Chapter 239 Unexpected Changes

The sunlight lazily rested on his face, its gentle golden tendrils slowly warming the surroundings. Logan's eyelids twitched as his half-asleep consciousness floated lightly, taking in the sensory information around him. In his hazy state, he sensed something was amiss.

Tap, tap, tap…

The sound of footsteps, like drumbeats, echoed from elsewhere and quickly approached. It was a noise that made Logan frown as he turned his back to the sunlight.

His gradually returning consciousness grew sharper after the initial moments of awakening, and with his heightened senses, he heard the sound of the doorknob being grasped.

'Doorknob, footsteps, sunlight...'

A sudden sense of urgency flared within him. His once-rising awareness instantly broke through the foggy surface of slumber, and the world became clear.

Logan opened his eyes just as the door to his room swung open.

"Did you hear me, Logan? Do you know what time it is now? Every Monday morning, you always..."

A familiar voice babbled on without a care as it moved past his bed, bustling about, tidying things up, more for show than necessity. The person then pulled the curtains open with a swoosh.

The dim room was suddenly flooded with light, catching Logan off guard. He raised his hand to shield his eyes from the harsh sunlight. His gaze drifted slowly over the colorful otaku merchandise around him, past the blue-glowing gaming PC, and finally landed on the bright white light outside the window.

'What… is going on?'

A few school uniforms were unceremoniously thrown onto him. Logan caught them absentmindedly, then looked at Amanda as if she were some strange sight.

"Mom..." He struggled to utter the word, already grasping the current situation.

"What are you staring at? Get up already!" Amanda ignored her son's bewildered look, shooing him away like a fly before quickly slipping out of the room.

"..."

'This is my room...' Logan thought, touching the school uniform in his hands. He glanced around, and as his eyes landed on the glaring sun outside the window again, the undeniable reality of his surroundings confirmed the situation, 'I hadn't crossed over to the Naruto World.'

"What's going on?"

Logan truly felt like he needed a series of question marks floating above his head, 'Today was supposed to be Monday, wasn't it?'

He checked the date on the calendar hanging on his wall: November 13th, 2017.

'It had been a week since I last returned to the real world, and I had been waiting last night for the next chapter to release...'

'But there is no crossing over, just skipped straight to the next day.' Logan frowned deeply, trying to make sense of it. Yet, on further reflection, this seemingly minor occurrence was anything but trivial, 'The question is... why?'

There was no warning, no perceivable cause. This unexpected turn of events sparked a rare sense of concern within Logan, a feeling that had become scarce since his powers had grown. He began to retrace his actions from the previous night.

'After finishing his nightly routine, I had spent some time online, simply waiting as usual. Eventually, tired of waiting, I had just gone to bed...'

Logan rubbed his forehead in frustration as the clock's hands ticked away. The sunlight that filled his room felt devoid of warmth.

'Is it just a random coincidence, or had something unknown and significant happened?'

The morning sun was bright and warm. Waking up, it felt like he had missed something very important. Logan clenched his fists, the previously dismissed worries about the mysterious cross over returning to trouble him, and his anxiety was palpable.

The weight of these concerns made Logan let out a long sigh, "What the hell is going on?"

"What are you doing?"

A gentle yet authoritative female voice came from the doorway. Logan, who had been lost in deep thought, stiffened and turned to meet Amanda's extremely displeased gaze.

"Ah?"

Logan replied, suddenly realizing his situation. He quickly grabbed his school uniform, having become so absorbed in his thoughts that he had forgotten the more immediate situation.

Amanda looked at Logan, who was still wearing underwear as he was a few minutes ago, even on the bed, with focused eyes. It seemed that it was really an illusion when she felt her son had become better.

"I'll get dressed! I'm going to school right away!"

A figure rushed past. After brushing his teeth and washing his face at an extremely fast speed, Logan flung his school bag on his back. He almost used his Shurikenjutsu to prevent the books from falling out. In a flurry of activity, Logan glanced at the time and rushed out the door without delay.

The exhaust fumes left faint gray-black traces on the street. Logan relaxed only after catching the bus.

The rush of the morning made Logan feel a sense of his past life as an ordinary student, often squeezing in some last-minute novel reading or watching anime, and racing to catch the bus. It used to be common to get wet shoes from walking by the river and facing criticism for being late, only to repeat the same routine in the evening.

Skipping breakfast, catching the bus, running to school for self-study… these ordinary moments had not appeared since his Ninja training. Logan found a seat and sat down, still unsettled by the morning's strange events.

The number of people on the bus increased with each stop. Logan noticed several female students running anxiously behind the bus and hurriedly waving their hands. One of them actually had a piece of bread in her mouth.

Logan looked puzzled and coughed, 'Eating bread while running to school... That's quite a skill. First, you must run, not too fast, not too slow, a brisk pace is best. Then, be prepared for turns, remembering the preparation for falling.'

'At this point, the gears of fate might turn, and depending on the impact, it's up to your preference. If you fall forward, you should do so forcefully, and if backward, remember to pull someone's arm. It's common sense to show your chest when falling forward, but when falling backward, you should pretend not to know and make a charming cry of pain. Your expression should be innocent when looking down, and the angle of your head should be around forty-five degrees...'

'No, stop!' Logan mentally interrupted his own wandering thoughts. In the brief confusion, his off-topic musings relieved some of his stress. This was not the time for these anime tropes. Men have their teenage phases, and everyone has been caught at some point. Logan dismissed the disorganized thoughts and focused on the pressing issue at hand.

The bus ride was monotonous, with scenery that had barely changed over the years. As Logan glanced out the window, he suddenly had a thought and quickly pulled out his phone.

He found the latest Naruto manga in the app's library, and a red dot indicated a new update.

'It was normal for a new chapter to be released every Monday, but...' With an uncertain mood, Logan opened the latest chapter. After a few seconds of loading, the black-and-white pages appeared.