The Real World

"Konoha's pretty nice."

Yueshu lightly dodged Sashizhen's slash and rolled to the side, not forgetting to harass Ono Ishi at the same time.

"Whether it's the White Fang of the Leaf or you..."

He couldn't let Ono Ishi leave just like that. Hui was still in his hands.

And Ono Ishi didn't seem to want to leave either. Yueshu's harassment should have been no more than a passing breeze to him, yet he still didn't go.

"You're fighting me and still have time to get distracted? I'm hurt."

Yueshu's Sharingan shifted, and he raised the Kusanagi Sword in his hand.

The Ninja Blade struck the Kusanagi Sword. The change in the wind's nature flowed along the blade, slicing several wounds into Yueshu's sword hand.

"Tch."

Yueshu immediately retreated. The pain made his hand tremble slightly.

This was no longer an ordinary flesh wound.

Yueshu looked at his right hand, the one holding the sword.

He's gotten stronger again.

Yueshu could clearly feel that his opponent's wind nature transformation had grown stronger once more.

It seemed like this had been Sashizhen's full strength before.

"Earth Style: Rising Dragon Technique."

Yueshu focused on Sashizhen, while Ono Ishi formed hand seals with one hand and unleashed a jutsu.

As soon as he finished the seals, Yueshu felt the ground shifting beneath his feet.

Without hesitation, Yueshu leaped away.

"Wind Style: Double Cross Slash."

Yueshu was suspended in midair, with no way to dodge.

He swung the Kusanagi Sword, choosing to meet the attack head-on.

Yueshu cleaved through the cross-shaped slash, but the wound on his sword hand grew considerably worse.

"I told you."

Yueshu had just started to relax when his Sharingan caught something out of the ordinary.

Sashizhen was smirking. Hidden behind the first slash was another one.

"It's Multiple Cross Slash."

Splurt!

A cross-shaped wound appeared across Yueshu's chest, and blood gushed out.

"And I'm not done yet."

Yueshu spat out a mouthful of blood and hadn't recovered when a shadow loomed over him.

He widened his eyes and looked up, but still couldn't see a thing.

Smack.

Darkness filled his vision, then a hand grabbed his head.

A sense of gravity overcame him, and he felt himself falling.

With a crash, Ono Ishi slammed Yueshu headfirst into the ground!

His strength drained away, and nearly all of his consciousness went with it.

For every transmigrator, once they arrived in another world and became its one and only, a little excess pride was inevitable.

Yueshu wasn't the self-important type, but he couldn't help feeling a little of it.

He hadn't been all that proud, but when someone became the world's only transmigrator, knew how the future would unfold, and had a cheat that let them grow quickly, then anyone might develop an emotion called arrogance.

They thought they could look down on everything, believed they were gods in this world. Arrogantly, they thought they were the only players, and everyone else was just a game character.

Yueshu had entertained such thoughts a little, but not much. At this moment, that arrogance was shattered completely.

His vision was blurred, and his ears were silent.

His body felt wet and warm. Though Yueshu's head was already spinning, he knew—

Blood!

So much blood!

Against two rogue ninja who were close to Kage Level, if not already worthy of the title, Yueshu had used every trump card he had and still only managed to hold on for a little while.

"Not bad."

Who was that?

Yueshu gasped for breath.

"Little Konoha brat, whether you live or die is up to your own luck."

Who was that?

Yueshu lay on the ground with his cheek pressed against it, too weak to lift his head.

"Shouldn't we kill him?"

"What a vulgar thing to do."

"Hahaha, that's just like you, Senior Ono."

"Hmph. Let's go."

The voices around him echoed faintly.

"Let's see what Kurohane is up to."

"Looks like there's going to be a show."

His consciousness slowly faded, and the voices in his ears grew fainter.

The world gradually darkened. The next moment, a curtain of black fell over Yueshu's eyes—

"Little Konoha brat, whether you live or die is up to your own luck."

The familiar voice echoed in his ears, deep and steady. Just from its sound, he could tell its owner was a composed adult.

"Ah!"

Yueshu jolted awake.

Brilliant white light filled his vision, and for a moment he couldn't see a thing.

As the light slowly faded, Yueshu saw wood.

He was in a room with wooden furnishings, sitting on a bed.

"Where am I?"

Yueshu looked at his hands. They were wrapped in conspicuous bandages, with a little bright red seeping through.

I...

Yueshu clenched his fists.

The earlier scene came back to him.

He had been powerless, and his entire team had fallen into a desperate situation.

"Awake?"

As Yueshu's mind churned, a voice came from beside him.

A familiar voice.

Yueshu looked over. It was Jiraiya.

He was leaning against the doorway, looking as usual and nothing like the battered Yueshu.

But then again, how could someone called one of the Sannin be injured so easily, let alone seriously?

"They..."

Yueshu lowered his head.

"Are they all right?"

Yueshu kept his head down.

He hadn't protected any of them. Not a single one!

"Don't worry."

Jiraiya had somehow come up beside Yueshu and rapped him on the head with a karate chop.

"You and Minato were in the worst shape. Kushina and Mikoto are both fine, and Minato's still alive."

"A man shouldn't hang his head like that. Kushina and Mikoto escaped serious injury, and Minato's alive."

"That's all thanks to you."

Jiraiya explained gently, and Yueshu looked up at him.

"Wind Blade Sand Stone Needle and Earth Dragon Ono Stone. They're both Kage Level opponents, though not many people know it."

"So you held them off for so long. You worked hard."

Jiraiya ruffled Yueshu's hair.

"Sorry I got here late, Sensei."

Jiraiya's voice was surprisingly gentle.

Yueshu gritted his teeth, tears welling at the corners of his eyes.

Bitterness rose in his chest, and he clutched the blanket tightly.

The sunlight outside was lovely, shining on the two of them like a garment draped over them both.

Yueshu would never forget how he felt this time—not the bitterness, nor the warmth. He would never forget any of it.

Every step of a person's growth needed emotion to spur it on. It was these emotions that kept people moving forward, climbing ever higher.

Yueshu didn't want to see the future, and he would never treat the people here as game characters. This was the real world he lived in.