A Character Who Never Appeared

"Ding! Game notification: The Otsutsuki Kaguya Bloodline class-change scroll has been picked up!"

"Ding! Game notification: Player 'Western Chu Little Overlord Zhen Danxiao' has successfully picked up the Otsutsuki Kaguya Bloodline class-change scroll!"

"Ding! Game notification: Player 'Western Chu Little Overlord Zhen Danxiao' has bound the item. Congratulations, player 'Western Chu Little Overlord Zhen Danxiao'! You have inherited the unique bloodline—the Otsutsuki Kaguya Bloodline—and become the only player with a unique bloodline class!"

"Ding! Game notification: Player 'Western Chu Little Overlord Zhen Danxiao' possesses the Otsutsuki Kaguya Bloodline, which requires activation. Current activation level: one-fifth. Kekkei Genkai unlocked: Shikotsumyaku!"

Amid the successive system notifications, Zhen Danxiao felt dizzy and disoriented. Darkness filled his vision; he couldn't see or touch anything, and had no idea what was happening in the dark.

At last, a sliver of light pierced the darkness, becoming a ray of dawn that cut through the night.

Slowly, Zhen Danxiao opened his bleary eyes, his gaze clouded, and saw the light once more.

After a long while, Zhen Danxiao finally managed to regain some awareness, but he was still in a daze and hadn't fully recovered from the dizziness.

"Little brother, little brother, what's wrong?"

In the chaos, Zhen Danxiao dimly heard a childish voice calling to him over and over. The voice was urgent and filled with worry.

"Hm?"

As he listened to the urgent calls, Zhen Danxiao, his head still heavy, let out a soft groan. His confused eyes gradually cleared, and his hazy consciousness slowly returned.

"Thank goodness, little brother, you're finally awake! Do you know you've been unconscious for two days? You scared your big brother half to death!"

Zhen Danxiao had only just come around and hadn't yet figured out what was happening when a loud, delighted cry from beside him made him jump.

Instinctively, Zhen Danxiao raised his head and looked toward the sound.

A scrawny little boy appeared before him.

His long white hair fell to his shoulders, and his bright, spirited eyes were full of delight. Two tiny red dots marked his brow. His skin was pale, his expression wan, and his small frame couldn't hide the aura of menace that seemed to emanate from him.

A hardcore gamer who had once led his team to take down one of the three super bosses, Zhen Danxiao was incredibly familiar with anime from that island country. Among them, the wildly popular Naruto was so familiar to him that he could never forget it, even in his sleep.

The instant he saw the little boy, a name abruptly sprang into Zhen Danxiao's mind:

—Kaguya Kimimaro!

"What's going on? Why is Kaguya Kimimaro standing in front of me? Where am I?"

Staring at Kaguya Kimimaro's adorable little face, Zhen Danxiao froze.

"Little brother, little brother, what's wrong? Is something the matter? Don't be afraid. Tell your big brother, and I'll help you sort it out!"

Still in a daze, Zhen Danxiao suddenly heard a clear, childish voice tinged with concern. He instinctively came to his senses and saw the other boy's handsome little face, etched with worry.

As he looked at that worried face, Zhen Danxiao felt another faint pang in his head. Streams of unfamiliar information abruptly surged forth, forcing their way into his mind and merging with it.

Along with the dull ache, Zhen Danxiao felt a wealth of information suddenly appear in his mind. Countless images, words, and fragments of memory poured forth and became part of his own memories.

After fully absorbing the information, which included words, images, and even fragments of memory, Zhen Danxiao was rocked by a storm of shock. At last, he understood what was going on...

Just as he'd suspected, the handsome little boy before him really was Kaguya Kimimaro from Naruto, a minor character who'd been killed off almost as soon as he appeared!

And the boy who kept calling Kimimaro "little brother" so naturally was none other than Zhen Danxiao himself, now known as Kaguya Jun Tianlin!

Why did he say "himself"?

Back in the third dimension, Zhen Danxiao had been like any ordinary person: playing popular games, watching action-packed anime, and dreaming of the worlds in those wish-fulfillment novels!

Just as in every novel, where the protagonist always ended up transmigrating, he—Zhen Danxiao—had experienced the dream transmigration of every shut-in.

After absorbing all the foreign information in his mind, Zhen Danxiao could only reluctantly accept this terrifying truth.

Transmigration, something others desperately dreamed of, seemed to Zhen Danxiao like a death warrant from the King of Hell.

Especially since he'd transmigrated into the world of Naruto, where ninjutsu was everywhere and human lives were worth less than dogs. For someone as timid and spineless as Zhen Danxiao, it truly was a living "hell"!

Fortunately, one thing gave Zhen Danxiao a little peace of mind: he'd become a member of the Kaguya Clan, the inheritor of the Kekkei Genkai Shikotsumyaku, a bloodline ability seen only once in a century—and the younger brother of Kaguya Kimimaro, who had inherited the same ability!

"Although lives really are as worthless as grass in this world, I have the Shikotsumyaku Kekkei Genkai. I'm not someone an ordinary person can compare to. Besides, I still have my big brother, right? It should be fine."

Clinging to his own version of Panglossian optimism, Zhen Danxiao could only force himself to feel reassured, desperately looking for things to tell himself that might offer a little comfort.

But deep down, he probably didn't believe a word of it himself!

After all, Kaguya Jun Tianlin had never appeared in the original story. That meant he either didn't exist at all, or he'd died when the Kaguya Clan was wiped out...

Unfortunately, either possibility was a dreadful prospect Zhen Danxiao, now transmigrated and carrying Kaguya Jun Tianlin's identity, could only bury deep in his heart and refuse to think about.

At this very moment, the real Kaguya Jun Tianlin had just been beaten up in secret by a fellow member of the Kaguya Clan, the son of its Great Elder, a man named Kaguya Yotaro, along with two Chunin. For some inexplicable reason, the poor fellow had then kicked the bucket. Zhen Danxiao's forced reassurances were indeed a little too hollow.

Someone who'd died before the clan's destruction, a person who'd never appeared in the original story—this identity of Kaguya Jun Tianlin's...