Riiing riiing...
On a certain day in April, in an ordinary room, Izumi stretched wide after shutting off the alarm.
"Stayed up too late watching anime again..."
Izumi Masamune, fifteen years old, with a younger sister and a house. His stepmother was still alive. A normal high school student — and also a fairly well-known light novel author.
Of course, he had another hidden identity: a transmigrator.
He had only been binge-watching anime when suddenly, he found himself reincarnated into the very show he was watching.
Reborn as a baby, he spent his early years safely. His birth mother died in a car accident when he was five.
It wasn't until last year, when his father remarried, that everything changed. When Izumi saw his shy, adorable little sister, the system in his mind awakened, and his memories of his previous life returned.
Izumi Sagiri — the heroine of Eromanga Sensei — became his younger sister from that day on.
According to the original story, their parents would have died on a honeymoon trip, leaving the siblings dependent on each other. Traumatized, Sagiri would become a shut-in.
But once Izumi's memories returned, things went differently.
Although the honeymoon never happened, fate still struck. Just days after the remarriage, his father suddenly died, leaving Izumi, Sagiri, and his stepmother behind.
Even so, they managed to endure. Life remained warm enough, though Sagiri, ever shy, preferred locking herself in her room. This left Izumi with little chance to deepen their bond.
"I'm heading out!"
Izumi placed breakfast on the second floor, knocking gently on each door. No response. Sighing helplessly, he picked up his bag and left.
His stepmother and Sagiri were both illustrators, rarely leaving their rooms. Sagiri often skipped school entirely.
[The Dimensional Gate has been fully repaired. Welcome, host.]
"Finally, it's back."
Walking down the street, Izumi heard the familiar electronic voice in his mind. The system — the very cause of his transmigration. Damaged until recently, it had only just recovered last year and had spent the past twelve months recharging.
This system could traverse worlds. It didn't kill or control him, only gave tasks with rewards. Whether the gains were large or small depended on his efforts.
Because the worlds were chosen at random, there was always risk. That's why Izumi had been training hard this past year, stockpiling supplies in the system's storage.
Time flowed differently between worlds. No matter how long he stayed in a mission world, he would always return to the main world at the exact next second. Even if he failed, he would simply return without reward.
The duration of each mission was up to him. He could also force a return. The true danger lay in the randomness of the worlds.
After school, Izumi went straight home and into his bedroom.
He checked his storage space. Fortunately, the inventory was vast enough to hold the food and supplies he had prepared.
"System, begin transfer."
Closing his eyes, Izumi summoned the system. It was his first time using it. Nervous, yes — but more than that, he was excited.
[Dimensional Gate opening. Transfer initiated. 10… 9… 3… 2… 1…]
A cold mechanical tone rang out as light engulfed his body. In an instant, Izumi vanished from his room.
When he opened his eyes, he was lying under a blanket in a sparse, unfamiliar room. His clothes were folded neatly beside him.
[Transfer successful. Mission world confirmed: Naruto. Identity: replacement for Hyuga Neji.]
[First-world welfare granted: System Protection (permanent).]
[Main Quest 1: Defeat Ōtsutsuki Kaguya. Reward: Unknown.]
[Main Quest 2: Become the strongest in the ninja world. Reward: 1 draw (related to world).]
[Main Quest 3: Capture at least one main character. Affection 100 → Contract. Reward: May bring contracted person out of world.]
[Side Quest 1: Defeat the Five Kage. Reward: Protection upgrade. Each victory grants a random ability draw.]
[Side Quest…]
The cold voice relayed all the details. Izumi looked around, pulling aside the blanket — safe, unharmed, though his outfit didn't quite match this world. His storage space was intact.
He dressed in the provided kimono and tied the Konoha headband behind his head. After all, he had replaced Neji of the Hyuga branch family. Unlike Neji, Izumi bore no cursed seal on his forehead.
"Naruto world… Hyuga Neji? But I don't have the Byakugan, nor do I know any ninjutsu or taijutsu…"
It was unexpected. Neji had already graduated and become a genin. Worse, the timeline was mid-story — Kakashi had just taken Naruto's team to the Land of Waves.
That meant the Chūnin Exams and Konoha Crush arc were coming soon. Time was running short. Thankfully, Izumi had the system.
He closed his eyes, calling up the "protection" granted by the system.
[Primary Chakra Blessing: Possesses the chakra capacity of a genin, with normal recovery speed.] (Passive)
[Primary Byakugan Blessing: Possesses the first stage of the Byakugan's ability.] (Active)
[Primary Taijutsu Blessing: Possesses some taijutsu related to the Byakugan.] (Active)
[Blessings are ranked from lowest to highest: Primary, Intermediate, Advanced, Top, Eternal. Blessings are divided into active and passive, and finally, special blessings.]
Izumi carefully felt the changes in his body and the information about the blessings flowing into his mind.
After all, this was his foundation for survival in the days ahead. The Naruto world was far from safe, and on top of that, he was just a Leaf genin. He still had to perform missions; while simple C- and D-rank tasks weren't dangerous, higher ones definitely carried risks.
After digesting the important information, it was time for a capability test.