Chapter 1: Unfamiliar Classmates
Konoha, Ninja School.
Adrian looked at the leaves swaying outside the window. He sighed inwardly, "It's been 12 years. I can't believe how fast time has flown since I came to this world."
Adrian was a time traveler, arriving in the world of Naruto just as the Nine-Tails Rebellion took place. His parents died during the attack.
Six years later, he successfully enrolled in the Ninja Academy. Like many other students, Adrian had average grades, nothing extraordinary. The only thing people occasionally commented on was his good looks.
In the classroom, he was just another face. No one paid much attention to him. He wasn't like Uchiha Sasuke, who always ranked first, or Uzumaki Naruto, whose failures were impossible to ignore.
Adrian had spent these 12 years in the world without anything remarkable happening. He wasn't noticed by the Third Hokage or Danzo, and thankfully, he hadn't been summoned for any awkward "tea invitations."
Suddenly, a voice echoed in his mind: "On-Hook System, successfully activated. Bound to host: Adrian."
Adrian froze in his seat.
"System?" he muttered to himself.
"On-Hook System, at your service."
He frowned, wondering if he was hallucinating. To test it, he bit the back of his hand, the pain quickly confirming that this was real.
"System, you're 12 years late," Adrian said flatly, feeling indifferent. He had accepted his fate long ago. Who knew the system would show up now?
The On-Hook System did not respond to his comment.
"Such a cold system," Adrian murmured.
Little did he know, the system had no emotions or intelligence. It was purely functional.
Seeing no further response, Adrian simply asked, "So, what exactly do you do?"
"This system is an idle system. You only need to stay idle for a set period, and you will receive rewards."
Adrian chuckled softly. "That sounds simple enough."
"So, how do I use it?" he inquired.
"You're already using it. The On-Hook system is running."
Adrian was surprised. "I'm already using it? I wonder what rewards I'll get."
After spending 12 years in this world, Adrian had become well acquainted with how things worked here. Whether the system existed or not didn't really matter to him. Without it, he would just go with the flow; with it, he could live a little more freely. The difference wasn't too significant.
His attention drifted back to the real world. He watched Iruka teaching from the podium. "So, I'm about to graduate soon. I wonder which squad I'll be placed in."
The graduation exam was approaching, and it was focused on the Clone Jutsu. Although Adrian's performance over the years had been average, he had already mastered the basic techniques, including the Three Body Technique. Graduating wouldn't be a problem.
In fact, most of the students, except Naruto due to his struggles with the Nine-Tails, had already learned the Three Body Technique by this point.
Iruka called out from the front of the class, "When I call your name, come to the room next door for your exam."
"The first one, Uchiha Sasuke."
Sasuke stood up, hands in his pockets, and walked to the next room without a word. The girls in the class watched him with infatuation.
"Sasuke is so cool," one girl whispered.
"Go, Sasuke!" another chimed in.
"Sasuke, I love you!" another girl exclaimed.
The fangirls were starstruck as always.
Naruto, watching from his seat, gritted his teeth in frustration. "Damn it, Sasuke! Why does everyone like him?"
Shikamaru, slouching nearby, lazily commented, "Because Sasuke's always at the top of the class."
Naruto turned to him. "Shikamaru, I'll surpass him one day! I'm going to be Hokage, believe it!"
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, then put his head down and dozed off.
Shikamaru and Kiba were the only ones who regularly interacted with Naruto. Most others, including Adrian, kept their distance. While some stayed away because of the adults' influence, Adrian simply didn't want any unnecessary trouble.
After a few minutes, Sasuke returned from his exam without a hitch. Iruka didn't even really need to test him—Sasuke had mastered the Three Body Technique in his first year at the Academy. In Iruka's eyes, Sasuke was undoubtedly the strongest in their generation.
As expected, all the students passed their exams smoothly—except Naruto.
Soon after, the Third Hokage gave a speech congratulating the new graduates. Many of them were still filled with naive dreams about the life of a ninja.
Naruto sat dejectedly on the swing under a tree, enviously watching his classmates celebrate their success. Eventually, he left the area, no doubt lured away by Mizuki's manipulations.
Adrian knew what was about to happen—Naruto would steal the Scroll of Seals soon. But he had no interest in getting involved.
On his way home, Adrian passed by Ichiraku Ramen. Not feeling up to cooking, he decided to have ramen for dinner. As he entered the shop, he saw Iruka treating Naruto to ramen.
Surprised, Adrian realized he had forgotten some of the specific events from the plot after being in this world for so long. He hadn't expected to run into them here. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, the ramen shop owner, Teuchi, called out to him.
"Hey Adrian! What are you having today?"
Adrian was a regular customer at Ichiraku Ramen, even more frequent than Naruto. Over the years, he had gotten quite familiar with Teuchi.
Iruka and Naruto noticed Adrian as well. Seeing no way to avoid them, he sighed and walked in.
"Hey, Iruka-sensei, Naruto. Eating ramen too?" Adrian greeted politely.
His parents had left him enough money to live comfortably, so Adrian often ate out rather than cook for himself. Typically, he avoided coming to Ichiraku when Naruto was around, which is why they hadn't crossed paths here before.
Iruka smiled. "Adrian, you did well today."
Naruto, however, didn't recognize him. Adrian's presence in class was as unremarkable as Shino's.
Naruto stared at Adrian for a moment, then leaned over to Iruka and whispered, "Iruka-sensei, who is this guy? Is he in our class?"
Iruka, caught off guard, looked at Naruto with a slight twitch in his eye. "Naruto, this is Adrian. You seriously don't remember him?"
Naruto chuckled awkwardly. "Haha, no idea who he is!"