Inside a modest house with mud walls and a thatched roof, a woman screamed with all her might, clutching sweat-soaked sheets in desperation.
"Hold on, sister! Just a little more!" cried another young woman, dressed in beast hides, her eyes clouded with worry as she leaned between the open legs of the woman in labor.
Finally, with one last push, a cry echoed inside the small hut.
"You did it!" said the sister, tears in her eyes. "It's a boy, a healthy boy!"
With trembling but steady hands, she cut the umbilical cord and cleaned the newborn with a worn-out blanket. The baby, covered in blood and fluids, squirmed and cried loudly.
The young woman gently wrapped him and placed him on his mother's chest. The woman, between tears and exhaustion, caressed her son's cheek and fell asleep, as if finally able to rest after a war.
The baby remained still for a few seconds.
And then, he opened his eyes.
There was confusion in that gaze.
"What...? Where...? Wtf...?"
His thoughts were blurry, distorted by the sensitivity of a new body, but his mind was still working.
"Wasn't I just playing Diablo II on my computer? I swear I had just killed Baal on Hell difficulty…"
An almost imperceptible sigh escaped his tiny lips a few minutes later. There was no doubt. He had reincarnated.
"What is this? Some kind of twisted fate?"
But then, his attention shifted.
"At least I still have my memories. I didn't start out as a brainless amoeba… that's something."
And then an idea popped into his mind.
"If I'm a transmigrator… I should have a golden finger. A system. A cheat. Something..."
He began mentally invoking commands:
"System."
Nothing.
"Inventory."
Silence.
"Help."
Darkness.
Until...
"Status."
TING!
A soft chime rang only for him. A translucent blue screen appeared floating in front of his newly opened eyes, similar to an RPG pop-up window:
[Name:] Khan
[Race:] Human
[Level:] 1
[Main Class:] None
[Subclasses:] None
[Power Centers:]
– Soul: Basic Rank 0
– Body: Basic Rank 0
– Energy: Basic Rank 0
[Attributes:] (1.0 = average adult human)
Vitality: 0.12 / 0.12
Mana: 0 / 0
Qi: 0.1 / 0.1
Agility: 0.03
Strength: 0.08
Endurance: 0.08
Spirit: 1.2
[Skills:] None
[Positive States:]
– Body Development
[Negative States:]
– Hunger
– Sleepy
Khan, still in disbelief, read it over and over, ecstatic.
"Incredible…" he thought in awe.
However, his expression darkened as he scanned the attributes section.
Pitiful vitality, near-zero strength and agility, and worst of all, not a single trace of mana.
"Is this a joke...? Did they throw me into this world with jelly stats?"
But after reviewing the message more calmly, he understood. His body was that of a newborn baby. Expecting adult stats in that state was as absurd as asking a rock to fly.
What did raise his eyebrow with some concern was the absolute 0 in mana. But the fact that he had Qi, even in its most rudimentary form, gave him a valuable clue.
"So… is this a cultivation world? Like the one I picked in the survey before dying?"
An ironic smile crossed his face.
"So that stupid poll actually worked…"
He also noticed his high Spirit attribute—1.2, far above the rest.
"Makes sense… an adult soul inside an infant's body. I guess it's the only stat that doesn't reset."
Then he shifted his focus to the buttons at the top of the panel: "Store," "Quests," "Inventory," "Map."
When he mentally touched any of them, a large red warning appeared:
[SYSTEM LOAD ERROR]
[FUNCTION NOT AVAILABLE]
Khan fell silent, blinking in confusion.
"…What the hell? Did I get a buggy system?"
His anger bubbled. He cursed internally until, resigned, he focused on the only working section: the Status Panel.
"Let's see how useless you really are…"
He slid his gaze downward to the status effects. He mentally clicked on "Body Development," and instantly a floating description appeared:
---
[Body Development:]
– The body will undergo a growth period lasting until full physical maturity, constantly increasing attributes.
Duration: 20 years. (-/+)
He was surprised to see this state had buttons to adjust the time. Out of curiosity, he mentally pressed the (+).
The number rose to 21 years. Then 22. Then 40. Then 75.
Five seconds later, instead of a counter, an infinity symbol (∞) appeared along with a single (-) button.
"So… I can make the effect last forever?
Once I get a boost, I can keep it forever!
This system is more broken than Cyberpunk's launch patch!"
He processed it in silence. A beneficial state, infinite duration, just by pressing a button. Was this... a hidden feature? Or a glitch?
But the system had a drawback.
Not all states had durations. Some were just active conditions, permanent or intermittent. Like, for example...
[Hunger]
"How the hell am I supposed to get rid of this one?"
As if the universe had heard him, his stomach growled.
And at that moment, his mother woke up, gently picked him up, brought him to her chest, and began to breastfeed him.
It was a disconcerting experience for someone with adult memories, but he endured it. After all, survival came first.
As soon as he finished drinking, a message popped up on his panel:
[Consumed breast milk.]
State removed: Hunger.
State added: Satiety.
[Satiety:]
Restores 1 Endurance per minute.
Duration: 1 hour. (+ / -)
"New state! And it has regeneration!"
Without hesitation, he pressed the (+).
One minute.
Two.
Five seconds later...
Duration: ∞. (-)
Khan, excited by his broken system, began to fantasize about the possibilities.
His thoughts multiplied. The possibilities were endless.
His system was a mess, yes. But it was also a treasure... if he knew how to exploit it.
As his mind got lost in a maze of theories, strategies, and fantasies about immortality…
Sleep came for him once more.
And Khan, the reincarnated soul of a gamer, fell asleep with a smile on his infant face.
But unbeknownst to him, his birth alerted an existence universes away.
Within the world of One Piece, in the captain's cabin of the Ragnarok, Noah frowned deeply as his Elder Blood stirred for no apparent reason.
Suddenly, his lineage transmitted a sense of urgency—an impulse to return to his native universe, the world of Naruto.
Though he didn't know the reason, Noah trusted his instincts.
The Elder Blood had a powerful latent prophetic ability that usually manifested when something threatened the existence of its bearers—or when something of vital importance emerged for them.
Without hesitation, Noah opened a portal and returned to the Shinobi world without informing his crew.
Immediately, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the floor as his eyelids trembled uncontrollably.
He saw flashes—of the Kunlun World appearing in this universe, of the universe's will massacring all immortals, and the birth of a baby.
He inexplicably felt that this baby was an aberration to him.
He felt that the two of them should not coexist in the same universe—and that only one of them could exist.
This was due to the power of destiny.
The destinies of Noah and Khan were so powerful they escaped this universe's influence, making them what are commonly called singularities—anomalies destined to transcend their universe.
Beings like "children of fortune" or "main characters" were nothing in comparison, as their fates were still bound by universal laws.
But Noah and Khan weren't bound to anything—their potential knew no limits.
Naturally, two singularities could not share the same universe—just like two tigers cannot share the same mountain.
Sooner or later, they would clash, and his Elder Blood had warned him in advance.
With a meaningful smile, Noah summoned another portal and returned to the One Piece world.
Though this might seem like a foolish decision—giving his rival time to grow—Noah could only sigh.
His Elder Blood had given him the coordinates of the Kunlun World.
From those, he realized it was far from his position—and at the very least, it would take years to reach it.
Not even his magic door could cover such a vast distance, separated as they were by an infinity of galaxies.
Taking the helm again, Noah began to plan for the future.