"Ding! The cooldown for Body and Mind Safety Assurance has ended. Would the Host like to begin a new life experience?"
"Oh?"
Naruto, who was about to go to bed, heard the familiar voice in his ear and immediately became energized, shouting in his heart, "Start, start, start right away!"
"Detection: The Host currently does not qualify to activate 'Real Life' mode. Activating 'Virtual Experience' mode for you now… Activation successful. Consciousness transmigration begins."
Buzz!~
As soon as the system's prompt ended, Naruto felt himself being pulled by an unseen force. His consciousness detached from his body and plunged into a dazzling whirl of flowing light.
"Consciousness transmigration in progress… Since this is the Host's first 'Virtual Experience,' you may unconditionally choose one life stage. The Host may begin the experience at any age: five, ten, or fifteen."
"I choose fifteen!"
Naruto heard the options and chose the oldest without hesitation.
All children want to be adults—so if there's a choice, of course you pick the oldest.
"Consciousness transmigration complete… Since the Host chose to begin at fifteen, the lifetime prior to that age will be rapidly skipped."
Naruto felt his consciousness leave the dazzling whirl and enter a warm space. With the system's prompt, scenes of a child's birth and growth flashed rapidly through his mind like a revolving lantern, stopping only at the age of fifteen.
When the images faded, Naruto realized that the fifteen years shown were his own life experiences, rapidly skipped by the system.
"World Synopsis: The Taisho period. Legends say that after sunset, demons appear and devour humans. There are also those who hunt these demons—traveling across the land, slaying demons in the night, and protecting the people."
"Hint: 'Virtual Experience' mode is consciousness transmigration. The Host may exit the experience at any time. The richer and more complete the life experience, the greater the rewards."
"Warning: During the experience, the Host must not end their own life by any means. Failure to comply will result in no evaluation and corresponding punishment."
"This is my current body… How amazing!"
Naruto completely ignored the system's explanation, hints, and warnings. He was too excited, focusing only on sensing his "new body."
"Fifteen… hehehe!~"
Naruto didn't truly understand what "Virtual Experience" meant, so his feelings toward this new body were… strange.
Because the life before fifteen had been skipped, his movements felt awkward and uncoordinated.
However, the novelty of the new body quickly helped him adjust—and soon, a familiar sensation rose from his stomach.
Hunger.
"So hungry!"
Naruto clutched his stomach with a troubled expression and clenched his fist. "And this body is so weak!"
Once the initial unfamiliarity faded, Naruto realized just how frail this body was. The weakness felt like someone who hadn't eaten for days—weak in the most literal sense.
Had Naruto seen the skipped memories clearly, he would have understood that this body belonged to a slave—one chronically underfed—explaining its frailty.
As for strength… it was negligible.
He felt that this body was even weaker than his six-year-old self in the Ninja World.
"Naruto!~"
A panicked voice rang out.
Naruto turned toward the sound and saw a blood-soaked young man running toward him in terror, shouting, "Naruto, there's a monster—hurry—"
Pfft!~
Before he could finish, a clawed hand pierced through his chest from behind, tearing his heart straight out.
"Run… fast…"
The man looked at Naruto, used his final strength to tell him to run, and then died.
Naruto had never seen such a bloody scene.
The sudden horror froze him in place.
"A-jian…"
Although Naruto knew he shouldn't recognize the man, he subconsciously called his name as tears slid silently down his face.
"Hee hee hee!~"
A chilling laugh sounded behind A-jian.
A green-skinned face with fangs emerged from the darkness—the same monster whose claws had pierced A-jian's chest.
"The taste of fear is truly enticing!"
It withdrew its hand, shoved the heart into its mouth, and sighed in ecstasy.
After finishing, its gaze shifted to Naruto.
Step by step, it approached, muttering, "Indeed… the human heart is the most delicious part."
"Fear!~"
The demon stopped in front of Naruto, pressing sharp claws against his head and baring its fangs in a grin.
"When weak humans are afraid, their hearts are the most delicious…"
Bang!~
Before it could finish, a fist smashed into its face, sending its massive body flying backward.
"Hahahaha!~"
Instead of anger, the demon laughed wildly.
"It resisted! Excellent! I've finally found a human who resists!"
Its claws gleamed as it shouted excitedly, "Resisting humans are the most delicious! I'll eat you all—"
Bang!~
Naruto moved first.
In a blur, he appeared before the demon, so fast it couldn't react. His fist slammed into its face again, followed by a storm of blows.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Naruto punched relentlessly. His face was blank, yet tears streamed continuously from his eyes.
At that moment, memories of him and A-jian played through his mind.
A-jian secretly left him food. A-jian took the beatings for him. A-jian shielded him whenever possible.
And when death came, A-jian's first thought had been Naruto.
Though Naruto hadn't consciously lived those memories, his body had already accepted A-jian as an older brother.
Overwhelmed by emotion, Naruto continued punching—until the demon's head was smashed completely to pulp.