— EARLIER —
Kagero struggled through a desolate path.
All around him laid crumbled buildings, and a stinging smoky smell that cursed the air.
"Ack." He collapsed onto the floor, leaving a bloodied hand print on the wall he rested on.
Breath after breath, his lungs burned in agonizing pain, screaming at him to stop breathing.
But these protests were vehemently opposed by Kagero's brain, which told him that stopping his breaths meant death.
The pain was good, if it kept him conscious enough to not slip into death's embrace.
This miserable event had occurred immediately after his fight with Obito, hence why he had a kunai shaped hole in his gut.
DIZZT!
Holding onto his leaking belly, Kagero pried a single eye open, turning his tired gaze to the blue screen.
"[You are in critical condition.]"
Gritting his teeth, Kagero stubbornly shut his eyes, swatting away at the System.
"Shut up for a bit."
The Bleeding boy raised his head in pain, his breath growing heavier as he coughed up volumes of blood.
"[Your bleeding is getting worse.]"
Kagero offered no response, leaving his eyes shut whilst taking in panicked breaths of air.
"[Blood has started to fill your lungs.]"
"…"
"[Blood levels are getting dangerously low.]"
"…"
"[You are going to die in Five minutes.]"
"Shut it you darn system!—"
Kagero propped his lying body forward, yelling at the blue screen at the top of his lungs.
But the moment he finished his statement, his mind immediately grasped the System's grim warnings.
"Di—d you— just say fi-ve minutes?" He shakily muttered, paying full attention to the System's confirmation.
The System offered him no sympathy, simply displaying a timer that ran down through 4 minutes and 48 seconds.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner—?!" He tried to question, but fell back as agonizing pain pulsed through his entire body.
As though the inanimate screen was heaving a sigh, it paused before responding in an unapologetic manner.
"[If I did that, then I would not be able to say you will be dead in 5 minutes.]"
"[Would I?]" It added in a flat tone.
'This system really is annoying!' Kagero bit his tongue, cursing inwardly at his situation.
But he just couldn't dwell too long on his pesky ally, or at this point, pesky rage baiter.
And that was for one principal reason.
Kagero stole a glance at the timer that counted down at his impending death.
3:49.
The boy then held his stomach even more, trying his best to apply steady pressure with just his palms.
However, the blood only sped past his loose grip, flowing even more viciously out of his body.
'Shit!' Kagero took in a pained breath. 'Surely that's the only option.'
What the dying boy might have been musing you might ask?
That was one simple, yet prime decision.
The System's store.
As annoying as his blue friend might have been, it was still a system, and hence had to have the most basic constitutions of one.
So all Kagero had to do was purchase a healing potion for his fatal wounds, and just like all those system novels he had read, he'd be a-okay.
Kagero's eyes tiredly searched through the screen for the store.
And when he finally found it, he switched his gaze towards any widget that would likely be currency.
But money shouldn't have been a problem.
After all, besides welcome bonuses, he would have definitely gotten a few rewards from his fight with Obito.
And with all that being summed up together, Kagero's pockets would be sitting at—
"ZERO?!"
Kagero held onto the screen by its head, shaking it furiously. It was almost like he had forgotten he was dying.
"[Hey, hey you're going to make me dizzy.]" The system pleaded, urging him to stop.
"[What seems to be the problem?]" It continued, adopting a formal tone.
Kagero's voice dimmed lighter, blood spilling through his lips as he vented.
"I've got Zero Ninja Points— that's the problem."
Kagero drew his head up once more, taking in desperate breaths.
"Don't tell me I got a— hole in my stomach for absolutely nothing."
The system seemed to gloss over his complaints, diving in straight for an answer.
"[That is exactly what I'm telling you.]" Its voice remained monotonous.
"[You didn't defeat the masked man— did you?]"
At those words, Kagero felt his heart sink, and as though the hope that once kept him conscious had shattered into innumerable pieces.
His vision began to blur out of focus.
'Damn, damn that means—'
"[Just kidding.]"
The system interjected in his thoughts, revealing its bitter joke.
Kagero on the other hand was too weak to even get infuriated, he just rested his back against the wall, watching the timer with a weary expression.
"[Come on.]" Dozens of azure screens lit up around the dying boy. "[It is a decent joke for my first time.]"
The System pouted, before beginning to go down a list of rewards.
But with every requirement and reward mentioned, Kagero's consciousness slipped away.
As he stared at the timer, timing the embers of his life, till they would burn out.
DING!
{You have stood up against an indomitable foe:
[The host has been rewarded with 100 NP.]
'3 minutes 15 seconds.'
{Having pushed the Kage level threat to his limits: }
[The host has been rewarded with 100NP]
'3 minutes 12 seconds.'
{Having aided the Hokage's deployment into the battlefield: }
[+500NP.]
'3 minutes 9 seconds.'
{Uchiha Distractor: Host has delayed Obito's appearance on the battlefield.}
[+500NP]
'3 minutes.'
The store window immediately flashed open as though manipulated by Kagero's mental command.
[Jareh's healing potion: A mysterious red fluid that can heal all physical bodily injuries
[Cost: 200NP]
[Nissi's healing syrup: A panacea of greater potency. Heals injuries and restores damaged chakra pathways.
[Cost: 300NP]
Without bothering to even fully weigh his options, Kagero lifted his arm in a bid to purchase the potion.
But as soon as his hand left the ground, it quickly fell in the pool of his own blood, splashing red fluid across his face.
'Shit, I'm dying.'
Kagero's eyes rattled slowly, and his body felt limp, as his consciousness started to slip through his clasp at a concerning rate.
All he had to do was purchase the potion. A step that would be too easy in normal circumstances.
However, right now Kagero had lost an excessive amount of blood.
Leading a chronic case of fatigue, and before long.
Death.
Had he pushed himself beyond his comfort zone to just die in the end?
Had his epiphany of courage somewhat been foolishness clad behind a mask of boldness all along?
Was he going to feel the helplessly infuriating arms of death embrace him once more?
'NO!'
A muffled voice surfaced through Kagero's conflicted mind.
His life in his past world was what one would call pitiful. That was the greatest regret he had crossed lives with.
An engraved scar that would hunt him no matter how many worlds he would traverse.
And that very wound had cultivated itself into something more than just a memory of pain.
It was now a silent voice that metamorphosed into a scream. A longing that culminated into a need!
'I must survive!'
Suddenly, as though a rock of hindrance had been felled within his mental space, his eyes burned at the back of his head.
His body lit with energy, like hot flames rode within his veins.
And two things laid etched into the dying child's face. That antagonized his very situation.
A wide grin that stretched across his face.
And two gleaming red eyes.
Flying on the wings of that selfsame energy, Kagero rested his finger on the tab, a bottle of red fluid spawning in his grasp not even a second later.
After ingesting the fluid, a reddish aura seeped through his skin, causing him to shine with a dim glow.
His wounds then burned shut as though they were never there, and his consciousness aligned back into his body.
He was fully healed.
[Congratulations.] The formerly azure screen radiated with a crimson glow.
[You have awakened the Phoenix Sharingan]
"[Hmm, this is a strange sight.]" The system watched the boy who laid comfortably.
Kagero's head rested atop his arms, and he took in several sips of the potion like a drunkard.
"[Was getting the Sharingan in this manner a part of your plan?]"
Kagero shifted his gaze upwards with a cunning smirk, opening his lips to respond.
"What did I tell you before?"
He let his question hang for dramatic effect.
"Never underestimate an Otaku."