1 Chapter 1
Konoha Village, Year 42, Autumn.
It was that time of the year again—the annual season for new students.
Amidst the chattering children, Kyomu found himself absentmindedly digging at his ears, going with the flow of boredom.
'These kids are too noisy'
Constantly babbling about becoming the next Hokage or dreaming of becoming a great ninja, their future plans seemed mundane and lacked creativity.
Little did they know, 60% of them, along with the other new students, would meet their end on the battlefield or during a mission before the age of eighteen. The remaining 40%, those who might live to a ripe old age, were less than one percent of the total.
Shaking his head, Kyomu put aside his thoughts and followed the crowd to the playground, gazing up at the figure standing on the platform.
It was the Hokage... no, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
A back-to-school speech was a necessary ritual to propagate the Will of Fire. Yet, to Kyomu, the speech was truly boring, aligning closely with his expectations.
Having lived through the information explosion era in his previous life, bombarded with motivational phrases, self-help jargon, and empty promises, Kyomu had become emotionally detached and immune to all forms of rhetoric.
No matter how you put it, Kyomu had his own judgment.
"A person's life is not just about fighting and killing; there is also..." Kyomu glanced at his newly-refreshed passive skill for the month, "not social etiquette, but pretending to be mediocre."
[Passive Skill: King of Nonchalance]
[Skill Description: During skill activation, maximum talent, memory, and learning abilities.]
[Note: This passive skills' characteristics can only be triggered in a state of nonchalance.]
[Skill Duration: 30 days]
[Message: Since pretending to be mediocre can make you a god, why bother striving?]
"The message makes a lot of sense," Kyomu sighed, placing his hands behind his head and looking up at the clouds in the sky. "It's just a shame that such a good passive skill can only last for a month... And I have no idea what the next month's passive skill will be; it's quite annoying!"
Perhaps due to the influence of the 'King of Nonchalance' passive skill, Kyomu quickly dismissed his worries in three seconds, completely ignoring every word Hiruzen spoke and entering a trance-like state.
In this state, Kyomu's thoughts roamed freely, jumping from one idea to another. He was easily captivated by mundane things, like counting the feathers on a bird's wing that fluttered by.
"Hey, the student over there, please answer what the Will of Fire is." Hiruzen noticed Kyomu lost in his thoughts and directly called him out.
However, Kyomu didn't hear it and continued to engage in his seemingly boring but internally enjoyable activities.
"Hey, the Hokage is calling you to answer the question."
Feeling a poke from behind, Kyomu finally snapped back to reality.
Turning his head, the first thing he saw was the distinctive chestnut-colored short hair and vivid purple stripes on the cheeks of Nohara Rin.
But Kyomu remained unfazed, smiling and nodding at her before turning his attention back to the platform.
"Hokage-sama, I apologize for zoning out just now," Kyomu admitted truthfully. "Could you please repeat the question?"
"Hahaha..."
As Kyomu finished speaking, Hiruzen didn't get a chance to respond. Laughter erupted from the surrounding students.
"Wow, that's Hokage-sama, and he actually zoned out. He even dares to ask Hokage-sama to repeat the question."
"Although honest, this appearance is too amusing, right?"
"Hahaha, I can bet that the tail-ender of our class is him!"
Ignoring the voices around him, Kyomu calmly maintained eye contact with Hiruzen, waiting for his reaction.
"Students, please quiet down."
Hiruzen raised his hand to silence the noisy crowd.
With a kind smile towards Kyomu, Hiruzen repeated his question, "What do you think the Will of Fire is?"
The Will of Fire?
Naturally, it's a will with loopholes, easily exploited and manipulated.
Of course, Kyomu knew it in his heart, but he couldn't express it like that.
Without hesitation, Kyomu succinctly summarized Hiruzen's speech as his own viewpoint, making it sound like a profound understanding.
Watching Kyomu eloquently explain the meaning of the Will of Fire, Hiruzen's slight displeasure dissipated.
At the same time, the surrounding students, who were initially ready to mock Kyomu, no longer had the intention to do so.
Even in their serious listening, they barely understood what was being said, but Kyomu, who was daydreaming, managed to offer insightful and profound thoughts. It was hard not to feel a bit awed by Kyomu's apparent wisdom.
Hiruzen nodded several times, finding each of Kyomu's sentences resonating with him.
However, there were still some issues.
During the speech, Hiruzen had already noticed Kyomu's daydreaming, and he was quite sure that not a single word had entered the boy's ears.
Now, with Kyomu answering so fluently, Hiruzen was genuinely curious.
After Kyomu finished speaking, Hiruzen smiled and asked, "What is your name?"
"Aragami Kyomu."
"Aragami as a surname... that's a rare one." Hiruzen briefly chatted about Kyomu's family name before returning to the main topic. "Kyomu, can you tell me why you zoned out just now?"
"My parents, before they passed away, always told me about the Will of Fire. When you, Hokage-sama, spoke about it just now, I naturally thought of them."
"I see." Hiruzen nodded. "Kyomu, you need to work hard. I see the potential, or perhaps an inevitability, for you to inherit the Will of Fire."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I will."
Kyomu replied politely, and Hiruzen turned his attention to other students, asking one question after another about the Will of Fire.
The chosen new students were excited, and their answers were somewhat chaotic. Kyomu, on the other hand, had once again entered a state of daydreaming.
Unaware of the passing time, whether an hour or half an hour, the back-to-school speech finally came to an end. Kyomu once again followed the crowd, led by the ninja instructors, to proceed with the class assignment process.
"You seem unenthusiastic about everything... Even the class assignment doesn't catch your attention. Don't you have someone you particularly want to be in the same class with?"
A gentle female voice sounded in Kyomu's ear, bringing him back to reality.
Turning his head to see Nohara Rin, who was one position behind him, Kyomu lazily responded, "It's not a lack of enthusiasm; I just started living the life I like in advance."
"This is the life you like?" Nohara Rin opened her small mouth. "Only old men and women would like this kind of life!"
"I said in advance," Kyomu corrected, wagging his finger. "We will all become old men and women sooner or later, so why not enter this state now? Isn't that saving 70 years of detours?"
Placing his hands back behind his head, Kyomu continued to go with the flow, "After careful calculation, I've gained a net profit of 70 years. What do you think?"
"I..."
Nohara Rin's mind stalled, attempting to refute but finding some truth in it. She wanted to agree but felt uneasy about it.
Wanting to ask more, she was distracted by a white-haired boy with a mask not far away.
Hatake Kakashi.
Clearly, compared to Kyomu, who lacked enthusiasm, Kakashi, who appeared aloof and not like an ordinary person, was more popular among girls.
Rin thought for a moment, decisively abandoning her curiosity about Kyomu and moving towards the more intriguing Kakashi.
Unconsciously, Kyomu lost his chance for the 'priority mate selection right' exclusive to the back-to-school season.
However, this was not within Kyomu's considerations. At this moment, he was thinking about how to maximize the benefits of the passive skill that could only last 30 days.
After all, if you want to become strong by pretending to be mediocre, you have to pay attention to your posture, right?
(End of Chapter 1)
