Jaune listened intently to Ciel's explanation of Chakra—the fusion of spiritual and physical energy—and the lethal art of ninjutsu.
He absorbed every detail, realizing that this world's threats were vastly different from this Grimm infested world.
Ninja were intelligent, trained, and likely capable of tracking him.
"I understand,"
Jaune finally said, nodding. He looked down at the two mission listings.
"I accept both. Help a boy in need and protect a girl in trouble. Let's get these ten copper coins."
The moment Jaune mentally affirmed his acceptance, a profound shift occurred in the atmosphere.
The familiar, dusty interior of the convenience store seemed to crack and shatter like a glass pane.
The light fractured into a thousand shards, and the sounds of the Vale Slums vanished, replaced by a humid silence.
"Wow…"
Jaune breathed, finding himself surrounded by an unnaturally dense forest.
Massive, ancient trees towered overhead, their canopies so thick they choked out most of the sun.
The air was heavy, damp, and smelled strongly of earth and decay.
[Successfully transferred Host to Ninja World. Location: The forest perimeter of the region known as the Forest of Death.]
Hearing the name made Jaune's blood run cold. "Death" was not a word he associated with easy missions.
"This place must be very dangerous. I should leave as quickly as possible."
Jaune wasted no time.
He focused on the Flight Necklace, and a gentle blue energy surged through him.
He shot upward, breaking through the dense, green ceiling of the forest and bursting into the clear sky.
He immediately saw it: a colossal mountain carved with immense, aged faces, dominating the skyline.
[That is Hokage Mountain. It is the central landmark of the Village Hidden in the Leaves (Konohagakure), the primary setting for both your current missions.]
"Can you tell me where the boy and the girl I have to save are?"
Jaune wanted to finish the missions as soon as possible. He didn't want to linger in a world of ninjas and death forests.
Ciel immediately processed the request, using the system to triangulate the targets based on the mission parameters.
She gave him a general bearing—a cluster of rundown apartments near the village outskirts.
"That must be the boy."
Jaune spotted his first target easily.
He was a small, blond-haired boy, around five years old, identifiable by distinct, natural whisker marks on his cheeks.
The boy was hunched over a large, industrial trash bin, meticulously picking through the rubbish to see if any edible scraps remained.
Jaune, despite his new life, was still the kind young man who had tried to be a hero at Beacon.
He couldn't help but feel a sharp, immediate pang of sorrow, a hidden tear threatening to surface, seeing such a young kid suffer this way.
He flew down as quickly and silently as his new flight power allowed, landing gently a few feet away.
The boy was startled; his instinct was not to run or cry, but to shield his head with his arms, hunkering down defensively—a reflexive terror that spoke volumes about how people had treated him before.
"Hi there, I am not a bad person,"
Jaune said softly, keeping his hands open and visible.
"Do you want to eat something? I have some food with me."
Jaune had carried a small, modest paper bag of emergency rations with him.
It wasn't much because he was poor himself: a couple of simple, pre-made sandwiches wrapped in wax paper and a bottle of bright red cola.
"A—are you sure you want to give food to a demon like me?"
The boy asked, his voice shaking, confusion warring with raw hunger in his wide blue eyes.
No one had ever given him food before.
They always screamed, hissed, or simply ignored him, often yelling "Demon Fox" at his back.
He didn't know why they called him that or hated him so much.
Jaune bit his lip hard, suppressing the urge to comfort him, knowing he needed to maintain a sense of calm strength.
He hid his sorrow and forced a genuine, gentle smile.
"Yup, I'm sure. It's all yours. You can eat it."
The boy, forgetting his fear in the face of absolute necessity, snatched the sandwich with both hands and began devouring it instantly, tearing into the bread with an animal intensity.
He must have been starving.
"Who's there! You damn demon fox! You dare try to steal my trash!"
Suddenly, a voice like grinding stones assaulted the alley.
A mean-looking, hunched old woman, clearly the owner of the apartment and the bins, burst from a nearby doorway, wielding a broom like a weapon.
The boy stopped eating instantly and became small, his eyes wide with palpable terror.
"This is bad."
Jaune hadn't anticipated the social toxicity.
Acting on pure instinct, Jaune quickly scooped the boy up under one arm and focused his power.
With a swift push-off, he shot back into the sky.
The mean old woman stopped dead in her tracks, utterly shocked to see the strange, handsome young man and the demon boy flying away.
The boy, clutching the half-eaten sandwich, was completely surprised that the man who gave him food could fly.
He looked up at Jaune, the wind whipping his blond hair.
"Are you an angel? Have you come to rescue me?"
The boy's face broke into a radiant, hopeful smile.
He must have been praying for someone, anyone, to come and rescue him from his miserable life.
Jaune couldn't bring himself to shatter that innocent, desperate hope with the truth about his spectral life and magical jewelry.
"Ehhh—Yeah,"
Jaune conceded, giving a nervous laugh.
"I knew it! Hehe, an angel came to save me! This is so cool! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours, Mister Angel!"