What is reincarnation? It is a rather complex process that unfolds uniquely for each individual. Most step onto the path of reincarnation and then, on the very first step, collapse "downward" into the abyss of the Void, which turns souls into tiny grains of sand that then dissolve into the surrounding space.
How do I know this? Hell if I know… My reincarnation was very strange, because I, instead of, like all the other souls, stepping onto the path, flew through it like a champagne cork shot from a bottle, aiming at a brand new ceiling. Other souls and some omnipotent beings paid no attention to me at all, which was rather odd. At that moment, it did not interest me, because I felt myself flying through other souls and the bodies of beings, taking something from them. I would not want some horned monster to start chasing me with the desire to skewer me on its mace or sword. That would be very unpleasant.
As I flew through those bodies, I took something from them. And that something settled within my soul, hinting that in the future it might play a wonderful and great role, if I can discover what exactly those things are that I took for myself.
On the next stretch of flight, piercing through endless cosmic space, I began to notice small spheres shimmering with many shades, and stars flickering with a cold light, which spun in a chaotic dance around me. These glowing objects created the feeling of a galactic carnival. An understanding appeared that these were already other worlds, to which the souls that managed to pass the complex and mystical line of reincarnation were sent. And my path, like a thread of fate, went straight toward one such constellation, shining brighter than the others. Understanding that I could not avoid it in any way, I began to prepare for reincarnation, tuning my inner world to the coming changes. I think it might be difficult, full of surprises, and unpleasant.
A painful flash swallowed my consciousness. The capsule, which had been pulling me somewhere the entire time, burst from pressure, throwing waves of unknown energy in all directions. These waves washed over my body and consciousness, removing some kind of dirt that I had not even been aware of before.
After that, by inertia alone, I plunged into this constellation, which began to grow in size. The growth was so fast that I did not even have time to realize anything before I began to fall directly onto a strange gray body at the very bottom.
I flailed my arms and legs in an attempt to stop the fall. Nothing supported me and nothing tried to save me. The fall became faster and faster with every moment, until at one point I froze above the body. There was very little distance left between me and the body. No matter how I tried or wished, I was falling into it.
Another second later, my entire consciousness was flooded with a scream of pain. This pain spread through me like some kind of fire. It was both scalding and consuming at the same time. Cold and fire, that is what I felt. My eyes stung from the pain, and I opened them.
Before me, like a mirage in the desert, a human, semi-transparent figure hung in the air, which looked like scorched paper, thin and fragile, with edges like charred leaves. Its texture resembled parchment that had lain in the sun for a long time. Through this paper, like through thick fog, nothing could be seen. The face of this figure was twisted in a painful grimace, where the eyes sparkled with rage, and the mouth was distorted with despair, as well as hatred. This hatred, hot and poisonous, was directed exactly at me, like fiery arrows. But I decided: no, you will not hate me.
The semi-transparent figure tried to throw itself at me with wide open eyes and arms.
"Give it back!" he howled in some strange, otherworldly tone. "Mine! It is mine!"
"It was yours, now it is mine!" I quickly answered him, realizing what he was talking about. It seems that I had seized his body.
"Return it!" the guy continued to shout. In his eyes there was fear and unwillingness to give up something valuable. I understand him. If our roles were reversed, I would also do everything to get my body back.
"No!" I barked. "This is my body now! Leave! And if you do not leave, I will devour you."
That was an empty threat, which very quickly stopped being empty. As soon as we touched, he began trying to bite me, but not so fast. One of the things that I borrowed from higher beings turned out to be super-strong skin. Attempts to bite did nothing. Only the teeth of the former owner of the body broke.
"No!" he screamed, wiping his mouth full of blood. "No!"
"Yes! Now it is my turn," I answered him and quickly, and harshly, bit him, enjoying the sweet taste of his soul.
"Let go!" he screamed, but I was not going to do that, feeling how his body jerked. It was already impossible to stop me. I tore off pieces of his spiritual body and consumed them, nourishing myself.
For a moment, losing myself, I accelerated the devouring until I realized that I had eaten him completely. Inside, there was a strange and pleasant fullness. Closing my eyes, I allowed the strange pulling and sucking sensation to consume me, and then abruptly pull me somewhere further.
"Kha!" I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.
My heart was beating so fast and loudly as never before. My mouth was dry like a desert, and on my tongue there was a strange bitter taste. Getting up and relying on the memory of the body, I headed to the kitchen. So far the memory had not come to me, but I understand perfectly that as soon as I close my eyes for more than a minute, it will overwhelm me like some kind of tsunami.
"Is everything alright?" an elderly voice asked me. Looking toward the doorway, I saw a not young, slightly hunched woman. In her eyes one could read worry, as well as some caution. Besides that, somewhere there was also love for her son. Forgive me, miss, but I stole your son.
"Yes, mom," I answered her. "My throat is just dry."
"Good," she nodded and exhaled. "I was already getting scared."
"Heh," I snorted at that. After drinking cold water, I went back to bed. Falling onto it, I began to wait for when the feeling of absorption would finally come.
From somewhere deep within, a real wave began to rise, which was supposed to swallow me entirely. In an instant I was overwhelmed by knowledge and memories. My consciousness tossed in these waves, flipping from one end to the other. I clearly felt how thoughts twisted into watery spirals, how white foam lifted the most amazing memories, starting with some flower and ending with a smell.
When the sea began to calm down a little, I started to realize all the memories of the previous owner of the body. I will not say that it was something simple or ordinary. Not at all. But the fact that I had to put in some effort is true. Some memories tried to slip away somewhere, but my will held them together, not letting them go anywhere.
Along with the memories came new sensations of the body and an understanding of where exactly I had ended up… In what world. The words "chakra," "Hokage," "shinobi," "bijuu," "Uchiha" quickly brought understanding of what world I had ended up in. The world of Naruto Uzumaki… a wonderful world, if you know everything about it, which is definitely not my situation.
I had heard about such a work out of the corner of my ear, but I never had the time to watch or even read it. I needed to earn money. Along with all the knowledge from the previous me up to death and from the new one, many words acquired completely new context and explanations.
So, being a student of the Shinobi Academy, I had heard more than once about a little demon who studies a year younger than me. About a child who causes trouble not only for the Academy, but also for everyone around him. Before, I always stayed away from him, because I knew that classmates, parents, and parents' friends would not approve of it. And now… with new contexts and understanding, I know that Naruto, and it is exactly him, was that little demon, still a child, an orphan, who has no friends, no relatives… no one. I know that within him is sealed the nine-tailed demon fox that rampaged through the village several years ago…
My family, or rather, the family of this body, knew this not by hearsay, because the eldest child died from poisoning by the chakra of the nine-tails. Personal connection also played a big role in the perception of this boy, but now… And what is Naruto himself guilty of? He was just born then. But back to me. My old name no longer has any meaning. I do not think that anyone in this world would even be able to pronounce it. The new name is rather strange: Suzuki Grandvitara. For others, my name and surname did not sound odd at all, but for me. I will get used to it.
I am a student of the Shinobi Academy, in the final class. Along with me also study several well-known characters from that work, namely Neji Hyuga and Tenten. Rock Lee studied for some time, until he was taken for personal training. If not for the wave of memories, I would not have known anything about Rock until the time when he would meet with his team.
Where am I in terms of strength in my class? That is a good question. If we take theory grades, then I am a solid average. If we take practice, then I definitely do not grab stars. I think it is correct to speak of this in the past. I was average and I was weak in practice. But I am not the past Suzuki. I am new, and I definitely cannot be at the bottom of the success list. This is a world of killers, where strength decides almost everything. I do not want to be buried somewhere by someone because I did not spend time practicing one technique or another.
In chakra, I am also not the most impressive, but I have a feeling that this will not last long. Chakra is energy that is formed from two main sources. The first source is physical energy or the energy of the body. The second source is mental energy, also known as spiritual. Further, shinobi have the ability to mix these two types of energy and obtain chakra, which then goes into creating techniques and other cool things. Every shinobi can clearly feel their own reserves for creating and maintaining chakra in the body, just as everyone understands approximate limitations.
I know that I, compared to before, have an abnormally huge reserve of spiritual energy. I think this was influenced by the fact that I reincarnated, received an amazing experience, and also stole something interesting from a being. If you imagine it like that, then I am like a generator of spiritual energy. For now, it is difficult for me to compare with other shinobi, because there is no statistical data, but it seems to me that I will be able to outdo many.
Physical energy, however, has not changed in size at all… or perhaps it has grown a little. Suzuki's body has almost not changed after my settling into it. Perhaps I do not notice these changes yet, but this is still not enough to be at the top level of physical energy in our class. For this, I will have to engage in training in order to catch up with others. But that is not scary. What is work? It is only a key to something important. And I am definitely not afraid to work hard for some result, especially if I can feel it.
Dziiiiiiin! Dziiiiiiin!
The alarm clock started screaming like it was being cut. But since I had no sleep in either eye anymore, I simply turned it off. I think I will need to change the settings to wake up earlier. I need to train.
Getting up, I decided not to postpone anything for later, especially my physical development, and began a warm-up. For now, I did not overexert myself, but simply brought the body into some kind of tone. Washing with cold water to completely drive away sleep, I went to breakfast.
Father, whose name was Omeda Grandvitara, was sitting at the table and reading some newspaper. He was also no longer young. A small obesity accompanied him all his life. Working in a bakery is not the most grateful for weight. But he somehow held on. Not being a shinobi, he possessed commendable self-control.
"Good morning, father!" I greeted first. That was customary in our family.
"Good morning, Suzuki," he replied. "How did you sleep?"
"Fine," I waved my hand. "Good morning, mom."
My mother's name is Hotaru Grandvitara, and she works at one of the local markets, selling all sorts of trinkets that come both from other parts of the Land of Fire and from other countries. In general, she is also engaged in important affairs that bring at least some profit.
Neither she nor Omeda are shinobi. They have no abilities to mix physical and spiritual energies. This means only one thing… they must rely on the protection of other shinobi and the village. According to the plan, my already long-dead older brother was supposed to open a small shop with the help of the parents. I was supposed to become a shinobi so that taxes would be lower. It has long been known that if there is a shinobi in the family, then taxes are calculated differently. Father decided to open the shop himself, but for now he cannot find the strength within himself. The money has already been set aside, people for supplying materials have been found, even the place has been chosen… Most likely, he is waiting for when I become a genin, because then taking a loan from the bank of the Land of Fire will also be cheaper, and the chances of obtaining a larger sum are higher.
"Today should be a good day," mother said.
"What, your knees do not hurt?" father asked, not even looking away from the newspaper.
"They do not," she answered with satisfaction. "If they hurt, you would know about it first."
"Yes, you never forget to tell me about your pains," father snorted. "Bring breakfast already. What do we have there?"
"Fried eggs, rice, tea, and a sandwich with apple jam."
"Oooh," father stretched. "Sounds quite good. And you have the academy today, right, Suzuki?"
"Yes," I nodded. "I think I will return a bit later today."
"Why is that?" he asked.
"I need to practice several techniques," I said calmly. "The instructors may want to check our progress, and for now I do not feel especially confident in them."
"Good," father said. "That is correct."
In general, the parents are not particularly worried when I come home, because the past Suzuki never got into trouble. He was never brought home by the police, neighbors never complained, and no bad rumors reached them. If I were in a game, I would be called a bot or an NPC. In general, this was a positive factor for me.
The breakfast was tasty. Mother always knew how to cook well. Father, however, working in a bakery, does not like to cook at home. He always says that he does not get any pleasure from cooking. I do not know whether that is true or not… it does not matter to me.
"Alright, mom, dad, I am off," I said. Quickly throwing the already prepared lunch into the bag with other school supplies, I left the house.
Outside, the weather was still warm, but the clouds and slightly yellowed leaves clearly hinted that cold would come very soon, which would force all of us to change our clothes and slightly change our way of life.
Konoha, the village in which I am located, has enjoyed relative peace and prosperity over the past several years. There has been no war for a long time, which gives the opportunity to build up strength again and prepare for the next big conflict. Border skirmishes do not count, because no one suffers large losses in human resources, only financial ones. But that is standard for a world of killers, as it seems to me.
Passing by the large Arena, which often becomes the center of various competitions for shinobi and ordinary people, I noticed several open stalls that receive all their profit on days when something happens in the Arena. After that, I turned slightly and ended up at a small square with a small clock in the center. Looking at it, I realized one thing: I need to hurry.