Uzumaki Naruto still hadn't figured out what was going on in the classroom. When he saw Iruka-sensei storm out, he assumed the lecture was over.
"Hey! What are you all standing around for?!" Naruto shouted, grinning. "Iruka-sensei already left—doesn't that mean it's break time?!"
With that, Naruto hopped straight onto his desk.
Across the room, Uchiha Sasuke didn't relax in the slightest. His grip tightened around the kunai in his hand, eyes scanning the classroom with sharp focus.
"…Idiot," he muttered.
Before Naruto could celebrate any further, Haruno Sakura marched over, fury written all over her face. Naruto's eyes lit up instantly when he saw her approaching.
"Sakura—!"
BANG!
Sakura leapt up and slammed her fist down onto Naruto's head.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" she shouted. "Be quiet! Ito Akira has disappeared!"
"Wha—?! Sakura, what was that for?!" Naruto yelped, clutching his head."That hurt! And wait—what did you just say? Who disappeared?!"
Naruto froze, then slowly turned his head toward Akira's desk.
"…Akira?"
"He's gone!" Sakura snapped. "So sit down and stay quiet! Iruka-sensei went to inform the Hokage!"
Naruto stared at the empty seat in disbelief.
Akira was one of the few people who had ever treated him normally. He'd never looked at Naruto like he was a monster. He'd even shared food with him.
How could he just… vanish?
Not long after, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage, arrived at the classroom with Iruka close behind him. The Hokage's expression was grave.
Iruka had already explained everything on the way here, and Hiruzen had formed his own conclusion.
"Did anyone witness what happened?" Hiruzen asked calmly.
Yamanaka Ino hesitantly raised her hand.
"Hokage-sama… I saw it. Iruka-sensei was explaining summoning theory and seal sequences. Then Akira started forming hand seals at his desk, and—there was a burst of smoke. He disappeared."
Hiruzen and Iruka exchanged a look.
They spoke in unison.
"Reverse Summoning."
"Iruka," Hiruzen said quietly.
"Yes, Hokage-sama?"
"Go and inform Ito Aoyama. He's Akira's father—and the head of the Ito clan. Reverse summoning has no fixed destination. We don't know where Akira was sent… or whether he can return."
"I understand," Iruka replied immediately.
Once Iruka left, Hiruzen took out his pipe and lit it slowly. His gaze lingered on Akira's empty seat.
Jiraiya…
Long ago, one of his own students had been accidentally reverse-summoned to Mount Myōboku. That mistake had changed the course of Jiraiya's life—and the ninja world itself.
Could this boy… also have encountered such a fate?
At the same time, Ito Akira stood frozen in an unfamiliar space.
Thick mist surrounded him in every direction. There was no sky. No sun. No visible source of light—only endless darkness and a bone-deep chill.
"…What just happened?" Akira muttered."Don't tell me I was reverse-summoned…?"
He looked around frantically.
"A sacred land? But there are no toads. No slugs. No snakes. Nothing!"
"How am I supposed to get back?!"
A calm, mechanical voice echoed through the void.
[Host detected. System binding successful.][Host location confirmed: Konohagakure.][Binding: Konoha's deceased—initiated.][Binding complete.]
"…Wait. System?" Akira froze."A system?!"
"What's going on?! Why am I suddenly bound to something?!""And where am I right now?!""What do you mean by 'binding the deceased of Konoha'?!"
[The host was originally designated as deceased.][In the original causal flow, the host was stillborn and should have entered the world of the dead.][An anomaly occurred when the system detected the host's continued existence.][System expended energy to breach the boundary between realms and forcibly bind to the host.]
Akira's mind went blank.
So that was it.
In the original timeline, he wasn't supposed to exist at all.
Because of his reincarnation, he had survived—and the system, mistaking him for a dead soul, had gone looking for him in the wrong world.
"…Then what kind of system are you?" Akira asked slowly.
[This system was originally designated as a Prosperity System: "Many Children, Many Blessings."][Due to excessive energy consumption while assimilating the world of the dead, original functions are no longer available.][System has undergone mutation.][Current function: Summoning System.][The dead may be bound as summons under the host's command.]
Akira sighed.
"…That's a shame."
Still—
"System," he said seriously, "does this mean I'm in the world of the dead right now?"
[Correct.][The host was reverse-summoned here during summoning practice.][The world of the dead has been successfully bound to the host.]
"Hold on," Akira said quickly."You just said I was bound to Konoha's dead. How did that turn into the entire world of the dead?"
[Because the host is currently a resident of Konohagakure.][The host may currently summon only deceased ninja of Konohagakure.][If the host gains authority over the entire shinobi world, full access to the world of the dead will be unlocked.]
"…I see," Akira murmured."That makes sense."
"Alright then. Explain your functions."
[System Type: Summoning System.][Summons are deceased ninja classified by strength.]
White Rank — Genin-level summonsGreen Rank — Chūnin-level summonsBlue Rank — Jōnin-level summonsPurple Rank — Elite Jōnin-level summonsGold Rank — Kage-level summons
Akira exhaled slowly.
"…This just escalated."