A single Chunin stood alone in the blistering desert, a thin veil of heat haze dancing across the endless dunes. His green flak jacket flapped slightly in the hot wind, coated in a mixture of sand and dried blood. All around him, five Sand Shinobi circled like vultures, kunai drawn, eyes narrowed with anticipation. They were waiting—coiled, tense, each ready to pounce the moment the other did.
Gritting his teeth and raising his kunai in a firm grip, the Chunin scanned the shinobi closing in. His fingers twitched slightly from adrenaline, his throat dry not just from the heat, but from the creeping taste of death. His teammates were already gone. Slaughtered. That fact wrapped around his chest like a vice, numbing any fear he might've once felt. Now, he had only one goal left—to take someone down with him. Just one. That would be enough.
The Sand shinobi knew it too. They could feel it in the way he stood—rigid, fearless, unhinged. None of them wanted to be the one he dragged to hell. So they didn't lunge. Instead, they tightened the circle, inch by inch, closing the distance with slow, calculated steps. Their formation was textbook-perfect: six-meter spread, moving at intervals, giving him no gaps to slip through. No way out.
'Fucking bastards. I knew coming to the Shinobi world was going to be a pain in the ass, but I never would've thought I'd die after a few months of being here. I inherited this body after my reincarnation, so I also inherited this war.'
Kenka's jaw clenched at the thought. His mind flickered back to when it all began—when he first woke up in this world, deep in a forest miles from any village. Blood had caked the front of his white jacket, and the memory of how it got there was nowhere to be found. At the time, he didn't even wear a flak jacket—he was still a Genin. Everything since then had been a blur of missions, violence, and survival.
Snapping back to the present, Kenka bit down on his lip hard enough to taste iron. His grip on the kunai tightened. His decision was made. 'If this is it, then I'll go out with a bang.'
His chakra was almost gone, drained from hours of battle and bloodshed. But he had just enough for one more move. That would be enough.
Just as he shifted his weight to lunge at the sand shinobi directly in front of him, something flickered in the corner of his vision. He froze. A glowing blue screen had materialized in the air before him, hovering a few inches away from his face. The glowing text pulsed with faint white light.
[Your courage has unlocked the System. Free Rare Spin Awarded. Would you like to summon a Rare Warrior from the Multiverse?]
Kenka's breath hitched. His eyes narrowed slightly as he cast a glance at the Sand Shinobi. They were still approaching cautiously. 'I've seen this sort of thing, because I was a nerd in my past life, but.. I still can't tell if I'm having hallucinations since my death is so close..'
The Sand shinobi paused briefly, reassessing. Now just six meters away, they were close enough to seal every possible escape route. There was no more running. No more stalling. Only death, or action.
'If I'm going to die, I guess it wouldn't hurt trying…'
His gaze returned to the screen. Still there. Still waiting. He whispered, just loud enough to be heard, "Yes, summon."
Nothing happened. For a moment, the silence returned to the desert. The Sand Shinobi stopped, glancing around in confusion. Kenka hadn't spoken once since the ambush began. His sudden outburst made them wary—was someone else nearby? Reinforcements?
Then the screen began to change. A circular wheel appeared, spinning with dozens of silhouettes, each vague and unfamiliar. The symbols rotated faster and faster before slowly beginning to halt. Kenka squinted, unable to discern any of the shapes.
'Who's that?' he thought, lips parting slightly. The figures were too similar—each a humanoid shape, all of them enigmatic.
Finally, the screen shifted again. A black box appeared above the wheel, bearing new white text:
[Spin Complete. Summon: Aang.]
Kenka's heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened with childish glee he hadn't felt since arriving in this world. 'Aang? No fucking way…'
But there was no time to bask in the nostalgia. The Sand Shinobi had resumed their approach—now just three meters away. Close enough to see the lines on their faces. Close enough to kill.
'Looks like nothing happened…' he thought grimly, the excitement fading from his face. He dropped his stance lower and dashed forward with a final growl of effort.
The Sand Shinobi responded immediately. The one he targeted raised his kunai in defense, but at the last second, Kenka pivoted sharply. In a blur, he reversed direction and drove his kunai straight into the throat of the shinobi sneaking up behind him.
A spurt of blood erupted into the air. The man collapsed with a gurgle.
A system ping echoed in front of him.
[Chunin Kill! Reward: 1 Uncommon Spin!]
The others recoiled, caught off guard by the sudden change. They lunged in from different directions, swinging wildly.
'A spin for killing? That's neat, but I'm going to die to these bastards. Fucking Genin. Like me they only got promoted because of the war, we aren't actually meant to be out here, I doubt they want to be here too, since they aren't so eager to lose their lives.'
As two blades came within inches of Kenka's neck, a sudden burst of air erupted from behind him—furious, swirling, deafening. The wind roared like a tempest, blasting all four remaining Sand Shinobi backward. They tumbled to the sand, disoriented.
Kenka stumbled, shielding his face from the sudden gale. Then, slowly, he turned around.
Standing behind him, confused, was a bald-headed boy gripping a wooden staff. An arrow-shaped mark glowed faintly on his forehead.
[Summon Successful]
[Summoned: Avatar Aang]
[Drop Rate: 100%]
[Passive Unlocked: +10% Speed Boost]
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Kenka's Current Stats
—–––––––––––––––––––––––
Physical: Chunin – 63% (+10% Speed)
Chakra Capacity: Chunin – 23%
Chakra Control: Lower Chunin – 89%
Affinity: Fire
Skills Unlocked: Substitution Jutsu, Clone Jutsu, Transformation Jutsu, Body Flicker, Fireball Jutsu, Phoenix Flower Jutsu
"A-aang…" Kenka muttered in disbelief. The winds were real. The Sand Shinobi had been flung like leaves. He wasn't hallucinating.
Aang turned slowly at the sound of his name, narrowing his eyes. "Who are you? How do you know my name?!"
The Sand Shinobi, now regaining their footing, stared at the new arrival in confusion.
"Since when was there two of them?" one muttered.
"I don't know, maybe some sort of summon," another replied. "Whatever it is, we have an opening."
The four moved in unison, but Aang responded faster. His arms swept in graceful, fluid arcs, air swirling violently around him and Kenka, forming a barrier of wind. The sand kicked up around them, rapidly spiraling into a mini-tornado.
"We've got to retreat!" one of them shouted. "He must be a Jounin! We were told there were only Chunin here!"
"No! He killed Akabe! I have to avenge him!" Another yelled.
The others didn't argue. One of them knocked the avenger unconscious, hoisted him over his shoulder, and began fleeing across the dunes.
As the storm dissipated, Aang exhaled and took a few steps forward, watching the retreating shinobi with furrowed brows. "A moment ago I was with Katara… What is even going on here?"
He scanned the desert. 'I've never seen this place before…'
Turning around, he was about to speak again—but stopped cold. His eyes widened in horror as he spotted the corpse behind Kenka. His face went pale.
He dropped his staff, covering his mouth as he bent over, nausea rising in his chest.
"W-what happened?" Aang asked, voice strained.
Kenka quickly hid the bloodied kunai back in its pouch. "While they were attacking me, one of them accidentally stabbed the other. But besides all that, you saved my life."
Aang, still turned away, spoke quietly. "Tell me what's going on."
Kenka explained everything—reincarnation, the war, the world, and the system. Aang listened in silence, the weight of it all settling on his young shoulders.
"I can't return? Y'know, to my world?" Aang questioned.
Another system message blinked into existence.
[Aang wants to leave immediately. Convince him to stay or he will return to his world!]
Kenka bit his lip. 'Aang is my way out of this war. A way for me to survive, if I can just get him to stay a little longer, I can get out of this awful position!'
Placing a hand on Aang's shoulder, he said, "Can you at least help me survive this war? If you do, I'll let you go back home."
Aang's face tensed in irritation, but he sighed and relented. "I don't like that you're holding me hostage, but I'll help you get back home safely."
Inhaling deeply, Aang moved his hands in circular motions, forming a swirling gust beneath his feet. The iconic Air Scooter sprang to life.
Without warning, Aang grabbed Kenka by the collar, and with a sharp whoosh, they blasted off across the sand.
"WE'RE GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!!" Kenka screamed, his body flailing wildly, mouth quickly filling with sand.