Far away, on the grassy field, Koga had no idea any of this was happening. He could not hear the clan discussions. Even if he did. He wouldn’t understand why the Ninjas were so alarmed. He had never been talented enough to become deeply involved with Ninja techniques in this life. His knowledge came from his past life, not from actual experience as a Ninja.
As far as he was concerned, the Sky Screen was simply showing some strange record of his supposed achievement.
Koga rubbed his forehead.
"What is this system doing?"
He looked at the faceless man.
"Why is running to a store an achievement?"
Then the Sky Screen changed.
NEXT: THE REWARD OF THE NUMBER ONE IN THE OVERLORD RANKING.
Koga immediately straightened.
"My reward?"
His eyes brightened.
Finally.
The image on the screen suddenly changed.
The rainy street vanished.
A vast volcanic landscape appeared. Black mountains surrounded a sea of molten lava.
Fire poured from cracks in the earth. Smoke filled the sky. The heat seemed to roll out of the screen itself. Then something stepped through the flames. The entire village became silent.
A magnificent creature stood on the edge of a volcanic cliff.
It had the body of a great lion. Its muscles were powerful, its legs thick, and its paws were large enough to crush stone. Its mane was enormous.
Long strands of fiery fur surrounded its head, spreading outward like a blazing crown. Yet its face was not completely like a lion.
There was something almost canine about its features.
Its muzzle was slightly longer. Its eyes were sharp and intelligent. Its expression carried the confidence of a beast that had never considered itself prey. The creature slowly lifted its head. The fire behind it made its silhouette enormous.
The villagers stared.
"What is that?"
"A summon beast?"
"It looks like a lion."
"No."
Someone whispered.
"That thing looks like a monster."
The Inuzuza Clan members reacted differently. Their eyes practically shone.
"A canine..."
"Look at its face."
"That body..."
"That mane..."
Even members of other clans looked interested.
The Inuzuza Clan had always valued wolves and canine partners. Seeing such a magnificent beast made several of them instinctively step forward.
Koga, however, had stopped breathing. His eyes widened. "No way."
He knew it. He knew that creature.
"That..."
His heart hammered.
"This is from another novel."
The beast lifted its head. The volcanic ground trembled. Then several other creatures emerged from the burning landscape. The first was a gigantic horned beast covered in black scales.
Its four legs were thick as tree trunks, and molten cracks ran across its body.
The second was a massive ape with arms so long that its knuckles dragged across the ground. Its mouth was filled with uneven fangs. The third creature resembled a giant serpent with six eyes arranged along its skull. Its body coiled around a mountain of black rock.
The fourth was a huge insectoid monster with bladed forelegs and a shell that glowed red from the heat beneath it. Then came another. And another.
Soon, the lion-like creature was surrounded.
The monsters growled.
The villagers became nervous.
"What are they doing?"
"They’re surrounding it."
"Are they going to attack?"
Koga’s eyes remained locked on the screen.
"Shit! It really is that..."
The monsters charged. The horned beast moved first. It slammed its hooves against the volcanic ground and launched itself forward. The ape followed. Its massive fists struck the ground with every step. The serpent twisted through the air. The insectoid monster rushed from the side. The others followed from every direction. Their roars merged into one terrifying sound.
However, the lion-like creature simply did not move. It just stood there. Its head remained raised. Its eyes looked toward the sky.
The monsters came closer. Closer. Closer. When they are close. That’s when the lion opened its mouth.
Koga’s expression changed.
"Here it comes."
The creature roared.
The sound was enormous. The volcanic sky seemed to shake. The lava splashed upward. The clouds scattered. The approaching monsters were blasted backward as if an invisible wall had struck them. The horned beast rolled across the ground. The ape crashed into a mountain. The serpent was thrown through the air. The insectoid creature slammed into the volcanic earth and struggled to stand. Some of the weaker monsters simply collapsed.
Their legs trembled. They could no longer move. The villagers watched in complete silence.
"What..."
Kuma Morai stared.
"That was only a roar?"
The lion stepped forward.
The surrounding monsters then tried to rise. But the lion seemed offended and decided not to spare them. Then it vanished. A flash of fire crossed the battlefield. The horned beast fell. Another flash. The giant ape crashed down. Another. The serpent’s body slammed into the ground. Another. The insectoid monster was thrown aside.
The creature moved so quickly that even the Sky Screen struggled to keep up. The villagers could barely follow it. Then everything became still. The monsters were defeated. The lion stood alone atop of their corpses and then... It raised its head.
"ROOOOOOAR!"
The triumphant roar echoed across the volcanic world. The Sky Screen finally displayed the reward.
REWARD OF THE NUMBER ONE IN THE OVERLORD RANKING.
The villagers held their breath.
SUMMONED BEAST FROM ANOTHER WORLD.
The name appeared beneath it.
LEGENDARY BEAST: IGNILION.
Koga’s eyes widened.
"Ignilion..."
The Sky Screen flashed brilliantly.
AGAIN, CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOP FIVE OVERLORDS OF KOYAGAKURE.
Then the final message appeared.
ESPECIALLY TO THE AT THE VERY TOP, INUZUZA KOGA.
The villagers stared upward. The clans stared upward. And Koga stood frozen on the grass. Then the Sky Screen displayed one final announcement.
AND NOW, THE VILLAGERS OF KOYAGAKURE MAY WITNESS THEIR GREAT OVERLORDS. IF ANYONE IS UNSATISFIED WITH THE RANKING, THEY MAY COMPLAIN.
The words grew larger.
THEY MAY EVEN CHALLENGE THE TOP OVERLORDS.
The entire village fell silent. Then one sentence appeared.
THEY CAN.
For several seconds, nobody spoke. Then a new line appeared.
CHALLENGING AN OVERLORD IS SIMPLE.
The villagers immediately looked up.
"Simple?"
"What does that mean?"
"Are we actually allowed to challenge them?"
The Sky Screen continued.
SAY: CHAT FIRST.
A pause.
THEN STATE YOUR INTENTION.
FOR EXAMPLE: I WANT TO CHALLENGE THE TOP TEN.
The villagers stared at one another.
One elderly man raised his hand despite nobody asking him to.
"Chat first?"
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
"Chat first!"
Still nothing.
A child beside him laughed.
"Old man, you need to say it to the Sky Screen."
"I know that!"
"You obviously don’t."
"I was testing it!"
The child laughed harder.
The old man grumbled.
"Fine. Chat, Hello"
The Sky Screen flickered. A small window suddenly appeared in the air. The villagers gasped. A glowing panel appeared beside the enormous ranking screen. At the top were two words.
VILLAGER CHAT
The old man’s name appeared.
Old Man Haku: Hello?
The entire village became silent.
Then someone burst out laughing.
"He actually did it!"
"Look! His message appeared!"
"I can see his name!"
"Does that mean everyone can read it?"
The old man looked upward.
"Wait, wait, wait."
His eyes widened.
"Everyone can see what I write?"
The child beside him immediately shouted.
"Write something embarrassing!"
"Shut up!"
The child’s message suddenly appeared.
Random Child: Old Man Haku smells like fish.
The village erupted with laughter.
Haku’s face turned red.
"You little brat!"
He looked toward the Sky Screen.
"System! Delete that!"
A new message appeared.
Old Man Haku: SYSTEM, DELETE THAT!
The villagers laughed even harder.
Another villager quickly tried it.
Mina: Can everyone see this?
Old Man Haku: Yes!
Random Child: Old Man Haku smells like fish.
Mina: We know.
Old Woman Lira: I knew that already.
Haku nearly exploded.
"You people!"
Someone else entered the chat.
Farmer Toma: Is this thing useful for anything?
Mina: Apparently we can challenge the Overlords.
Farmer Toma: I challenge Kuma Rai.
The entire village went quiet for half a second. Then another message appeared.
Farmer Toma: Actually, never mind.
Laughter exploded again.
"Coward!"
"You were the one who challenged him!"
"I changed my mind!"
Koga stood far away on the grass, staring at the strange chat window. His mouth twitched.
"This is..."
He almost laughed. It was ridiculous.
A mysterious power had descended from the heavens. It had announced that everyone could gain supernatural abilities. It had ranked the strongest people in the village. It had revealed an unknown number one. And somehow, the first thing everyone had done was turn the Sky Screen into a village group chat.
Then another window appeared beside the Villager chat window.
NINJA CHAT
The villagers immediately noticed.
"Oh!"
"There is another one!"
"What’s the difference?"
A Genin immediately typed.
Genin Raku: Can the villagers see this?
The message appeared in the Ninja Chat window.
A villager shouted.
"We can see it!"
Another Genin answered.
Genin Raku: Oh no.
Villager Mina: Why are you scared?
Genin Raku: Because now you can see everything I say.
Villager Mina: You have said nothing important.
Genin Raku: That’s the point.
A Chunin entered.
Chunin Sora: Everyone, please remain calm.
Another message appeared immediately.
Genin Raku: Why are you telling us to remain calm?
Chunin Sora: Because this situation is dangerous.
Villager Haku: You sound nervous.
Chunin Sora: I am not nervous.
Genin Raku: You’re definitely nervous.
Chunin Sora: I am a Chunin. I do not get nervous.
Genin Raku: Your typing says otherwise.
A Jonin finally entered.
Jonin Taro: Enough nonsense.
Three seconds later...
Genin Raku: Sorry, sir.
Another message appeared.
Chunin Sora: Sorry, sir.
Then:
Villager Haku: Sorry, sir.
The Jonin stared at the chat.
Jonin Taro: Why is a villager apologizing to me?
Villager Haku: Respect.
Jonin Taro: I appreciate it.
Villager Haku: Also, please don’t kill me.
The chat exploded with laughter. Even several Ninja could not stop themselves from laughing.
One Genin typed:
Genin Raku: This is the greatest Ninja technique I have ever seen.
Chunin Sora: What is?
Genin Raku: Making everyone in the village embarrass themselves at the same time.
Jonin Taro: I agree.
Genin Raku: Sir, you just agreed with me.
Jonin Taro: I am aware.
Genin Raku: I will treasure this moment forever.
Jonin Taro: I will remember your name.
The message disappeared almost immediately.
Genin Raku: I apologize.
The villagers laughed again. For a while, the fear surrounding the Sky Screen faded. People discovered they could type messages. They argued. They joked. They asked questions.Some tried to challenge the Overlords. Others immediately withdrew their challenges after remembering that the people they wanted to challenge were monsters compared to them.
One villager typed:
Villager Toma: I challenge the number one!
The message appeared. Then another followed.
Villager Toma: Wait, who is number one again?
Someone answered.
Villager Mina: Inuzuza Koga.
Villager Toma: Who?
Villager Haku: Exactly.
The mood was almost playful. Almost. Then a new message appeared.
Inuzuza Kyo: I want to challenge Yukiju Ken.