The instant the countdown hit zero, the world lurched and spun, exactly the way it had a month ago.
When their vision cleared, the players, scattered moments before across the real world, found themselves sitting in a rustic classroom.
Veterans like Akizuki Airi, Yukinoshita Yukino, and Ichinose Chizuru took it in stride. The newcomers, however, were a different story entirely.
"Wh-what's happening?!"
Yukino and Chizuru turned toward the voice. A child with silver hair and features so delicate they could have been sculpted from porcelain was glancing around in bewilderment.
"...Totsuka?" Chizuru ventured.
Totsuka Saika. First-year, Class 1-F at Shuchiin Academy's high school division. Same class as Airi and Chizuru. A face prettier than most girls', attached to a body that was, without question, male.
And yes, the object of Hikigaya Hachiman's deeply ambiguous affections.
"Calm down, Totsuka." Hachiman was at his side in an instant.
One look at that helpless, doe-eyed expression and Hachiman's throat bobbed. He fought to keep the heat off his face while his inner monologue screamed: Eight-year-old Totsuka is adorable too...!
"Makoto!"
Airi launched herself at Nishikado like a tiny cannonball, nuzzling against his chest like a kitten.
A whole month apart. She'd missed him desperately.
He ruffled her hair and surveyed the classroom, a satisfied grin tugging at his lips.
Something interesting had changed. The nameless extras who'd populated the background last time had been almost entirely replaced by familiar faces.
Mouri Ran, Suzuki Sonoko, Yuigahama Yui, Miura Yumiko, Ebina Hina, Hayama Hayato, Tobe Kakeru, Kato Megumi, Aki Tomoya, Kinoshita Kazuya...
And who knew how many other players had crossed over without being in this room.
[Welcome, participants, to this round of the Reincarnation Game.]
[Current Instance World: Naruto.]
[Each round will issue a designated objective. Complete the mission to return to the real world. Rest assured, time in the real world is completely frozen during gameplay...]
The system's announcement chimed in on cue, a crash course for newcomers like Yuigahama.
"So this is... isekai?" Aki Tomoya whispered, the resident otaku's voice trembling with barely contained excitement.
This was literally the standard light novel protagonist opener. What self-respecting nerd hadn't fantasized about this?
"I wouldn't celebrate just yet." Eriri quickly dashed his hopes. "Training ninjutsu isn't as easy as you think. I don't see you handling the grind."
Tomoya shot her a puzzled look. Strange. She didn't seem scared at all.
Nearby, the eight-year-old loli edition of Kato Megumi drifted over to Nishikado with an air of preternatural calm. "Nishikado, it's been a while."
Airi's hackles rose instantly. She puffed up like a territorial cat and hissed at Megumi.
Nishikado flicked her lightly on the head, and she settled down.
"I figured you'd show up, Kato." He smiled in greeting, then pivoted. "Though the name 'Kato' always makes me think of someone else. Mind if I just call you Megumi?"
From the back row, Aki Tomoya watched his hand-picked heroine walk over and start chatting up another guy. His eyes went wide.
What... what kind of NTR plotline is this?!
Megumi blinked once, recovered her composure, and nodded. "You don't seem surprised at all, Nishikado. Have you been here before?"
He admitted it openly.
Even back in his previous life, watching the anime, he'd recognized that Megumi was sharper than she let on. She hadn't earned the nickname "Master Strategist Megumi" for nothing.
He glanced at Tomoya in the back row. "So he's already roped you into making that galge?"
"He asked me many times. I felt bad turning him down." A beat of silence. "Besides, I wanted to use it as a chance to change myself. So I said yes."
Nishikado shrugged. "Fine by me. Just a word of advice: if you want to survive, don't fall for him."
He'd never understood Megumi's choices in the source material. She knew full well that Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri both had feelings for Tomoya, and she still threw herself into the mix.
If the guy had been filthy rich or bursting with talent, sure, maybe. But Aki Tomoya... what exactly was his selling point?
"I just want to use this as a chance to change," Megumi replied, reading between the lines without batting an eye. "Nothing romantic about it."
The moment the system had announced that skills from this world could be brought back to reality, she'd connected the `dots to Nishikado's superhuman strength. He'd clearly done this before.
That was why she'd approached him.
And she'd been right to.
A few seats away, Tomoya overheard every word. Something hollow opened up in his chest.
"What's wrong? Upset?" Eriri asked, her voice dripping with passive-aggression.
"O-of course not!" He nearly launched himself out of his chair. "I only like 2D girls!"
Meanwhile, the native students carried on with their own conversations.
"Hey, Shikamaru, did you hear? The entire Uchiha clan got wiped out," Akimichi Choji said through a mouthful of chips.
For once, Nara Shikamaru didn't look half-asleep. "Not all of them. I heard Sasuke survived."
At those words, Tomboy Sakura's hand tightened over her heart without her realizing it.
Sasuke... please be okay.
In the lull before class started, veterans like Eriri and Hachiman briefed the newcomers on how this world worked.
Within ten minutes, the social dynamics had already crystallized.
Yuigahama Yui, Miura Yumiko, and Ebina Hina gravitated toward Hayama Hayato and Tobe Kakeru, the same popular-kids cluster they formed at school. Normies attract normies.
Eriri and Tomoya had hit a rough patch in their friendship once, but the galge project had been mending things. They sat close.
Mouri Ran stuck with Suzuki Sonoko, as always.
The only newcomer left truly alone was Kinoshita Kazuya. He hadn't exactly been swimming in friends back in his own class, either.
He looked around, noticed Chizuru sitting by herself, and worked up the nerve to approach. "Um... Ichinose, what do you think about this world..."
"Sorry, I'm thinking. Could you not bother me?"
Cut off before he could even finish. Kazuya slunk away.
Work was work. Personal life was personal life. Chizuru had zero interest in getting chummy with a client.
She stole a glance at Nishikado, sandwiched between Megumi and Airi, and squeezed her thighs together involuntarily.
Okay, he was the exception.
She wanted to join his circle too. She just hadn't found an opening yet.
"Everyone, quiet down. Class is starting."
Iruka pushed open the door and stepped inside.
"You're all third-year students now, but some of you still haven't mastered basic Chakra molding. Keep this up and you'll be held back. You may not even qualify for the graduation exam."
He flipped open the attendance book.
"Yuigahama. Totsuka. Aki..."
A string of newcomer names rattled off.
"You need to put in the work."
Stunned silence, then a chorus of hasty nods. "Yes, sensei!"
These players had started two years behind the veterans. The gap was obvious.
Then Nishikado noticed something.
Iruka hadn't called Kato Megumi's name.
Well, well.
True to form. The woman who'd maxed out her Stealth stat in the original series.
Even in a different world, some talents just carried over.
____________________________
POWERSTONES, We're close to 100.
Every 50 Powerstones = 1 Bonus Chapter