A man with white hair, crimson eyes, and a pair of oni horns lay sprawled on the grass, fast asleep.
This was none other than Arataki Itto.
Suddenly, a streak of light shot into his head. He jolted awake, his face contorted in pain as he clutched his skull with both hands.
The headache was unbearable!
Arataki Itto writhed on the ground, rolling back and forth until the pain finally subsided. When he came to, his eyes stared blankly at the sky, and he muttered under his breath, "Holy crap… Did I actually transmigrate?"
In his previous life, he had been the son of a notorious underworld boss. Under his father's protection, he had lived a carefree life for over twenty years, learning all sorts of skills along the way. But one day, while walking on the sidewalk, he saw a driver lose control of their vehicle, hurtling toward a little girl in the middle of the road…
He… chose to stand by and watch, just like everyone else. What else could he do? He wanted to help, but he was powerless.
He was dozens of meters away from the girl, and with the crowd blocking his path, even Usain Bolt wouldn't have made it in time.
Then, the most unbelievable thing happened. The driver, as if possessed by the spirit of a racing legend, executed a perfect drift, narrowly missing the girl.
Just as he and the crowd were about to cheer in amazement…
The vehicle didn't stop. Instead, it accelerated even faster, heading straight for him!
Before he could even react, the bus slammed into him with a deafening crash, sending him flying dozens of meters through the air. As he hit the ground, he mustered the last of his strength to wipe his phone clean before closing his eyes for the final time.
After all, "Even if my bones are shattered, I'll leave my integrity untouched in this world…"
And as he was hit, he heard a voice—clear as day, despite the chaos. It said something like…
"It's time for a journey to another world, Transmigrator…"
A gentle baritone voice echoed in his ears as his vision faded to black.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in this new reality. Now, as Arataki Itto, he struggled to absorb the flood of memories: Teyvat, Inazuma, the Arataki Gang, the Vision Hunt Decree, Granny Oni, Tengu Kujou Sara, sumo wrestling… Wait, scratch that last one.
After processing these memories, Itto pinched and poked at himself, still in disbelief about the whole transmigration thing. After a while, he let out a bitter laugh. "Heaven above… If you were going to send me to another world, couldn't you have picked a better starting point? This is like throwing me into survival mode!"
Indeed, life in Inazuma was hard enough for ordinary people, let alone someone like Arataki Itto. As a former Genshin Impact player who had completed the game's storyline, he knew all too well the flaws of this nation.
The Archon was practically useless, having created an AI puppet to rule in her stead while she secluded herself for five centuries.
The Tri-Commission was locked in constant power struggles, plunging Inazuma into chaos.
In one word, Inazuma was…
Rotten to the core!
Beyond the Tri-Commission, countless nobles exploited the common folk, sucking them dry.
What was even more shocking was that the Raiden Shogun, the deity of Inazuma, seemed completely oblivious to the nation's plight.
Of course, her understanding of the outside world came solely from reports submitted by the Tri-Commission, who painted a rosy picture of prosperity and happiness.
The Raiden Shogun, satisfied with these reports, never once doubted their loyalty.
Deception? The concept never crossed her mind.
To be fair, the Tri-Commission wasn't entirely wrong. Inazuma City itself was bustling and prosperous, but outside the city walls… Well, that was a different story.
And so, the Raiden Shogun remained secluded in Tenshukaku for five hundred years.
Seriously, Raiden Ei was holed up in the Plane of Euthymia, while her puppet was holed up in Tenshukaku. What was this, an infinite nesting doll of seclusion?
(For those unfamiliar with Genshin Impact or its lore, the current deity of Inazuma is Raiden Ei, while the Raiden Shogun is a puppet she created to govern the nation in her stead.)
To make matters worse, the Raiden Shogun, in her pursuit of eternity, enacted the Vision Hunt Decree and the Sakoku Decree, further worsening the lives of Inazuma's people.
The Vision Hunt Decree required Vision holders to surrender their Visions, which were then embedded into the Statue of the Omnipresent God.
However, losing one's Vision came with severe side effects: the loss of ambition, a descent into apathy, and a general hopelessness. Unsurprisingly, Vision holders were reluctant to comply.
To enforce this law, the Raiden Shogun dispatched her trusted general, Kujou Sara, to confiscate Visions. The original Arataki Itto had his Vision taken by her.
Strangely, though, losing his Vision didn't seem to affect him at all. He remained as boisterous and carefree as ever.
Guess it's true what they say: ignorance is bliss.
As for the Sakoku Decree, it prohibited anyone from entering or leaving Inazuma, isolating the nation from the other six nations and turning it into a truly closed-off country…
Even Yae Miko, the head priestess of the Grand Narukami Shrine, seemed indifferent to Inazuma's plight.
Meanwhile, Watatsumi Island had risen in rebellion, forming a resistance army to oppose both the Vision Hunt and Sakoku Decrees.
But the challenges didn't end there. His current identity and lineage added another layer of difficulty.
He was an oni—a member of the demon race.
As the saying goes, "Those who are not of our kind must have different intentions."
Humans' wariness and hostility toward the oni could be traced back to the founding of Inazuma.
During the Archon War, races had to pledge allegiance to the Electro Archon to survive, but humans under her rule were deeply prejudiced against other races.
The oni were divided into two factions: the red oni and the blue oni. While the red oni sought to coexist with humans, the blue oni preferred to live in seclusion deep within the mountains. To gain the trust of humans, the oni devised a plan: the blue oni would cause trouble in human territories, and the red oni would drive them away, earning the gratitude of the humans.
But fate had other plans. One of the oni leaders, Chiyo, also known as the Tiger Oni, was corrupted by the Abyss and turned against the Electro Archon, raising her blade in rebellion. She was defeated, losing a horn and an arm before fleeing into the wilderness…
From that moment on, humans' resentment toward the oni reached its peak, leading to widespread persecution. The blue oni, having retreated to the mountains, managed to escape the worst of it. But the red oni, who had always believed in the goodness of humanity, were nearly wiped out. Now, Arataki Itto was the last of their kind.
If it hadn't been for Granny Oni, even he might not have survived.
It's worth mentioning that Itto's parents were driven out by humans and succumbed to illness during their exile.
Thinking about all this, Itto felt another headache coming on. This was straight-up nightmare difficulty. "Well, I'll just have to take it one step at a time," he thought resignedly.
There was no other choice. He was here now, and no amount of complaining would change that. Instead of wasting energy on regrets, he needed to focus on surviving—and thriving—in this new world.