Chapter 3: Lying Flat Brings Rewards, Preparing an Exit Early

Uchiha Clan Compound.

On the edge stood a dilapidated two-story house; this was Uchiha Jin's home in this world.

It must be said.

Though the house was a bit run-down, the location was quite good, very close to the Konoha commercial district.

After all, the Nine-Tails Uprising had not yet erupted, and the Uchiha Clan Compound had not been relocated.

As a founding family of the Hidden Leaf Village, the clan lands they occupied were naturally not poor.

Along the way, Uchiha Jin had received plenty of eye-rolls, provocations, and humiliations from his clansmen.

But, regarding this.

He, long accustomed to it, merely let his face droop, yawned, and began his verbal jutsu.

"Ah, yes, yes, yes!"

"Itachi are absolutely right; I am a coward, I am trash!"

"Itachi are awesome, Itachi are powerful, Itachi are the GOAT!"

"..."

Indeed.

When he first transmigrated, he might have felt anger or indignation.

But now?

He had long grown accustomed and numb, developing a thick skin.

He even found these clansmen laughable and pitiable.

Guarding the so-called broken signboard of the "Hidden Leaf's First Wealthy Family," yet unaware they had long become a dish on someone else's table.

He lacked the power to dominate the ninja world like Madara Uchiha, lacked the basic refinement for high-level political struggle, and clung to that pitiful pride...

If Itachi don't die, who will?

He had no desire to associate with such fools.

After a brief moment of reflection, he gently pushed open the door and stepped into the silent room.

He quickly swept the dust from the room, then lay down directly on the bed.

His entire body, his face, all relaxed.

In the past, he might have added extra training.

But things are different now.

With the Lying Flat and Slacking System, why bother cultivating at all!

Isn't lying flat wonderful?

[Chakra +13]

[Fire Release +16]

[Lightning Release +11]

[Taijutsu +13]

[Yin Release +19]

[...]

Lying on the bed, Uchiha Jin heard the system's notification sound, and a faint smile gradually appeared on the corner of his mouth.

So satisfying!

No need to struggle through cultivation, yet strength keeps increasing.

System, the GOAT!

After enjoying the moment, he opened the system panel.

Host: Uchiha Jin

Chakra: 1062

PS: Standardized to Kakashi; an adult Kakashi has 1000 chakra.

Fire Release (Proficient): 168/400

Lightning Release (Beginner): 32/100

Taijutsu (Proficient): 121/400

Yin Release (Intermediate): 36/200

Sharingan: Three Tomoe

Skills: Body Flicker Technique, Six Powers of the Marines, Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Flame Bullet Technique, Great Fire Annihilation, Storm Dance

Overall Assessment: Jonin

Hmm, not bad!

After reviewing his stats, Uchiha Jin was very satisfied.

Although compared to the entire ninja world, his strength was merely average.

But, it didn't matter!

At the very least,

surviving the next three Great Ninja Wars should be no problem.

After all, as someone who advocated the path of survival, he had never shown his true abilities at the academy; everyone thought he was a waste.

Under these circumstances,

with no cultivation value whatsoever, the Uchiha clan took no interest, so his fate was simply to be cannon fodder.

One could imagine.

The teammates assigned to him would basically be cannon fodder as well.

The supervising ninja would, at best, be a Chunin.

A Jonin?

Don't even think about it!

That was the standard for elite students.

As for the missions for us cannon fodder, the enemies we faced would likely be just grunts.

Even if luck ran out and we encountered Orochimaru or the masked Danzo, forcing us into a decoy mission to die, it wouldn't matter.

After all, we were just grunts.

What kind of enemies could a decoy possibly draw?

Even if Danzo wanted to deliberately kill this Uchiha, he surely wouldn't waste a Jonin to deal with this 'waste'!

Of course, that was nonsense.

As a 'waste' who openly possessed no Sharingan, a high-ranking figure like Danzo would likely ignore him even if they met.

Why?

It would be a waste of time.

Even if captured, what good would it do? He didn't even have a Sharingan!

"Hmm, good."

"Surviving this third Great Ninja War should be no problem."

"Next, it's just slacking off."

"Never show myself. Even if I face a desperate situation, I will absolutely not intervene until all my 'teammates' are dead!"

"Wait until Itachi've escaped the dire situation, then just make up a reason and say the other person was struck by lightning."

"Whether Itachi believe it or not, I certainly do."

"Even if Itachi really can't make up a story, Itachi can just go 'missing' on the battlefield."

"Return to the Hidden Leaf Village after the war ends and claim Itachi were severely injured and saved by a civilian. Although the Yamanaka clan can probe memories, Itachi are at least a Three-Tomoe Sharingan user; brainwashing a civilian and implanting a memory is a piece of cake."

"Mm, perfect!"

Uchiha Jin muttered to himself.

His eyes flickered, his mind raced wildly, and in the blink of an eye, he had figured everything out.

His face was filled with a smile.

For someone like him who follows the path of survival, he has no mood to serve the Hidden Leaf Village.

In fact, if there weren't a single safe place in the entire ninja world, and defection would still lead to a manhunt, he would have defected long ago.

Yes.

He had also considered learning from Orochimaru and Uchiha Itachi.

But, he gave it up.

Orochimaru was able to defect peacefully and live on because Hiruzen Sarutobi deliberately let him go, unwilling to kill his dear student.

Jiraiya chased him, but also let him go in various ways.

After all, they were fellow disciples, and he was unwilling to use lethal force.

As for Uchiha Itachi, although he also defected, he went to the Akatsuki as a spy.

What about me?

Unless I am truly willing to join the Akatsuki, defection is just asking for death.

Don't look at the fact that he currently possesses Jonin-level combat power; there are plenty of people in the Hidden Leaf Village who could crush him.

He has no solid connections; defection is asking for death!

Even if he could hide, he couldn't hide forever, could he?

Not to mention sleeping in the wind and dew, the mental exhaustion from being on edge every day would be unbearable.

As for joining the Akatsuki?

Heh, forget it.

A faction destined to be destroyed, with Nagato, the White and Black Zetsu, Obito, Madara...

Damn it!

Such a hotchpotch, a faction full of nested layers; he didn't want to get involved.

Otherwise, he wouldn't even know how he died!