The Transmigrating Magician

In the bustling metropolis, brilliant neon lights glowed gorgeously under the night sky. The roar of a convertible sports car's engine cut through the endless stream of traffic, and under the gaze of passersby, it pulled up in front of the brightly lit hotel.

A young man in a tuxedo and top hat jumped out of the sports car, tossed the keys to the bellhop who had hurried over to open the door, and walked briskly up the steps.

"Welcome back, Mr. Li." The bellhop who opened the door for the young man greeted him with a smile.

"Has my stuff arrived?" the young man asked quickly.

"It has already been delivered to your room," the bellhop replied respectfully.

"Thanks!" The young man smiled slightly, flicked his hand behind the bellhop's ear, and a bill appeared in his hand.

Stuffing the fee into the bellhop's pocket, the young man strode through the hotel lobby and headed straight for the elevators.

Li Tong, twenty-seven years old, a genius magician, was once the assistant and prized pupil of the master magician David Rawls. Five years ago, at the age of only twenty-two, Li Tong struck out on his own and began performing publicly. Today, Li Tong is the most famous Chinese-descended master magician in the world, and the highest-earning magician—bar none!

Having just finished a performance at the Bellagio, Li Tong hurried back to the hotel.

Back in his hotel suite, there were several large silver metal trunks in the living room. Li Tong walked over, opened them one by one, and carefully inspected them; they contained all his magic props.

The props were all fine!

Li Tong let out a long breath. He was very particular about such matters; it seemed every magician had experienced issues with their props during transport, but Li Tong's situation was more specific: he was a neat freak!

After checking all the props, Li Tong went back to the bedroom, took a clean towel from his luggage, returned to the living room, and meticulously wiped down every prop and the cases they were stored in.

Shower, change of clothes.

A full hour later, Li Tong, dressed in a bathrobe, stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, holding a glass of red wine, looking down at the night view of the entertainment capital outside.

"Ding-dong!" The Samsung phone placed on the coffee table emitted a vibration alert.

Li Tong walked over quickly and picked up the phone... It was a game event reminder. Aside from magic, Li Tong's only hobby was playing mobile games. In this era, there were far too many people who loved mobile gaming.

However, the games Li Tong played were a bit special. He didn't like role-playing, shooting, racing, or simulation games; he only loved card games. Over the years, Li Tong had played no fewer than three hundred card games.

The game he was currently playing was called Card Emperor.

Midnight game event: Elemental Furnace.

Event rules: Within a limited time, throw cards into the "Furnace." Each tap counts as one card thrown. After each round, prestige is calculated. The higher the total prestige index of the cards thrown, the more generous the rewards.

Li Tong glanced at the time again; there were two minutes left.

"Out of battery, annoying..." While checking the time on his phone, Li Tong noticed the battery was down to 9%, the indicator bar having turned red. He ran back to the bedroom, grabbed the charger, and ran back to the living room; there was a power outlet under the side cabinet by the sofa.

Plugging it in, Li Tong began to wait.

He suddenly noticed there were fingerprints on the phone screen... Unbearable!

Running back to the bedroom again, he grabbed a handkerchief and ran back out. Standing by the coffee table, he picked up the phone, wiped it down carefully, and then very cautiously placed it back on the table before sitting down with a sigh of relief.

Waiting.

Midnight sharp.

The game interface popped up the event page, featuring a furnace icon with a "throw" button. Li Tong leaned over the phone and began tapping the screen at a high frequency.

One round of the event lasted three minutes, for a total of twelve rounds.

Li Tong had accumulated a lot of "trash cards" in the game, and he intended to throw them all in.

Ten seconds later, Li Tong suddenly stopped, his expression turning ugly.

There were fingerprints on the screen... the very ones he had just left...

The event was still ongoing.

Li Tong glanced to the side, his left hand quickly grabbing the handkerchief he had tossed aside to wipe the screen of the phone lying on the coffee table, while his right hand immediately followed up, tapping the screen rapidly.

Thus, every three seconds or so, Li Tong's left hand would flash across the screen to give it a wipe, while his right hand never stopped.

He didn't notice.

Because he was playing while charging, his phone was heating up, and because he kept wiping the screen and his fingers were constantly tapping it, the phone grew hotter and hotter.

He didn't pay attention to this; his focus was on the game and on wiping away the fingerprints.

Just like that, two minutes passed... BOOM!!!

The sudden, deafening roar and flames left Li Tong no time to react. Splinters of debris pierced deeply into his left eye. He jerked upright, clutched his eye, and collapsed to his knees, howling in agony.

Before losing consciousness, Li Tong had only one thought: Why did the Samsung phone explode?

One day later.

World headline: Young Chinese-descended genius magician and world-class master, Li Tong, died early yesterday morning in the presidential suite of The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas due to a phone explosion.

******

The endless darkness gradually receded, and Li Tong's consciousness slowly awakened from the silence.

"You were too heavy-handed!"

"Who could have guessed this kid wouldn't be able to take a beating? It was only one punch."

"You are a Jonin! And he... although he is an enemy, he is just a child."

"A child? He didn't look like a child when he was killing people. Three scouts from the Hyuga Clan were assassinated by him. If we hadn't arrived in time, who knows how many more would have died."

"Hmm... The assassins trained by Amegakure are truly terrifying. To think a mere Genin could..."

"I'm going to report to the Captain. If he's dead, he's dead. He's just a brat; I doubt he knew any important intel anyway."

The pungent scent of blood mixed with a foul, acidic stench assaulted Li Tong's nostrils. He vaguely heard people talking; it was Japanese, yet he understood it. A sharp, stabbing pain in his left eye forced a muffled groan from Li Tong. He struggled to lift his head and slowly opened his eyes, but the scene before him wavered. There were people... he saw two of them.

On the left, an adult man wearing a sleeveless tactical vest with a long sword strapped to his back.

On the right, a man in a black robe; he could only see his back as he was walking away.

Li Tong widened his eyes abruptly, then blinked his left eye hard.

His left eye was extremely blurry, as if it were cracked, with visible streaks running through his vision.

"Huh?" The man in the tactical vest let out a sound of surprise. "Come back, this brat is awake!"

"Hm?" The man in the black robe stopped and turned to look at Li Tong.

Li Tong stared back at them, completely bewildered. How did he end up here? Who were they? Li Tong instinctively thought he had been kidnapped, but something felt wrong. These two possessed a very distinct aura, and their attire looked familiar. Aside from the swords on their backs, they carried kunai at their waists, thighs, and forearms.

Kunai?!!

Thoughts flashed through Li Tong's mind like lightning! Li Tong froze like a statue, rigid and motionless, staring at the two men with wide eyes.

Kunai!

The only reason Li Tong knew the word "kunai" was because of the anime—Naruto!

"No... no way..." Li Tong couldn't believe it. He slowly lowered his head to look at his own body. He was dressed in rags, his greyish-blue clothes stained with mud and dried blood. Of course, that wasn't the point! The point was that his body had changed!

He couldn't be more than... eleven or twelve years old?

Li Tong looked at the shackles on his hands, then jerked his head to the side, scanning the room.

The room was perhaps thirty square meters, filthy and chaotic. The walls were covered in blood-stained torture implements, and the floor was covered in straw mats, though mostly loose hay. In one corner stood a dirty wooden table and chair. Torches hung on either side of the iron door, and there were no windows.

This place...

It must be an interrogation room!

Li Tong was on the verge of a breakdown. Every hair on his body stood on end, and he trembled, because this place was just... too filthy!

"He actually came back to life; he had already stopped breathing," the black-robed man said, sounding very surprised as he walked back.

"Maybe it was suspended animation. The brat has some luck," the vest-wearing man replied.

"Brat, are you ready to talk now?" the black-robed man barked.

Li Tong stared at him blankly and blinked. His left eye cleared up a bit, though the streaks remained. He remained dazed, whispering inaudibly, "Transmigration..." Li Tong was certain no one was playing a prank on him! A scene could be staged and people could wear costumes, but he himself had changed into an eleven or twelve-year-old child. Such a natural transformation could never be engineered by human hands.

There was only one explanation!

And Li Tong had basically confirmed where he had transmigrated to.

The world of Naruto!

The two men standing before him, armed and masked—if Li Tong wasn't mistaken, they were Anbu ninjas from Konohagakure! He was certain they were from Konoha, rather than another hidden village, because they both wore forehead protectors bearing the Konohagakure symbol!

"You brat, are you playing dumb?" The black-robed ninja stepped forward aggressively when he saw Li Tong didn't speak.

The vest-wearing ninja pulled on the black-robed man's arm. Seeing him turn, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, no point in beating him anymore. A brat brainwashed by Amegakure is more stubborn than an adult ninja. Since he won't talk... we should just notify the Captain."

The black-robed ninja glared at Li Tong with gloomy eyes. Seeing Li Tong still looking vacant, he snorted and turned to walk out.

I transmigrated... I transmigrated... I transmigrated... Li Tong repeated internally, recalling everything about Naruto. Konoha Anbu—who was the Captain? He had no way of knowing, as Li Tong had no idea what year it was in Konoha.

The vest-wearing ninja crossed his arms and watched Li Tong, waiting in silence.

Two minutes later.

Creak! The heavy iron door opened again. Two ninjas entered one after the other. The black-robed ninja followed behind, but the one in the lead was another ninja in a black robe and mask, only taller.

Is this the Konoha Anbu Captain?!

Li Tong asked himself, then suddenly let out a miserable howl, clutching his left eye as he began to roll on the ground.

Pain!

Excruciating pain!

It felt as if his left eye had been pierced by a needle.

"Ding! Card Emperor System awakened... currently damaged... repairing... repair progress... True Sight Eye awakening... Awakening Gift Pack delivered..." Strange sounds echoed in Li Tong's mind, but he couldn't hear them clearly, as the intense pain had overwhelmed his consciousness.

"What's wrong with him?" the Anbu ninja who had just arrived asked in a hoarse voice.

"Captain, I punched this brat earlier. Maybe I hit him too hard..." the black-robed ninja stepped forward to explain respectfully.

"Hmm." The Anbu Captain nodded and raised a hand. "Call a medical ninja."

"Yes!" The black-robed ninja acknowledged the order respectfully and hurried away.

Li Tong's agony didn't last long. Before the medical ninja could arrive, the pain began to subside. About ten seconds later, it vanished completely. Worried that he might have gone blind, he slowly pulled his hand away from his eye, blinked, and looked up at the people in front of him.

A strange sight appeared!

The streaks in Li Tong's left eye were gone. His vision was incredibly clear, but it was now overlaid with text that looked like data.

--

Name: White Fang (Hatake Sakumo).

Identity: Captain of the Konohagakure Anbu Special Assassination and Tactical Squad, Land of Fire.

Reputation: 7556 points.

Relationship: Hostile.

This was the information displayed when Li Tong focused his gaze upon the ninja before him.

"White Fang... Hatake Sakumo... Anbu... Captain... Is this... the thirty-something... thirty-something year of Konoha?" Li Tong muttered to himself.