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A fit of coughing echoed in the cramped rental room. A thin, sickly-looking young man sat hunched at his desk, fingers flying across the keyboard as he finished another day's video editing.
He was sick, but he didn't dare go to the hospital. The bills were more than he could ever afford. If he couldn't even pay to see a doctor… had his choice in life really been a mistake?
Pushing the thought away, he pulled up the backend of his video channel and checked the stats on his latest upload. His face fell.
"If the numbers are this bad again next month… I'll have to quit."
The young man's name was Max. A freelancer, he made his living by editing comic and anime videos and posting them online.
But the internet moved too fast. His carefully cut manga edits were getting fewer and fewer views. His already tight budget had become suffocating.
Staring blankly at his computer, Max suddenly blinked. The monitor lit up with a strange, dazzling brilliance—an unnatural glow unlike any color he had ever seen.
His mind swam, and before he realized it, everything went black.
When he woke, he was surrounded by endless darkness.
"Where… is this place?"
Hadn't he just finished editing a manga video? He was sure he had only been zoning out when the screen went strange.
"Did I… die?"
A crisp, mechanical voice cut through the void:
[Congratulations. Super Manga Video Editing System successfully bound.]
[Host: Max]
[The system can connect to parallel anime worlds, forcing characters from across dimensions to watch the host's edited videos.]
[The more surprised they are, the greater the rewards.]
Max froze—then realized he wasn't dead.
A system? And not just any system—one that could make anime characters themselves watch his videos?
For a lifelong manga fan like him, this was insane. He had quit his job to go all-in on video editing because of his love for anime, but the results had been disappointing. Now, this system handed him something beyond his wildest dreams.
"Forget a few hundred likes… now even the characters themselves will see my edits? This… this is incredible!"
And it wasn't just for fun—there were rewards, too. With excitement burning away his earlier despair, Max looked around as a sleek, futuristic computer with a massive HD display materialized before him. Compared to the battered secondhand setup he used before, it was like night and day.
"Alright then. Let's get to work."
From the system's massive database, he picked out one of his favorite high-energy anime series and threw himself into editing with more focus than ever before.
For three days and nights, he worked nonstop, burning through every ounce of strength and passion. Finally, his first masterpiece was complete.
On the cover: Might Guy, the Crimson Beast of Konoha, wreathed in red steam, squaring off against the godlike Uchiha Madara in his Sage of Six Paths form.
With the system's enhancements, the footage would display in full 360-degree perspective—more vivid, more immersive, more breathtaking than anything a normal screen could show.
He had chosen one of the most iconic battles in Naruto's history: the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death, opened against Madara.
Satisfied, Max grinned and typed out the title:
[Top 10 Greatest Anime Battles Across All Worlds]
After double-checking every detail, he hit "upload."
Across the Dragon Ball World
On a faraway battlefield, Son Goku was about to clash with Frieza when a strange sound echoed from above. Everyone froze and looked skyward.
Even the galactic tyrant Frieza stopped, frowning as a giant screen appeared out of thin air.
"What is this nonsense? Begone!" He hurled a glowing blast at the screen. But to everyone's shock, the attack vanished against it without leaving so much as a scratch.
A calm voice rang out:
[Counting down the Top 10 Greatest Anime Battles Across All Worlds]
[Number 10…]
"Dad! That TV in the sky's talking!" Gohan pointed, eyes wide.
"If it's about the strongest battles, I bet Frieza's in there," one of the warriors muttered.
And it wasn't just them—back on Earth, the Guardian of the Earth, the Supreme Kais, even Cooler, Frieza's brother, all stared blankly at the sudden screen.
After checking over and over that this wasn't some prank, the various gods, demons, and warriors reluctantly accepted its existence.
High above, Beerus munched on a dessert and smirked. "I wonder what rank I'll get."
Dr. Gero, tinkering in his lab, froze in disbelief. "Someone's technology… surpasses mine? Then maybe one of my androids will appear on this list…"
But the phenomenon wasn't limited to Dragon Ball. Screens appeared across every anime world—Naruto, Digimon, One Piece, Bleach, Pokémon, Inuyasha.
The worlds were thrown into chaos. Some trembled in fear. Others could barely contain their anticipation.
In the World of Bleach
Aizen reclined lazily on his throne, smirking at the sky. "A ranking of battles across all worlds… intriguing. I wonder where I'll place."
In the World of Naruto
During the Chūnin Exams, Naruto's eyes went wide. "Whoa! Bushy Brow-sensei… he turned red! He made the list? He's that strong?"
Training nearby, Guy himself frowned. "Red steam… Father once told me that's the final gate, the Gate of Death. But who could have revealed this?"
Lee practically sparkled with admiration. "Guy-sensei! You're amazing! You even ranked in some alternate dimension's top battles!"
Before long, nearly every jōnin of Konoha—Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Anko—gathered around Guy, all whispering in shock.
"Guy… when did you master a technique like that? Why haven't you ever used it?"
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned deeply. "Red steam… Uchiha Madara… a name from legends. What on earth is going on?"
Even Orochimaru, tinkering in his lab, paused, his snake-like grin widening. "Oh? Madara… resurrected? This could be entertaining."
And so, across countless worlds, eyes turned to the mysterious screen.
At last, the video began to play.
"..."
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