Chapter 4: A Free Bird
"The Reincarnation Game is actually telling me my playtime is over and I need to spend reward points to continue?"
A support chūnin wore a strange expression as his body gradually turned translucent, glowing with white light as he prepared to leave the game world.
Asuma felt more and more intrigued by the mystery of this game.
At first, he assumed it was some kind of forced experiment—the mysterious figure compelling them to play. But he hadn't expected the game to have built-in time limits.
Ironically, just as they were starting to gather valuable intel, they were the ones who didn't want to leave.
[To purchase additional game time: the higher your level, the more reward points it costs. Level 1 players can purchase 1 hour for 1 reward point.]
It was, of course, another way to make money.
Zero pay-to-play? Not possible. The Novice Village alone had cost Fang Yi 100,000 reward points. Rent had to be paid. If you wanted to keep playing, you had to pay up.
Asuma thought for a moment and said, "You two return first. Report directly to the Hokage's office. We'll leave later."
The two support chūnin, lacking chakra in-game, weren't even as effective at hunting wraiths as Naruto. Keeping them here wouldn't help much. It was better to send them back to deliver a report.
The two nodded and chose to log out of the game.
Asuma reflected, "Kabuto appears to be a combat-oriented genin—his attacks are swift and decisive. Neji lives up to Might Guy's praise as a genius; he kills wraiths as fast as I do. But the most surprising is Uzumaki Naruto…"
When they first encountered a wraith, Naruto had frozen in fear, legs shaking. Yet in no time, he composed himself and managed to go toe-to-toe with the monster.
Moreover—
Asuma, with his wealth of combat experience, noticed something important. After each battle, Naruto would subtly grow stronger.
Not in physical stats, but in combat intuition—the kind of survival instinct that defines a future powerhouse.
Should he say… as expected of the Fourth Hokage's son?
[Ding. Experience accumulated. Would you like to level up?]
After defeating two wraiths in a row, Neji suddenly heard the prompt in his mind.
Only then did he notice the faint green experience bar at the bottom of his player panel.
Each wraith gave 5 experience points.
He had slain ten of them, earning the 50 XP needed to level up.
[Level up successful. Free attribute points +2]
After a bit of study, Neji understood what the attribute points did. After a brief pause, he added one to Strength and one to Constitution.
[Caged Bird]
Level: 2 (1/100 XP)
Attributes: Strength 2, Agility 1, Constitution 2, Spirit 1
Equipment: Beginner's Short Sword
Instantly—
Neji could clearly feel the improvement in his physical form, as if he'd been training for days and felt the gradual buildup of strength.
In the shinobi world, even chakra required slow cultivation. As a member of the Hyūga clan, Neji had undergone countless herbal baths and body treatments to nourish his muscles and bones.
To grow stronger in an instant—perhaps only the Uchiha with their Sharingan could feel such a sensation.
It was intoxicating.
But Neji sobered up quickly. This was the Reincarnation Game—not real life. Getting stronger here didn't hold much meaning in the real world.
After a while—
Asuma and Kabuto also leveled up. Eventually, even Naruto gained a level, though no one discovered any particularly special effects from it.
Asuma said, "The system message says we can reenter the game at any time after logging out. There's no need to worry about being locked out. Let's return to the real world."
"All of you, once you're out, head straight to the Hokage's office. That's an order!"
"Yes, sir!"
With flashes of white light, Asuma's team logged out of the game.
Soon after, shinobi from other villages also chose to log out—some after leveling up, others after saving enough reward points to buy something from the store.
"Omoi, you useless brat! You got killed by a gargoyle twice. Good thing this is a game or you'd already be minced meat at the hands of enemy ninja!"
"I was ambushed, okay?! Who knew the stone statues could move?!"
"Whatever. Let's exit. We have to report this Reincarnation Game to Lord Raikage."
Mabui had sensed something truly abnormal about the game. She spent all her reward points on a single store item—a red potion that could heal injuries.
Samui, more combat-capable, had already reached level 2.
Mabui didn't hunt any gargoyles. She chose to stay in the Novice Village and recorded most of the items in the in-game shop.
"Secret Hypertrophy Techniques passed down by Raikages… The Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist… the Sharingan and Byakugan bloodlines…"
"Potions that restore life, mysterious Devil Fruits…"
The more she read, the more shocked she became. As long as one had enough reward points, even legendary items like the Eye of God—the Rinnegan—were available for exchange!
If these things could be brought back to reality, the shinobi world would be turned upside down.
...
Hyūga Clan compound.
In a quiet courtyard, Neji suddenly collapsed onto the ground in the middle of a training field.
It felt like a dream—or maybe a hallucination.
"I'm… back?"
As a member of the branch family, his first instinct wasn't to head to the Hokage's office as Asuma had instructed.
He wanted to report this to the clan head.
But after a moment, he changed his mind and slowly walked back to his room. He stood before the bathroom mirror, stared into his pale white eyes, and yanked off his forehead protector—revealing the caged bird seal etched into his forehead.
Unconsciously, he clenched his fists.
When he had entered the Reincarnation Game, others had been scared or confused. Only he had felt something different—
Freedom.
The caged bird mark had vanished. Even though he no longer had the Byakugan in-game, it didn't matter. That body—his game avatar—was a truly free bird.
If you've never tasted freedom, you won't know what you're missing.
But once you have—
"It hurts…"
Neji stared at the seal on his forehead. The dark green pattern twisted and squirmed like a disgusting worm, sending phantom pain throughout his body.
He gasped violently and punched the mirror.
Blood dripped down from his knuckles, mixed with shards of glass.
"My fist… it's stronger?"
Neji's eyes widened as he stared at his bleeding hand. The veins popped in his forehead as he glared at the cut.
It wasn't an illusion—his real-world body had grown slightly stronger.
He quickly thought of the Reincarnation Game in his mind, and the player panel appeared.
[Hyūga Neji (Shinobi World)]
Level: 2 (1/100 XP)
Attributes: Strength 9 (+0.2), Agility 9, Constitution 11 (+0.2), Spirit 8
Equipment: None
Note: Your in-game attributes are linked to your real-world body. For every 10 attribute points, your real-world stats increase by 1 point.
Note: To bring game items into reality, you must submit verification points.
Neji opened his inventory and, after submitting verification points, pulled out a glob of dark gray sludge.
[Wraith Essence]
Type: Material
Note: A low-quality soul crystal dropped by wraiths. Can be used to craft items.
His eyes were filled with astonishment. He growled softly, "Items from the Reincarnation Game… can be brought into the real world!"
Like a bird longing for freedom, while others were busy studying weapons, skills, and flashy shop items, he had noticed something much more important.
[Hyūga Tennin's Ninjutsu Scroll - Fragment]
A scroll fragment containing the seal and unsealing method for the Caged Bird technique. Cost: 1000 reward points.
"Killing one wraith gives two points."
"That means if I kill 500 wraiths, I can buy the technique to unseal the Caged Bird!"
For the first time in his life, Neji felt that fate might finally be on his side. That freedom—once so distant—was now within reach.
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