Adam jerked upright, his head snapping up from the hard wooden desk.
He blinked rapidly. The room spun for a second before stabilizing.
Rows of tiered desks stretched up behind him. Sunlight hit the dusty chalkboard at the front. Standing near the podium was a man with a ponytail and a distinct horizontal scar across his nose.
Iruka-sensei.
Adam stared. There was no mistake. He was in the Academy.
He swallowed hard. If this was real, then the rules of those stories he read back home had to apply. He sat up straighter, waiting for a specific sound in his head.
He focused his thoughts, ready to call out to whatever power brought him here.
Adam sat frozen in his seat.
His eyes scanned the wooden desks. This was definitely the Academy.
He had read enough fanfiction to understand the situation. Transmigration meant a cheat. It was a standard rule.
He focused his mind completely.
"System," he thought loudly.
He waited for a mechanical voice or a blue screen.
Nothing.
Silence filled his head.
Adam frowned. He felt a wave of disappointment. There was no "ding" sound.
Maybe I have to say it? he thought.
He leaned over his desk, hiding his mouth with his hand. He started whispering keywords frantically.
"System. Status. Menu. Open interface."
Still nothing.
He didn't stop. He needed to trigger it.
"Stats? Skill tree? Inventory? Attribute panel?"
He muttered faster and faster, listing every gaming term he knew.
"God mode? Infinite chakra? Store?"
He was getting desperate. He kept rambling, his voice low but urgent, trying to force something to happen.
Beside him, a boy with messy hair glanced over, looking confused at Adam's strange chanting.
"Unlimited chakra? Admin console? God mode?"
Adam muttered faster, sweat forming on his brow. He looked like a madman to anyone watching, but he didn't care. He needed an edge.
"Unlock hidden potential? Starter pack?"
He clenched his empty fist on the desk. Come on.
Then, it happened.
No ding. No blue screen. Just sudden weight.
A bizarre fruit materialized instantly in his grip. It was bright yellow, shaped like a star, and covered in strange, swirling patterns.
Adam froze. His eyes widened.
The Pika Pika no Mi?
He didn't get a system. He got raw power.
He didn't hesitate. He brought the fruit to his lips immediately.
"Whoa... is that a melon?"
The boy beside him moved like a starving dog. Before Adam could take a bite, the boy's hand snapped out, grabbing the other side of the fruit.
"Let go!" Adam hissed.
"Share!" the boy yelled, pulling it toward his own open mouth. "I skipped breakfast!"
Adam wasn't about to let his future disappear into this kid's stomach.
Adam kicked against the floor and jumped straight up, crouching on his chair for leverage. He ripped the fruit out of the boy's grip with a violent tug.
The boy didn't give up. He scrambled up, reaching for Adam's raised arm.
"It's mine!" the boy shouted.
Adam saw the desperate greed in the boy's eyes. He needed a distraction.
Adam thrust his empty left hand forward, pretending to toss the fruit to the side.
It was a simple bait.
The boy fell for it completely. He dove for the imaginary toss, crashing into the aisle with a loud thud.
Adam landed back on the table, crouching low. The real fruit was safe in his right hand.
The classroom went quiet. At the front, Iruka dropped his book.
"Adam! What are you doing?" Iruka roared.
Adam ignored the teacher. He ignored the stares of the Uchiha and the Hyuga. He ignored the boy groaning on the floor.
He jammed the entire fruit into his mouth. The skin was tough, but he bit through it.
Juice burst onto his tongue. It wasn't sweet; it was vile. It tasted like gym socks soaked in chemicals.
He gagged but forced his jaw to work. He swallowed the lump in one go.
His stomach churned. He wiped his lips, breathing heavily.
Then, the sound warped.
Iruka's angry shout dropped several octaves, becoming a low, drawn-out drone. The boy on the floor seemed to float while trying to stand up.
Adam blinked. The world had changed.
As the terrible taste filled his mouth, his perception accelerated drastically, causing the chalk dust in the air to appear frozen in time.