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Was it good luck?
This time, after falling unconscious from the teleportation, Kagaya hadn't been attacked.
One day later, Kagaya woke up.
The very first sensation was—hunger.
That was only natural. After being unconscious for an entire day, any normal person would be hungry. Enduring the pain wracking his body, Kagaya spent a great deal of effort before finally managing to sit up. He looked around at his surroundings.
Mm...
How should one describe it? The scenery around him could only be called beautiful and serene. Trees stretched out in every direction. The grass all around swayed gently in the breeze. From time to time, the chirping of insects could be heard rising from the undergrowth.
Fresh, clean air filled this place. Taking a single breath instantly made one feel much more clear-headed. The sun in the sky cast its sunlight downward, but the canopies of the surrounding trees blocked most of those intense rays, allowing only a few spots of light to filter through and touch the ground.
Up ahead, he could faintly hear the sound of crashing water, ceaseless and unending.
Kagaya guessed it was probably a waterfall.
What a truly relaxing environment.
However, enjoying this environment wasn't the priority right now. Kagaya had more important matters to figure out.
"Hey, system. What world is this?"
...
...
He waited for a long time, but Kagaya heard no reply.
"Didn't you say I'd know once I arrived? What's the meaning of your silence?"
A foreboding premonition rose within Kagaya's heart. He had already witnessed this system's sheer unreliability far too many times.
...
...
Still, there was no response whatsoever.
The foreboding premonition had come true! Kagaya spoke reflexively.
"You...?! don't tell me you told me the name of this world right when I was about to pass out after the teleportation? And then, having said it once, you refuse to say it a second time?"
Kagaya was utterly dumbfounded. He did indeed remember that, just before losing consciousness, he had faintly heard the system say something. But the problem was...
why choose that exact moment to tell him? He was on the verge of passing out! How could he possibly have heard it clearly at that point?
...
...
Whether it was simple evasion or a firm resolve not to repeat itself, regardless of what Kagaya said, the system remained completely silent.
"Fine. I understand. I should never have expected anything from a damn system like you!"
Hurling that anger-filled remark, Kagaya ignored the system and began attending to his body.
Although the system's teleportation was as terrible as ever, and although Kagaya's body was still in as much pain as before, it was different from the last time he had been transported to the Warring States era.
That time, Kagaya had been sent over by the same method. The immense pain afterward had made it difficult for him to even move, forcing him to rely on the Susanoo just to get around. But this time, Kagaya possessed the Five-Tails, so the situation was different.
The Five-Tails' ability was to produce steam. Using that steam, it could amplify concussive force, and at the same time, it could also strengthen the body.
Thus, Kagaya could now use the Five-Tails' steam to rapidly repair (strengthen) his own body. While it couldn't instantly erase the pain, it could at least quickly restore him to a state where he could move.
Closing his eyes, Kagaya began focusing on repairing his body.
But in the very next second, a sense of crisis surged forth. Without the slightest hesitation, the Susanoo activated instantly.
ROAR!
A considerably large animal pounced onto Kagaya, its massive jaws biting down on the Susanoo. Yet, it failed to produce any effect whatsoever.
It was an enormous tiger!
A golden skeletal arm appeared and viciously swatted away the tiger that had been preparing to leap backward. The Susanoo might not be able to perform sliding tackles, but its immense power was more than enough to beat a wild beast to death. There was no need to question that.
Kagaya furrowed his brow but said nothing. This tiger's behavior made him realize one thing: there were probably no human settlements nearby. Otherwise, logically speaking, people would never tolerate such a ferocious predator living so close to their homes.
'Looks like I've got some searching to do.'
Sighing inwardly, Kagaya closed his eyes once more. Keeping the Susanoo active, he resumed repairing his body.
A young girl dressed in blue-and-white clothing walked quietly across a vast grassland. Actually, "quietly" wasn't quite right. Although the girl wasn't speaking, she kept looking in every direction, as if trying to engrave every scene around her into her eyes.
The corners of her mouth were perpetually curved into a smile, like a spirit wandering the mortal world.
Her smooth, flowing black hair cascaded down her back, reaching all the way to her waist.
Within her eyes were a pair of black pupils that seemed almost to shimmer and sparkle. Without even needing to look elsewhere, simply gazing into those eyes was enough to clearly feel it—she was smiling.
Most people, upon seeing this girl for the first time, would surely feel a sense of deep, heartfelt relaxation.
As she walked, the girl suddenly retrieved a small notebook from behind her. She crouched down, took out a pen, and carefully wrote a few words inside.
—I saw a very beautiful grassland. XX, Yuki is very happy. Yuki is smiling!
In the middle, there were two characters that the girl replaced with X's. No one knew what they meant.
Putting away the small notebook, the girl stood up and continued her journey.
Over a decade ago.
"Destiny? Destiny! At this point, you're still talking to me about destiny?! This isn't destiny! This is a curse!"
"Foolish woman! This is destiny! Yuki is my child! She has the ability to become clan leader!"
"Get out! GET OUT! This is a curse!"
"Hmph!"
Inside a wooden house, a man and a woman were locked in a fierce argument. Without understanding the underlying context, one would have no idea what they were talking about.
Passersby outside, hearing the quarreling voices from within the wooden house, all revealed expressions of disdain.
"She's just a little girl!"
"Hmph! That Kenichi... has he truly gone mad after all?"
These people were all saying things that outsiders couldn't understand—words that only they themselves could comprehend.
No... among that group, there was one other person who also didn't understand. That was the little girl, three or four years old, inside the wooden house. Her eyes were filled with blank confusion as she watched her arguing parents.
What's happening?
Is it because of me?
Is it my fault?
After a period of recovery, Kagaya finally reached a state where he could move.
Thus, he stood up and prepared to leave this place, to begin exploring this world.
!!!
But suddenly, a violent, searing pain erupted from his heart, flaring and vanishing in an instant.
Although it had only appeared for a split second, that pain seemed as if it would mercilessly kill Kagaya without the slightest mercy.
"What's going on?"
Kagaya spoke reflexively. This probably wasn't caused by the system's teleportation. As terrible as the damn system's teleportation was, it would never injure vital areas. Something like the heart couldn't possibly be wounded by it. Never before had Kagaya felt pain in his heart either.
[Rejection.]
The system suddenly spoke, answering Kagaya's question.
"System?! So you were playing dead earlier after all! No matter how I called you, you wouldn't make a sound!"
[That is not important. If you still wish to understand your current situation, you should listen to me quietly.]
"Then speak."
[You have been rejected by this world. The world's own power will begin attempting to erase you. The pain you just felt in your heart was a manifestation of that power. However, your strength is simply far too great. Even if the world itself intends to erase you, it must take some time to prepare. I have made a simple calculation: you have approximately nine days remaining. After nine days, barring any unforeseen developments, you will die. Killed by this world.]
Kagaya fell silent for a long while, then furrowed his brow and spoke.
"Are you serious?"
[I have no reason to lie.]
"Then... did you teleport me here just to kill me?"
[Denied. This is an unforeseen situation. This was my first teleportation to another world. I was extremely cautious—I even chose a world with a very high compatibility with you. But I never expected that, even so, your existence would still be rejected. I have gained experience from this. Next time I teleport, I will resolve this issue.]
"An unforeseen situation? Fine. Accidents aren't strange. I don't want to rely on you for anything. But first, tell me—how do I resolve my current situation of dying in nine days?"
[There is no solution.]
"..."
...
"..."
...
"You mother—"
What followed was a long string of curses.
A good while later, Kagaya sat back down on the ground and began carefully contemplating his predicament.
Previously, he had approached this with a playful attitude. But this time, he had no choice but to get serious.
The Power of the World...
According to the system, this was a world's "self-maintenance mechanism." Once a problem arose within the world itself, this power would activate.
Just like the human body—once one fell ill, the body would begin repairing itself.
The Power of the World was precisely that force which repaired errors.
And now, Kagaya had been identified by this world as an existence akin to a "pathogen." It was preparing to eliminate this "pathogen" known as Kagaya.
Originally, if the system had been fully prepared and the teleportation had gone smoothly, it could have disguised Kagaya as an entity that had always existed within this world. That way, he wouldn't have been identified as a "pathogen." But this time, because it was the system's first time teleporting him to another world, it had slipped up. Thus, this situation had arisen.
Now, let's discuss the strength of this Power of the World.
The Power of the World of any given world, barring special circumstances, was generally the most powerful force within that world.
According to the system's estimations, the Power of the World of this world possessed a strength at least at the Six Paths level or higher.
In other words, Kagaya had absolutely no possibility of resisting this world's Power of the World.
In nine days... death was certain!
"I know you, system, are a complete disaster. But I really didn't expect you to be this much of a disaster! Just tell me—can you send me back or not?!"
[Denied. A second teleportation cannot be performed within a short period.]
"Get lost!"
Kagaya couldn't be bothered to speak with the system any further and began frantically thinking of solutions.
[There is no need to worry. This world possesses the power of resurrection. After you are resurrected in the future, I will awaken along with you. At that point, everything will be fine. Because after being killed and then resurrected, you will be recognized as a part of this world.]
"Resurrect? How? And besides, once I'm dead, someone else would have to resurrect me, right? I don't know a single person in this world!"
[That is something you must figure out on your own.]
"Get lost!"
Kagaya once again spat out those impatient words. This damn system had nearly gotten him killed—of course Kagaya couldn't possibly be in a good mood.
However, Kagaya's personality dictated that, even when somewhat frustrated, he would calm down and think things through carefully when faced with a problem.
Otherwise, if it were anyone else, they wouldn't even be sitting here calmly listening to the system.
"So I have to pull a Madara, huh?"
Kagaya felt a headache coming on. If he wanted to be resurrected in the future, he absolutely had to find someone to help him!
Otherwise, once he was dead, he couldn't exactly resurrect himself, could he? As far as Kagaya knew, he didn't have that ability.
So, he had to find someone first!
And then, even if he found someone... how was he supposed to get them to resurrect him?
The more he thought about it, the more Kagaya felt that what he needed to do was essentially the same as what Madara had done in the original story.
The difference was, Madara's resurrection had been for the sake of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, not merely to cling to life. But his resurrection... was purely to cling to life!
"..."
"Whatever. Sky is big, Earth is big, but my little life is the biggest!"
If he were dying without regrets, that would be one thing. But dying such a baffling, inexplicable death... Kagaya truly couldn't accept it.
He stood up, walked to a nearby tree, casually snapped off a branch, held it up, and spoke to the system.
"Do I look like a charlatan to you?"
After a moment of silence, the system replied.
[No.]
Kagaya hurled the branch to the ground and spoke irritably.
"You know I don't look like one! And yet you still expect me to go play charlatan?!"
That's right. What Kagaya needed to do next was to find a person and then con them into resurrecting him in the future.
It had to be verbal persuasion. Even genjutsu wouldn't work. If Kagaya used genjutsu, then as long as he was alive, the target would obediently listen to him. But once he died, the genjutsu would certainly be undone, and then everything would fall apart.
Therefore, what needed to be done next couldn't be cheated with abilities. He had to go at it for real.
To this, Kagaya had only one thing to say.
"Damn system!"
—Death Countdown, Day Nine.
After fully grasping the situation, the very first thing Kagaya did was—go catch fish to eat in the river beneath the waterfall up ahead!
He hadn't eaten in a whole day. Even the mightiest shinobi had to eat.
Even though he would die in nine days, if he didn't eat, he wouldn't even need to wait nine days. After three or four more days, Kagaya would be dead—or too weak to move, which was practically a slow death anyway.
So, never mind dying in nine days—even if he were dying in three days, he still had to eat when it was time to eat.
After finishing his fish, Kagaya looked up at the sky. It had already grown dark.
Thus, Kagaya began rushing about, spending half an hour and an enormous amount of effort.
He didn't even hesitate to use the Flying Thunder God and the Susanoo. Finally... Kagaya had built a fine, exquisite wooden cabin!
This would be his temporary resting place!
Lying down on the grass bed he had carefully prepared, Kagaya closed his eyes.
"Time to sleep, time to sleep."
Incidentally, not sleeping would also kill him.
[Shouldn't you be a little more tense? Isn't this supposed to be a race against time?]
The system voiced its question in utter disbelief.
"You just have too many damn problems. Why can't you learn from the Five-Tails? It sleeps most of the time and barely says a word."
...
Very soon, a night passed.
—Death Countdown, Day Eight.
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