A white light inexplicably shone in the chaotic darkness.
Bibi Dong suddenly opened her eyes, clutching her chest and gasping for breath.
"Huff... huff..."
Am I... still alive?
With rapid breathing, Bibi Dong stared blankly at her hands, which were clenched and unclenched, in disbelief.
It's like a person about to drown being pulled out of the water, their lungs frantically drawing in oxygen from the air. Not only is the body recovering, but the previously chaotic and blurry consciousness is gradually becoming clear.
Something's not right!
Bibi Dong lowered her head and stared at her own body.
He was wearing his usual solemn papal robes, without any dirt or tears, which were definitely not the clothes he wore on the battlefield at Jialing Pass!
What exactly happened?
Where am I?
How is Xiaoxue doing?
Was it a backup plan left by that bastard Rakshasa?
Bibi Dong's mind was in complete chaos, but her years of experience as a powerful figure forced her to calm down. She slowly stood up, her cold eyes sweeping over her surroundings as her soul power circulated throughout her body, checking her physical condition.
Really.
She's in big trouble! She's only at the level of a group spirit now?!
Bibi Dong's pupils twitched almost imperceptibly before her face turned cold. Who was behind this? She was already dead, yet the Tang family brat still wouldn't let her go?
His mind raced, taking in his surroundings. The spacious area was dimly lit, the floor was covered in ankle-deep water, and the thick stone walls were riddled with rusty pipes, like…
The sewage system of Wuhun City?
Accustomed to the palace and church, Bibi Dong only remembered this dark corner with great difficulty. She frowned, as the dim scene evoked some unpleasant memories.
Snap,
"Who goes there!?"
Footsteps sounded, and Bibi Dong turned her head sharply to look. But as soon as she saw who it was, the wariness in her eyes turned into disappointment.
Child...
What appeared before her was just a child with short, black hair and bright eyes staring at her. His chubby cheeks made him look like a porcelain doll.
His height barely reached Bibi Dong's upper thigh, and Bibi Dong had to lower her eyes to meet his gaze.
So weak.
Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes. This brat's soul power level wasn't even level ten. No wonder she hadn't noticed it immediately.
He wasn't the mastermind...
Was it a child who happened to wander in?
However, if even a brat like this can break in at will, then the security of this place must have a huge flaw!
Having considered this, Bibi Dong crossed her arms, looked down at him arrogantly, and asked, "Kid, are you a citizen of the Spirit Empire? What kind of place is this?"
"ha?"
The child suppressed his shock, looked around, and then stared at him with a strange expression.
"You don't seem to understand your current situation?"
"Hey kid, watch your tone!"
Bibi Dong slightly raised her hand, her thin lips parted slightly, and the soul power she had been holding back dissipated a little. Even just a tiny bit of divine power stirred up a purplish-black storm in this strange space!
Give this disrespectful brat a little lesson.
The thought had barely formed in her mind when Bibi Dong's pupils contracted!
Before his eyes, the rampant soul power swept past the mischievous child without causing the slightest ripple, merely brushing past him like a gentle breeze...
"You did all of this!?"
Bibi Dong's face contorted in a grimace, and she forced out a sound through clenched teeth. The child opposite her merely raised an eyebrow, his expression as natural as if he were chatting with a friend, "Um? How should I put it? Not really... but strictly speaking, it does concern me..."
Bang!
An invisible shockwave exploded in the enclosed space, the water on the ground rose high, and the entire sewer was filled with violent soul power. If the soul power vortex just now was a storm, then this one was a hundred-meter tsunami!
Bibi Dong's fingers, imbued with purplish-black soul power, formed claws and stopped in front of the child's neck, unable to advance an inch!
Splash!
The crisp sound of chains rang out!
Countless golden chains, engraved with mysterious runes, burst forth from the void, binding Bibi Dong's limbs and body tightly in the blink of an eye, fixing her in place.
Snap,
Behind me, water jets splashed up and cascaded down, and a light rain began to fall.
"Waaah..."
Bibi Dong suppressed the whimpering in pain, her temples bulging with veins as she forcefully mobilized the soul power within her body!
The chains rattled but remained unmoved; unsettling black chain runes had somehow crept onto her delicate oval face.
This showy kid seemed to have expected this. Ignoring Bibi Dong's fiery eyes, he raised his hand and brushed her dangerous palm away. "Like I said before, you don't seem to understand the current situation?"
The circulation of soul power and even divine power within her body completely ceased under the binding chains! Bibi Dong lowered her eyes, staring intently at the brat in front of her!
"Who exactly are you!?"
"Jiang Mingmen is still an unknown nobody." He then seemed to remember something and declared loudly, "But he's destined to become the Hokage!"
"That's it, Donglaba."
"ha?"
——
"Jiang Mingmen? Is that his name?"
Inside the simple wooden house, a beautiful azure crystal ball sat in the center. A group of children stood timidly against the wall, awaiting instructions from their adults. Behind the crystal ball, a Spirit Hall Soul Master stroked his long beard and casually flipped through the files in his hands.
Jiang Mingmen nodded.
The neighborhood head next to him seemed to feel that this was disrespectful, so he took over the topic and explained it to the person.
"Yes, esteemed War Soul, this is our most promising child. Both his parents are Soul Masters, but..."
"well..."
The neighborhood head sighed softly.
"His parents went to the Soul Hunting Forest to obtain a Soul Ring and then disappeared without a trace. Their bodies were never found, so all that could be done was to erect a cenotaph... All that was left in the family was their child..."
Not only that, their child also died from excessive grief...
Six-year-old Jiang Mingmen blinked, the hellish jokes in his mind that, if heard by outsiders, would probably scare them to death.
That's right, he was a time traveler. In his previous life, he was an ordinary person who was working on his graduation thesis in his dormitory. Unfortunately, the dormitory transformer was old and an electric shock killed him.
After death, good fortune allowed him to transmigrate into the body of a person with the same name who had died of grief, and half a year has passed since then.
The past cannot be retrieved.
Over the past six months, his desire to go back has gradually faded. Since he's already here, he might as well make the best of it and live a good life in this Douluo world first.
"Is that so?" The Spirit Hall Soul Master seemed to have his memories stirred and couldn't help but say a few more words, "That's normal. Soul Masters face great difficulties in their cultivation, and accidents can happen at any time."
After saying that, he waved to Jiang Mingmen.
"Child, stretch out your hand."
Jiang Mingmen stretched out his right hand, and the six-pointed star formation beneath his feet lit up in accordance with the Soul Master's guidance.
Like being reborn from the ashes, Jiang Mingmen felt a crack appear in the shackles within his body, which he then forcefully broke through.
Starlight-like points of soul power appeared on Jiang Mingmen's palm, and a jet-black chain suddenly shot out from his palm, startling the workshop head beside him.
"chain?"
The bearded Soul Master glanced at the unremarkable Martial Soul and muttered, "It can be considered a combat Martial Soul; it can be used as a whip."
"Let's examine the soul power."
Jiang Mingmen's gaze lingered on his own martial soul for a moment, and under the urging of the bearded soul master, he placed his palm on the azure crystal ball.
A light shone from the depths of the crystal ball, quickly spreading across half of it before its speed slowed down again.
The light shone brighter than the others before Jiang Mingmen, as evidenced by the gleaming eyes of the surrounding village head and the bearded soul master. Only Jiang Mingmen felt a little more uneasy.
This level is far from enough.
"Excellent! Excellent!"
"Your talent is truly remarkable! Your innate soul power is already at level six, three levels higher than mine back then!"
The bearded Soul Master shouted excitedly, but Jiang Mingmen ignored him, as he was frowning in thought.
Bibi Dong has been Pope for five years now. Judging from the timeline, Tang San must be at least six years old. Jiang Mingmen can't remember many of the original plot details, but Tang San must have become a god before he was thirty.
That speed... is too fast...
I don't seek fame among the feudal lords, but at least I can survive in this chaotic world. In another ten years or so, the various forces on this continent will be fighting each other to the death, and even dogs will be brainwashed.
Am I going to become cannon fodder in the end?
It's a congenital defect!
Then we'll make it up the day after tomorrow!
Jiang Mingmen pursed his lips in thought, frantically searching his mind for memories of the original Douluo Continent novel, until…
"Naruto! Naruto!"
Someone shook Jiang Mingmen's shoulder, and Jiang Mingmen finally snapped out of his daze, looking up in a panic. "Oh? What's wrong? Uncle Fangzhang?"
"Are you laughing like a fool? An adult is asking you a question."
None of them noticed Jiang Mingmen's unusual behavior just now. The workshop head's wrinkled face was full of smiles as he spoke, pointing to the bearded soul master beside him who also had a ruddy complexion.
"Little guy, would you like to come to our Spirit Hall? With your talent, getting into the Spirit Hall Academy won't be a problem. Do you know what the Spirit Hall Academy is all about...?"
The bearded Soul Master rambled on, praising the Spirit Hall Academy.
These words were partly spoken for work purposes and partly from the heart.
Is the reward the same for awakening a minor genius as for sending a minor genius to the Spirit Hall? Besides, the Spirit Hall Academy is the number one academy in the world, and the Spirit Hall itself is the holy land of soul masters on the continent. Would joining the Spirit Hall really harm him?
Faced with these fanatical Spirit Hall Soul Masters.
Jiang Mingmen patiently waited for him to finish speaking, then made a hesitant expression befitting a six-year-old child.
"Well... I'm a rough guy from a small town, and I'm afraid I'll get bullied if I go there. It's fine for me to study in Nottingham, right here."
The bearded soul master wanted to persuade him again,
But then I thought, what could a six-year-old understand?
Once he reaches the required age, seeing that the students of the Spirit Hall Academy have the best spirit rings and can dominate in the competition, they might even be begging him to join the Spirit Hall Academy. There's no need to waste words now.
"Sigh... Alright, you don't know how great the Martial Soul Academy is yet. Come find me when you're older and more mature."
After saying that, the bearded Soul Master waved his hand dismissively, still slightly annoyed.
"Thank you, sir."
Under the puzzled gaze of the neighborhood chief, Jiang Mingmen stood obediently among the children who had just awakened.
The awakening ceremony is still ongoing.
[Ding!]
Jiang Mingmen had just turned his gaze away when a cold, electronic voice sounded in his mind.
Could it be that...?
system!
A system capable of punching Asuras and kicking sea gods?
Before Jiang Mingmen's joy could fully surface, the cold, electronic voice continued, "[The Better Naruto System is at your service!]"
Huh?
Naruto?
Jiang Mingmen's head was buzzing. He glanced at the ongoing Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony not far away, then looked down at the soul imprint on the back of his hand...
Oh no! This system must be an idiot!
(End of chapter)