Chapter One: In the Village Hidden in the Leaves

“Ah~ ha~” Yuu Higashino, sitting lazily at the wooden counter, yawned. One hand propped up his head, while the other rubbed his eyes, which watered from the yawn.

Watching the crowds passing outside, Yuu Higashino couldn’t help but recall what had happened a few days ago.

Simply put, he had transmigrated into the world of Naruto, becoming a fourteen-year-old boy named Yuu Higashino.

He accepted this transmigration quite quickly; after all, there wasn’t much in his previous world worth holding onto, so he didn’t dwell on it any longer.

The original owner’s identity was straightforward: orphaned at the start, his parents died during the Nine-Tails incident a few years ago. His ancestors were samurai, and it was said his great-grandfather fought alongside the First Hokage, so after the founding of the Leaf Village, his family was allotted two well-located houses.

As everyone knows, not everyone in the Naruto world can become a ninja. His family was a prime example: every generation tried, but none ever qualified as ninjas, and Yuu Higashino was no exception.

Unable to become a ninja but yearning to be one, since his great-grandfather’s time, his family had run a “General Affairs Shop.”

The shop’s business model was simple: accepting commissions to help others with their troubles. Even the name suggested a business quite at odds with ninja work.

Opening such a shop in a ninja village like Konoha inevitably meant little to no business.

But it wasn’t a big problem. Yuu Higashino’s great-grandfather was lucky—the house he received was on the most bustling street in Konoha, and the rent from one house alone was enough for his family to live comfortably.

The other house was split: the first floor was the General Affairs Shop, the second floor was for meals and sleep. He opened the shop when he felt like it, closed it when he didn’t; food and drink were never a worry, allowing for such carefree living.

This was almost a god-tier start. Even in the dangerous world of Naruto, with Yuu Higashino’s current status, as long as he didn’t roam outside Konoha, it would be hard for him to die unnaturally.

So, after understanding all this, Yuu Higashino became lazy, suddenly losing all drive. Even though he had the standard cheat of transmigrators—a tremendously powerful “golden finger”—his training was sporadic at best.

“Ha~” Yuu Higashino yawned again, rubbing his eyes as he stood up.

With no business, he was ready to close the shop.

As he walked toward the door, Yuu Higashino opened a skill panel, visible only to himself, glowing with a deep blue hue.

The panel was simple, and currently displayed only a single skill.

[Swordsmanship lv3: 2921/10000]

The skill on the panel increased proficiency whenever Yuu Higashino engaged in related activities, and the efficiency didn’t diminish as the skill level rose.

Take the [Swordsmanship] skill as an example: at lv1, a careful swing of the blade would grant about 1 point of proficiency. Now at lv3, a careful swing still granted 1 point.

And as proficiency increased, the skill grew stronger; leveling up brought qualitative changes.

Lv1 roughly matched the level of a Genin, lv2 a Chunin, lv3 a Jonin, lv4 a Kage, lv5 a Super Kage, lv6 reached Sage of Six Paths level, and that wasn’t the limit. In theory, skills on the panel had no cap; they could reach lv100 or even lv1000.

Realistically, though, to reach lv100 or lv1000 would require an ocean of proficiency points, far beyond what Yuu Higashino could currently achieve.

Adding new skills to the panel wasn’t complicated: as long as Yuu Higashino completed a commission and received genuine heartfelt thanks from the client, the panel would automatically add a skill based on the client’s identity.

This was why Yuu Higashino kept the shop open, but unfortunately, in these past days, not a single client had come.

The [Swordsmanship] skill he possessed was only added because, when he first transmigrated, he promised the original owner to live well, which caused the owner’s lingering soul to disappear completely.

Still, even without adding new skills, one [Swordsmanship] skill was enough. When its level got high, he could cut through space and even slice time itself; the only downside was a lack of novelty, since constantly wielding a sword might get dull.

“No need to overthink it. I’ll close up and practice swordplay. Let’s grind until invincible,” Yuu Higashino muttered quietly, his hand gripping the doorframe, ready to shut the door.

But just then, a voice rang out, trying to sound loud but clearly lacking confidence.

“Big brother, are you closing up?”

Yuu Higashino looked up to see a blond boy, about five or six years old, with whisker-like marks on his cheeks, resembling a fox.

With these signature features combined, Yuu Higashino instantly recognized him—the protagonist of Naruto, the legendary child of destiny, Sasuke’s fated rival, Naruto Uzumaki.

He was curious for a few moments, then regained his composure.

He was naturally a person of cold temperament; even though Naruto was the protagonist, he wouldn’t go out of his way to be friendly. His attitude was always the same, regardless of who he faced.

“Yeah, no business, so I’m about to close,” he replied, tone and expression calm—not fierce, but far from warm or enthusiastic.

As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto was extremely sensitive to malice. He could clearly sense that Yuu Higashino’s tone, though cold, contained no trace of hostility.

“He doesn’t dislike me!”

Naruto stood there, stunned. This was the scenario he had hoped for when approaching, but now that it had happened, he wasn’t sure what to do next.

“Do you need something? Is there a commission I can help with?” Yuu Higashino, for once, proactively solicited business.

“A commission? Big brother, are you a ninja?”

“No,” Yuu Higashino guessed Naruto didn’t know what a General Affairs Shop was, so he explained, “You can think of me as someone who completes tasks for a fee like a ninja, except I take jobs ninjas won’t do, and my prices are more reasonable.”

“I see!” Naruto nodded theatrically, though he hadn’t understood at all.

Yuu Higashino saw through this but didn’t bother explaining again, simply asking, “So, do you need anything?”

“…Big brother, do you accept any kind of commission here?”

“Pretty much,” Yuu Higashino disliked small talk; his words were always concise, only occasionally saying more.

“Then, can I ask you to play with me?”

Yuu Higashino paused for a moment, noticing the expectation and a hint of timidity in the boy’s eyes.

That shyness stirred something in Yuu Higashino’s heart.

“If the price is right, I can.”