AN: I decided to write an AU Fanfic of a fanfic I guess, idk?
Prologue
My name was Kurokusa, written as Black Grass. A simple, and seemingly generic name. For a child tributary from the Land of Grass to the Land of Fire. An orphaned infant that cannot be cared for by a smaller village that is already stretched thin in an unstable environment sent to Konoha's Hidden Village to be raised as a battle thrall or something to that effect.
Also worth noting is that I am also a reincarnation from another world and this is the Naruto Universe. I didn't even like Naruto thinking back, it's too mainstream, yet here I am. Dying and suddenly being reborn into this world as some generic background character. The ultimate punishment. Well, it's not like I was that great of a person in my past life anyway. A bachelor to the very end that couldn't work up the courage to find a soulmate to spend the rest of my life with.
I digress, I was born in Grass, or somewhere around there. I didn't really know. From the moment I was born I was capable of processing outside stimuli, hearing and listening, vision too blurry, arms too small. I knew instantly what was happening. My paranoia and problem solving capabilities are decent, and I had memories of dying, so there's that. Mom was a ninja, she died. Dad was a ninja. He died.
Then I got carried by a Leaf Ninja to Konohagakure. I didn't count, but I guess I was around three months old? I had the ability to see my surroundings, but damn the speed we were moving at just made everything look like a blur, and I'm surprised I was totally content with those speeds. She'd clearly done it before.
When I was dropped off at the Orphanage, I was treated just as every other child was. Like one of their own. It was definitely some kind of brainwashing tactic to make Konoha feel like home. And after about eight years of that it'd worked.
Now that I was up and about, clearly able to see the outside world. I thoroughly enjoyed being in this world. Watching it from a single perspective in anime was one thing but actually seeing it in person gave me strangely happy vibes. The air was heavy with chakra and tasted fresh, so very unlike the polluted smog of North America where pollution and global warming ruined my lungs. Damn, in a way I'm glad I died so I no longer have to breathe in that disgusting air and suffer in the heat on the walk home after combustion engines were outlawed with extreme prejudice. No longer did my bum knee hurt, no longer did my mind feel heavy with depression and fatigue.
Speaking of differences in bodies and extra thick chakra air… Even within my body I could easily manipulate the chakra. It came naturally, did I actually have a talent for this? My god. Well, that'd probably be my downfall. Though I enjoyed the thought of just living as a defenseless civili- actually no, I'd rather be a ninja.
Another digression. Due to my high level of chakra control which was noticed by the caretakers at the orphanage... I was enrolled by my caretakers at the orphanage into the Konohagakure Shinobi Academy. I think the head lady's name was Nono? I'm not sure if I would've been enrolled anyway if I didn't have this control over an energy I didn't really understand on the inside of my body but yeah. That happened.
The academy itself was housed inside the same compound as the Administrative Division that housed the Hokage's office, that was the biggest building as far as I was aware. The Academy was housed in the academic division of the compound that was a smaller building which more or less resembled a school in Japanese anime. Fortunately there was no uniform, so I could wear the black clothes I donned in my earlier years with ease. I also wore a mask like the person who'd saved me from the cruel fate of being a Grass nin or you know… just death and starvation.
It was there that I met the konoha eleven and sasuke. Though there was something different about this world. Did Shikimaru always have a twin sister? Strange. Anyway, I didn't bother much with any of them, I just minded my own business and nobody came around to bother me or play Ninja with me. The Orphanage was a long ways off from the Academy, but it made good exercise.
I wondered how my tuition was paid, perhaps my being a tributary was preordained by the Psy Ops division of Konoha, or whatever it was called… Anbu? In exchange for the fees of the orphanage being covered they needed to send at least one candidate a year to be a ninja? Maybe. Wouldn't put it past the people who'd demand a man slaughter his own clan like animals, the women and the children too.
The curriculum was very informative. Geography, math, writing, reading. I think this is as good a point as any to say that I have officially begun to master the language and communicate in ninja-nese. Would it be right to call it Japanese if Japan doesn't exist in this world? Hell what was the Language even called anyway? It was just a singular language that everyone spoke right? It didn't have any specific name, like why would you name something if nothing else of the same thing existed. Kanji existed and the writing system was all Japanese yes but- Sidetracked, back on track.
Ninja training was thrown in beyond the essential first year of education. We were now diving into the primary focus of the Ninja Academy. Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.
Taijutsu was close quarters fighting with bodies and stuff, that was the stuff I excelled at. What we learned was a basic fighting style. Mostly self-defense and evasion. Beyond the fighting, what we learned in Taijutsu was mostly just stamina building exercises. Yet despite it being what I was best at, I tended to avoid sparring matches, unless I absolutely had to. In which case I'd win, up until I was forced to fight the two best players in the Taijutsu category. Hinata and Shikako. The latter put everyone else to shame, but after I saw her on the floor sprawled out and in pain from Hinata's Juken I couldn't help but feel a modicum of amusement, but mostly just bad for her. Since it really did seem to hit her harder than it hit anyone else. Not that I'd know because I forfeit every match against these two instantly and pretend to be evenly matched with everyone else. Opting to win exactly fifty-percent of my matches and lose no more than that. To these ninja who were striving to win, I was an unappetizing meal.
Exactly. As. Planned.
But damn I hate running.
Ninjutsu was easy with my chakra control, earth and lighting elements were easiest for me to control. We learned basic ninjutsu, replacements, clones. That sort of thing. The fact that I was able to create a clone on the first try was the first noteworthy thing I'd done in the Academy and I instantly regretted it. But my regret was misplaced.
"Hn… Even you can do it if you can try." Said Sasuke, his voice devoid of emotion, blank-faced.
"Hmph." I grunted, and adjusted my mask, before being excused.
After he said that, the rest of the class quickly forgot about it because I didn't do anything else to stand out and faded back into the background. Like a good boy.
Shikimaru was sharp, to have caught his attention at all… HE KNOWS. HE DEFINITELY KNOWS. He shrugged and left it at that.
Moving on to Genjutsu class… well… I don't want to talk about it, but the moment I feel any type of distortion in reality or a fluctuation in my chakra… I always say 'kai' faster than anyone can call me a paranoid idiot. That class changed me. Deprived me of my innocence that this was a nice world. The nausea. The vertigo. The forced practice. Gods above.
By the time I reached the age of 12, I had no friends, and was a lonely soul in the entire academy. Then I was told to stay in the classroom after class.
Iruka was standing by his desk eyeing me up and down. I was still sitting at the back of the class when he ascended the steps and stopped at the step just below me. "Fifty Percent." Was all he said, with a knowing look in his eyes.
"Is there a reason for that?" He confronted me directly, a knowing look in his eyes.
"No?" I… suggested?
He let out a deep and exasperated sigh. "If you didn't hold back intentionally to avoid being in the spotlight you'd be our star student."
"When strong, pretend weak. When weak, pretend strong." I said bluntly.
"Who taught you that?"
"I read it in a book." Of course I lied, what was I gonna say? I read it online from the internet when I was looking for inspirational quotes from a man who wrote a book about the artform that was war during the nights when I felt depressed and was trying to find something that resonated with my sad soul and dead heart on a sunday, loathing the idea of returning to work on Monday?
No. No.
"We're graduating you. You'll be assigned a team. Don't hold back in a real fight. I'm not really supposed to tell you, but don't hold back during your final test. Your jounin will know."
"...Who are my teammates?"
"You'll find out tomorrow."
I really hope I didn't change the timeline.