Night had settled over New York.
A cold wind drifted through the streets as Noah Vale walked back toward his villa, hands in his pockets, expression calm.
In front of him, a translucent interface hovered in his vision.
After a moment's thought, he opened the Interdimensional Chatroom's recruitment list and began scrolling.
Over the past few days, more than twenty new candidates had appeared.
Most of them meant nothing to him.
Strangers.
Irrelevant.
Then—
He paused.
A name caught his eye.
[The Last of the Uchiha]
Level: 3
Status: I will personally kill a certain man.
Noah's lips curved slightly.
"…Now that's interesting."
Without hesitation, he selected the entry.
Far away, in another world—
Uchiha Sasuke froze.
A voice echoed suddenly in his mind.
[Welcome to the Interdimensional Chatroom]
His eyes sharpened instantly.
"Who's there?"
There was no immediate danger. He was still inside the Hidden Leaf Village.
But something had changed.
In front of him, a glowing interface appeared—lines of text scrolling rapidly across it.
Different languages.
Some familiar.
Others completely unknown.
And yet—
He understood all of them.
Sasuke's expression darkened.
"A genjutsu…?"
His guard went up immediately.
Then a message appeared.
Kana Kimishima: Hey, don't panic. Just check the guide section—it explains everything.
"…Guide?"
Sasuke hesitated.
There was no immediate threat.
Slowly, cautiously, he followed the instruction and opened the information panel.
The more he read—
The more his expression changed.
If this was real…
Then this wasn't a trap.
It was an opportunity.
A massive one.
Back in New York—
Noah watched silently, not bothering to interrupt.
Small talk wasn't his thing.
Two mid-tier members now, he thought. One more and the chatroom upgrades again.
By the time he looked up, he had already reached his villa.
The front door had been replaced.
So someone had tried something while he was gone.
Still—
He wasn't worried.
After everything Camila had gained from him over the past two months, even someone like Spider-Man wouldn't last long against her.
Without knocking, Noah phased through the door and stepped inside.
The house was quiet.
He pushed open the bedroom door.
Camila lay on the bed, casually reading.
She glanced up, a teasing smile forming.
"Well," she said, "look who's back. The king himself."
Noah rolled his eyes.
"Give it a rest."
He sat down beside her, still half-focused on the chatroom.
"You said you were going out to hang with friends," she added. "Next thing I know, you've taken over the planet."
Noah shrugged.
"Plans changed. I wasn't even planning to escalate things today. But they pushed too far."
He leaned back slightly.
"Besides… it was going to happen eventually."
Camila frowned.
"You make it sound like it was inevitable."
Noah didn't answer.
Instead, she shifted closer, closing the book and setting it aside. With a playful expression, she climbed onto his lap, resting her hands on his shoulders.
"So," she murmured, "now that you run the world… what about tonight?"
"I'm going to stop you right there," Noah said immediately.
Camila blinked.
"…What?"
Noah sighed.
"I pushed my physical output too far during the fight," he said. "Right now, my strength is out of balance. If I lose control, you're not walking away from it."
She paused, studying him.
"…How long?"
"Few days," he said. "Once everything stabilizes."
Camila narrowed her eyes, then smirked.
"So you're saying… you're out of commission?"
Noah gave her a flat look.
"Careful."
She laughed softly—but the look in his eyes made her stop just short of pushing it further.
Noah tilted his head slightly, thinking.
"…Actually."
That tone wasn't reassuring.
Camila felt a chill.
"What?"
Noah's expression shifted—curious, experimental.
"I might have a workaround."
Her smile faltered.
"Wait—what kind of workaround?"
Noah didn't answer directly.
Instead, he leaned forward—
And the lights went out.
The next morning—
Noah stretched slightly, rolling his shoulders as he stood.
Behind him, Camila lay asleep, completely exhausted.
He glanced back at her, a faint smile forming.
"…Good to know that works."
Satisfied, he pulled up the chatroom again.
The new member had been active.
Messages filled the interface.
[The Last of the Uchiha]: @DeepBlue — Can you help me get revenge? I'll pay any price.
Noah's smile deepened.
Exactly what I expected.
Sasuke had barely processed the reality of the chatroom before fixating on one thing—
Revenge.
Uchiha Itachi.
That meant the timeline was still early.
Perfect.
Noah replied.
DeepBlue: I can help. But I need some details first. Are you still in the Hidden Leaf? What's happening around you right now?
Back in the Hidden Leaf—
Sasuke hadn't slept.
Not once.
His eyes locked onto the interface as the reply appeared.
For a moment, he hesitated.
How does he know…?
Then he remembered what the others had said.
That his world might exist as a story somewhere else.
That his life—
His revenge—
Might already be known.
Sasuke clenched his fists.
Then he answered.
The Last of the Uchiha: Yes. I'm still in the Hidden Leaf. The Chunin Exams are underway.
Noah nodded to himself.
Right on schedule.
Then the next message appeared—
And for the first time, Noah paused.
The Last of the Uchiha: Today's match… Zhao Bingwei versus Neji Hyuga.
"…Wait."
Noah blinked.
That wasn't supposed to happen.