"This system's got to be insane."
Kagero felt his heart sink within him, it thrummed like a beating drum with the acoustics of both fear and excitement, as he read the impossibility of the task set before him.
But before he continued reading the blue tab.
Whoom!
A large gust of wind billowed over his eyes, slapping him with a cruel realization.
"Wait a hot minute." Kagero spun in the air from the velocity at which he descended. "I'm still in the air!"
He swayed his arms desperately like a penguin aiming to fly, all to no avail.
Kagero was getting closer and closer to the ground, and in any moment, he would be a human pancake. Flat, but far from being tasty.
"I'm gonna die!" He exclaimed, before biting onto his lips and slapping the cowardice out of his face.
Taking a page out of the flying squirrel's book, he spread his arms out, and widened his legs in a bid to slow down his descent.
Kagero had seen it countless times before in movies, how the characters would stretch their bodies like chewed up gum to decrease their fast descent.
But movies and the real world were quite different.
"Huh?" Kagero's eyes widened. "It's not working!"
He was now so close to the ground that he could clearly make out the architecture of the buildings beneath him, and gauging by his current speed, a crash against that or the floor guaranteed instant death.
"Don't tell me I'm gonna die just after getting here?!"
Like a weightless leaf in the hands of a storm, the wind casually tumbled Kagero around, its heaviness toying with him like a plaything.
Now being just a few moments away from disaster, Kagero shut his eyes, awaiting the grueling pain of shattering bones to follow suit.
[System Synchronization]
{Shinobi's Build}
"[Reinforcing The Host's Body]"
{Ninjutsu Specialist}
"[Modifying The Host's Chakra Pathways]"
Like a bolt of lightning, Kagero crashed onto the roof, his legs skidding through the roof's shingles as he slid uncontrollably through them.
CRASH!
He fell onto the hard floor, rubbing his posterior with a sour look on his face.
Kagero then observed his surroundings lazily. The streets stood bare, and the buildings seemed empty.
With all this in mind, he didn't need an oracle to know that the area had been cleared of its residents due to the Ninetails attack.
But right now, there was only one question that constantly weighed on his mind.
"I'm— alive?"
"[Yes]" A feminine, yet unsettlingly inhuman voice rang through his mind, answering his question.
It was the voice of the system.
"[I've amplified your physique to rival that of a top tier Ninja]" The system continued.
"[And I've strengthened your chakra pathways to be compatible with any jutsu of your elemental affiliation]"
The voice seemed to take a pause before continuing.
"[However, given the fact that your body is that of a twelve year old— I could only do so much]"
She finished, her tone seemingly adopting a hint of disappointment during her last statement.
Kagero's eyes gleamed with excitement, his gaze shifting to his body before switching to the blue screen.
"Wow."
He confessed, getting up to his feet.
"That will definitely help me in getting the hell outta this village."
An emotionless smile spread across his face, his words leaving even the System shocked.
"[…]"
"…"
"[You plan to run?]"
"Yes." He answered plainly.
"[A lot of people will die if you do]"
"I know." Kagero's eyes remained emotionless, answering every question with swift apathy.
"[I just thought you would be a bit more excited—]"
"Excited about dying?!" Kagero interrupted the system, his cool demeanor crashing down as he wore an irritated expression on his face.
"I just got here from dying— a very painful death mind you, and you already want me to get myself killed again?"
He pointed at the impossible objectives on the blue screen.
"No thank you!"
He turned away from the screen in a fit of fury, but his retreat was interrupted by a chilling warning.
"[You can't leave.]" The formerly nimble voice suddenly darkened with a cold and imperative tone.
"[If you do— You'll die.]"
Kagero had seen it all too well.
As an Otaku, it was only befitting that he'd read every trending niche he could get his hands on. And one of those niches was the System troupe.
A type of story that brought a charismatic and fresh feel to writing, making it widely beloved.
But on the other side of that coin, stood a theme that he and a lot of others hated to its very core.
One that involuntarily shoved tasks down the player's throat and threatened them with harsh penalties.
System Slavery.
Kagero's eyes traveled to the penalty tab on the blue screen, his demeanor darkening as he read it plainly.
'[Failure Penalty: Death]'
"You've got to be kidding me." Kagero glued his face to the screen as though chatting with someone through a dimensional mirror.
"Isn't this slavery at this point?"
The system interrupted his cries, her voice reverting back to its softer tone.
"[Well, not exactly.]" It began its explanation.
"[Think about it like this. If you fail to stop the Ninetails, given your location, you will most likely be caught up in one of its attacks—]"
"[And do you really think escaping Konoha will be that easy?]" It paused, making sure its words sunk in.
"[When their scouts get a whiff of you trying to sneak away from the village, it's straight to the interrogation room.]"
She paused, letting her words sink in.
"[And we both know that most people don't get out of there alive.]"
"[But should you succeed in preventing the grim fate of the village— that's an outcome whose merit is unfathomable.]"
The System finally paused, giving Kagero a moment to compose his thoughts before concluding.
"[So pick your poison— and pick it well.]"
Kagero rubbed his eyes in thought, ruffling through his hair in frustration.
He was picking between death or possible death. But one would at least give him a fighting chance.
Kagero bit into his lip, drawing a few droplets of blood as a pained smile spread across his face.
Staring at the screen, the reflection of his fizzog could be clearly seen.
Blue eyes that gleamed like polished sapphire jewels, and crimson red hair that spiked upwards were the highlights of his face.
In truth, he was no longer Jack anymore. He didn't bear his past's burdens, nor his identity.
Right now, he could start afresh.
And he knew just where to begin.
Was he going to keep on running even in his new life? Was he going to ignore the opportunities set before him just because of the fear of failure?
That was how he lived in his old life and all it cashed out was a reality of misery and regret.
'Not anymore.'
Kagero took in a panicked breath.
He stared at the ghostly monstrosity that wreaked havoc in the distance, then read through the blue screen once more.
{Objective: Stop the Ninetails attack against Konoha and foil the Masked Man's plans.}
Based on everything that was going on in the village, he was sure that this was the night of the Ninetails' attack.
The night when the Hokage died, and the trajectory of the village was changed forever.
As a Naruto fanatic, he knew the who, how and where of the story. So maybe, just maybe there was a very minuscule chance of success.
Kagero's panicked smile transformed into a shrewd smirk, his blue eyes gleaming like polished diamonds as he stared at the hokage figures that laid etched into the mountains.
"I have a plan."