Ichi has never questioned why she exists.
She stands where she is placed. She sits when the bell rings. She looks toward whoever the light favors. The world moves in measured beats around her, structured and inevitable. The desks are arranged perfectly. The sunlight always falls at the same angle during morning scenes. The chalk dust glitters only when someone important speaks.
She does not have memories before this classroom.
She does not have a past.
She has positioning.
Third row. Left side. Near the window, but not near enough to catch attention. Close enough to fill space in wide shots.
Her face is unfinished. A pale oval where features should be. A faint, almost playful question mark sketched where identity should live.
Naruto Uzumaki stands on his desk, shouting that he will become Hokage.
The class laughs.
The laugh stretches.
The air thickens like a frame held too long.
Then the voice begins.
It is not Iruka's. It is not the Hokage's. It is not human in the room. It is everywhere at once—layered over the world like narration written into reality itself.
"Once upon a time, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox devastated the shinobi village of Konohagakure, and was only stopped when the village's leader, the Fourth Hokage, gave up his life to seal it within the body of an infant. Twelve years later, a young orphan boy named Naruto Uzumaki regularly pulls pranks and is constantly causing trouble around the village. The villagers dislike him for it, but having no parents or friends, Naruto craves even negative attention."
The faceless students do not move.
But something shifts inside them.
Inside her.
The words feel familiar in a way that is not native to this body.
She has heard this before.
Not here.
Not from within.
From outside.
From a screen.
From late nights and autoplay countdowns and comment sections scrolling too fast to read.
Naruto.
The realization fractures her.
The classroom flickers, and something overlays her vision.
Translucent. Blue-white. Sharp against the warm wood of the desks.
Viewer Count: 8,421,993
LIVE — Episode 1: Enter Naruto Uzumaki!
Chat: 43,902 messages/min
The messages stream downward, layered over the world but not touching it.
nostalgia_hurts: OH MY GOD IT'S EPISODE ONE
ramenlover99: look how tiny he is 😭
uchiha_supremacy: starting my 4th rewatch don't judge me
hokage_dreams: this opening narration still gives me chills
filler_skips_only: skip to zabuza arc pls
foxboy_defender: PROTECT HIM AT ALL COSTS
The numbers tick upward.
8,422,018.
8,422,311.
With every emotional spike, the count rises.
The scene resumes.
Naruto shouts again, unaware that millions are watching him.
Iruka scolds him.
Sasuke remains perfectly composed.
Rei Ichi's chest tightens.
She remembers watching this as a fan.
She remembers loving him.
The chat surges again as Naruto paints the Hokage Monument.
The Third Hokage appears.
The viewer count jumps violently.
9,103,554
The chat explodes.
lmaooo_paint: HE REALLY DID THAT
thirdhokage_defense: old man deserves better 😭
foxchaos: never change naruto
canon_enjoyer: this prank sets up his loneliness so well
ship_sasunarusaku: we are NOT starting ship wars in episode one
The air shifts again.
The arc ends.
It feels like a soft mechanical click inside reality.
And then—
Something impossible happens.
The world loosens.
Rei Ichi moves before the scene commands her to.
Just slightly. A twitch of her fingers.
She can move.
She can move outside the script.
A cold white interface slices across her vision.
System Activated.
Unit: Rei Ichi (零一)
Classification: Background Asset
Alignment: Canon Preservation
Mission 01: Exchange seating with Naruto Uzumaki.
Time Limit: 120 seconds.
Failure Result: Neural Overload.
A sharp static crackles at the base of her skull.
Not pain.
Warning.
The chat scroll continues, unaware.
classroom_vibes: look at all the random kids in the back lol
backgroundwatcher: animation team really said copy paste
waitwho: there's a weird faceless girl in the third row
glitchhunter: nah that's just old animation style
Her Focus indicator flickers faintly at the bottom of the overlay.
Focus: 0.4%
Too high.
Naruto storms into the classroom after being caught.
He is supposed to sit beside her.
If he does not—
The camera angle will change.
The dialogue timing will shift.
Canon will destabilize.
She rises slowly.
Extras never rise dramatically.
She stumbles just enough to intercept his path.
He bumps into her shoulder.
"Hey—watch it!"
He doesn't look twice.
There is nothing to see.
He takes her seat.
She slides into his.
The system hums.
Mission Complete.
Canon Stability: 99%.
The chat barely reacts.
narutobaby: classic naruto
sasuke_stan: look at sasuke not reacting at all
randomcomment123: background animation kinda cursed ngl
Her Focus dips.
0.2%
Safe.
Iruka calls students forward for the Transformation Technique.
Sasuke transforms perfectly.
Sakura follows.
The camera sharpens them.
The background blurs.
Rei Ichi feels relief as the blur settles over her like protection.
Naruto leaps forward.
"Sexy Technique!"
The Third Hokage's nosebleed.
The classroom's collective shock.
The viewer count spikes past ten million.
10,008,334
The chat floods so quickly she can barely read it.
shawdowhokage: ICONICCCCC
Rasenganrequim: lmaoooo this never gets old
lemon juice: Naruto invented fanservice
manga reader:third_hokage_down_bad
ratifier:why did they let this air for kids 😭
foxboy_protector: this is why we love him
Her Focus jumps unexpectedly.
0.9%
A message lingers longer than it should.
who_is_that: there's a girl behind naruto that keeps being in frame????
Her stomach drops.
She shifts behind another student's shoulder.
Angles herself so the camera would have to work to see her.
Focus lowers.
The message disappears into the flood.
After class, Naruto is ordered to clean the monument.
The system assigns her again.
Assist. Maintain invisibility.
She scrubs paint from stone in the background while Naruto grumbles.
The sunset bleeds across Konoha.
The chat softens.
piogfv: this scene hits different now
ramen-firevered:iruka is the only adult who cared
bigdaddy69:someone hug him
cafeupicion:imagine being hated for something you didn't choose
At Ichiraku, she stands beyond the lantern light.
Naruto speaks of becoming Hokage.
Iruka listens.
Viewer count climbs again.
11,402,771
mangaeyes: HE SAID IT
ninetailsfurry:he just wants acknowledgment 😭
shinobisoecter:future_hokage right there
jirayablueeyesfurry:this is why early naruto was peak
She feels something dangerous stirring inside her.
Affection.
She knows how much he will suffer.
She knows what the viewers do not yet see.
She must not interfere.
Final exam day.
Naruto fails the Clone Technique.
Iruka marks him as failed.
The system activates again.
Mission 02: Inform Mizuki of Naruto's location.
Objective: Preserve Scroll Theft Incident.
Time Limit: 300 seconds.
If Mizuki does not approach Naruto—
The Scroll of Seals is never stolen.
Shadow Clones are never learned.
The foundation of the series collapses.
She finds Mizuki in the training yard.
"Sensei," she says softly. "Naruto left alone."
He smiles.
The chat reacts before the scene even unfolds.
genjutsuweaver:mizuki SUS
Bosss_in_me:villain music starting
pettyrisks:bro about to manipulate a child
chidiroz: this guy always annoyed me
In the forest, Mizuki reveals the truth.
"You are the Nine-Tailed Fox!"
The viewer count spikes harder than before.
12,981,443
The chat becomes a storm.
Riceeater: HERE WE GO
jamesrussi:THIS REVEAL STILL HURTS
Babbygurl:iruka please
Lemonade:PROTECT HIM
foxboy_defender: someone fight me if you hate naruto
Iruka shields him.
Naruto reads the scroll.
Hundreds of Shadow Clones appear.
The clearing fills with him.
The audience erupts.
Stormbringer:SHADOW CLONE JUTSUUUU
reads:goosebumps every time
romanticrise:this is why he's the goat
crufcg:and it all started here
The system freezes her in place.
Autoplay Enabled. Observation Only.
She watches the canon lock into place.
Naruto defeats Mizuki.
Iruka ties his headband.
Music swells.
The viewer count steadies.
And then—
The system dims.
A whisper replaces text.
"Tutorial complete."
The credits begin to roll.
Music swells softly, the familiar ending theme wrapping around Konoha like a curtain being drawn closed.
The viewer count flickers one last time.
12,214,883
The chat slows.
episode one still perfect
iruka best sensei
starting ep 2 rn
nostalgia marathon begins
Then, without warning—
The stream shutters.
The comments freeze mid-scroll.
The viewer count dissolves into static.
And the overlay vanishes.
Silence falls over the classroom.
Not the natural quiet of evening.
Not the scripted fade of an episode transition.
This is deeper.
The world dims to greyscale outlines.
Like a draft layer beneath finished art.
Rei Ichi stands alone in the unfinished version of Konoha.
The desks are wireframes.
The walls are uncolored.
Naruto is gone.
Iruka is gone.
The light is gone.
Only she remains.
Then the system reappears.
But it is no longer minimal.
No longer clean.
No longer pretending to be neutral.
The white interface fractures into something layered and vast.
She sees threads.
Millions of them.
Running through the village.
Through every character.
Through every future tragedy.
Threads labeled:
CHŪNIN EXAM – HINATA DEATH FLAG (SUPPRESSED)
UCHIHA MASSACRE – LOCKED EVENT
PAIN INVASION – HIGH ENGAGEMENT SPIKE
FOURTH WAR – PEAK VIEWERSHIP PROJECTION
The system speaks.
Not in text.
In something older.
"Viewer phase complete. Tutorial concluded."
The illusion of the livestream was bait.
Engagement was measurement.
She understands now.
The chat was not merely watching.
It was feeding.
Every spike in emotion strengthens the narrative gravity.
Every tear strengthens inevitability.
Canon is not story.
Canon is structure.
And structure resists disruption.
Seven lights flare into existence around her.
Seven signatures.
Different colors.
Red pulses violently.
Purple writhes like smoke.
Gold flickers erratically.
Green fractures in jagged bursts.
Each one labeled.
System: Destruction Path
Objective: Accelerate catastrophic deviation.
System: Corruption Path
Objective: Alter character morality thresholds.
System: Rewrite Path
Objective: Replace primary protagonist arc.
System: Redemption Path
Objective: Prevent canon deaths.
System: Ascension Path
Objective: Insert new protagonist hierarchy.
System: Collapse Path
Objective: Trigger premature ending.
System: Preservation Path
Objective: Maintain Canon Integrity.
Her light glows blue.
Preservation.
The whisper deepens.
"There are seven reincarnated entities currently embedded within narrative space."
Seven others.
Seven former viewers.
Each assigned a directive.
Each believing they are chosen.
Each operating alone.
Some will try to save Neji.
Some will try to stop the Uchiha massacre.
Some will try to romance Sasuke.
Some will try to kill Danzo early.
Some will try to expose secrets before their time.
They will call it justice.
They will call it mercy.
They will call it improvement.
But deviation feeds instability.
Instability summons correction.
And correction is merciless.
The system expands further, revealing its true layer.
Behind every thread of canon—
There is a blade.
A failsafe.
If deviation exceeds threshold—
Event Override activates.
Character elimination.
Arc collapse.
World reset.
And something worse.
"Non-compliant Systems will be neutralized."
The words settle coldly.
Not just the reincarnated players.
Their systems too.
Destroy the corrupters.
Destroy the rewriters.
Destroy the saviors.
The preservation unit is not passive.
It is a hunter.
Her role clarifies with brutal precision.
She is not here merely to keep the story intact.
She is here to eliminate threats to it.
If someone prevents a canon death—
She must reintroduce it.
If someone strengthens a villain too early—
She must weaken them.
If someone inserts themselves into emotional center—
She must push them back into obscurity.
And if they refuse—
The system will authorize correction.
The seven colored signals flicker again.
She feels them now.
In different corners of the village.
One near the Uchiha district.
One near the Hyūga compound.
One dangerously close to Naruto himself.
They are moving.
Testing.
Learning their powers.
Believing they can win against fate.
The whisper softens, but becomes sharper.
"You are not allies."
"You are not team members."
"You are counterbalances."
"If canon destabilizes, eliminate source."
A new interface appears.
Not a mission.
A mandate.
Primary Directive:
Ensure narrative continuity.
Neutralize unauthorized deviations.
Prevent alternate endings.
Allow scheduled tragedy.
Allow scheduled growth.
Allow scheduled war.
The story must proceed.
The greyscale world begins regaining color.
The credits music resumes faintly in the distance.
The episode boundary reforms.
Soon the livestream will activate again.
The chat will return.
The viewers will never know the war unfolding beneath their nostalgia.
Rei Ichi stands in the half-formed classroom and understands something final.
She is not the protagonist.
She is not the villain.
She is not even a side character.
She is maintenance.
A structural necessity.
And somewhere in Konoha—
Seven others believe they are here to change everything.
She exhales slowly.
Her Focus meter reappears faintly as the next episode prepares to load.
Focus: 0.0%
Invisible.
Perfect.
The whisper fades into a final instruction.
"Preserve the pain."
"Preserve the growth."
"Preserve the ending."
"Destroy anything that threatens it."
The chat interface flickers back online as Episode Two initializes.
The viewer count climbs again.
And Rei Ichi lowers her head, blending seamlessly into the background—
Ready to protect a story that does not know she exists.
Even if she must erase others who once loved it.