(T/N: PK - Player Knockout)
Inside Konoha Village's Ninja Academy, the classroom suddenly fell silent. Everyone present was utterly dumbfounded.
They stared at the two suddenly empty seats, mouths agape, unable to utter a single word.
Naruto...
Sasuke...
Had vanished!!
Shikamaru tapped his fingers lightly on the desk, his expression growing more serious.
So Naruto and Sasuke were chosen? Could it really be random?
No, this doesn't add up... impossible to analyze.
After all, everything had changed far too quickly — the mysterious light screen, the so-called "future preview."
"Troublesome! Graduation's right around the corner, and something like this happens. What a pain..." Shikamaru couldn't help but complain.
"Naruto... they'll be fine, right?" Choji asked quietly, his voice low and cautious.
Aside from Shikamaru and Choji, Sakura, Ino, and the others also exchanged uneasy looks, not knowing what expression to put on their faces.
...
At that moment, in the Hokage's office.
"Why Naruto and Sasuke?"
The Third Hokage's reaction was the most intense. Like Shikamaru, he couldn't understand — why those two, of all people?
The Nine-Tails' Jinchūriki and the last Uchiha heir...
Was it because of their identities that they were chosen? But to suddenly disappear from the village like that...
When the incident occurred, the Third had been informed immediately, and because of that, a thought had begun to form in his mind.
Could it be... that it's real?
Naruto and Sasuke's disappearance had caused a stir within Konoha, but other villages were, at most, curious about the "Uchiha" surname.
As for those with sharp minds, like Kakashi, they understood that the best approach right now was not to act rashly.
Panicking would achieve nothing, and worrying was meaningless. The only sensible thing to do was to analyze the available information and plan the next move accordingly.
To remain unmoved amidst all change — that was true wisdom.
The entire shinobi world seemed to fall into silence, everyone quietly waiting for whatever might happen next on the mysterious light screen.
Roughly ten minutes passed...
Whoosh!!
The image on the light screen suddenly became clear.
It showed a medium-sized arena — no obstacles, surrounded only by trees.
And right in the center of the field stood two figures facing each other, locked in a tense stare.
Who else could it be but Naruto and Sasuke!
Both wore expressionless faces, their gazes fixed on one another — the atmosphere sharp and heavy, like drawn blades about to clash.
"Sasuke... you saw it too, didn't you?"
"Yeah. Unbelievable, huh."
In two separate rooms located outside this duel arena, Naruto and Sasuke each sat alone.
Both held a phone in their hands.
There was a small microphone at the top, allowing them to communicate with each other between rooms — and from that, they'd realized they were both experiencing the same thing.
"Ninja Mobile Game, huh."
Sasuke clenched his fists tighter, an expression of wonder and excitement flashing across his face.
It was... surprise, mixed with delight!
He looked around, stomping lightly on the ground.
Everything felt so real — nothing like an illusion. It was as if they had truly been transported to another world in an instant.
Ten minutes ago, he had arrived here — a small, empty room with nothing but the phone.
The moment he picked it up, he'd learned a lot, including what he was supposed to do next.
The "game," but also... a battle!
A fight unlike any shinobi had ever known — using a gaming device to control your own character.
"Eh? I'm in it too? Let's see... Sakura, Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji... ah! Sasuke's here too!"
Naruto fiddled with the phone in his hands, discovering there were twelve playable characters in total — including himself.
All of them were his classmates, faces he knew well.
The only difference was, every one of them wore a forehead protector — proof that they'd successfully graduated from the Academy.
"Heh-heh~ looks like we're the only ones who made it through, huh!" Naruto said proudly.
Besides the ninja themselves, there were also Summons and Secret Scrolls.
To Naruto, summoning beasts were far more interesting than the ninja. He spent quite a while in the practice area checking them all out before finally choosing Saru — the monkey king, Enma.
Not for any particular reason — he just looked way cooler than the dogs, snakes, or toads.
As for Secret Scrolls, Naruto was still a little undecided.
But he only had ten minutes to get familiar with the controls, so he spent that time messing around in the practice field.
Now, ten minutes later, the moment had come — Naruto was controlling [Uzumaki Naruto], while Sasuke controlled [Uchiha Sasuke].
That's right — they had both chosen to play as themselves!
And so, everyone watching through the light screen could now see the two of them standing in the arena, ready to fight.
As spectators, most people didn't really understand what was happening; they thought Naruto and Sasuke were about to fight for real.
At the center of the image, a 60-second countdown appeared, with Naruto's and Sasuke's avatars on each side — each with a health bar behind them.
They still didn't get it, but since the fight was about to start, there was no reason to question it further. Just watch.
[3]
Naruto was a bit nervous. His palms were already sweating as he gripped the console tightly.
[2]
Sasuke took a deep breath, his eyes wide, veins bulging with tension as he stared at the screen.
[1]
For some reason, at that moment, countless people across the shinobi world felt their hearts skip a beat — as if they were witnessing the dawn of a new era.
[Battle Start!]
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The moment he could move, Sasuke decisively unleashed his first skill — spitting out a massive fireball straight ahead.
Naruto flinched — the blazing sphere nearly scorched his face! But thankfully, the attack range wasn't long enough.
Simply put, Sasuke's attack missed.
But just as the fireball faded, Naruto quickly used his own first skill — summoning a shadow clone for support, while his main body rushed forward, forming a Rasengan.
Unfortunately, it collided directly with the lingering fireball, interrupting his skill and putting him into a hit-stun state.
Sasuke's eyes lit up with excitement. He immediately dashed forward to follow up with his second skill — the Lion Combo!
But the Lion Combo's range was even shorter. Not only did he miss the chain, he got hit by Naruto's frantic counterattack using his second skill, sending him flying.
And with that, Sasuke lost the first exchange.
Meanwhile, in Konoha, inside a newly opened store, Kuroda couldn't help but rub his temples as he watched.
So this was what they called a true newbie.
Standing motionless on the X-axis right from the start, wasting two skills at once — in the early game, the one with the longer range wins the trade.
Oh right — and instant substitution!
Back in the duel, Sasuke, unwilling to take even a bit of damage, immediately used Substitution and started attacking Naruto with basic strikes.
Naruto, not to be outdone, got hit once, then used his own instant substitution to counterattack — but missed, since Sasuke had already turned around and started running.
"Nice, nice," Kuroda said, clapping approvingly. "The first ever 'baited substitution' in the shinobi world!"