As usual, I was returning from the academy, doing my best to ignore the disdainful stares as I crossed the gates of the mansion.
"Why is everyone staring at that scrawny youth?" A group of outsiders asked a teen that shared a few similar features with mine. I didn't have his dark brown hair or blue eyes, but our eagle-like, slanted eyes, would make anyone understand that we shared ties.
"That's our family's young master!" The boy replied loudly, his expression brightening as he noticed me frowning.
"Really?" Another teen at his side questioned skeptically as his eyes examined me. "I guess that makes him your cousin. How old is he?"
"Fifteen, just like us." The young man smirked and replied sarcastically.
"No way!" A pink-haired girl who the former was walking hand to hand with exclaimed. She took a better look at me before she put the finger on her lips, seemingly recalling something important. "How could I forget. I guess that's the one you told us about, then?"
"His cultivation...That kind of dedication is indeed impressive." Her companion, who spoke earlier, continued.
I didn't want to stay and listen as Shin gave a tour of the house to his fanboys for the hundredth time this year. Neither did I want to hear the guy explain my peculiar condition.
He and that side of the family had made an unhealthy habit of provoking me when my parents weren't around. What Shin liked best was to invite friends over and nurture his little sense of superiority. That and showing off the unnecessary large property our ancestors built.
He had been a little too idle since he graduated early from the academy, even if he possessed the qualifications to do so after obtaining his certificate with A- grades. Our school principal made sure to remind the elders that he should have joined his sect after going to a specialized college during his few visits.
I could not say anything about his lifestyle because of the "unusual" way I lived my own.
Having inherited no bloodline, possessing the mana capacity of a newborn and having no innate skill, made social interaction a tad bit harder. As for training, I had since long given up on it. Before I could even try to catch up with intensive training, I would pass out from exhaustion during warm-ups. Sparring was, of course, out of the question.
My parents were a bit desperate at first and had me try a few different directions. According to the doctor, however, and in this era, a young cultivator who couldn't enhance his stamina, even if he was an exorcist, was anything but promising. As for my magic pool, it was even more despicable than a mediocre Genjo, who had recently graduated.
That was the funny thing. Our family was kind of powerful...So powerful and wealthy that education was just a game our young clansmen could dismiss once they were judged "ready." Ready to be imparted with the unfair and "oh sacred!" cultivation techniques, our first ancestor took care to grace the world with.
I didn't particularly appreciate Shin, but there was one thing I could admit:
The guy was kind had the capital to act arrogant. Why?
All because the guy had a bright future. Mediocre as a Genjo, but strong nonetheless. Mediocrity wasn't a sin when you were the nephew of the clan head and the son of the second elder.
No, the real sin was a Genjo with no talent for cultivation. The look on my father's face after the awakening ceremony told me that.
Even more sinful, was an overly talented Genjo.
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I wanted to feel bitter after my little sister took the test last year, but the shit-eating grin my uncle tried to repress when those startling colors flashed was satisfying. At least, until he remembered that Shiroka was a girl...And in the Genjo household, well, girls didn't make the decisions.
As I returned to my sanctuary, lit up the monitor, preparing to enjoy the latest episode of one of my favorite anime, I tried not to recall that I would become an adult in a few months. Being a Genjo was neat nowadays. You could buy a lot of the things you wanted and didn't have to worry about monster raids or evil cultivators.
It was only agreeable for a while, that is. The thing about Genjos and ancient households generally, was that privileges came along with fearful responsibilities. There was a strict hierarchy in the family, and like anywhere, those at the rear end couldn't enjoy their lives the way those at the top did.
I was at the bottom...I would be in half a year. And that only meant one thing, footmen duties.
Hibari Genjo, fifteen, no skill, no mana, joining the city's patrol as a sacrificial lamb in six months. A cruel fate that my parents could do nothing about unless they were trying to go against the mayor's mansion, the country, and the Modern Earth Federation.
No noble was this reckless, and it was the reason they could remain at the pinnacle of their respective districts for so long.
I wasn't worth all the trouble, and I didn't wish for my family members to surrender our lifeline. Patrol duty was mandatory for people from noble lineages unless they let those youngsters join the army permanently. They didn't want to gift away their techniques and skills, so they rarely let them leave the family.
But patrol duty was dangerous, and each year the number of youngsters who died in this process was countless. Not that the federation would mind; they could weaken those pretentious nobles for free. Even if those cockroaches, useful ones, but still roaches, always sent their worst elements for participation.
The federation most likely lamented the fact, but they understood that they couldn't ask too much. Forcing the insects in a corner wouldn't be productive for several reasons, either for them, the rich, or the common mass. In the era where war could escalate to the level of galactic empires, weeding out the best elements before they could contribute to dimensional peace would be a stupid and dangerous custom.
I thought sardonically; they could only get rid of trash like me, without causing internal rebellions or losing firepower.
"Thinking about this won't help me. I'll just die in the worst case. I was unlucky the moment I was born as a loser in this type of clan."
"I'll binge watch some Naruto and play games like an addict before I can't."
"We're able to say goodbye as friends, not enemies. To the old you...To the one who was always late because you were helping others. That's plenty enough for me."
"Thanks, Kakashi."
As I watched a young Kakashi smile at his best friend with the warmest of smiles, I shed a tear on the keyboard.
"Oh God, I wish I had a friend like that," I said a bit jealously to no one while reaching to wipe away the liquid on my face.
"I'll be going, then." Young Obito said cheekily. "I've been keeping Rin waiting."
The bottle on my desk was open, and I inadvertently bumped it with my elbow, spilling the water on the high-end hardware when I finally touched the handkerchief box.
"No!" I exclaimed as the water kept flowing, and finally fell from the desk to the central unit near my feet.
I moved in a hurry to protect the hardware from the liquid with my body, even if it was a stupid decision in hindsight.
The moment I was shocked by the voltage, I heard a sound in my head:
[DING*. Forced awakening processing, 1%, Type: Innate skill, Grade: Mutated SS+, Original skill: Electrical Purification, Mutated skill: Hardware Purificator. Transfer Pending: Naruto World, Gate, and Purificator screen loading.]
"Wh-what..." I thought incredulously as I painfully crawled away from the stunning mass of water. Groggily getting up and sitting on my bed, I was kind of relieved that the voice had disappeared.
That is before I looked up and noticed the same words from before floating:
[Forced awakening processing, 100%. Awakening starting, Transfer initiated, please touch the 'Gate' to begin with the tutorial.]
"The heck?" My eyes were wide from confusion. I stayed looking at the words for several minutes before I thought of something improbable.
"If that's what I think it is…" I thought why not, there wasn't anything holding me from trying this. In the worst case, I would die. Now or on the frontlines a bit later, it didn't change much.
[Naruto World, Transfer beginning, 1%]
"It can't be…" I grinned like an idiot, thinking of the possibility. I was scared that this was just a prank, but I still kept my hand on the central unit, hopefully.
[Select Character Backstory.]The voice said before a menu appeared with randomized places and unfamiliar avatars popped up.