. "Liar! I'm taller than you. I'm the big sister!"
Clearly, she was the older one. She was a tiny bit taller than Akira!
Putting on a stern face, she glared at him. "Are you going or not? If you don't, I won't call you anything!"
"Go, of course I'll go. If little sister has a request for big brother, how could I refuse?" Akira laughed, then deliberately dragged out his tone. "However…"
"I'm the big sister!" Kurenai Yuhi argued, annoyed by his suspenseful manner. "However what?"
Akira raised a finger. "I want half of the pocket money!"
Kurenai Yuhi gasped. "Huh?! Y-you… how did you know?!"
"I overheard it yesterday…"
"You're awful, Akira! Did you already decide to go to the Ninja Academy and just tease me the whole time?!"
"Not at all. I only agreed because of my cute little sister's request!"
"Hmph! Liar! I'm ignoring you!"
Watching Kurenai Yuhi leave with puffed cheeks, Akira couldn't help but chuckle. "That little brat…"
Sitting alone on the steps, gazing at the full moon in the sky, Akira sighed and muttered gloomily, "Becoming a ninja isn't ideal. But not becoming one isn't ideal either…"
"How did I even transmigrate? And at such a crappy time!"
"Damn it, at least give me a heads-up before transmigrating! I didn't even have time to delete my browsing history. Two months have passed—will anyone find out I'm into little sisters, big sisters, lolis, mature women, legs, stockings, feet…?"
"My heroic reputation ruined in a single day!!"
Sighing again.
Akira had transmigrated into this world two months ago.
Needless to say, he started as an orphan.
The moment he opened his eyes, he was already in the Yuhi household, adopted by Yuhi Shinku. Whether as an adopted son or a child fiancé, that remained to be seen.
Why not in an orphanage?
It had everything to do with Akira's head of bright red hair.
In a certain oceanic world, red hair is impressive. In this world, some red-haired people are also extremely formidable—their bloodline traces back to sages.
That's right. Akira was believed to be a survivor of the Uzumaki clan. Wouldn't that attract attention?
On top of that, he had been rescued by Yuhi Shinku and brought back to Konoha, so he naturally stayed with the Yuhi family.
Red-haired people weren't unheard of in this world, but someone who went from near death with severe injuries to lively and energetic overnight—that was rare. Without something special, no one would believe it.
As for whether Akira was truly from the Uzumaki clan?
Who knows!
Anyway, Akira was certain his rapid recovery wasn't due to some Uzumaki physique—it was because the system wouldn't let its host die just like that.
That's right. The system…
Like many transmigrators before him, Akira also had a system after transmigrating.
The only problem was that this system was extremely unreliable, making Akira somewhat speechless…
This was how it happened. Akira still remembered clearly—it was his first day after transmigrating.
To help him familiarize himself with Konoha, Yuhi Shinku had asked Kurenai Yuhi to take Akira around the village.
While walking down the street, Akira suddenly heard a system notification in his mind—
[Ding! Achievement: Soul King System loaded successfully!
This system will fully assist the host in achieving the supreme title of Soul King.
As the future Soul King who governs the Three Realms, the host will stabilize the balance of the Three Realms with his own power and relieve all living beings of their worries.
This is a great merit benefiting the Three Realms and the responsibility of the Soul King who rules them.
Please proceed immediately to the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy to register, activate the system, and begin your legendary journey to becoming the Soul King!]
"???"
Listening to the inexplicable voice in his head and looking at the floating text before his eyes, Akira subconsciously glanced around.
What he saw were several ninjas wearing green flak jackets and Konoha forehead protectors.
He couldn't help but feel question marks popping up in his head…
"System, did you make a mistake?"
[Ding! There is nothing wrong with this system. Please
proceed to the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy immediately to register!]
Akira: "???"