Chapter 2: The Reincarnation Game Begins
"Compared to ordinary civilians, trained shinobi possess excellent combat capabilities and battlefield experience, even without considering their physical prowess. They're the most suitable candidates to become the first batch of players."
Fang Yi explained this to the confused silver-haired loli in front of him. "All five great Hidden Villages must receive equal treatment. We need to maintain an absolutely neutral stance. That means we must operate openly, making a grand spectacle. Only then will the schemers hesitate to make a move."
The silver-haired loli wore a look of innocent awe, a little dumb but also kind of cute. She said, "The Game Tower can produce one hundred artificial bodies per cycle for recruited players. Once upgraded, it can recruit three hundred players at a time."
"We don't need that many players at the beginning." Fang Yi shook his head with a smile. "When the battle starts, the first shot is usually fired into the sky—not to destroy the source of corruption, but to announce to the shinobi world..."
"We're here!"
Though he hadn't approached Konoha Village during his five years in this world, he'd picked up quite a bit from traveling merchants and was well-informed about major events in the shinobi world.
The once-powerful Uchiha clan had been annihilated, and the clan's last remaining heir had just graduated from the Ninja Academy.
This was a rare time of peace in the shinobi world.
If war were raging, it might take more effort. But now? It would be a piece of cake to stir up chaos and draw everyone's attention to the Reincarnation Game.
The silver-haired loli nodded blankly and asked, "Master, which corruption source should we release first?"
Fang Yi thought for a moment. "These two should do. Their strength barely qualifies as Tier 2—Count Klar, a Vampire Baron from the Bloodborne Castle faction, and Sarina the Wraith Sorceress from the Underworld."
Two corruption sources.
Not only did each fight on their own, but they also came with countless accompanying monsters, like common mobs in a game, protecting their powerful overlords.
Only by completely eliminating the corruption source could the spawning of accompanying monsters be halted.
The artificial bodies just created were extremely weak. Naturally, the weaker enemies should be targeted first. Lower-tier corruption sources would also spawn weaker mobs—easier for early players to deal with.
[Tier 2 Corruption Source Unlocked: Wraith Sorceress]
[Tier 2 Corruption Source Unlocked: Vampire Baron Klar]
[Welcome to the Reincarnation Game!]
...
Novice Village.
In truth, it was a fabricated space.
Like a forest of steel, buildings made from pipes and metal stood everywhere. There were sand castles designed to resist dust storms, stone structures embedded into cliffs—each region even had distinct weather patterns.
The entire Novice Village was about the size of an amusement park and had cost Fang Yi a whopping 100,000 reward points.
It served as a transit hub.
The Novice Village was a safe zone. Stepping out of the safe area led to adjacent corruption zones—the wild maps.
A wooden door creaked open.
"What's going on?"
Uzumaki Naruto scratched his messy blond hair, looking around in confusion.
He had just eaten his fill and stepped out of the ramen shop when a towering black spire appeared before him, followed by a strange voice echoing in his head.
The next moment, he found himself in this small, narrow room.
Others who had experienced the same thing also stepped out, exchanging bewildered glances.
"Damn it! Are the Barrier Corps all idiots? How did an enemy sneak into the village!?"
"To trap us in an illusion without us noticing... Who was it?!"
Most of those shouting were shinobi.
The Five Great Hidden Villages had deep foundations. Even during the Great Ninja Wars, the villages themselves were always the safest places.
Naturally, they assumed a spy had infiltrated and trapped them in a genjutsu. They angrily cursed the Barrier Corps, blaming them for failing their duty.
...
"This can't be undone? How is that possible?"
Kabuto Yakushi lowered his head, adjusting his glasses with a faint touch of cold sweat.
Outwardly, he was a low-ranking Konoha genin. In truth, he was a double agent. Among jōnin across all nations, his true strength was top-tier.
Who was targeting him?
Even more terrifying—he could already sense something was wrong with his body.
"I can't use ninjutsu... My chakra is gone?"
He clasped his hands together, trying to sense chakra—but found nothing.
It didn't feel like chakra was sealed—it felt like this was an entirely new body that had never cultivated chakra at all.
Had he been exposed?
Kabuto gave a bitter smile.
For someone like him, a rat lurking in the shadows, exposure meant death.
"Who is that?"
"A massive energy source... Is someone casting a jutsu?"
Shouts of shock echoed around.
Kabuto looked up and was equally stunned.
A colossal figure radiating golden light, like a blazing sun, slowly took form. It coalesced into a young man clad in an aristocratic robe.
All eyes turned to him.
"Players, congratulations. By successfully logging into the game, you now have the opportunity to change your destiny."
Fang Yi spread his arms wide, looking down upon the first batch of players in the Novice Village.
"Cut the nonsense. Who the hell are you?"
A cautious shinobi shouted toward the sky.
"I am the developer of the Reincarnation Game. You are the first players I've chosen."
"Have you heard of noble hunting games? Whoever manages to hunt powerful beasts wins the wager—a bottle of fine wine, or a chest of gold and jewels..."
Fang Yi spoke calmly, his voice reaching every corner of the village.
"You want us to play your silly game?" a shinobi growled, glaring fiercely.
"A silly game?" Fang Yi shook his head. "What if the prize… is your destiny?"
"Power to rival nations, strength to conquer the shinobi world, eternal life, the ability to revive the dead, freedom from the chains that bind you… Those who participate in this game can win the ultimate bet—the right to change their fate."
His words were slow and measured, but they made everyone hold their breath.
"Tch, lately there's been a mysterious group moving around claiming their leader is a god. Could it be you?"
"Eternal life and resurrection? Not even the Sage of Six Paths could do that! You think you can manipulate people with such nonsense?"
Several shinobi snapped out of their daze and sneered loudly, trying to prevent their comrades from being swayed.
"No problem."
Fang Yi wasn't angry at being doubted. He smiled. "It's a game. Players always have the right to decline. If anyone wants to leave, just think 'exit game' in your mind, and you'll return to the real world."
"Or walk out of the Novice Village. If you die in the game, you'll also return to reality."
"You can leave just like that?"
Countless players were stunned.
This mysterious figure in the sky had just unleashed a massive-scale jutsu, yet now he was letting them go so easily?
The shinobi hesitated. But many civilians, hearing they could leave freely, immediately thought "exit game" in their hearts.
A soft white glow appeared, enveloping some of the players.
Five seconds later, those who chose to exit vanished from the spot and returned to the real world.
With such freedom—no chains, no restrictions—even many shinobi who had wanted to leave now began to hesitate.
They weren't fools.
Whether it was genjutsu or a space-time jutsu like reverse summoning, something of this scale had to be backed by an incredibly powerful shinobi or organization.
They even spotted elite shinobi from other nations among the participants.
Such a feat wasn't something a minor nation could pull off.
The shinobi who had questioned Fang Yi weren't simple-minded. They were testing his attitude.
Now that they saw he posed no immediate threat, there was no way they would just leave.
...
"Who's really behind this? Could the mastermind be the most powerful village, Konoha?"
Samui leaned against the door behind her, arms crossed beneath her ample chest, accentuated by her black fishnet undershirt.
She stayed calm. Her long, pale legs looked relaxed, but she was ready to spring into action at any moment.
No matter what, she had to investigate—at the very least, gather enough intelligence about the Reincarnation Game.
And she wasn't alone.
This was the shared consensus among most of the shinobi.
Among the Five Great Nations' ninja, aside from a few scatterbrained individuals, most shinobi weren't just fighters—they were also skilled intelligence operatives.
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