[Congratulations to the host for successfully transmigrating over to the world of Naruto, the Ultimate Lottery System has been activated.]
[It has been detected that the host's current identity is Uzumaki Naruto.]
[Please choose one of the following two routes: 1. Become Hokage; 2. Defect from Konoha.]
[Please note, once a route is chosen, it cannot be changed.]
[Once the host confirms the route, the system will be officially activated, and a novice gift pack will be awarded.]
[Please make your choice within 30 minutes, or the system will go into permanent sleep mode.]
"Did I just... transmigrate?"
Uzumaki Naruto pinched his face hard. The sharp sensation made him realize this wasn't a dream. As an ordinary corporate drone on Earth, he had really crossed into the world of Naruto. And not only that, he had replaced none other than one of the two main characters, Uzumaki Naruto!
"No one ever told me that you could transmigrate while taking a paid bathroom break... This might be a social death moment."
Thinking of the browser history on his phone that he hadn't cleared, Naruto felt tears welling up.
"Forget it, since I've already crossed over, social death is the least of my concerns."
Naruto sighed and shifted his gaze to the system panel that only he could see.
"Just as expected, every successful transmigrator is equipped with a system. The online authors didn't lie! But seriously, I've only just arrived, and I have to choose the path for my future development already?"
If the memories from the original body were correct...
Just last month, Itachi Uchiha, the infamous avenger and brotherly fanatic, had tearfully sent the entire Uchiha clan (except Sasuke) to the afterlife for some soup. After entrusting his foolish younger brother to the sly old Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Itachi happily defected to join the Akatsuki. Hiruzen, in turn, joyfully inherited most of the Uchiha's wealth, while Danzo was gleefully pocketing their eyes.
It seemed like everyone was happy, except... Sasuke Uchiha.
The second son had completely gone emo, and he hadn't attended the ninja academy for a whole month...
Back to the point, Naruto stared at the system's two choices, weighing the pros and cons.
At first glance, the path to becoming Hokage seemed the safest. Even if Naruto did nothing and followed the original plot, he would eventually become the Seventh Hokage.
This route was stable, but the downside was that many of the characters whose deaths had deeply frustrated him in the original story would still perish, and there was a good chance he'd still end up losing an arm to Sasuke.
On the other hand, if he chose to defect from Konoha, Naruto would completely break free from the original plot and forge an entirely different path. However, while this route offered maximum freedom, it would also disrupt the storyline, causing him to lose the advantage of foreknowledge. More importantly, he was only eight years old!
How was an eight-year-old kid supposed to escape from a heavily guarded village full of powerful ninja?!
No way!
...
After much deliberation, Naruto finally decided that rather than choosing an unknown, uncertain path, it was better to stick with one that led to a known destination. After all, with the help of the system, it wasn't impossible to prevent some of the tragedies from the original story or even change their outcomes.
With this in mind, Naruto made up his mind and silently murmured.
"System, I choose…"
*Splat!*
A rotten cabbage leaf smacked Naruto right in the face, the sour stench of decay invading his nostrils, making him momentarily black out.
"Filthy fox! Why are you always standing in front of my shop? You bring bad luck… Get out of here, you're scaring off my customers!"
The shopkeeper, who had thrown the cabbage leaf, spat venomously, gesturing for Naruto to leave.
"Ha~haha..."
Naruto remained silent, slowly peeling the cabbage leaf from his face. He examined it for a moment before suddenly laughing.
As his laughter grew louder, his eyes became colder and more piercing.
Finally, Naruto stopped laughing, casually tossing the cabbage leaf aside.
"Right. I only remembered that Naruto became the hero of Konoha and the Seventh Hokage in the end. I forgot what kind of miserable life he had as a kid!
It's been so long since I read the manga; I'd forgotten these details. That's on me…"
Naruto turned to look at the shopkeeper who had thrown the cabbage leaf. The coldness in his eyes made the shopkeeper shiver and retreat into his shop, slamming the door shut.
The shopkeeper's door was made of glass, spotless from constant cleaning, now reflecting Naruto's blurry silhouette.
Naruto quietly examined his reflection, and the memories of his original body's past became clearer in his mind.
"Go away! My mom said you're a demon fox, and we can't play with you!"
"I'd rather let my vegetables rot than sell them to you, demon fox!"
"Run, the demon fox is here!"
"Damn demon fox, how dare you scare my child? Go die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
"Die!"
...
Suddenly, Naruto grinned and muttered to himself.
"You sure can endure it, no wonder everyone in Konoha ended up liking you later.
But I'm not you, so I... won't tolerate it!"
Naruto reflected that he was the kind of person who was born to resist and couldn't be bent.
In his past life, He never gave in to his boss who forced overtime,
When his landlord raised the rent, he moved out immediately,
And when a kid tried to cut in line for ice cream, he kicked them right back into place!
Now, he had finally transmigrated, and not just into any world, but as the main character.
And you're telling me to endure? To just bear with it and things will get better...
Yeah right, like I'll endure that!
"System, I choose to defect from Konoha."
[Choice successful. Route confirmed. The system is now officially activated, and the novice gift pack has been distributed.]
"Open the novice gift pack."
[Novice gift pack opened. Congratulations, host has received:
1x Bronze Ten-Draw Lottery Ticket,
1x Dimensional Character Summon Ticket (Permanent).]
[Bronze Ten-Draw Lottery Ticket: Can be used to perform one ten-draw from the Bronze Lottery Pool, guaranteed to obtain at least one Excellent-tier item.
Note: Items are ranked from lowest to highest as Common, Good, Excellent, Epic, Legendary, Mythical, and Transcendent.
Bronze Lottery Pool win rates are: 50% Thank You for Playing, 35% Common, 13% Good, 2% Excellent.]
[Dimensional Character Summon Ticket (Permanent): Allows the host to summon a random character from any anime outside of *Naruto*, with strength ranging from an ordinary person to beyond Kage level. Once summoned, the character will permanently remain and be 100% loyal to the host.
Note: Summoned characters cannot be revived if they die.]
"System, use the Bronze Ten-Draw Lottery Ticket."
[Draw successful. Congratulations, host has received:
6x Thank You for Playing,
1x Special Ration Pills (Good),
2x Standard Ninja Tool Bags (Common),
1x Complete Naruto Anime Series Collection (Excellent).]
"Of course, I still have rotten luck... Use the Dimensional Character Summon Ticket."
[Summon successful. Dimensional character is now descending.]
A dazzling white light suddenly appeared in front of Naruto, slowly expanding into a swirling vortex. Within the vortex, a towering figure could vaguely be seen.
"Gu ra ra ra ra! So, you're the one who summoned me?"
Although the summoned character hadn't yet stepped out of the vortex, the hearty laughter alone was enough for Naruto to recognize who it was.
Sure enough, in the next moment, a burly old man wearing a bandana and sporting two crescent-shaped white mustaches strode out of the vortex, carrying a massive naginata over his shoulder.
"Since you've summoned me, brat..."
The old man lightly rested his naginata on Naruto's shoulder, speaking with boundless boldness.
"Become my son!"
The man before him was none other than Edward Newgate, "Whitebeard," one of the Four Emperors from *One Piece*, a manga that stood alongside *Naruto* and *Bleach* as one of the "Big Three" of the shonen world.
[It has been detected that the host now possesses sufficient strength to resist Konoha's pursuit. A mission has been issued:
Escape from Konoha!
Time limit: Two hours.
Completion Reward: 2x Bronze Ten-Draw Lottery Tickets, unlock access to the Silver Lottery Pool.
Failure Penalty: Complete erasure of your consciousness, turning you into a mindless weapon for Konoha.]
Naruto glanced at Whitebeard standing before him, then at the mission issued by the system. He grinned widely.
"Dad, I've been bullied."