Akira's last moment of consciousness was fixed on the blinding blue glow of the computer screen.
Working overtime for seventy-two consecutive hours without sleep felt like an invisible hand suddenly clamping down on his heart and squeezing it mercilessly.
Severe pain. Suffocation. And then… a strange emptiness—a terrifying lightness.
All his grand ambitions and promised project bonuses vanished in that instant.
His final thought flickered: "Damn it… In my next life, I'll never be a corporate slave again…"
He didn't know how long he drifted in the darkness. It felt like a single breath—yet also like eternity.
Akira was jolted awake by a muffled whimper, as if from a wounded beast.
No—not quite "awake." More like yanked from the void by a crushing wave of sorrow.
He struggled to open his eyes, but his eyelids weighed a thousand pounds.
His body felt alien—cold, stiff, and wracked by a hollow, stabbing pain in his chest. Yet his mind? Crystal clear.
"What's going on?"
"Shouldn't sudden death mean… the end of everything?"
"This after-sales service is garbage. Even the underworld's got background music now?"
He was still dazed when the sobbing grew clearer—right beside his ear—hot, wet tears dripping onto his cheek.
"Izuna… Izuna…"
Who?
Who's calling?
Who's Izuna?
He tried to gather his scattered thoughts, like booting up an ancient, glitchy computer—painfully slow, loading fragments of the outside world.
His vision swam at first, but gradually resolved into flickering torchlight… and a face inches from his own, streaked with tears.
It was an extremely handsome face—but twisted in agony and despair.
Long, black, slightly frizzy hair fell across his forehead.
And those eyes…
Those eyes!
Scarlet irises, each cradling three slowly rotating magatama—as if holding entire galaxies of sorrow and fury.
Yet at this moment, those fearsome eyes were shattered glass, filled only with unbearable grief.
"Madara… Uchiha Madara?!"
The name exploded in Akira's mind like thunder.
In his past life, he'd been a hardcore anime otaku—he knew that face all too well!
Wasn't this the ultimate boss from Naruto, the one he'd binge-watched through sleepless nights?
Why is he holding me?
And why is he… crying so heartbreakingly?
Then it hit him—wrong perspective!
He was lying down. Madara was kneeling over him, cradling… this body.
An absurd, chilling realization struck.
With the last shred of strength he could muster, Akira forced his gaze downward.
What met his eyes: a black cropped top with a ping-pong paddle pattern… and dark blue pants.
A gaping wound in the chest, soaked in dark red—nearly black—blood. The source of that gnawing, hollow pain.
This isn't his body.
This is a boy's body.
And with Madara whispering "Izuna" through broken sobs, the truth slammed into him.
He was Akira—
A 21st-century office drone who'd dropped dead from overwork.
Instead of heaven or hell, he'd been transmigrated into the Naruto universe.
Not as some OP protagonist. Not even as a side character with lines.
No—he'd landed in the corpse of Uchiha Izuna, the tragic younger brother who'd just been fatally stabbed by Tobirama Senju… and whose eyes Madara would soon take to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
And judging by the warmth still lingering in the limbs… he'd only just died.
Holy crap!!!
Akira let out a silent scream of despair.
"Other transmigrators become sword saints, break engagement contracts, or at least get a second chance as nobodies!"
"I get reincarnated into a literal corpse?!"
"This is hell mode with no tutorial—and the difficulty's set to 'suicide'?!"
According to canon, Madara would accept Izuna's eyes, unlock the EMS, duel Hashirama at the Valley of the End… and eventually spiral into the Eye of the Moon Plan.
And Akira? He was the first domino in that tragic cascade.
"It's over…" he thought, icy dread spreading through what was left of his awareness.
"This is worse than my boss promising a 'pie in the sky' bonus! At least with that lie, I could vent to HR. This plot's just erasing me without a refund!"
He wanted to move. To shout: "I'm not dead yet! Save me!"
But the body was like a powered-down robot—no response, no twitch. Only dim sight, faint hearing, and a horrifyingly lucid mind remained.
Madara's cries grew rawer, more desperate, as he clutched Izuna's body tighter—as if body heat alone could bring him back.
"I'm sorry… Izuna… It's my fault… I couldn't protect you…"
His voice cracked, each word dragged through blood and grief.
Inside, Akira howled:
"Bro! Now's not the time for guilt monologues!"
"Avenge me! Plot against the Senju! Do literally anything but cry!"
"And seriously—your snot bubble's about to drip on my face!"
"Have some dignity! You're supposed to become the guy who fights the Sage of Six Paths!"
He felt the cold creep deeper, Madara's tears burning uselessly against his skin.
"So this is how my anime passion ends? As a walking—well, lying—'corpse experience card'?"
"Not even a single line of dialogue!"
Bitterly, he mused: "Can I file a complaint with transmigration customer service?"
"This service is the worst. Absolutely terrible!"
Just as despair threatened to swallow him whole—
A cold, emotionless, yet impossibly beautiful voice echoed in his mind:
[Strong desire detected from host: "Requesting After-Sales Service Transmigration."]
Conditions met.
[Analyzing soul state… Complete.]
[Scanning world rules… Complete.]
[Integrating: Ultimate Avoidance & Growth System…]
Akira's mind jolted.
"A system?! A cheat system?!"
"Yes! The late-but-inevitable transmigrator bonus!"
"Quick—resurrection scroll! Sage Mode! Six Paths chakra! ANYTHING!"
The mechanical voice continued, unruffled:
[System binding in progress… 1%… 15%… 30%…]
The progress bar crawled forward.
[…65%… 80%… 99%…]
His nonexistent heart pounded.
"Hurry! Load already!"
[99.1%… 99.2%…]
[99.7%… 99.8%…]
"No… Don't tell me it's buffering at 99%?!"
"What shady dev shop coded this? Is the server running on a Subor learning machine?!"
Time stretched. Madara wept. Death's countdown ticked louder.
[99.9%…]
[Ding!]
[Strong interference detected: World-rule constraints + surveillance by high-risk entity 'Black Zetsu.']
[Prioritizing host survival: Core module 'Ultimate Evasion' activated.]
[Adapting to optimal survival mode… Complete.]
[Submodule unlocked: 'Exposure Makes You Stronger']
[System binding successful!]
A faint warmth bloomed near his chest wound—like rain on withered vines, slowly seeping through his limbs.
The icy stiffness lessened, just a fraction.
And in his mind, a translucent interface materialized:
[Host: Uchiha Izuna (Soul: Akira)]
[Status: Near-death (slightly stabilized), Motor control: offline (repair in progress)]
[Abilities: Three-Tomoe Sharingan (severely damaged), Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique (unusable)]
[Exposure Points: 0]
[System Function: When your inner thoughts/emotions are 'heard' by a key character and provoke an emotional reaction, you gain Exposure Points + random rewards based on reaction intensity.]
[New Player Bonus: Passive Mind-Reading Aura (Beginner)]
[Effect: Within 10m, all key characters can 'hear' your inner monologue.]
Akira froze.
"Exposure makes you stronger…?"
"Passive mind-reading?!"
"This system sounds like a scam wrapped in a meme."
"And 'passive'—does that mean I can't turn it off?!"
Before he could spiral further, the warmth receded—repair paused.
Madara's sobs quieted for just a breath.
In that fragile silence, overwhelmed by relief that the system had bound successfully, Akira's thoughts erupted like a dam breaking:
"This is outrageous!!!"
"Other transmigrators get starter packs—gold, skills, cheat items! I get recruited as a stand-up comic? And a passive one at that?!"
"I'm a literal corpse, bro! How do I 'expose' myself? Perform mental comedy in the afterlife?!"
"And this mind-reading aura—can Madara hear me roasting him right now?!"
The thought had barely formed—
A faint, involuntary gasp escaped his lips.
"Huh…?"
At the same instant, Madara Uchiha went utterly still.
The heart-wrenching sobs stopped mid-breath.
The world itself seemed to pause.