A New Life

Death.

It was a concept that he was familiar with, especially over these past years, to such an extent that he could almost taste it on the tip of his tongue.

It was certainly something that he wasn't expecting, not this soon as the very least, he hadn't even hit thirty yet.

His two racks of teeth clash into each other, at least they would have if they hadn't vanished to god knows where.

It wasn't just his pair of previously pearly white teeth that were no more, his corporeal body, unfortunately, met the same fate.

For reasons unknown to him he could see almost as well as he could hear.

An explosion, he remembers it vividly, he blew up not too different from a supernova.

Otsutsuki.

The mere stench that originates from that name is sickening, gut-wrenching even.

Those pale-skinned, inhuman abominations roll around in the depths of his mind.

A silent chuckle echos inside of his thoughts, at least, at least he didn't die alone.

Isshiki.

That bastard, a strong one, probably the most powerful entity he's met, even for an Otsutsuki he was stronger than the rest.

It wasn't like the other battles in his life, he couldn't solve it by beating him down, after all even with all of his power it wasn't enough.

Not that it was completely one-sided, he did get some damage in, still, he was losing ground the longer it went on.

So a thought arrived in the forefront of his mind, perhaps it was foolish, which looking back at it in retrospect it may have been.

Not that he regrets it for a second.

Releasing every last drop of chakra from his body, it didn't take long, no more than a second or two, which he wasn't expecting, he's thankful that it didn't take long at all though.

If it did take a substantial amount of time, who knows what could've happened, it's probable that his plan would have ended in failure.

But it didn't, his time was up, he was ready to meet his doom.

The golden chakra that clung to his body before it spun around like a tornado, that memory still clings to his very being.

A cataclysmic bang smacked his ears, it was so loud that it almost cracked his eardrums.

His body crumbled as the explosion enveloped him. Was it the explosion or the exertion from causing such a blast that killed him? Maybe it was a mix of the two.

But in the end, it was worth it, his death meant the fall of that Otsutsuki, and someone can always take his place as the Hokage.

The abyss that was drenched with darkness suddenly lit up, it was such a change that it was almost blinding for his non-existent eyes.

The light somehow shined brighter the further he was dragged down into the bottomless tunnel.

It was almost like he was being scorched alive by the sun. The itches that wormed around his body made him want to wiggle from this bright abyss.

Is he going to be thrown into the afterlife at last? He's been flying down for what feels like an eternity.

''No, not yet!''

A booming voice that shakes the abyss to its very core materializes out of thin air.

Huh?

The light quickly snapped at him like thunder yet he did not feel anything, not even a splinter of pain arrived.

The fuck?

''Goodbye, Uzumaki Naruto!''

The booming voice was the last thing he heard before everything went blank.

Warm.

That was the first thing that came to mind as his senses slowly returned.

''Ooooh! Look at him!'' A feminine voice calls out, forcing a gurgle out of his throa-

Wait… he has a throat?!

His two eyes scrunch together just prior to them opening, he could hardly see a thing, it was all so vivid, and it was that way until it wasn't.

Wooden bars with brown paint spilt upon them circled around him, eyes gazing down as his head which was ignoring his need to move them, there he was, somehow he had a body now, a naked one, but one nonetheless.

However it was so tiny, his body that was, and it was pale, so, so incredibly pale, almost as pale as his old teammate.

That thought made his fist clench into a ball.

''Look at what you did.'' It was another voice that sounded female, however, it was far stricter than the other one. ''You woke him up.''

When he looked up to the sky two figures entered his line of sight, both of their attires were reminiscent of what the Daimyos servants normally wore.

It didn't take him long to register their strange features, mainly those ears that were far too pointed to be human.

''Ah! Ah! He looks so much like the mistress!'' The energetic one points at him as she jumps a couple of times over.

But the stricter one slaps her at the back of her skull prompting a moan from the energetic one.

''Owwww! You didn't have to do that!''

His eyes narrow dangerously at this so-called mistress, another thing that he can't believe flew under his radar was their size.

They seemed to dwarf him, just like everything else in this room.

What the fuck is going on?

Has he been shrunk? Or is it that everything has just grown?

Where am I?

That is what he wants to ask, but when his mouth opened nothing came out.

''Ahhhh! Look! He's trying to speak… How cute!'' The energetic maid cooed which just makes him want to puke.

Before she could spew any more bullshit from her tongue a loud thump arrived.

Those two maids suddenly tilted their heads down in such a way that you would expect in front of a Daimyo, or some other ruler.

The energetic one, even if her face was hidden by the way her hair covered it, she carried a completely different aura.

It was slightly disturbing how one's attitude could change so suddenly.

From energetic to downright serious.

''Mistress.'' The two maids murmured in a voice that was almost a whisper.

Footsteps, quiet yet they echo throughout the entire room.

''So, he's finally awakened at last.'' A new voice came, one more steady than the others.

''Yes, Mistress.'' The two maids say at the same time.

After his neck fails to crane he rolls his eyes to the side, catching a flash of hair that was so white that it could easily be mistaken for snow.

''And why wasn't I informed?'' This question caused the two maids to gulp audibly.

What a strange afterlife.

''We were planning to, but he only showed signs of waking up a few moments ago.'' The stricter one answers in a calm voice.

''I see.'' She responds quietly.

His eyebrows furrowed while the 'Mistress' steps towards him gracefully.

''Mhm.'' She hummed as her crimson eyes loomed over him. ''We do look alike, don't we little one?''

He tries to get a few words out but only a couple of gurgles come.

Her ring finger flicks up and in an instant, his body flies from that little prison. His instincts are screaming at him to scream like a little girl but he fights that sensation.

Fuck.

''You don't cry, don't you?'' She questions.

His two arms flung forward with all of his might, yet they didn't land thanks to how short they now were.

''A feisty one, aren't you.'' She breathes out curiously. ''I'd expect nothing less from my spawn.''

His brain freezes just as his limbs do… Spawn?

Piece after piece, colliding together until the puzzle completes itself.

That voice, his abysmally tiny size, the odd atmosphere… yes that's it, it all makes sense now.

How could've he been so stupid? It shouldn't have taken him this long to come to this conclusion, it was in front of him this entire time

But why? Why have I been reincarnated?