Hayashi Ren dashed into the classroom, found his usual seat, and slumped down.
He sat in the very last row, tucked away in an inconspicuous corner. Just as he was about to lay his head down for a nap, a loud, obnoxious voice broke the silence.
He opened his eyes and glanced toward the source of the noise.
Kiba Inuzuka strutted over, full of swagger, and stopped right in front of him, giving Ren a cocky look.
"Hayashi Ren, next time we're in the MOBA battle zone, I'm going to crush you completely."
"Oh, alright."
Ren looked up, gave him a slight smile, and then laid back down on his desk.
"You little—! Hayashi Ren, you—"
Kiba's frustration was cut short by a sudden chime that echoed in everyone's ears.
[Ding! The second round of the MOBA beta test is now live. Participants include—]
[Hayashi Ren, Kiba Inuzuka, Gaara, Kankuro, Temari, Tenten, Rock Lee, Neji Hyuga, Naruko Uzumaki, Sako Uchiha.]
The mechanical voice of the MOBA system filled the room, and everyone froze in place for a moment.
Then Kiba burst out laughing.
"Did you hear that, Ren? I got into the beta again! This time, I'm going to send you straight to noob hell!"
"Looking forward to it," Ren replied with a faint smile.
Meanwhile, in the virtual comment feed of the MOBA space:
[Oh? A new match already? I'm surprised that kid Hayashi Ren got selected again.] — User ID: Hashirama Senju
[Makes sense. He was the MVP of the last closed beta. Of course he'd get another shot.] — User ID: Tobirama Senju
[Hmph. Just child's play.] — User ID: Madara Uchiha
[Madara!!]
[Hashirama!!]
The usual bickering between Hashirama and Madara once again filled the comment feed.
At this point, most of the ninja world barely paid them any attention. They were all used to it by now.
[Ding! Match starting now.]
Team Blue:
Jungle: Hayashi Ren
Top Lane: Naruko Uzumaki
Mid Lane: Sako Uchiha
Bot Lane: Tenten & Rock Lee
Team Red:
Jungle: Kiba Inuzuka
Top Lane: Gaara
Mid Lane: Neji Hyuga
Bot Lane: Temari & Kankuro
"Hayashi Ren, I'm definitely going to turn you into a feeding machine this time!"
Kiba taunted in the MOBA space.
"Yeah, yeah, sure."
Ren replied casually, completely unbothered.
"Shut up. I'll kill all of you."
Gaara's voice cut through the chat coldly.
Ren gave Gaara a calm look and smiled faintly—unfazed.
But to Gaara, that smile was the ultimate insult, a silent taunt that boiled his blood.
"Heh… My blood's telling me that killing you will bring me great pleasure."
Gaara sneered with eerie delight.
[Ding! A powerful player has been detected in the match. To ensure fairness, a balancing adjustment will be applied.]
[Adjustment complete.]
The system chime echoed once more.
Gaara's expression instantly darkened.
He felt the chakra within him had dropped to less than one percent of its original strength. His power level wasn't just reduced—it had plummeted.
He felt like his former self could have killed his current self with a single finger.
"What the hell is this?!"
Gaara roared in disbelief.
"Hey, panda-boy, what's with all the yelling?"
Naruko rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed.
"Shut your mouth. Or I'll kill you."
Gaara hissed at her coldly.
"Do you even have the power to kill her now?"
Sako asked him with a frosty glare.