Chapter 2: New Skills and First World Travel
My stomach turned as the golden circle enveloped me. In the blink of an eye, the known world vanished, and suddenly I found myself in a completely different place. Darkness surrounded me, the dense forest blocking any trace of light.
The air was fresh, heavy with the pungent smell of pine, but there was an eerie stillness, unlike the forest where he used to train.
"Where am I...?" I mumbled, trying to make sense of my surroundings. However, deep down I knew I wouldn't get an easy answer.
The holographic screen appeared again, floating in front of me, its bluish light illuminating the space just enough for me to see the outlines of the trees around me.
"Welcome to the world of your first mission. Complete the objectives to receive rewards and return to your world.
Reward for first dimensional travel.
Skills acquired:
Pyrokinesis: Control fire at will. First objective Updated: Survive and adapt your skills to the new world to survive crises."
Physical Improvement: All your senses and qualities have been taken to the maximum.
I felt a surge of energy coursing through my body, a new sensation that gave me a strange combination of power coursing through every part of me.
I raised my hand almost without thinking and a small flame appeared in my palm, responding to my will as if it had been there all along.
"Incredible…" I whispered, as I watched the small flame dance across my skin.
Heat radiated towards my face, but the fear of burning did not exist.
He could control this power. However, I couldn't allow myself to get lost in the fascination.
He was in a strange place, and the mission was just beginning.
I stepped forward, keeping the flame lit to light my way. The forest, though dark, had a somber beauty. The shadows of the trees stretched and bent with each movement of the light, but there was something else in the tranquility of the place, something that set my nerves on alert.
The snap of a branch broke the stillness, and I turned sharply, searching for the source of the noise. The air, which had been cool, now seemed thick with tension. Then, the whistle came.
I barely had time to react when a kunai flew towards me, its blade glinting in the weak light of my flame. With an instinctive movement, I unleashed a burst of fire, deflecting the weapon just in time.
"What the devil…?" My words were drowned out as three hooded figures emerged from the trees. His movements were fluid, precise, and his eyes shone with cold lethality.
The metal guards on their foreheads flashed briefly, and a thought flashed through my mind.
"Ninjas… I'm in a ninja world," I whispered, recognizing the symbols etched into the metal plates.
And not only in any ninja world, those symbols were easily recognized within the anime world by their distinctive symbols representing each clan and these carried a symbol of one of the 5 great villages.
The hidden lightning village of Kumogakure ninjas
And with this it was clear which world is the ninja world of Naruto but in what time I did not know.
But the recognition barely gave me time to prepare.
The three of them moved with the speed of a storm, surrounding me in a deadly triangle.
"Don't let him escape!" ordered the one who seemed to be the leader, his voice low but loaded with authority.
I channeled the new ability I had just acquired, raising a barrier of fire just in time to deflect a hail of shuriken that sliced through the air around me.
The metal sizzled in contact with the flames, but they did not stop. One of the ninjas charged towards me, his kunai glowing as another launched a smoke bomb that covered the area in a dense dark fog.
"Damn… they want to play hard!" I closed my eyes and concentrated, extending my senses beyond sight. He could feel the heat of their bodies, moving through the smoke. Without waiting, I unleashed a burst of fire in all directions, listening to their surprised cries as they retreated.
"It's fast!" one of the ninjas shouted, recoiling from the intensity of my flames. "How can a stranger be so strong?"
But I didn't give them time to recover. I charged towards the nearest one, moving faster than I had ever thought possible. A punch engulfed in fire knocked him down, his body hitting the ground hard, as I spun to face the other two.
"Is that all they have?" I challenged, feeling the adrenaline rush through my veins.
The two remaining ninjas exchanged quick glances, assessing the situation. Their postures tensed, clearly surprised by the speed with which he had taken down his partner.
One of them, the leader, gritted his teeth and shouted: "Plan B! "We have no choice."
They both lunged at me, their movements synchronized with deadly precision. I felt the tension in the air, every fiber of my body on high alert.
However, something had changed in me since I obtained this ability. The fear he would normally have felt was absent, replaced by a strange calm and unwavering clarity. It might be a system thing, but it still wasn't the time to think about that.
With a quick wave of my hand, I created two pillars of fire that rose from the ground, trapping the ninjas in a ring of flames.
The intensity of the heat was suffocating, and their faces twisted in a mixture of despair and terror.
"This is the end for you," I murmured, feeling a strange satisfaction at seeing them caught in my trap. But even then, a part of me knew not to underestimate them.
The ninja leader made a quick gesture, and his companion threw a small sphere to the ground. The sphere exploded into a cloud of green smoke that engulfed the area, temporarily extinguishing my flames and blocking my vision. I coughed, backing away as smoke filled my lungs, but I maintained my concentration.
Through the dense fog, I felt a presence closer than I should be. I turned just in time to see the leader of the group emerge from the smoke, his kunai ready to pierce my heart.
My body reacted before my mind; I released a blast of fire that made him retreat, but not enough. The blade sliced into my side, pain coursing through my body like an electrical spark.
"Damn…" I gasped, pressing a hand against the wound. Hot blood ran through my fingers, but I couldn't allow myself to falter now. He knew this world would be dangerous, but he hadn't anticipated how quickly he would have to learn to survive.
The ninja leader prepared for another attack, his gaze cold and calculating. However, before he could move, the second ninja emerged from the shadows behind me. I felt the change in the air, and on instinct, I ducked just as a kunai flew over my head.
With a quick spin, I reached out and engulfed the attacker in a wave of flames that knocked him to the ground, unconscious.
That left the leader alone.
He stared at me, his eyes filled with steely determination. "Don't think this is over," he said, raising his kunai in a defensive stance.
"I don't intend to underestimate you," I replied, ignoring the pain in my side as I gathered the fire in my hands. The ninja leader cast one last look at his fallen comrade, his jaw clenched in frustration.
"Give up! You can't win," I warned him, but I already knew what his response would be.
Without hesitation, he lunged towards me, his speed impressive even after everything that had happened. At the last moment, just as his kunai was inches from my throat, I unleashed all the energy I had been building up. An explosion of fire erupted from my hands, enveloping him completely.
The ninja screamed, his voice muffled by the roar of the flames, before collapsing at my feet, unconscious.
I stood there, breathing heavily, the smell of burning flesh and smoke filling the air. The forest returned to its eerie stillness, broken only by the crackling of slowly fading flames.
I looked down at the leader's unconscious body, a bad enough state one more hit and he certainly wouldn't survive and a dark thought crossed my mind. "I could break up with him now…no one would know I did it." But the very thought made me feel deeply uncomfortable.
I wasn't ready to cross that line yet, no matter how dangerous this world was my sense of morality still remained.
But before I can come to a conclusion and sound I am pulled out of my thoughts.
The sound of a faint moan brought me out of my thoughts. Turning, I saw a figure on the ground, not far from where the second ninja had fallen. I approached cautiously, not letting go of the fire that danced in my palm. The figure was small, fragile... and feminine.
My breathing stopped for a moment as I knelt next to her. His bright red hair was matted and loose around his face, and his clothes were torn and covered in dust. She was obviously hurt, but what worried me more was the thinness of her breathing. A kunai had pierced her abdomen, and blood soaked the ground beneath her.
"Who are you…?" I whispered to myself, but the answer came to me with a thud. "It just can't be…"
I recognized her instantly, although her appearance was different from what I remembered from the series I used to watch in my other life while I enjoyed the series to pass the time I had. "Kushina Uzumaki," I said quietly, more to confirm my own thought than anything else.
If she was here, it meant that the course of history might have changed in a dangerous way. And if I didn't do something quickly, the story wouldn't be the only thing I had to worry about.
Wasting no time, I placed my hand on his wound and used my control over fire to cauterize it. Kushina shuddered, letting out a pained moan as I worked. "Everything will be okay," I told him, keeping my voice as calm as possible. "I'll get you out of here."
Kushina slowly opened her eyes, her pupils dilated in pain, but there was also a flicker of distrust in them. "Who are you?" He asked with a trembling voice, but before he could answer, he fell back into unconsciousness.
I stayed there, kneeling next to her, with a knot in my stomach. He didn't know what consequences this would bring, but one thing was clear: something crucial in this world had changed as the system wanted, and he would have to be prepared for the consequences of this change.
The weight of responsibility fell on me as I watched the young redhead. Without knowing it, he had set in motion a domino effect that, from that moment on, he could no longer stop.
This is the end of chapter 2.
I will be posting the chapters twice a week.
If you like it, leave a comment or add it to your library to read it when you have more chapters.