Tomorrow, I Die—So I Connected with My Pirate Buddy

Year 43 of Hidden Leaf, late autumn.

Withered yellow leaves swirled through the streets of Konohagakure in the cold wind.

The streets were far quieter than usual.

A faint scent of blood still lingered in the air.

It had been brought back by the wounded retreating from the front lines.

Qian Ye leaned against the wall of his cramped single dorm room, watching the falling leaves outside the window as he let out a long sigh.

He had transmigrated.

No wealthy family background.

No bloodline limit.

He did not even have a proper surname.

The original owner had been an orphan, a civilian Genin who had just graduated from the Konohagakure Ninja Academy and had turned twelve this year.

In this dangerous world, where Kage-level fighters were everywhere and Jonin filled the streets, a civilian Genin who only knew the Three Body Techniques was not even important enough to serve as cannon fodder.

Worse still, the shadow of the Third Shinobi World War had already descended over Hidden Leaf.

Undercurrents churned through the village, while news from the strained front lines grew more frequent by the day.

And half an hour ago, Yamada, a Chunin captain, had brought him a message.

"Qian Ye, gather at the village entrance at six tomorrow morning."

"You've been assigned to the Third Logistics Supply Brigade. You'll be transporting Explosive Tags to the Kikyo Pass front lines."

The Kikyo Pass front lines.

The place where Sunagakure and Hidden Leaf were fighting most fiercely.

They called it logistical supply, but who did not know that Sunagakure's puppet masters loved nothing more than cutting Hidden Leaf's supply lines?

The original owner had heard that news and promptly died of fright, his heart stopping on the spot.

Then Qian Ye arrived.

This beginning could not even be called hellish.

Even hell would shake its head at it.

It was not as though Qian Ye had not considered protesting.

But Captain Yamada's gaze had been too cold.

It was not the look he gave a living person.

It was more like he was looking at a completed casualty report.

Qian Ye forcibly swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

Yamada was not deliberately targeting him.

Qian Ye understood that perfectly well.

Yamada came from a declining minor family in Hidden Leaf.

The casualties at the front had been too severe, and the higher-ups had issued a strict order: every squad had to provide people to fill the gaps.

If Yamada did not send a backgroundless civilian orphan like Qian Ye, then he would have to send his own nephew to the front lines.

Between blood relatives and a stranger with no family, Yamada had made the most realistic choice.

He was not purely evil.

He simply wanted to protect his family.

But that kind of "understandable" choice was fatal when it landed on Qian Ye.

Others protected their families.

He was the one sent to his death.

"This really is a hellish start..."

Qian Ye rubbed his throbbing temples, feeling his heartbeat race faster than usual.

Just then, a burst of commotion suddenly rose from the village.

Qian Ye pushed open the window and looked outside.

Several villagers had gathered at a street corner, pointing toward the distance.

"Is that Sakumo Hatake? I heard he abandoned an important mission to save his companions!"

"What shamelessness. He caused the village such huge losses, and he still has the nerve to show his face?"

"What White Fang of Konoha? I think he's the disgrace of Hidden Leaf!"

The ugly insults drifted into the room on the cold wind.

Qian Ye froze for a moment.

Then he realized what was happening.

So this was that point in time.

The White Fang of Konoha, Sakumo Hatake.

For abandoning his mission to save his companions, he was now suffering the condemnation of the entire village.

According to the original plot, this top-tier powerhouse, whom even the legendary Sannin had to avoid, would soon be driven to suicide by rumors and the higher-ups fanning the flames.

Qian Ye fell silent.

The higher-ups' suppression of the White Fang could not be summed up with a simple word like "evil."

Sakumo Hatake's prestige was too great.

So great that it even surpassed the Hokage's.

During this special period, with war clouds looming overhead, a hero who was uncontrollable, immensely respected, and insistent on following his own judgment was a huge destabilizing factor to Hidden Leaf's leadership.

Danzo needed an obedient blade.

The Third Hokage also needed the village's power structure to remain stable.

And the White Fang was not a blade that could be casually gripped in someone's hand.

So they tacitly allowed this siege to happen.

No blades. No jutsu.

Just words, one after another, were enough to force a hero onto a dead end.

"Even someone like the White Fang can be driven to death."

Qian Ye gave a bitter laugh and closed the window.

"If a small fry like me goes to the front lines, I probably won't even make a splash."

He could barely save himself. How could he have the mind to care whether the White Fang lived or died?

Qian Ye even seriously considered something.

What if he defected overnight?

But the moment the thought surfaced, he rejected it himself.

Right now, he was only a freshly graduated Genin.

Leaving Hidden Leaf would also mean death.

Staying meant waiting to die.

Running away meant throwing himself into death.

He was screwed either way.

Just as Qian Ye felt like his brain was about to start smoking, a crisp mechanical voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Ding! The Cross-Border Brothers Mutual Aid Group has been activated!]

[Detecting soul binding of the host. Searching for bonds in other worlds...]

[Search successful! Your diehard fan and brother Zhao Hai has joined the group chat!]

Qian Ye froze completely.

Zhao Hai?

Was that not his best friend from Earth—the guy who had stayed up gaming with him and skipped class to hang out at internet cafés with him?

The next second, a translucent blue virtual screen appeared before his eyes.

The interface looked incredibly familiar.

It was practically identical to the chat apps from his previous life.

There were only two people in the group chat.

Before Qian Ye could react, a message popped up in the chat box.

[Zhao Hai]: "Holy crap! Qian Ye? Is that you, son?!"

Seeing that infuriatingly familiar opening line, Qian Ye's eye twitched.

Yet a surge of wild joy rose in his heart.

A living person.

Someone familiar.

And that same bastard who tried to take advantage of him the moment he opened his mouth.

[Qian Ye]: "You're the son! Did you fucking transmigrate too?"

[Zhao Hai]: "Does anyone get this?! Last night, I was still grinding the One Piece mobile game in my dorm. When I woke up, someone kicked me awake and told me to scrub the deck!"

[Zhao Hai]: "I fucking transmigrated into the One Piece world! I'm a menial Marine recruit at the 16th Branch in East Blue now!"

[Zhao Hai]: "That bastard Captain Nezumi even docked my lunch just now!"

Qian Ye sucked in a sharp breath when he saw that.

The One Piece world?

Captain Nezumi?

Was that not the corrupt Marine scum from the Arlong arc?

Damn.

He had started as Hidden Leaf cannon fodder.

Zhao Hai had started as a Marine errand boy.

The two brothers were truly a pair of unlucky bastards.

[Qian Ye]: "Brother, your start isn't much better than mine. I transmigrated into the Naruto world—Konohagakure, civilian Genin."

[Zhao Hai]: "Naruto?! Holy shit, isn't that your home turf? You're a hardcore Naruto player!"

[Zhao Hai]: "Hurry up and get me a Rinnegan to play with!"

[Qian Ye]: "Play with your grandfather! I'm trash who can't even use the Fireball Jutsu."

[Qian Ye]: "And I'm being sent to the front lines as cannon fodder tomorrow."

[Qian Ye]: "I'm sweating buckets, guys. I don't think I'll survive three episodes."

[Zhao Hai]: "For real? That bad? Then what do we do now? What does this group even do?"

Only then did Qian Ye force himself to calm down and begin studying the [Cross-Border Brothers Mutual Aid Group].

Very quickly, he spotted a "Group Announcement" in the upper-right corner of the interface.

[Group Function Description:]

[1. Barrier-Free Communication: Group members may communicate through text and voice at any time.]

[2. Material Exchange (Lv1): Each day, inanimate objects weighing no more than 5 kg may be transmitted across worlds. Living creatures cannot be transmitted.]

[3. Upgrade Mechanism: Altering major plot developments in one's world grants deviation points, which can be used to upgrade the group chat and unlock higher permissions.]

After reading it, Qian Ye's breathing grew heavy.

Up to five kilograms of inanimate objects could be transmitted every day.

The restriction did not seem like much.

But between the Naruto and One Piece worlds, it meant something entirely different.

Kunai, Military Ration Pills, ninjutsu scrolls.

Flintlock guns, Marine sabers, Seastone, even future Devil Fruits.

As long as they could get their hands on them, exchange would be possible.

More importantly, changing major plot developments could earn deviation points and upgrade the group chat.

In other words, this was not merely a chat tool.

It was the only chance for the two cannon fodders to turn things around.

[Qian Ye]: "Old Zhao, this group can send things across worlds! Five kilograms a day!"

[Zhao Hai]: "For real?! Does that mean you can send Naruto ninjutsu to me, and I can send One Piece Devil Fruits to you?"

[Qian Ye]: "In theory, yes."

[Qian Ye]: "But first, we have to get them."

[Qian Ye]: "I'm broke as hell right now, and you're just a menial recruit. Where are we supposed to get Devil Fruits?"

The chat box fell silent for two seconds.

Then Zhao Hai sent a message.

[Zhao Hai]: "Damn, that's hard to judge!"

Qian Ye stared at the screen and fell silent as well.

One of them was delivering Explosive Tags to the front lines tomorrow.

The other was being targeted by Captain Nezumi today.

The Cross-Border Mutual Aid Group had been activated.

But the problem was—

Between the two of them, they still could not seem to piece together even one proper thigh to cling to.