Uzumaki Naruto hadn't figured out the situation in the classroom yet. When he saw Iruka-sensei rush out in a panic, he assumed class was over.
"Hey! What are you all standing around for?! Iruka-sensei's gone—class is over! Let's celebrate!!"
Naruto leapt onto a desk with both arms raised in triumph.
Uchiha Sasuke didn't so much as blink. He stayed alert, gripping his kunai tightly.
"Idiot," he muttered under his breath, not letting his guard down for a second.
Haruno Sakura, already on edge, clenched her fists and marched straight toward Naruto with fire in her eyes.
"Naruto, you idiot!!!"
Naruto's expression brightened the moment he saw her. "Sakuraaa!!"
BANG!
Sakura's fist came down hard on Naruto's head, causing him to crash face-first onto the desk.
"Uzumaki Naruto!!! Shut up for once! Hirofumi Ito has disappeared!!!"
"OWWW! Sakuraaa—what the heck was that for? That hurt like crazy!"
He groaned, rubbing the bump forming on his forehead.
"Wait… what did you say? Who disappeared?!"
"Hirofumi! He vanished right in front of us! That's why Iruka-sensei went to get Hokage-sama!" Sakura shouted, still furious.
Naruto blinked, the pain forgotten as his eyes widened and his gaze shot to Hirofumi's now-empty seat.
"H-Hirofumi's gone? But… how?! That's impossible!"
He stared in disbelief. Hirofumi was one of the few classmates who'd treated him like a normal person—who didn't care about the Nine-Tails sealed inside him and even shared his lunch sometimes.
He wasn't just a classmate. He was a friend.
A few minutes later, the classroom door slid open again—with none other than the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, walking in, flanked by a still-anxious Iruka.
The classroom immediately fell silent.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's face was unusually grave. Iruka had just briefed him on what had happened, and the scenario, though rare, matched an incident from decades ago. A scenario that involved a student and a Summoning Technique gone wrong.
The Hokage's eyes swept the classroom.
"Did anyone witness exactly what happened to Hirofumi Ito?"
There was a pause—until Yamanaka Ino nervously raised her hand.
"I… I saw it, Hokage-sama." Her voice was soft, but clear. "Iruka-sensei was teaching us about the Summoning Technique—how the sealing formula works and the correct hand seal sequence. Hirofumi was copying the signs… Then, all of a sudden, he disappeared in a puff of smoke."
Sarutobi's brow furrowed.
He and Iruka exchanged a look—then spoke in unison:
"Reverse Summoning!"
The entire class whispered in confusion.
"Iruka," the Hokage said, "we need to inform Ito Aoyama immediately. As the boy's father—and the head of the Ito clan—he has a right to know."
Iruka straightened. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
"There's no way to trace a reverse summoning unless it was recorded in a summoning contract. We don't know who or what summoned him—or whether he'll even be able to return…"
"I understand."
Iruka hurried from the room.
The Third Hokage walked slowly to Hirofumi's desk, then quietly pulled out his pipe and lit it, eyes fixed on the empty seat.
His mind wandered back to his own students.
Jiraiya…
Who once triggered a similar summoning mishap and ended up in Mount Myōboku for weeks.
Now, another student had vanished during a Summoning lecture—without even a summoning contract.
Was it coincidence?
Or fate?
The smoke from his pipe curled upward as he silently watched the empty seat, deep in thought.
At that time, Jiraiya was reverse-summoned to Mount Myōboku during his early training days. It was purely accidental—but it led him to the Toad Sages and the discovery of Sage Mode, marking the start of his legendary path as one of the Sannin.
Could Ito Hirofumi have encountered the same kind of extraordinary opportunity?
At this very moment, Hirofumi stood frozen in confusion.
He had only been practicing the Summoning Technique, casually replicating the hand seals that Iruka had taught in class. Yet now—he found himself in an unfamiliar dimension.
A heavy mist surrounded him. There was no sun, no moon, no light at all—just endless, oppressive darkness. A chilling cold gnawed at his skin and spirit.
"What the hell is going on?! Did I just get reverse-summoned like Jiraiya-sensei?!
Is this some kind of sacred land like Ryūchi Cave or Mount Myōboku?!
Where are the toads? Where are the slugs? The snakes? There's nothing here!
How the hell do I get back?!"
[Host detected. System initialization complete.]
[Confirming presence within Konohagakure. Binding process to the Konoha Undead Database initiated…]
[Binding successful.]
"Wait—what?! A system?!"
"What kind of system?! Why did it just bind to me?! And where even is this place?!"
"What do you mean by 'binding the undead of Konoha'?!"
[Explanation: According to the original timeline, the host was never meant to survive birth. The host's soul was intended to pass into the world of the dead.
An anomaly occurred during your transmigration, resulting in your unnatural birth in the Naruto timeline.
This system, initially designated as the 'Many Children, Many Blessings' system, detected your existence as undead. It breached the boundary between life and death to bind to your soul.]
Hirofumi stood stunned.
That… actually made a strange sort of sense. He was never mentioned in the original Naruto manga because—he was never supposed to exist at all.
He was meant to be stillborn.
But due to his transmigration, he had survived… and now, because of that paradox, this strange system had forcefully broken through the world of the dead just to find him.
"So… what kind of system are you, exactly?" he asked, his voice shaky.
[Originally, this system was designed to grant the host happiness through forming a large family.
However, the power required to access the world of the dead caused irreversible changes.
It has now evolved into a unique 'Summoning System'.
The host can now use Kuchiyose no Jutsu to summon the souls of deceased Konoha shinobi as summons.]
Hirofumi blinked.
It was disappointing that he'd lost the "many wives" perk—but undead summoning?! That sounded insane.
"So when you say 'bind the dead'… what exactly does that mean?"
[The host currently resides in Konohagakure, and is recognized as a registered villager. Therefore, you may only summon the souls of deceased shinobi who were once loyal to the Hidden Leaf.
However, once you expand your influence and gain dominance over the entire shinobi world, the entire World of the Dead will fall under your summoning rights.]
"…I see," Hirofumi muttered, awe-struck. "Then, system—tell me exactly what you can do."
**[The current form is the Summoning System.
Through standard hand seals, the host may perform Kuchiyose no Jutsu.
Summoned spirits will vary based on summoning rank:
• White-Rank: Genin-level deceased ninja.
• Green-Rank: Chūnin-level.
• Blue-Rank: Jōnin-level.
• Purple-Rank: Elite Jōnin or clan heads.
• Gold-Rank: Kage-level shinobi or legendary figures.
Summoning is subject to cooldown and requires chakra. As the host's strength and fame grow, higher-ranking spirits will become accessible.]**
Hirofumi's hands trembled.
He could summon the dead. He could summon legends.
Did that mean… one day, he could summon even Uchiha Madara?
This system—was a game-changer.