"Guy!" One of the men called.

"Wait here kid, I'll come back soon." Guy said, then left to talk to the other ninjas who were inspecting the bodies. I took the opportunity to collect my thoughts and create a plan.

I sat down, hugged my knees, and proceeded to think of my next course of action. 'I can't act like myself, I'll seem too suspicious, too mature for a kid. Should I act like Sayori…? She'd probably be terrified now. But I'm not really scared, and I don't know how to act. How about a blend of myself and Sayori's personality? Alright, I'll go with that.'

'Sayori was an introverted kid. She was shy, didn't talk much, scared of strangers, and spent most of her time alone. She didn't even try to interact with half the kids in the orphanage, refusing to play any games with them. Instead, she watched from the sideline as kids smiled and laughed. She was not the average kid, which encouraged her peers to ignore her. Overall, she was not a very positive person, and was not happy in the orphanage.'

'I'm also an introvert, though I'm not really a shy person. When I talk to people, I do try to open up and seem social. Sadly, those days leave me exhausted and drained of energy, so I preferred staying home. Unlike Sayori I'm a pretty positive person, I won't say I'm a happy/smiley person, but I'm usually satisfied with what I have.'

'In general, we have similar characteristics. So, I'll keep my introverted nature, but I won't force myself to seem social as it wasn't in Sayori's nature to do so. I'll mostly answer when questioned, to appear shy. I'll also try to talk in very simple vocabulary because of my age.'

…

'Hold on… now that I think about it. Am I thinking in Japanese!? I've been thinking and speaking in Japanese this whole time… How is that possible? I didn't even notice me doing so… It seemed so natural.'

I tried to think of anything in English but I wasn't able to do so. 'Why can't I speak in English? Is this like a perk I get from being a gamer? Auto translate…? Well, I've always wanted to learn Japanese… I guess my wish came true?'

'It is a little sad that I forgot my first language… but it's kind of convenient that I won't slip some English words by mistake… hmm, I'll take what I get. In any case, I've got my act down. Next, I've got to check what the system has in store for me.'

I started reading the notification that popped up before. 'Please let this be something useful.' I thought needing some help to pass Guy's questions with the least amount of suspicion.

[You are now a level 1 gamer! You gained the ability to check your status! As a gamer, you will have many choices. Make your choices while thinking of the consequences. Some things might be more than what they seem. To check your status say: 'status.']

'Choices? Consequences? Is the system giving me advise? Interesting… well, more things to think about later. At this rate I might need to make a list. At any rate, let's check my Status!'

[Status]

Gamer: Chiba Sayori

Title: none

Level: 1

Exp: 0/100

—

Hp: 10

—

Strength: 4

[Measures physical power/damage and carrying capacity.]

Agility: 4

[Measures dexterity controls attack, movement, speed, and accuracy.]

Vitality: 4

[Measures sturdiness, resistance to damage, and fatigue.]

Wisdom: 10

[Measures self-awareness, common sense, restraint, and insight.]

Intelligence: 10

[Measures problem-solving skills, knowledge, memory, and rationality.]

Luck: 1

[Luck can influence anything, mostly random items, encounters, and successes/failures.]

—

Skills:

none.

—

(Remaining points: 10)

'That's a lot of information. I don't know what's the standard for strength, agility, and vitality but they seem pretty low, it's probably because I'm four. I suppose my wisdom and intelligence are higher because of my mental age… I remember some mangas that provided their gamer characters the ability to see people's/object's status. Can I do that too? It will help me understand where I stand with my abilities.'

[You can check other's status by looking at them and saying: 'status']

'Oh, so the system is listening to my thoughts... why didn't you answer me before system?'

…

'So, the system chooses when to talk… having it listen to my thoughts is somehow incredibly useful and horribly wrong at the same time. It's good that I'll be able to communicate with the system without talking out loud. On the other hand, the system will be able to listen to every thought going through my head… even thoughts I don't want it listening to. What a way to invade someone's privacy system… anyhow, let's check these guys' status.'

I looked at Guy and thought 'status.'

[Level is not high enough to see status.]

'Huh…? Oh, maybe the difference between our levels is too high. What about the others?'

[Level is not high enough to see status.]

[Level is not high enough to see status.]

...

'I just wasted my precious time because of you system... it's not on purpose right?'

...

'It's not only invading my privacy. It also has bad customer service.' I sighed, then looked back at my status and stared at the ten points I received as a level one gamer.

'This will hopefully give me an extra boost while answering questions. I need to answer in a way that makes me look like an innocent child, unrelated to what happened here. Now, how should I distribute these points? Intelligence and wisdom might help? Maybe even luck? Hmm, should I add four points to Intelligence, three points to…'

"Kid are you with us?!"

"Aaaah!" I screamed falling on my back as I saw Guy's face right in front of mine. I scrambled to my feet, fixed my hair, and said "I was thinking… Sorry Might-san."

"Well, you acting so youthfully is good, but we need to go to the Hokage now. So, we need you to come with us and explain what happened here, alright?" Guy said. While he was talking, I noticed the other ninjas sealing the bodies in what looked like Fuinjutsu paper.

"Aah... yes." I nodded my head distracted, 'shoot, I haven't had a plan yet and I'm meeting the hokage?'

"I'll carry you to the tower. Don't be afraid, kid. Soon, we'll bring you back home safe and sound." He said, then picked me up and placed me in a single shoulder carry where he was holding the back of my legs from the front, forcing my face to get squished on his back. 'Why is he carrying me like this? Am I a sack of potatoes?'

Guy proceeded to jump from one tree to another, while my face was bumping his back. 'Ow! Ow! Ow!' I kept repeating every time my my nose or cheeks hit him. 'What a horrible experience… this is definitely the worst way of transportation I used in my twenty-three years of life. One out of ten stars. Would not recommend. Doing this while jumping from tree branch to tree branch, then building to building will make anyone nauseous…'

'Huh? Hold on!' I looked at the side, barely seeing anything from Guy's back and my hair that was flapping around, and realized that we almost reached the tower. 'No… How did we reach here so fast? I didn't distribute my points yet!' I felt like crying, 'can't these ninjas walk? Why are they running and jumping on buildings…? Why did the ninjas who found me have to work so enthusiastically. How unlucky!'

…

'Hmm? Unlucky?' I made a quick decision that may or may not help. 'We need to make choices... right system? Since my luck is so low (I mean, it's only one point. How did Sayori even survive this long?), let's just put everything in there. It's not the right time to hesitate!'

'Add all 10 points to luck!' I thought just as we entered the building. I breathed out feeling myself sweat from one of the most stressful two minutes I experienced in my life.

"Can we meet the Hokage?" Guy asked the lady by the front desk, as I looked around the room while I was still perched on Guy's shoulder. 'Ugh I feel nauseous from all that jumping, I can hardly look around but... this building and the houses outside look similar to the manga. It seems that the setting is like the one I read about… good to know.'

"You can go in now." She answered.

"Thanks." Guy said. He proceeded to walk up a flight of stairs, then knocked on a door. Someone answered, "Come in." allowing Guy, the other two ninjas, and I to enter the room. They stood next to each other forming a line. Guy finally placed me down, and I moved right next him to face the Hokage who was sitting behind a desk. I took a quick glimpse of his face and got lost in questions that filled my head. 'The hokage looks younger than I remember… did the manga exaggerate his age? Or am I living in an age before the story started? If so, then what time period am I in? How old is Naruto…?' I stopped thinking for a second feeling something out of place. 'Why is the room so quiet? Are they using hand signals or something? Are they talking about me!?' The hokage cut my thought process as I heard him say:

"Report."