Hey! This is my first novel as well as an attempt to approach writing in general. Yet I have big ambitions with this one. So far, though, don't expect any quick updates. It takes me somewhere from 6 hours to write and translate one chapter. I need to get fit. Of course you can motivate me with a comments I'm counting on your criticism, especially when it comes to my English, I wanted to learn this way. If my idea turns out to be popular then I will think about a discord or something I also upload the work to Webnovel and Scribblehub, where chapters will appear faster because it is easier to manage there. But I will try to upload them here as well according to the schedule. Next Time In Another World Synopsis: Many would like to move to the world of their favorite anime. However, not many have considered what would happen if it was the characters from the anime that moved into our world. This is the story of the world where the heroes come to life again. At first presented from multiple perspectives. No cheats, no harem. Schedule: Monday, Wednesday, Friday + Sunday bonus if you motivate me! Genres: Action, Comedy, Fanfiction, Fantasy, Isekai, Mystery, Romance, Sci-fi, Slice of Life, Supernatural Content Warnings: Strong Language Fandom: Bleach, Death Note, Naruto, One Piece, and much more! Tags: Age Progression, Based on an Anime, Business Management, Businessmen, Comedic Undertone, Detectives, Kingdom Building, Magic, Magical Technology, Modern Time, Multiple POV, Multiple Protagonists, Multiple Reincarnated Individuals, Mysterious Family Background, Mystery Solving, Past Plays a Big Role, Poor to Rich, Previous Life Talent, Reincarnated into Another World, Secret Organizations, Slow Romance, Strong to Stronger, Technological Gap, Time Skip, Weak to Strong Table of Contents: 1-1 Next Time 1-2 Meeting 1-3 Conflict 1-4 Exchange 1-5 First clash 1-6 Gathering 1-7 The Shard
1-1 Next time Spoiler: 1 Next time „There won't be a next time." ... "Honey look it's our son, he's so beautiful!" These were the first words he heard, but he did not understand their meaning. Suddenly he felt pain, greater than what he felt at the end of the fight. The pain can be ignored, however, it was the sense of strangeness that frightened him the most. He saw before him the faces of two unfamiliar smiling people who emanated a feeling of happiness. However, if this was to be the hereafter, he should see his parents, not the two strangers. He began to look around, barely controlling his aching body. Noticing two tiny hands and feet, he slowly began to understand what had happened. He had died, but at the same time he had been born. Thousands of feelings began to flood his mind. Sadness at the thought that he would no longer meet his brother, fear over where he was, anger at not being able to rest after all he had suffered, and something else... Something new. Something he hadn't felt in so long. Love for his parents. Hope that this new life might turn out better, that he wouldn't make the same mistakes again. Finally, after an unbeknownst time of pondering, he fell asleep. His newborn body, was too weak to hold all these emotions any longer. Without realizing it, his new parents were horrified by this fact. ... "Did you get into a fight again?" "It's their fault, they've bullied Philip once again." "How many times have I said that with violence you will not achieve anything Richard. Their parents complained to the director, you can be expelled from the kindergarten." "I was supposed to look at this? You know very well that the teachers won't do anything about it." "I understand you, but violence is not the solution, not only will you make trouble for yourself, but you will only upset the other kids more, and what if they want revenge? Finally, you may lose the fight, and I can't bear it if you get hurt!" "But I can fight, the old geezer trained me well!" "Stop, your imaginary teacher doesn't exist! Go back to your room and rethink your behavior! Tomorrow you will visit your colleagues and apologize them!" "You don't understand anything!" With a scream, Richard ran out of the living room. His mother couldn't understand that her son was different. He tried to explain to her that he remembered things from his previous life, but she kept yelling at him, thinking he was making the story up. Finally, in this new world, there were no devil fruit, pirates and navy. It was a completely different world that also had unusual things. Phones with screens that could take pictures and videos. His father laughed when Richard, seeing it for the first time, asked where the snail was. Vegapunk's head would explode if he saw all these technological wonders. Richard - who in his previous life was called Portgas D. Ace - laughed. "Although this world is so different people here are so weak!" Continuing his training, he will become the strongest of them all, and then everyone will respect him, his family and kin. ... Five-year-old Luke has jumped off the outdoors through the balcony again. He's annoyed that his parents won't let him eat sweets. How is his brain supposed to work without it? And he's already so close. Today he will confirm his hypothesis, he is certainly not the only one. He has no idea how many there are or where they came from, but he knows that, like him, they were born again five years ago. He knows his brain, it wasn't an illusion or any magic trick that could fool him. Two years ago, he saw a burst of lightning fly out of a child's hand. Although he couldn't explore it at the time, he has now finally learned where the boy lives. He will confront him and affirm that, what is his greatest fear. If this is true, this world is in for changes. Frightening changes. But first he has to buy some chocolate!
1-2 Meeting Spoiler: 2 Meeting "It's you again, your parents have forbidden me to sell you sweets!" The older man shouted, upon seeing the boy who had just entered his store. No one would have believed that he was only 5 years old. His too-long greasy hair, hunchbacked posture and scrawny tall body would suggest someone at least 5 years older. Dressed in a white turtleneck and jeans, the boy, with a serious face, approached the desk and placed $5 on it. "Remember we have a deal, you sell me chocolate, and I don't reveal to your wife who you spend your nights at." Speaking, he was yawning with his mouth open. "Phhh... One would think, your parents didn't teach you manners at all. Have it and get out of here!" Luke took his chocolate and turned to leave, throwing back: "If I were you, I'd see what this guy is keeping under his shirt." He didn't bother to argue further. The shopkeeper would handle it. The posture of that man didn't suggest he owned a gun. And now he would owe him a favor. He would have shopped elsewhere, but only that annoying old man was selling his favorite chocolate, and he would rather not worry his parents, who would learn that he was going to the supermarket by himself. They will already be angry at him for running away from home again. Although it annoyed him terribly, somewhere deep inside he was happy that there was someone in this life who cared about him, although he would never admit it. An interesting difference from when he was an orphan before. However, having someone you care about can also be a burden. Finally, if it were only about him, the world could go crazy. There will always be new criminals. No matter how many of them you catch, one day there is one that you will lose against. Someone smarter, stronger than you or with incredible power. So why even bother? It would be better to live a new life in a new way, and not go back to old practices. However, his new parents did not deserve to live in such a world. Luke was well familiar with the kind of terror that a man with the power to overwhelm everyone else could bring about, and if not for himself and the world, then for his parents, he had to prepare for the day when these evil people would appear. And he was sure they would appear. ... Philip, as always, spent his free time in the park. His parents were happy that he was actively spending time with his friends. At least that's what they thought. He preferred not to tell them that in fact the kids were mocking him. This happened because Philip was a primate who knew the answer to every question posed by the teachers. And even at daily practice he was always second. However, he didn't want to get into a brawl, preferring not to worry his parents. Although someone was constantly getting in his way. Only Richard was more capable than him at practice, which he couldn't understand, because he couldn't sense any chakra from the boy. Maybe it was a talent? However, during lessons, Richard only slept, never paying attention to what was being said to him. He didn't mind the loneliness, he had time to bring his body to its former condition. Although this world was different from his old one, it remained the same in some aspects. He can't guarantee that no one will want to hurt his family. This time, he wishes he had the strength to stop anyone who would threaten him. Especially since his mother will soon give birth again. He will have a brother again (at least no other thought came to his mind). He promised himself that this time he would take good care of him and not let him be left alone again. ... "Who's there!" The boy shouted, immediately turning around at the sound of a branch snapping under Luke's leg. Although Luke was already too tall with his 1.31m for his age, the boy in front of him was a real monster. He would never have believed he was 5 years old. He was at least 1.5m. Dressed in a white T-shirt and sports shorts, he looked about him carefully while brandishing some kind of sharp object. "Relax, I didn't mean to scare you. My name is Luke and I want to talk to you about something, you could put that sharp tool away before one of us gets hurt?" "Alright, but keep it short!" Philip replied, hiding his weapon so quickly that Luke was unable to see it. "As I said my name is Luke and I think you come from another world." He said with a half-smile giving his hand to the other boy. "Phi..." he began to say, pausing in the middle when the meaning of the words came to him. Luke, with a growing smile on his lips, began to explain: "How do I know, you ask? Actually I had about 3% certainty, but your reaction has already made me sure. It's better if you sit down, it's going to be a long conversation. Would you like some chocolate?"
1-3 Conflict Spoiler: 3 Conflict Richard was just walking home when he heard the sounds of an argument. There was a brawl in front of his father's store. His father was arguing with 3 youths, accusing one of them of stealing. If Luke were here he would recognize in one of them the guy he pointed out earlier. Richard did not know if the police had been called, and the situation began to escalate when one of the boys shook a knife from somewhere. The moment of his hesitation, in which he recalled his mother's words, almost cost his father his life. The boy took a swing at his father, at which he stumbled and missed his target. At this point he no longer hesitated, he was already about to approach his opponents using Soru, but at the same time he heard the sound of police sirens. Seeing that those there began to run away, he decided to wait. He didn't want to explain to the police how a 5-year-old was capable of beating three 15-year-olds. So he followed the runners keeping some distance until they got far enough away, having first made sure his father was okay. He knew that if he wasn't careful enough his actions could still come out in this world full of strange technologies. Therefore, he decided not to kill the boys. The end of the day, his father was all right. However, he will make sure they remember these lessons for the rest of their lives. While sneaking up on his opponents, however, he did not realize that there was someone who had spotted him. The three youngsters ran deeper into the park only then stopping. Making sure no one was around and the sound of sirens could no longer be heard. Slowly they began to relax. At that moment Richard struck, appearing in the middle of them, he handled the two boys relatively gently. One blow to the face on each of them was enough to make them fall to the ground and lose consciousness. However, he not wanted to handle the third one so easily. This was the one holding the knife. Therefore, his blows landed on his opponent's arms and legs, breaking them as if they were made of paper. Forgetting what he had planned earlier, full of anger he was already about to ram his foot into the boy's chest, but was stopped by a wall of fire appearing out of nowhere. He was no longer a Fire Fist, the fire hurt him like anyone else. ... "Enough, I think you've already shown them who's in charge, let it go before you do something you'll regret" Speaking these words was Luke, who was standing next to Philip. "Who are you and how do you possess the powers of Mera Mera no Mi? Philip?!" Turning toward the voice Richard spotted the two boys, it took him a moment to recognize his class friend Philip among them. "You must be Richard, we were just talking about you, you are even taller than Philip, how much do you measure? 1,55m?" "Who the hell are you?" "Nobody important, just another reincarnation from another world, like many here." Replied Luke with a smile on his face. "What?" "Listen, we can sit down and talk, but maybe let's clean up these bodies first. Unless you want to explain what you did here?" ... Meanwhile, Philip stood quietly and listened to the conversation. Something had been troubling him ever since he saw the three youths. Although Luke was very intelligent he was not able to detect the same thing. They were being controlled by someone. He was 100% sure. Who like that, but Philip was very familiar with mind tricks. However, he did not sense any remnants of chakra on them, so it had to be something else. However, he decided to delay the problem, first he had to talk to his classmate. ... "So you're telling me that both you and Philip are also from another world, and like me you were reborn five years ago, and these worlds are not similar at all?" Richard asked. "Roughly speaking, making my world more specific, it was fairly similar to this one, but some things didn't happen here, and other things that take place here didn't exist in mine." Luke replied. "Damn, this is so weird." "No weirder than yours. Who could imagine a world made up of hundreds of islands, seas filled with huge monsters, and all around a bunch of pirates with magical powers after eating a fruit. That's just weird." "Maybe let's end the bidding here, I think we've come to an agreement that this is all crazy, and now we have more important things on our minds." Phlip growled. "Wait wait, you still haven't answered me, why did you pretend to be so much mediocrity when they humiliated you, I had to set my neck on you to help." Handed back Richard. "What nobody asked you for!" "That's the kind of person you are, wait a minute to see if this fire of yours is hot enough. I'm the one they called the Fire Fist here!" Shouted Richard while arming his hand. "Hmm" Reflected Philip while preparing his seals. "Stop! I don't need you to kill each other now, you are not in control! You are still in the bodies of growing children, no matter how powerful you are, your hormones are speaking through you! Calm down! Fuck!" ... "It is still unclear who set the park on fire, police did not want to reveal any information hiding behind the fact that the investigation is still ongoing. It is also unclear whether the beating of the three teenagers is related to the fire setting. The lives of the victims are not in any danger, however, they will remain in the hospital until they recover, doctors predict it will take several months. Your Presenter said. Good Night."
1-4 Exchange Spoiler: Exchange A week has passed since the unfortunate events in the park. In the meantime, Luke tried to find evidence for Philip's speculations, but so far he had nothing. However, it confirmed his earlier suspicions that there were more reincarnators and, more importantly, at least one of them had already started using his powers for evil purposes. So he had to wait for his further moves. In the meantime, the boys began to get along. Above all, they understood that danger might await them and, more importantly, their families, in the form of people who possess unknown powers. They could assume that inhabitants of worlds unknown to any of them would appear. Meanwhile, while Luke was absorbed in searching for information, Richard and Philip began training together. ... Somewhere in the forest, two boys paired off against each other. If someone from the sidelines had been watching they would have been amazed at the speed of their blows and the agility of their movements. Richard, without being able to use the powers of his fruit, began to focus on developing Rokushiki. Although he didn't learn it in his previous life because he had Mera Mera no Mi powers, he had a certain meeting where he learned the nuances of marines techniques. If you know your enemy you will be able to win half the battles. Phlip also lost out on reincarnation. His new body finally did not have his former bloodline. Although he wasn't especially sad about it. He hated those eyes for the misfortunes they brought in his former life, he felt more liberated without them. Instead, the affinities of his new body were a surprise. Fortunately, he still had an affinity for fire, but he also possessed earth and lightning. "Gotcha!" Shouted Richard finally breaking through Philip's guard, only to realize that he had been outsmarted again. He slammed his fist into the tree trunk, and his opponent stood behind him putting his kunai to Richard's throat. "Holy shit, it's a cheating!" "Is that what you'll tell your enemy at the moment of death?" Asked a disgusted Philip, then continued: "Sooner or later we will face someone with powers completely unknown to us, we must be ready for anything. Which gave me an idea. I don't really see a problem for us to become more versatile in our techniques. Since I could learn to use chakra in this new body you should be able to as well, just as I should be able to learn your skills. That way we will have many more advantages." "Eh, we can try." Replied a defeated Richard laying down on the ground. "I want to learn to control the fire again." "Today is already late, our parents will be worried. We will come back tomorrow, in the meantime I will prepare something for you." ... "For starters, you have to learn to sense chakra, try yourself..." began Philip to say, but suddenly became silent at the sight of Richard's actions. "Haha, just to see your face, I've seen you do it before and I've been thinking about it at home, it's similar to how I use Busoshoku Haki, but I had no idea about this energy before, with this knowledge it's easy." Richard replied with a laugh. "Mhm, don't be so happy, this is the easiest step. You have this paper I made for you, try to transfer your chakra onto it." He accomplished this task with ease as well, and after a while the paper became wet. Philip waited a moment, but seeing that nothing else was happening it was his time to laugh. "I see that our mighty Fire Fist, is affinity with water, hahaha..." At which Richard became enraged. "Shut up, that must have been a mistake, of course I can use fire!" "None of this, at least not right away, with the right training you may succeed, learn to control the second nature of chakra, but it's complicated, and frankly, I doubt you'll have the determination. Water is not bad, although I don't know many techniques, you will have to experiment on your own." "Good then what now?" "Now we'll get to the real training, try to repeat it." With these words, Philip concentrated chakra in his feet and ran up a tree. ... "And why am I here?" Asked a confused Luke. "We thought you could use a little training too, you'll get fat just sitting at home and eating chocolate." Replied Richard, for some reason his smile, made Luke shiver. "First of all, I need it for my brain to function well, so I have where to burn that energy, and secondly, I don't see the point in training. I'm not going to chase anyone between blocks, and better conditioning won't save me from the opponent's abilities." "And that's where you're wrong, we've tested it, nothing prevents us from being able to share our abilities, so if we can you should be able too." At these words Luke froze. "What's that scared look on your face, are you afraid of the squeeze?" "I don't know if you understand what the implications are, I had hoped it was impossible, but if it's true, the chaos that will occur in the world will be greater than I thought." "Why? What does it change? Our opponents don't necessarily have to share their abilities with each other, and even if..." "Let me interrupt you, I'm not worried about them being stronger because of it. I'm worried about someone getting the idea to create their own army of super people. And I can already see governments putting their hands on it."
1-5 First clash Spoiler: First clash Luke has spent the last month between training and seeking information about potential reincarnators. Both were not going well. He wasn't the athletic type, feeling much more at home. However, he admitted that it would be good to learn some self-defense for unforeseen circumstances. For that, the investigation was stagnant. He had a few clues, it seemed, that each reincarnator was relatively tall for his age. So he should look for big kids around whom unexplained things are happening. However, that was simply not enough. He also didn't have his former network of agents and connections, and he'd already seen the looks on people's faces at the sight of a five-year-old talking about recently born super people. His parents weren't helping either, although they were happy that he had finally found friends, they were still firmly in control of his life, not allowing him to spend much time outdoors, much less away from home. Going out into the forest was already costing him a grounding. So he spent most of his time on the Internet searching for the news. It seemed that crime had recently increased significantly in the area. There were many reports of thefts and beatings, and lots of reports of people doing strange things. For example, one guy was practicing sausage fencing in the street by damming traffic, on top of which he was all naked. In a supermarket, a woman started ripping all the boxes for no reason, and when asked why she was doing it, she claimed that god told her to do so. "Is someone testing their powers again?" He muttered to himself. In any case, there wasn't much he could do about it for now, he needed more resources. He could go back to his old detective work, but for now he was too young for that. Maybe Philip will have more luck, apparently getting information was once part of his job. ... It was about 6 PM when the jewelry store was closing. It's already dark at this time in November, and the city's smog further darkens the area. An employee had just approached the door with the intention of closing it, as with a squeal of tires, a black van stopped, from which three masked people fell out. "You have three minutes!" Shouted the man at the wheel. The employee stood in a daze looking at the barrel of the gun pointed at him. He snatched the keys from him and led him back into the building. "If you set the alarm, I'll shoot him down!" Shouted one of the thugs to a woman standing behind the desk. The security guard was an elderly man close to retirement, who had no intention of risking his life, so he quickly discarded his gun and raised his hands. The store itself was one of the older ones in which there was not much modern security. Therefore, the criminals could simply break the glass and pick up anything they liked from the exhibition. To top it all off, this was happening at the end of the month, when all of the profit would be turned over to the bank. Whoever the bandits were, they surely chose their target perfectly. It took them exactly three minutes to rob everything and back out to the van. Even if a silent alarm was activated it was too fast for anyone to react. At least that's what they thought. ... Philip had already been notified of the incident when the bandits walked through the door. A few weeks ago, he received a request from Luke to monitor crime in the city. Since then, he has been able to prevent some crimes. While there were no animals in this world that used chakra naturally, nothing prevented him from cultivating a few of them himself. Of course, Philip valued crows the most. Even though they are currently too weak to help him fight, and even learning to speak will take a long time, they are already smart enough to recognize the crime and send a signal to him. That's enough for now. The problem was the distance. Temporarily Gyaku Kuchiyose no Jutsu was beyond the abilities of his crows. He also didn't know any lightning and earth techniques that could help him move quickly. However, it was not for nothing that he was once called a genius. He had previously learned one of Richard's techniques: Soru. It came quite easily to him, as it is similar to how ninjas move quickly, but it does not require the use of chakra, which is very helpful in emergencies. However, it is only an immediate motion technique. Which means he would have to use it dozens of times before he could travel a significant distance. Whether it cost chakra or not, he would fall from fatigue. This is where his genius comes into play. By combining Soru and the fast movement technique that all ninjas learn - Shunshin no Jutsu, he created something new. The first technique to arise from combining the abilities of two worlds. He named it Shunshin no Soru. It works similarly to the two previous techniques, but allows to move several times farther distances or cover short distances in several times less time, at a single cost of both techniques. In addition, its potential should improve as his strength increases. For now, as long as it was within a stone's throw of a single city, he could get anywhere in the blink of an eye. ... "The boss will be pleased! It went exactly as he said!" One of the men in the van boasted. To avoid the unlucky camera, just in case, they still all remained masked. Just as one was about to respond, the vehicle suddenly began to sway dangerously. "Fuck, watch how you drive!" Someone yelled. "We caught a flat tire, we have got to stop!" "I think you feel bad, drive ha..." At that moment, the van hit something, tipping sideways and slid through, finally hitting some building. The bandits inside took a few minutes to recover from their daze. Fortunately, it all happened on a little-traveled side street, so they still had hopes of slipping away unnoticed. Crawling out of the vehicle, the others began to malign their driver, assuming it was all his fault, but quickly became silent upon hearing some footsteps. Turning around, they spotted an undersized man, in black outfit, who also had his face covered. "And who the hell are you?" Asked one of the bandits. However, he received no answer, as the person in front of him suddenly disappeared, and the man lost consciousness after a moment. ... Philip quickly knocked out the three bandits, leaving conscious only the one he thought was their boss, or at least someone more important. He used a simple Genjutsu to confuse the man's mind and stop him from making any attempt to escape. When an unexpected attack forced him to dodge immediately. With the use of Kawarimi no Jutsu, he moved to a nearby streetlight to see who had attacked him. Below, he spotted a tall man with dark skin, white hair and wearing a red coat, holding dual swords. One weapon had a white blade and the other had a black one. "Nice trick kid, my boss would like to know who you are?" Said the man, who must have immediately located Philip, turning toward him. Philip began to analyze who stood against him. He does not sense, any chakra. He may have human enhancement abilities like Richard, but he won't be able to detect that. The man himself, is clearly too old to be a reincarnator. Unless he was reborn earlier. It could also be someone from this world, finally, they are not one hundred percent sure that this world does not have any form of hidden abilities. Certainly no ordinary person would sneak up on him with such speed. Besides, his very appearance suggests that he is no ordinary anyone. At least he already knows there is a "boss." In any case, he will get all the answers once he defeats him. He used Genjutsu to block his opponent's movement for a moment, then threw a few shurikens at him (amazing how easy it is to get such things on the Internet) and activated his new instant movement technique - Shunshin no Soru to get behind his enemy's back and stab him with a kunai as he defends himself from a frontal attack. However, his opponent's abilities surprised him greatly when he deflected his shurikens with one sword and blocked his kunai with the second one. Damn, he thought, with that speed, even an experienced Jōnin should have trouble blocking, and on top of that, he immediately countered the Genjutsu. "You're fast, but my eyes can see you perfectly. We can still talk, I don't like to hurt kids." At least he is overconfident and talks a lot, who would normally reveal his abilities to an opponent. Jumping away, Philip quickly performs the seals: "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu." His fireball is now much smaller, but still a real threat. Although he could continue the attack for now he prefers to observe, he needs to determine how powerful his opponent is. Because of the short distance, the man had no time to dodge. In Philip's eyes, his weapons seemed to light up for a moment, and then he used them to break the fireballs. Some kind of enhancing energy, but different from chakra and haki? Seeing that the opponent was having difficulty with the block, he decided to move again and attack from the flank with shurikens, still keeping his distance. I need to find time to create explosive notes, he thought. Philip hoped that this time the attack would succeed, as the fire broke his opponent weapon, but suddenly the man sped up doing a dodge. He has the ability to strengthen not only his weapons, but also his body? The opponent also jumped away increasing the distance more, and a bow suddenly appeared in his hands. "I also know a thing or two about ranged attacks." He said, being completely confident. This makes things more difficult... Philip had to use Shunshin no Soru several times to avoid all the arrows. He didn't want to use Kawarimi no Jutsu, as the opponent seems to be able to detect where he is moving too quickly. He lost his alertness, as the last arrow did not fly at him, but into the floor near him. Before he realized what was happening, the arrow struck and exploded. The explosion seriously wounded him and knocked several meters away. The ninja knows when to make a retreat to provide important information. This is the moment. At least it seemed that the enemy had no way to move immediately.
1-6 Gathering Spoiler: Gathering The three of them met at Luke's parents' home. It was a large single-family house in the suburbs. His parents were relatively wealthy, with his father working as an Engineer for an aerospace company and his mother as a chemist in the laboratory of a major pharmaceutical company. Both of them were quite busy, so the house was taken care of by the housekeeper, who is pleased that the boy has finally found friends to play with. Finally, it is not study alone that man lives. Currently they were sitting in Luka's room, trying not to shout at each other too loudly. "From the beginning I didn't like this intervention in crimes, you were only supposed to monitor them, not prevent them, now potential enemies know of our existence." Luke said, while adding 6 sugar cubes to his cup of tea. "He was only supposed to observe them! It's obvious that we should help if we can!" Exclaimed Richard. "Why should we do it if we can't be involved!" "It's my fault, I should have been more vigilant, he surprised me." Replied a despondent Philip. "But here I agree with Richard, why did we start this if we don't want to help?" "Of course I want to help, but first we need information, as a ninja you should know best how much intelligence is worth." Luke countered. "But let's get it over with, shouting at each other won't help us anything, the fact is that through this we also succeeded in gathering some information. Are you sure that no one saw you?" "Yes, I made sure there were no cameras in the alley before I moved. Besides, it was dark and the smog from the chimneys made the area more dense." "That's good, if the people out there know what's good for them too, they won't want to go out on a limb. I'll follow up on this news descent. Now let's summarize what we have: There are probably two groups of people who use extraordinary abilities. The first is a person who can control people's minds to some degree and give them orders. The second is the boss of the man you fought with. Although we can't exclude the possibility that they are not one and the same person, for now it is safer to assume otherwise. They both use crime to get rich and probably train their powers. As for this guy, for ease of reference, let's call him Archer. His physical abilities are not impressive, but he can enhance them using unknown energy. He can summon weapons from nowhere and infuse them with the same energy, which is probably how he did the exploding arrow. He is well trained in hand-to-hand and ranged combat and has keen eyes that can quickly locate an opponent. I want to create classifications of people with powers. At the moment, we don't have a lot of targets to compare, but I will temporarily give him a grade of S, where I would put myself at E and the two of you around B+/A-. This is just a preconception, I'll need more information for a full database." "Hey, don't judge me as this pimped out guy, I'm sure I would have done better!" Here Luke stopped for a moment to sip his tea, completely ignoring Richard, before continuing. "The key point is that Archer wasn't a child, although I think we can't make hasty conclusions on that basis. I can think of 13 answers to this state of affairs. For example, the Henge no Jutsu that Philip teaches us could have caused this. So too, none is more likely than another. Anyone want to add anything?" "What about Philip's injuries? We can't go to the hospital if we want to avoid all the questions." "Although I'm not a medic and it will take some time, but I can heal myself by channeling the chakra in the body properly. I told my parents that I will stay here tonight so they won't see anything, by tomorrow I won't have marks on my body. The question is what are we planning next?" "We will continue to gather information. Since each of us will soon be going to a different school, I propose to continue our conversations via IM. Later I will send you an application that should not be tracked in any way, but just in case we will talk in a cipher, learn it." Luke handed everyone a dozen pieces of paper. "What a headache..." Sighs Richard. "I won't forbid you to intervene, but I would ask you to make sure no one knows about you every time." Luke continued, pulling out a white board and writing out the subpoints. "As for long-term plans, at this point I distinguish three most important aspects: increasing individual strength, acquiring resources - which can be divided into: money, contacts and informants - as well as finding and recruiting talented individuals - I assume that not everyone will want to become criminals. Are you interested in anything specific? I will be focusing on the second point - resources." "Recruitment is my specialty, finally, I was once the captain of my own ship!" Exclaimed a self-satisfied Richard. "I'll stay with getting information in the field. Besides, I'll write down the techniques I remember for you to learn." Philip replied. "Okay then, we have made initial plans. Now if you'll excuse me, my parents will be back soon, so we have to go. They want to send me to a private school for the exceptionally talented, so I have to pretend to study a lot..." ... "Okay then, someone tell me why I was dragged out of bed at this hour?" Frank asked the question, yawning. He was currently in a conference room at CIA headquarters in Langley. FBI agents are unlikely to be invited here often, he thought. Next to him sat two more people, a man and a woman, but much younger than him. Frank himself was a middle-aged black man with balding hair. Both of his cheeks were scarred from being shot. It looked as if a bullet had entered one and exited the other. He was dressed in a black coat and jeans. "I think it's about that video of..." The man next to him started to say, but the woman covered his mouth. "Shut up, we were not supposed to say anything!" "But..." His next statement was also interrupted this time by the sound of the door opening. "Good evening everyone." Said the older man as he entered. An elegant woman with Asian features walked in behind him, she looked to be younger, but Frank knew it was a tyke's deception. She is the same age as him. Of course Frank recognized these pair. Dominic Redmond the current director of the CIA, and Nazeeha Pearce, his ex-wife and CIA analyst (and really an agent). "Let me introduce everyone first." Dominik replied to Frank's inquiring gaze. It appeared that the younger couple next to him were Jonathan Rees an NSA analyst and PhD Lexie Mills a consultant and MIT graduate. "Well the incredible crème de la crème of society has gathered here, but for what?" Frank yawned again, saying. "I'm just back from a meeting in the Oval Office." Started Dominik "At the discussion we talked about a certain video posted on YouTube..." "The president has started watching Youtubers? I can recommend him some interesting channels, but he could have just waited until the morning!" Joked Frank, interrupting the statement. "Yesterday at 6:49 PM a video of a birthday party was sent to the service... Mr. Pearce please do not interrupt. Ekhem. The video was of course initially ignored until Mr. Rees brought it to his attention. Can you say what motivated you?" "Well, because... I..." Rees began, stammering. "I mean... over a month ago I was interested in the fire arson in Central Park. As you know, 1/10th of it burned down at the time, and the cameras did not register any perpetrators. The most popular conclusion of the investigators, which was rejected at the time because of how absurd it sounded, was that the fire was breathed. Although it seems impossible, all traces did not point to anything else." After he got going, he began spitting out words with machine-gun speed. "After I saw the video I recalled it, and then I dug into the original and checked the authenticity of the recording. When I tentatively confirmed that my analysis made sense, I went to my boss with it..." "And so a storm was unleashed that woke you up Mr. Pearce." Dominik concluded. "The NSA told to get the material and analyze it again. At that point it was already in the possession of the New York Police Department as evidence in the case of an explosion on one of the streets, so the authenticity was confirmed by several independent groups. By that time, every intelligence agency had begun to interfere, until the case was taken over by the president. Before we go any further you'd probably like to see what we're talking about, Jonathan, if you'd be so kind..." At this point Frank was amazed at the absurdity of the situation. A simple YouTube video had touched all the major intelligence agencies and reached the president. I wonder how many subscriptions the author will get? At this point, the material was played off the screen in the room. At first glance, it presented nothing significant. Just a family celebrating their son's birthday, singing a happy birthday, and then the kid blows out the candles from the cake. Probably even the author wouldn't have uploaded it to the Internet, if not for the ending, where suddenly a flash of light can be seen through the window, and then a big boom is heard. However, a careful eye can see the reflection in the mirror, which happened to be facing the window. Here you can clearly see a person blowing a huge fireball in the middle of the street. Probably in someone's direction. The strange thing was that the moment the fire appeared was without any sound, and the blast didn't happen until half a minute later, when it was completely dark. "We processed the material to make the scene as clear as possible, but we didn't get anything else. There was smog outside the window, which darkened the image even more. However, this one scene seems to be authentic. Police investigators deployed on the blast discovered several clues that suggest a "shooting" had taken place. Of course, witnesses did not hear any shots. A total of 7 holes were found in the buildings suggesting that they were created after some kind of bullet was fired, though so far analysts can't agree on what exactly it was. There are no bullets or shell casings. The blast itself came from an explosion equivalent to the power of a c4, but it was directed enough to leave no damage beyond a hole in the street. Not far from the location, something resembling a shuriken was found in one of the trash cans. We tried to trace its origin, but the specific marks were obliterated. There are also no fingerprints." As Redmond spoke, photos showing all the information scrolled on the screen. "All right, I get it, big deal, but so many agencies were already involved, why else me?" "Well... They all wanted to get their hands on it so the president decided to create a new department to deal with this case and the arson in Central Park, so far at least let's consider them related. Oversight of the new department is temporarily taken over by the CIA, until otherwise stated, and since this is a homeland security matter it was decided to choose someone from the FBI as the head, and Agent Pearce recommended you. The NSA also got a bite because they were the first to take notice, and of course the New York Police Department also wants its own man here, who you will probably meet on the spot. PhD Mills, on the other hand, is a consultant on high-tech matters that we believe could have been used here." "Holy shit this has no right to work. I'm waiting to see how else the Army will get involved..." Everyone ignored Frank's comment. "That's it, you're booked on a flight to New York at 5 AM. If there are any updates you will find out on the spot from the police contact. You don't have much time, disperse!". As everyone was leaving, his ex-wife, who hadn't spoken a word so far, looked at him and smiled as she walked out. "Fuck!"
1-7 The Shard Spoiler: The Shard Rokuko Chinami had her 5th birthday today. For the princess of the Rokuko Group, this meant a big birthday party, to which the most important people in and outside the country gathered. Everyone wanted to attend the party of the only child of the owner of the largest conglomerate in Japan, which brings together dozens of companies. The event included no shortage of large and expensive gifts, and some guests were accompanied by Hollywood movie stars. The prime minister himself sent his warmest wishes. There were rumors that because of the intelligence she showed at such a young age, there were already plans to make her an heiress. Which even now was not something common in heavily conservative Japan. Everyone expected that today the rumors would either be debunked or, horror of horrors, confirmed. However, the birthday girl herself was currently lying unconscious in bed. The maid who tried to wake her up this morning nearly had a heart attack when her young miss was unresponsive. A chain reaction of notifications then occurred. It didn't take five minutes before the first of the doctors arrived. There seemed to be nothing wrong with her. And every known vital parameter was checked several times. Everything indicated that Rokuko Chinami was simply sleeping. Even someone got the idea that the miss was specially unresponsive by refusing to show up at the party. But he was quickly expelled for spreading unfavorable rumors. The party itself had to go on, even for a person as important and prominent as Chinami's father it was simply unthinkable to send all the guests away. Therefore, he spent the next few hours in extreme agony, while trying to pretend that everything was fine and entertain the guests. Until late in the evening, when the girl finally woke up. ... But let's go back to this morning to find out what really happened. ... Chinami had long been used to getting up early, so she also woke up today before the maid even thought it was time to get up. She got off her bed and almost tripped over the black robe she was wearing. "This is definitely not my pajamas." She whispered to herself. I thought I would be able to experience this new life in peace. However, I guess I was wrong. But I clearly didn't die, so how come my soul left my body. I detect no remnants of any ritual, although I'm not absolutely sure. How many years have passed since I had so little Reiatsu? In any case, it seems to me that I can return to my body again. Surely someone else can take care of the Soul Society here. "Rather wait!" Suddenly she heard a voice coming from nowhere. "Did not power waste so much to get back immediately to body! I beg, listen mind make up before." "Who are you?" "I no name have, Shard call may. By grace, request listen will?" "Compress, I'll miss the party and stop talking so funny!" "Begging bad diction forgive, waters of life passed much have since conversation had." That's not quite what I meant. Chinami thought, but no matter.... Then a minute passed, and the voice said no more. "Are you there? Hello!" "Begging forgive. The duty to perform remains. Towards core going. For, miss, years past two thousand, god world's, terrible thing did and inhabitants be murdered let. Since times those, the world to perdition is going, disappearing dividing barriers are. Heavens and Hell exist ceased, with along people their kinds all. However, river of life flows. Only reincarnation souls save will, them to the world alien sending, total annihilation preventing. Unhappily, began they birthplace return when strength lacked containment. At time same world old this one connect could. Matters make worse, returnees among was inhabitant powers terrible with, who summon can souls from worlds unknown." "And him stop have?" Holy crap this talk has started to get to me too. "Hey come back here!" Chinami exclaimed, after several minutes of silence. Meanwhile, she watched as more and more people began to gather around her body. This included her new mother, who couldn't hold back tears. "Please wait mommy, I'll be back to you soon." She whispered. "Again, forgive deign. Souls more heading are. Question answer contradictory is. Stop though there need is, task another entrust. Soul, mighty once, when river of life no end weakened. This how is rescue became world this, by Heavens restore." "Shall I become the soul king of this world?" "Decision choice your. All after, achieving goal ways infinite as worlds alien. Barriers restore power way new inventing, Heavens and Hell old restoring, Soul Society opening, new creating. Not decide me." "What if I don't agree? I planned this life differently." "Deny right have. Time, however, not much left is and to again try lacking power is. Last remains hope are you." An unknown amount of time passed before Chinami answered. "Will I be able to continue meeting my parents?" "Time divide will, haste ally remain." "What should I do?" "If choice make, the power transferred will and beginning true come will." "On the end of the day, I don't think I have any other way. The Soul Society wasn't that bad, although I have some ideas for changes..." ... This is how the flows of the river of life in this world have begun to return to balance for the first time in two thousand years. However, the young Soul Society will face many challenges to heal old wounds. Only Chinami will remember the existence of the Shard of the Old God. But now she is busy comforting her mother that nothing is wrong with her.