The Land of Fire—a place where the birds sing like they've got professional vocal coaches, and the flowers bloom as if they've been given a lifetime supply of premium fertilizer.
Deep within the vibrant land, a lone figure marched forward. His hands were casually shoved in his pockets, his posture lazy and relaxed. But beneath that chill demeanor, a storm of curses raged in his mind.
"Damn that old man Sarutobi Hiruzen! He really kicked me out of Konoha?! What's a ninja supposed to do, huh? Just complete the mission and move on! Why do they care about all the stupid little details?!"
Zeldris scoffed, his voice sharp with resentment.
"And those weaklings who died during the mission—how is that my fault?! Just because I didn't save them in time? And they expel me from the village over that? Ridiculous!"
His long silver hair fluttered in the wind, and his sharp features were sculpted like a statue—too perfect to be real. But the cold, frigid aura he gave off could freeze anyone who got too close. His deep, dark eyes gleamed with a ruthless, almost deadly glint.
This was Zeldris.
Finally, he fell into an annoyed silence, trudging forward, his thoughts drifting. With Konoha in his rearview mirror, he couldn't help but wonder… where the heck was he supposed to go now?
Konoha had never meant much to him. No keepsakes. No family. No friends. Nothing worth missing.
Ever since he woke up in the world of Naruto, Zeldris had been flying solo.
Yeah. Zeldris was a transmigrator. Fifteen years had passed since he crossed over into this world, and if you asked him, he'd probably tell you he regretted it—if only because of the constant existential crisis.
Of course, like every good cliché protagonist, he had his own cheat: a system. It activated when he was four. Great timing, huh?
But there was a catch. There was always a catch.
The system wouldn't fully bind to him until his personal wealth reached a ridiculous 10 million ryō.
When he saw that condition for the first time, he almost dropped dead from shock. Ten million? In what universe does a 4-year-old make that kind of money?!
After a moment of pondering whether jumping off a roof was a valid option, he realized there were two clear ways to make money in the ninja world: missions and bounty hunting.
...And bounty hunting? Yeah, that was way out of his league as a kid. So, naturally, he focused on becoming a ninja.
Step one: get into the Ninja Academy.
Thanks to the system (which may or may not have given him a push), Zeldris showed freakish talent from the get-go. He graduated early—like, really early—after only a year. And from there, it was nothing but sky-high progression.
By six, he was a Chūnin. By ten, a Jōnin. He was blowing past every milestone like they were speed bumps. He even outshone Kakashi Hatake, who had started at the same time as him.
The two were hailed as Konoha's genius duo.
Except... Zeldris didn't give a crap about being a genius.
Admiration? Not interested. Praise? Save it.
He wasn't in it for the fame or the titles. Nope. He was in it for the money.
Despite being a Jōnin, the Third Hokage kept blocking him from high-tier missions. Why? Because Zeldris "lacked experience." Experience, my ass.
So, instead, he was stuck doing the low-tier jobs. It was like grinding in a video game, except the rewards were as pathetic as the missions themselves.
But he grinded. Hard.
Eventually, he leveled up. A-rank missions. Then S-rank.
And yet, his cold, calculating approach to missions led to… complications.
Zeldris had a simple rule: Mission first. Everything else later.
He often went solo, prioritizing mission success over the safety of his teammates. If the job was quicker and cleaner without them, so be it.
Naturally, rumors spread fast. Whispers about his "cold-blooded" ways echoed throughout Konoha. People started to avoid him. Some even gave him looks that could melt ice.
But he didn't care.
The mission was all that mattered.
And then, the Third Hokage—old man Hiruzen himself—called him in for a chat.
"Zeldris," Hiruzen said in his usual, tired voice, "You're not embodying the Will of Fire."
Zeldris didn't even try to mask his eye roll. "Yeah, yeah, the Will of Fire… I've heard it a million times. I've got a headache just thinking about it."
The Hokage continued with his speech about teamwork, family, and all that sentimental crap, but Zeldris had already checked out.
So imagine his surprise when, at the end of it all, Hiruzen gave him the boot.
Kicked out of Konoha.
Just like that.
No fanfare. No last hurrah.
He was left with nothing but his savings and the clothes on his back.
"I don't even know how close I am to ten million…" he muttered, lost in thought.
And then—
Ding!
The sound echoed in his mind like a tuning fork.
Zeldris froze.
A mechanical voice followed:
"Congratulations, host. Your personal wealth has reached 10 million ryō. The system is now fully activated!"
His eyes widened.
"…Wait, what?"
"Due to your current exile from Konoha, the Ninja World Mercenary System has been successfully bound!"
Zeldris blinked. "Wait, the system just… adapted to my situation? Huh."
He stared at the empty road ahead, a grin slowly creeping across his face.
"Well, this should be interesting."
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