Chapter 9 Traveling Back

"Logan, Logan... Oi Logan!" David's raised voice snapped Logan out of his thoughts. He then saw David looking at him with some worry, "Are you okay? Are you sick because we just started school? I noticed you've been off since this morning. You even spaced out looking at the phone. If you're not feeling well, you should take the day off..."

"No, I'm fine." Logan took a deep breath, trying to appear composed, "Maybe I just didn't sleep well last night."

At this time, the afternoon self-study was about to begin, so most of the students had returned to the classroom, and the homeroom teacher would be back soon.

Logan took a look at the situation, shook the phone, and said to David with a smile, "It's time for class. You should go back to your seat. Let me borrow your phone for a while."

"Oh, please be careful!" David's initial worry was instantly diverted by Logan's actions. If his phone was found during class, he was given a warning. Although he didn't care about his academics, if the discipline incident was spread, he would be in trouble at home.

"Alright, just be cautious. You can sleep through the afternoon classes." David said, showing his unique form of "concern" before returning to his seat.

The bell rang, signaling the start of class. The classroom fell silent. Logan pursed his lips, a hint of gloom between his brows. When no one was paying attention to him, he took out the phone again.

He opened the latest chapter of Naruto.

The black and white panels appeared on the screen once more. This time, Logan didn't flip through them hastily. He carefully examined each page. He did not let go of every line of dialogue or the buildings in the background of each scene. Soon, he finished the chapter and continued scrolling back to first one. Starting from the first chapter, he no longer approached it as mere entertainment, but rather as if studying historical evidence.

'What would it mean if the apartment building that appeared in the manga was really the I knew?'

The serialization of Naruto hadn't been going on for long, so Logan finished reading all of the chapters in span of one afternoon self-study. He sighed, rubbed his tired eyes, and looked around. At this moment, most of his classmates were dozing off while being bathed in sunlight.

Logan brought up the last panel once again, the apartment building engulfed in smoke and dust.

Trying his best to see clearly in the distant view of a bunch of buildings, Logan actually wished he had made a mistake, but sometimes, one couldn't deceive oneself.

After returning the phone to David, Logan sat at his desk, lost in thought. He couldn't focus on the lesson anymore.

From the first chapter to the latest chapter, except for the last scene, everything else was identical to the previous Naruto in Logan's memory. Logan hadn't seen any familiar 'sights'. Things like the gates of Konoha, the Hokage's Office, or the rocky walls were all depicted in the original manga and were familiar to Logan. What needs to be paid attention to is whether there are other things that Logan knows that are different from the original work, which is something he created himself, but it's not in the original work.

'It might be a coincidence. After all, Naruto appeared so many years later. It's possible that the author drew things differently...' Logan could only think like this in the end, 'I'll just wait for the next updates. If everything's normal, then it's nothing to worry about. If similar things happen again...'

Logan felt the trace of chakra in his body. Until now, he noticed no significant changes in his Chakra levels. It was as if he had an innate defect in this world. Without anyone noticing, a wisp of electricity flickered at Logan's fingertips, indicating him changing his Chakra attribute. The rapid depletion of the small amount of Chakra in his body caused the lightning to dissipate immediately.

Students came and went in the classroom, and soon it was five o'clock. School ended at this moment.

Logan bid farewell to David and walked home alone. The city center was bustling with activity, bustling with cars and people. As he passed by an alley, he hesitated before entering. few seconds later, he arrived at the rooftop of a high-rise building. The scenery below appeared tiny, the wind blew, the distant view vast, resembling that final panel.

There is another possibility, that is, he had been drawn into the manga.

This idea was quite shocking. But if this is true, what is the Ninja World?

Things were never as one expected. The sudden unexpected events made Logan's nostalgia for his daily life gradually fade away, replaced by the familiar feeling of being a Ninja. Even though he had just returned not long ago.

Despite his doubts, time continued to pass, and days went by like usual. Logan, while maintaining the facade of a student, also attempted to investigate. However, it was basically out of the question, as it was virtually impossible to start from a single landscape image. Therefore, he could only wait for time to provide answers.

…

Logan shielded his eyes and glanced at the sun. It was always dazzling no matter the season.

In the physical education class on Thursday afternoon, the weather is good, the sky is clear, and the rare good air quality made the white clouds appear vivid against the blue sky. This was undoubtedly a good time to enjoy youth.

The boys on the basketball court were giving their all, some playing with strength, some showing off. Logan lazily leaned against the basketball hoop, watching David and others compete fiercely for rebounds, their faces flushed with exertion.

Most people haven't trained from a young age, so there's hardly any skill or aesthetic sense. As for David, who often stays at home, it goes without saying. He's all talk and no action.

Logan was initially enthusiastic about liberating his mind and body during physical education class, but now, most of his thoughts are on Naruto manga. With the holidays approaching, he considering whether to take on a part-time job as a martial arts assistant instructor over the weekend, As a high school student, he lacked independence and found it inconvenient to do anything without money. With no progress in his observation of the manga, he began to consider other options.

However, it was rare for a sophomore student to want to become a martial arts assistant instructor or something like that. After all, it's not like becoming an idol, rescuing a club through music, or possessing superpowers in basketball, tennis, or any other sport...

As Logan was lost in thought, David was hit again by someone, and the team quickly fell behind by a large margin, so he was kicked off the court.

Wiping his sweat and panting heavily, David leaned on Logan's shoulder, "L-Logan, why don't you go up and show off a bit? What about your famous butterfly step?"

"Just focus on your game, don't drag me into this." Logan replied, with a twitch of his mouth upon hearing the strange move David suggested. It was a piece of embarrassing history, after all. He discreetly brushed off David's oily hand, and said, "Why don't you use your invincible turn-around jump shot against your opponent?"

"Hey, don't push me away, I'm stable now. Not as shaky as before. Haven't you been watching the 'teachers' recently?" David unhappy, leaned on Logan's shoulder again. His weight of over 170 pounds pressing down without reservation, while he's uttering some uncouth words. (Well, teachers are, if you know what I mean.)

Logan didn't move, then looked at the other party helplessly, "Quit with the stupid talk. Look at how out of breath you are. You should exercise more."

"You're one to talk." David glanced at Logan with disgust, his meaning clear in his eyes. Logan couldn't argue with that, as he was indeed on the same level as David before.

"Oh, forget about that. Look over there at the girls' group. Your childhood friend, Diane, is looking at you again."

"Come on." David's sly look made Logan speechless for a while, but for boys, that's pretty much how they chatted. The Diane that David was talking about was Logan's deskmate in the elementary school and the classmate from same class in junior high school, and they are also in the same class in high school.

They could be considered childhood friends, but Logan didn't have any special feelings, especially now that he had matured beyond the fantasies and naivety of his student days.

She was smart, good-looking, and had some fame as the literary committee member at school. While they used to get along well, people change as they grow up, and the distinction between boys and girls, along with time, distance, and social circles, had led them to drift apart.

David's words were mostly teasing, and neither of them paid much attention to them.

"There's a fun sports event next week. Are you participating?" David said. Logan shook his head in response, making David had such an expression of 'As expected', "Forget it, I knew you'd refuse. It's a waste of time to ask."

"Are you going to participate?"

"Yeah, just for fun. Besides, it's not a running event. Of course, the most important thing is that your childhood friend came to ask me for help, as no one in the class signed up. Since she's the one who organized it, it would be awkward if I didn't participate. She also asked me to ask you."

"I see." Logan nodded calmly, and the conversation ended there.

"Damn it, I can't believe you're not even reacting to this. You deserve to be single forever!" David glared at him. At this time, another team happened to be playing on the court, signaling his turn to play. So he walked away, feeling regretful, forgetting that he was also a lifelong bachelor away, feeling regretful, forgetting that he was also a lifelong bachelor.

Logan chuckled and shook his head. He had more pressing matters to worry about, like a Damocles sword hanging over his head.

The beginning of the sophomore year passed gradually, with boring classes every day. Logan anxiously waited for the release of the new chapter of the weekly Naruto manga.

However, on Sunday, just as he was quietly waiting in his room for the online serialization to update, something unexpected happened.

The familiar sensation of crossing over comes unexpectedly.

Before he could react, time and space paused, the scene changed, and Logan suddenly felt the pull of gravity. Different environmental light, sound of wind, and air emerged.

He is falling.