Cold…
damp…
His nostrils overflowed with a stifling, musty smell.
It felt as though he were buried deep beneath the earth.
Insect-like whispers echoed in the surrounding darkness, rustling so loudly it made his temples throb with pain.
Osamu pondered the situation seriously.
Weak and sickly since childhood, he had spent almost all his life in a hospital bed.
Fortunately, kindhearted members of society, a big sister from the welfare department, and aunties from the community committee had taken turns caring for a poor orphan like him.
Otherwise, his miserable life would have been cut short in early childhood.
So now…
had he been declared dead and buried alive in some public cemetery?
After all, failing to take his medicine in time during a flare-up often sent him into shock or a state of suspended animation.
With this thought, Osamu slowly opened his eyes.
A group of people wearing eerie masks were kneeling on one knee before him in unison.
Osamu: …?
Was this some special funeral etiquette?
He lowered his eyes to think for a moment, confirming that none of the books he had read contained weird records like “worship by masked people.” Just as he was considering whether to record this strange ritual, he glanced up at those people and suddenly realized something was wrong.
Huh?
Why was his field of vision cut in half?
The right side of his world seemed sheared off.
No matter how he moved his eye, he could only see the left half; the right remained in pitch darkness.
His heart skipped a beat.
He slowly raised his hand.
His fingertips first touched messy hair on his forehead—rough and dry to the touch, nothing like his own carefully groomed long hair.
Osamu originally had soft, long black hair.
The big sister who looked after him always applied sweet-smelling essential oils, washed it thoroughly, and combed out the tangles bit by bit with a fine-toothed comb to keep it smooth and lovely.
“In olden times, people would dress sickly boys as girls so the gods wouldn’t take them away,” the sister had said with a smile back then.
Osamu had actually disagreed.
What kind of god would discriminate based on gender anyway?
Gods ought to be higher-dimensional beings; to them, humans were probably no different than puppies or kittens.
Would humans turn their noses up at a cat or dog because of its sex?
Maybe they had preferences?
Osamu, who had never had the chance to raise a pet, thought so.
Gender differences were basically just the price gap between spay and neuter packages at the vet clinic.
*Besides, Sis, didn’t you just want an excuse to dress me up like a doll?* His thoughts had drifted too far.
Osamu abruptly pulled his attention back from those layered lace dresses in his memory and continued assessing his current state.
Tracing down his cheek, on the right side of his face, his fingers touched thick fabric—wrapped layer upon layer, emitting a faint herbal scent at the edges.
It had to be bandages.
He tried pressing gently.
No sharp pain, just a faint ache, like an unhealed old injury.
What on earth was going on?
Osamu thought he might be in a lucid dream.
He slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again after a few breaths.
Still the eerie masks, still the eerie people.
Osamu: …
Not a dream?
Indeed…
a dream couldn’t possibly feel *this* real, right?
Just as his mind fell into confusion and he pondered how to confirm his condition, a *ding* sounded in his head, accompanied by cheerful background music as a sweet, upbeat voice resounded in his mind.
[Ding!
Congratulations on binding the “Mō the Universe” System~] [Host: Osamu (Danzo Shimura)] [Age: 16 (73)] [Current Identity: Leader of the Anbu organization “Root”] [Please make sure to complete the Mō-ification of the character Danzo Shimura, transforming him into a 100% top-tier, highly mō-able man!!!] [Now issuing Mō Mission 1: “Knit a Scarf for Kakashi Hatake”] [Task Requirements: Within 2 hours, craft a woolen scarf that meets standards for softness, warmth, and stitch density to bring warmth to Kakashi Hatake’s soul~] [Task Countdown Started: 1:59:59] Osamu: …
Osamu: …
Osamu: ???????
Wait!
Are you out of your mind?!
*Not everything can be mō’d!?!*