Chapter 1 — The First Rift
Mia’s day had started like any other.
She was walking home when she noticed something strange in the sky.
At first, she thought it was a cloud.
Then it moved.
A thin crack of glowing blue light appeared above the road.
Mia stopped.
“What... is that?”
The crack grew wider.
A deep rumbling sound shook the ground.
People around her began looking up.
Then—
CRACK!
The sky split open.
A massive blue Rift appeared above the town.
Wind blasted through the streets.
Mia stumbled backward.
“What is happening?!”
Suddenly, three figures fell through the Rift.
The first landed on the roof of a nearby car.
He wore an orange jumpsuit and had bright blond hair.
He looked around.
“Where am I?”
Mia stared.
She recognized him immediately.
“You’re... Naruto Uzumaki.”
Naruto looked surprised.
“You know me?”
Before Mia could answer, another figure dropped from the Rift.
A boy with a green-and-black checkered haori landed safely on the ground.
He immediately reached for his sword.
“Something is wrong.”
Mia recognized him too.
“Tanjiro?”
Tanjiro looked at her.
“You know my name?”
Mia didn’t have time to explain.
A third figure suddenly came flying through the Rift.
“WHOOO!”
A boy wearing a straw hat landed face-first in the grass.
He stood up and laughed.
“That was fun!”
Mia stared.
“Luffy?!”
Luffy grinned.
“Yep!”
Naruto looked at Mia.
“Okay, how do you know all of us?”
Mia opened her mouth.
Nothing came out.
Because she didn’t know.
She had no idea how fictional characters had suddenly become real.
The Rift above them began pulsing.
Tanjiro looked toward it.
“I smell something.”
Mia turned.
“What?”
Tanjiro’s expression changed.
“Something dangerous.”
The ground cracked.
A creature climbed out.
It was made entirely of dark energy, with glowing eyes and long claws.
People screamed and ran.
Mia froze.
Naruto stepped in front of her.
“Stay back!”
The creature charged.
Naruto created shadow clones.
“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”
Dozens of Narutos surrounded the creature.
Luffy stretched his arm.
“Gum-Gum Pistol!”
His punch sent the creature flying.
Tanjiro rushed forward.
“Water Breathing!”
His sword struck the creature, but the dark energy immediately began rebuilding itself.
Tanjiro stepped back.
“It won’t stay down!”
Naruto looked at Mia.
“Mia! Does anything about this Rift look familiar?”
Mia stared at the glowing crack in the sky.
Then she felt something.
A strange warmth spread through her hand.
A glowing symbol appeared on her palm.
Mia gasped.
“What is this?”
The creature suddenly stopped attacking.
It looked directly at Mia.
“Riftbearer...”
Mia’s eyes widened.
“What did it call me?”
The creature charged again.
But this time, Mia didn’t run.
She raised her glowing hand.
A wave of blue energy burst forward.
The creature was thrown backward.
Naruto stared.
“Whoa.”
Luffy grinned.
“That’s awesome!”
Tanjiro looked at Mia.
“Your power is connected to the Rift.”
The creature began growing larger.
Mia realized what was happening.
“The Rift is feeding it!”
Naruto nodded.
“Then we need to close it.”
Mia looked at the crack in the sky.
“How?”
The symbol on her hand began glowing brighter.
A strange voice echoed inside her mind.
“Touch the Rift.”
Mia hesitated.
She knew it was dangerous.
But the creature was getting stronger.
Mia ran forward.
“Mia!” Naruto shouted.
She jumped onto a nearby wall and reached toward the Rift.
The moment her hand touched it—
BOOM!
Blue energy spread across the sky.
The Rift began closing.
The creature screamed and charged toward her.
Naruto’s clones surrounded it.
Tanjiro attacked from one side.
Luffy attacked from the other.
“NOW, MIA!”
Mia pushed her hand forward.
The Rift collapsed.
The creature disappeared with it.
Everything became silent.
The wind stopped.
The glowing cracks vanished.
The town was safe.
Mia slowly lowered her hand.
The symbol disappeared.
Naruto walked over to her.
“You okay?”
Mia nodded.
“I think so.”
Luffy smiled.
“That was a pretty good first mission!”
Tanjiro looked toward the sky.
“First mission?”
Naruto frowned.
“You think there will be more?”
Mia looked at the place where the Rift had been.
Deep down, she already knew the answer.
“Yes.”
A tiny blue crack appeared in the distance.
Then another.
And another.
Mia looked at Naruto, Tanjiro, and Luffy.
“This wasn’t an accident.”
The three heroes looked at her.
Mia clenched her fist.
“Something is opening these Rifts.”
A mysterious symbol briefly appeared in the sky.
Then it vanished.
MISSION 1 — COMPLETE
OBJECTIVE: CLOSE THE FIRST RIFT
STATUS: SUCCESS
Mia looked toward the horizon.
The first mission was over.
But the real story was only beginning.
TO BE CONTINUED...
