Chapter 1 — Simultaneous Transmigration Activated, but the Other Me Is Already Dead
At the barrier gate of Konohagakure, Land of Fire.
Tetsuya's expression did not look good.
One minute earlier—
"I'm sorry. Your qualifications don't meet the requirements of the Gate Guard Squad. Train for a few more years and come back."
Kamizuki Izumo, wearing a shinobi cap with brown hair hanging down to cover half his face, rejected Tetsuya's request without a trace of emotion.
In truth, Tetsuya had already expected this outcome. He had only come with a sliver of hope, making one last futile attempt.
As a graduate of the previous year's Ninja Academy class, Tetsuya was the textbook definition of cannon fodder—civilian-born, both parents dead. Aside from the Chakra Extraction Technique and the Three Basic Techniques taught at the academy, plus a decent level of shurikenjutsu for a genin, he had nothing else worth mentioning.
Though never explicitly stated, the Gate Guard Squad—being the face of Konoha—was composed entirely of chūnin. There was no way they would accept a packhorse genin like Tetsuya.
As for the chūnin instructor assigned to him upon graduation, that man was already resting in Konoha's Memorial Stone. Who could have predicted that a routine bandit suppression mission would run into rogue shinobi? Caught off guard by an ambush, the chūnin instructor perished alongside the rogue ninja backing the bandits. Of Tetsuya's two teammates, one died and the other was gravely injured, leaving him utterly alone.
Most crucial of all—just one day ago, the future Seventh Hokage and savior of the world, Uzumaki Naruto, had successfully graduated from the academy.
That meant the Konoha Crush, the Pain Invasion, and the Fourth Great Ninja War would follow one after another.
How to survive had become Tetsuya's greatest problem.
Applying to join the Gate Guard Squad had originally been one of his best options to continue as a shinobi. As long as he avoided the key events of the Konoha Crush, the Gate Guard Squad was relatively safe. Even if the "filial son" returned to the village, at worst he'd only take a genjutsu. As for the Pain Invasion, they didn't even come through the main gate—and even Shinra Tensei, which destroyed the village, hadn't reached this area.
Since that path was blocked, becoming a guard for the Fire Daimyō was even more impossible. The Twelve Guardian Ninja were at least jōnin-level, and Tetsuya wasn't the Hokage's son Asuma. Approaching the Fire Daimyō without Konoha's approval would likely get him labeled a spy and cut down on the spot.
It seemed there was only one road left—
Fully leverage his pretty-boy advantage and marry into Ichiraku Ramen.
Tetsuya touched his handsome face. He should be Ayame's type, right?
In this world of five-village brawls and legendary eyeballs, even staying alive wasn't easy. Only by sticking close to the Ōtsutsuki Ichiraku—who survived all the way into the Boruto era—could he gain even a fragile sense of security.
Ding!
Just as Tetsuya was about to accept his fate, a crisp sound rang in his ears, igniting hope in his eyes.
[Simultaneous Transmigration Chat Group loading complete. Ability sharing among members activated.]
[Current online members: 1.]
[Unread messages detected in the chat group. Open them?]
Several lines of information surfaced in Tetsuya's mind, halting his steps toward Ichiraku Ramen. Without drawing attention, he turned and headed down another road.
A standalone, two-story old house, roughly fifty to sixty square meters—his parents' only inheritance.
Inside the room, Tetsuya, slightly trembling with excitement, sank his consciousness into his mind.
"Anyone there?"
"I actually ended up in the insane Beyonder world of Lord of the Mysteries. I've become a Sequence 9 Seer. Just say the word and you can share in Beyonder powers…"
"Damn it. I've already advanced to demigod, and this group still has only me. What's the point of this cheat?"
"…That damn Amon. I worked my ass off to obtain the Miracle Invoker Beyonder characteristic, and he tracked me down just by scent…"
"If I'm going to die anyway, I'd rather leave the Miracle Invoker characteristic to the me in another world than let Amon have it!"
"Interesting. Let me see what's going on here… ah!"
[Unbound soul intrusion detected. Eliminated.]
Inside the room, Tetsuya's eyelid twitched as he stared at the string of chat records.
So the me who transmigrated to the Lord of the Mysteries world… had already been possessed by Amon?
Then what about the Miracle Invoker characteristic?
The moment that thought surfaced, Tetsuya's eyes lit up. A crystal heart the size of a fist appeared before him.
This… was the Miracle Invoker characteristic?
Suppressing his excitement, Tetsuya carefully examined the object floating before him. It was roughly fist-sized, entirely translucent like crystal, emitting a faint purple glow. Tiny bubbles continuously rose from its base.
The instant his gaze fell upon those bubbles, his pupils lost focus, and he fell into an illusion.
"So powerful…"
A minute later, when the bubbles reached the top and burst, Tetsuya finally regained his senses, unable to hold back a sigh of amazement.
When he cautiously reached out to touch the crystal heart, new information immediately appeared in his mind.
[Sealed Artifact: Gift of Time and Fate]
[Beyonder Ability 1: Every ten days, condense a marionette possessing the status of Sequence 2, retaining Fool pathway abilities below demigod level.]
[Beyonder Ability 2: The marionette can summon projections from the River of History—images or even fragments of time itself—but must possess extremely detailed knowledge of the corresponding history and subject. The more detailed and accurate the understanding, the higher the success rate and the longer the duration. It may also obtain partial abilities from the target.]
That's it?
Tetsuya blinked. Just as he was about to complain that Amon must have stolen part of its powers, the crystal heart suddenly turned into a streak of light and drilled into his body, merging seamlessly with his beating heart.
Summon marionette!
With a thought, streams of light gathered beside him, forming an identical figure. Tetsuya's vision split in two as the two bodies locked eyes.
After several seconds of dazed adjustment, Tetsuya still couldn't get used to multitasking with dual perspectives. He retreated a few steps with his main body and sat down in a chair, focusing entirely on controlling the marionette.
Manipulating flames, firing compressed air bullets, swapping with paper effigies—
All sorts of abilities came naturally, a smile spreading across Tetsuya's face.
Unfortunately, the marionette had limits. Each summoning could only last about fifteen minutes. Otherwise, with a demigod-level marionette protecting him day and night, why would he fear Orochimaru or Pain?
Right—the most crucial part: historical projections.
Just as he raised his hand, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.
He knew everything that would happen in the future of the Naruto world.
If that was the case… could he summon projections from the future?
His hand continued forward, grasping at empty air. The next instant, his arm sank heavily as he pulled out a figure wearing the Hokage's hat and white ceremonial robes.
The Seventh Hokage—Uzumaki Naruto!
It works!
The joy on Tetsuya's face hadn't even fully formed when he noticed that Naruto's upper body, now half-emerged, had vacant eyes. His entire form shattered like an illusion and disappeared.
[Distance from real target too great. Projection lacks sufficient anchor and cannot be maintained.]
Too far?
Tetsuya snapped his fingers.
Dozens of meters away from the house, several fallen leaves suddenly ignited. Using the Faceless ability to alter it's appearance and height, the marionette materialized above the flames. The eerie sight drew no attention at all.
If it's too far, he'll just have to get close.