Universe 7, southern North Galaxy, Earth.
It was a blue Planet. A... low-level Planet, no more than a speck in the vast universe.
In a world where star systems were destroyed and the universe itself could be torn apart, Earth was a tiny boat tossed in raging seas.
But that was precisely why
Earth, with its scarce resources and humans whose average combat power was below ten,
had become a haven.
For now, at least.
Buzz—
A faint ripple passed through space.
A man and a woman appeared silently in the sky.
The man was barely twenty. He had a well-proportioned build and wore a tailored navy high-collared jacket. His hair and eyes were black, and his eyes curved gently at the corners.
A warm smile seemed to rest permanently on his handsome face, putting people at ease.
At the very least, anyone's first impression of him would be: What a gentle person.
"Though this isn't the Earth I knew, it still feels a little familiar..."
The man gazed at the crisscrossing fields in the distant Plains, the rumbling farm machinery, and the golden wheat. For the first time, he felt as though he had come home.
Unfortunately,
the feeling was incomplete.
"Compared with the Shinobi World's dark, oppressive stillness, this place does help you relax. It's a shame it's actually even more dangerous than the Shinobi World..."
"Damn it."
He shook his head helplessly, lowered his gaze, and clenched his fist.
Chakra flowed through him.
Its form of energy had not changed, but... he had yet to encounter Ki and analyze its nature.
That would take time.
"Shinji..."
As he pondered, a cool but faintly gentle woman's voice came from beside him.
He turned to look.
The woman wore a moon-white jacket and fitted trousers of the same color,