Chapter 33: "Surprise! I'm a Ninja With Superpowers (Also, Hi, I'm Not Issei)"
In which secrets are spilled, illusions are dropped, and the group discovers they've been living in a shonen anime the entire time.
There are a lot of good ways to start a group meeting.
You can bring snacks.
Start with a dramatic slideshow.
Or just ease everyone in with the classic, "Hey guys, I have something important to tell you."
Naruto? He went with:
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I've been reincarnated into this body. Also, magic and superpowers are real."
Let's just say—everyone choked on the metaphorical popcorn.
The gang had gathered inside the old construction-site-turned-teenage-dream-hideout. They were sitting on beat-up bean bags, old tires turned into chairs, and one suspiciously comfy couch that probably fell off a truck. Naruto stood in the center like a campfire storyteller—with way more glowing chakra than was technically allowed indoors.
Kenichi and Honoka were seated side by side like the nervous but curious first-year anime protagonists.
Shogo was leaning against a pillar, arms crossed and already vibrating with adrenaline like someone who'd just heard the words "final boss".
Kisara was stretching her legs, one brow raised, as if she was both processing and preparing to jump-kick someone if this turned into a prank.
Ikki, Ukita, and Koga were huddled together like the world's most chaotic boy band, each reacting in their own unique brand of shock and excitement.
And Loki? Loki was sitting in the corner with his phone off, which for him was basically DEFCON 1. The guy hated not knowing things. And Naruto had just shattered his entire "I know everything cool" worldview.
Naruto nodded, dispelling his illusion and shifting from Issei's face into his true form—blue eyes, blonde hair, and all.
Kenichi dropped his water bottle. Koga gasped. Shogo grinned like a lunatic.
"Yup," Naruto said. "I died in my world, ended up here. So yeah… I'm a magical reincarnated ninja. Surprise!"
He rubbed the back of his head and laughed, trying to lighten the mood before anyone's brain exploded.
The silence that followed was weirdly respectful. Like everyone had expected chaos, but instead got a dramatic lore drop and now didn't know whether to scream or high-five him.
Then came the reactions.
Loki, ever the cool schemer, narrowed his eyes. "You're telling me there's a hidden world with powers, and species, and magic—and I didn't know about it? Do you know how many investment opportunities I just missed out on?!"
Naruto gave him a look. "Dude, I just told you I'm from another dimension. You wanna talk stocks?"
Loki: "Yes. Also… please teach me."
Shogo cracked his knuckles. "So… there's a world where people fight with superhuman powers? Where the strong rule and warriors clash on the level of gods?"
Naruto nodded.
"...YESSSSS!" Shogo fist-pumped. "Finally, a challenge! I've been beating people like it's a chore!"
Kisara was more thoughtful. "So… no more limitations? I can actually go beyond my own biology and train to be the strongest? Equal footing, no bias?" Her eyes sparkled. "Also, can I meet that magical girl? And her cat? Especially the cat?"
Naruto grinned. "Sure. But fair warning, the cat might judge you harder than the girl."
Honoka threw up both arms like she'd won the lottery. "This is officially the best anime ever! I'm in. Full support. Do we get transformation sequences?"
Kenichi blinked. "This could also be one of those anime. You know, the ones where everyone dies tragically?"
"Kenichi, buddy," Naruto said, clapping his shoulder. "We're going to train hard enough that our plot armor will be impenetrable."
Ikki, usually the brooding one, suddenly looked… alive. "My arm… I lost everything when it shattered. But if magic exists… if healing is real…"
Naruto gave him a firm nod. "There's hope. More than that, there's a path. You follow me, I'll make sure you don't just get your arm back—you'll get stronger than you ever imagined."
Ikki clenched his fist. "Then I'm in."
Ukita, the responsible big-brother figure, nodded. "I'll follow too. Not just for me. But to watch all your reckless butts and make sure none of us die dumb deaths."
Koga just yelled "FIRE PUNCH!" and started shadow-boxing like an excited puppy.
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"So," Kisara asked as everyone sat in a makeshift circle around Naruto, like campers waiting for ghost stories. "How do we get powers like yours?"
The air was full of energy—part excitement, part popcorn-flavored curiosity. Honoka was bouncing like she was about to get her Hogwarts letter. Shogo was grinning like he'd just been handed a hammer and told to hit things until he found enlightenment.
Naruto, now in full glowing-energy-cloak mode, scratched the back of his head and gave them the truth:
"Well, I'm using spirit energy, which is basically the soul version of Red Bull. But that only works for people born with talent for magic..."
He paused and looked around the group.
"…which is probably none of you."
Honoka raised her hand hopefully.
"Except for Honoka."
"YAY! I knew I was the protagonist's adorable support mage!"
Everyone else groaned. Kisara muttered something about plot favoritism. Koga just started chanting "FIRE MAGIC" under his breath like a lunatic.
"But," Naruto continued, "don't panic. We've got another path: Ki."
"Is that like tea but with punching?" Kenichi asked.
Naruto nodded. "Exactly! Only instead of calming you down, it makes you strong enough to uppercut a tank."
He stood up and raised a fist.
"Ki is the life force in your body. To unlock it, you need to push your body to its absolute limits. Like… 'punching trees until they cry' kind of limits. Once your body gets strong enough to handle the flow of energy, the Ki will naturally awaken."
Everyone looked a little overwhelmed.
"Basically," Naruto said, "step one is: get super fit. Then get even more super fit."
"So… you're telling us we need to train like anime characters?" Loki asked, skeptical.
"Exactly."
"I already have abs."
"Great, now get twelve more."
That's when Naruto turned to Loki again with a grin. "Also, Loki—I need a favor. I want you to find a dojo called Ryozanpaku. That's where we'll meet real Ki users."
Loki blinked. "That old muscle cult on the edge of the city?"
Naruto paused. "…Yes?"
"I've seen it," Loki said, sipping his overpriced imported soda. "It looks like someone glued an ancient temple onto a protein factory. All the guys there are massive. Like, if gym rats ascended to heaven and got reincarnated as buff grandpas."
Kisara leaned forward. "Are they part of the magical world?"
"Honestly?" Loki shrugged. "If they're not, then I don't want to meet who is."
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Okay, so maybe this wasn't the most medically approved idea in history.
But hey, when you've got the power to make people feel like they can bench-press a truck and punch through reality (for like, a minute), you have to share the experience, right?
That's what heroes do. Or slightly irresponsible teenage ninja ghost-possessors. Either way.
So there we were—me, Naruto Uzumaki, honorary street gang leader and unofficial superhero mentor—standing in our gloriously janky base (thanks again, Kisara), ready to give my ragtag band of soon-to-be demigods a taste of the good stuff.
"Alright," I said, cracking my knuckles like some kind of shonen anime gym coach. "Here's the deal. I'm gonna pour some of my spirit energy into each of you. Just a tiny bit. One-minute boost. It'll feel like leveling up mid-battle in a fighting game."
Koga fist-pumped. "YES. I'm going full KOF mode."
"Focus on how it flows," I warned, raising a glowing hand. "Memorize the feel of it, push your body to the limit, and try not to explode."
"Wait, what?" Kenichi asked, visibly sweating.
"Figuratively!" I lied.
Test Subject #1: Kenichi
The dude was nervous, but I respected him for stepping up first. I placed my palm over his heart and let a small dose of spirit energy flow into him. His eyes glowed blue. His hair stood up like he just stuck a fork in a socket.
He gasped. "I feel like I could fight a bear!"
"Great! Go run laps until you collapse!"
He did. Like, literally ran up a wall. Then fell off it.
"Not bad," I said.
"I CAN TASTE COLORS," Kenichi screamed from the ground.
Test Subject #2: Honoka
Honestly? She loved it. She was glowing like a magical girl on glitter steroids.
"I could probably do five backflips right now!"
"Do one," I said.
She did six.
"Cool. You're terrifying."
Test Subject #3: Shogo
He grinned like a maniac as the energy hit him. The ground shook. I think I saw a boulder cry in the distance.
"This. Is. AWESOME!"
"Try not to break the gym," I yelled.
He broke the punching bag. Then hugged me and nearly broke me.
Totally worth it.
Test Subject #4: Kisara
Her expression? Cool and calculating. Typical Kisara.
"I better not wake up with abs on my face," she muttered.
"Just breathe and focus."
One second in, she jumped ten feet in the air and did a spinning kick like Chun-Li's older sister. The wall cracked. Everyone cheered. She landed perfectly and didn't even smirk.
"Huh. I like it."
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After a full day of punching, kicking, jumping off walls, screaming at their own power boosts, and breaking a perfectly good punching bag (again), the gang finally flopped down onto the battered old beanbags, scattered crates, and one suspiciously sticky couch in the Akatsuki base.
It was time for the most important part of becoming a serious street-level superhuman gang.
Branding.
"So," I said, brushing off my hoodie and standing in front of my exhausted, but hyped-up crew, "if we're gonna be the rulers of this city—and eventually, maybe something bigger—we need an identity. A symbol. A logo."
Koga raised a hand like we were in art class. "Like a flaming skull?"
"No," I said.
"A lightning fist?" Kenichi offered.
"Cool," I admitted. "But also no."
"I want a cat," said Honoka, clearly biased.
I pointed at her. "Noted. But also no."
I snapped my fingers, and projected a glowing image into the air. (Thank you, basic illusion magic.)
The image showed a red sun rising behind a stylized cityscape, bold and striking.
"That," I said, "is our logo. Akatsuki. It means dawn. We're not just another gang—we're a new beginning."
There was a long pause.
Then Kisara clapped slowly. "Okay, drama boy. That was cool."
"Right?" I grinned.
Then I turned to Loki, who had been lounging with sunglasses indoors, sipping canned espresso like a villain on break.
"Loki. You've got the cash, the connections, and the sketchy online shopping history. You're in charge of gearing us up."
Loki smirked. "I thought you'd never ask."
I handed him a literal scroll (because I'm dramatic like that) with the list:
Custom jackets (black, red trim, logo on the back)
Snapback caps
Daggers
Police-grade batons
Tasers
Smoke bombs
Throwing knives
Chain mail shirts
Bulletproof vests
Rebreather masks (for style and smoke bombs)
"Wait, wait, wait," Kenichi said, sitting up. "Why do we need bulletproof vests?"
"Because bullets exist," I replied calmly.
"But… isn't this all just, like, magical kung-fu gang rivalry stuff?" Ikki asked.
"It was," I said. "Until it wasn't. You want to play with fire? You dress like a firefighter."
The group went quiet.
Shogo, of course, was grinning ear to ear like someone just offered him a cage match against a T-rex. Loki was already Googling "military surplus ninja gear."
But the others… they were nervous. And it made sense. Magic fights and anime training montages were one thing. Body armor and tasers meant this was real.
Very real.
I saw the fear in their eyes. I'd seen it in myself once too—right before I charged into danger anyway.
So I told them the truth.
"You can leave. Right now. No one's going to stop you. But superpowers aren't for the faint-hearted. This path? It's dangerous. Bloody. Lonely. But it's also worth it."
I looked at them—Kenichi's shaking hands, Honoka's biting her lip, Koga's wide eyes.
"But I promise you this. If you walk this road with me, I'll get you strong enough that nothing in this world can break you."
There was a long silence.
Then Kenichi stood up. "I'm in. Just… I might cry later."
Honoka raised her hand. "Same. Except I'll cry now."
Koga stood, fists clenched. "If I can learn to throw fireballs, I'm in."
Ikki nodded. "Fix my arm. I'm yours."
Kisara cracked her knuckles. "Let's see what this body can really do."
I smiled.
Akatsuki wasn't just a name anymore.
It was a team.
And soon?
It'd be a force to be reckoned with.