I don't quite remember the details of the conversation we had, except for the fact that the Hokage was surprisingly understanding of my situation- for a given value of understanding. At the time, I suspected that there were had far more political and strategy and whatnot talks with my mother, than with the literal three year old, but apparently it was just regular old suspicion of the claims of a literal toddler.

I was, however, instructed, to keep it a secret- the whole thing was, in fact, deemed as an S rank secret, only to be shared with my mother and uncle. (And Inabi but like, that was just because he already knew).

Briefly, I wondered if another, less kind soul than the Hokage towards his countrymen, would've had me spirited away into ANBU or some other secret program in order to maximally abuse the fact that I could die and respawn.

For him to allow me to stay with my family at all… well, it was very charitable of him.

Shame he had to die.

Or… did he?

[New Quest Alert!]

Miðgarðsormr

Orochimaru, the snake that betrays the leaf, is set to kill his former teacher Sarutobi Hiruzen, the God of Shinobi, in order to pursue his ignoble experiments. If The Gamer prevents him from doing so, ripples in the future are sure to be formed.

Time Limit: 12 years Reward: +500Exp, ? ACCEPT/DECLINE

I would not have done this. I wouldn't even have thought to pit myself against Orochimaru, in any way, shape or form, if only for a single detail…

Additional Objective: Save the Third Hokage without revealing to anyone of your limited future knowledge!

Reward: 20000exp, A meeting with the [Administrator], ?

...and against my better judgement, I accepted. At least, the quest mentioned no penalty for failure to protect the old man, so I could just… not do it.

Even if it meant that I wouldn't receive enough exp to catapult me from level 1 to 20, or that I did not get to meet the person who most likely put me here and-

AAAARGH.

Let's just. Not think about it.

I have 12 years for this shit. Or, had. 11 now.

I did not get to stay at Inabi's house after my first death. I did, however, get foisted off on Inabi's sister and her husband. She was… older than him. By a lot. It was surprising to find out at all that he was 16, with how tall he was and the stress lines that marred his face. And I guess the fact that he's a policeman tricked me into believing he was older.

…then again, children are deemed fit for duty at 12 years old, on average. That's a depressing thought.

But the reason behind their gap in age, apparently, remarrying is a common thing in the Uchiha clan, especially when attempting to "maintain blood purity". Eck. So when Hazuki began showing interest in marrying a clanless man- an orphan, of all things…

"Well, there's a reason we no longer live at the compound." She mentioned offhandedly.

But yeah, that meant that at the ripe old age of 54, the couple decided to pump out another kid. How they managed to is anyone's guess, but they did, and so Inabi was born.

And there, I met the one who would go on to become my best friend… or at least, that's what she claimed.

Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Clan Kid, Lv. 3

HP: 30/30

CP: 40/40

STR: 2

VIT: 3

DEX: 9

INT: 5

WIS: 1

CHA: 5

CC: 5%

LUK: 9

Brown haired, large black eyes, super pinchable cheeks and a single mole right below her eye, she was pretty as a doll, Izumi also boasted stats that would make grown men cry. I think.

Beyond mourning for my lost 20 points of stats (counting the level up right before which I died), I was left gawking at how large her starting stats must have been. Especially that luck! What in the world?

Fucking Uchiha. Is it because she got to be born with the Sharingan?

…well, not that I have a way to confirm, since most adults I attempt to scan are just a bunch of question marks.


Clothed, fed, and housed in a Uchiha-run disaster refugee shelter, I was left to my own devices. I was pretty uncomfortable, given that I knew no one there, and most people were either Uchiha civilians, which wouldn't really spare me the time of day, or regular civilians, which took one look at me dressed in ninja clothing (for all that a form fitting green shirt and green trousers could be. It was probably the kunai I nicked off of Inabi and my bandaged, bleeding knuckles) and decided that it would not be worth it to approach me.

If I was an actual ninja I would have a headband, but I doubt that they ever bothered to learn that fact.

Still, this was just as fine by me. Yesterday, I had unlocked my chakra, and I wanted more. My first experience with it had left me singed and in pain for a whole hour, but after that pain faded… I was left with a pleasant warm and an almost reassuring thrum beneath my skin.

This was Chakra. Lifeforce.

And I wanted to interact with it more.

And I was totally not trying to put out of my mind that my best friend and her mother were likely dead, and that my mother was dead, and-

Deep breaths, Tomo.

-and if that happened while I also figured out just what to do with myself since I got reset once again, all the better.

So here I was, [Meditation] active, eyes closed, cross legged, as I began navigating the menu once more.

"[Status]" I muttered.

Fuma Tomo, Fuma Clan Kid (The Gamer), Level 5

Health Points (HP): 13/30 (15)

Chakra Pool (CP): 10/10

Experience Points (Exp): 0/600

Money: 0 Ryo

STR: 2 (1)

VIT: 3 (1.5)

DEX: 4 (2)

INT: 6

WIS: 4

CHA: 2 (1)

CC: 0%

LCK: 5

Status: Chakra Burnt (Halves STR, VIT, DEX and CHA), Injured Hands (Activities using hands may cause HP loss)

Points to Spend: 19

Questions Unasked: 1

[Skills] – 13*

[Boons] – 1*

[Titles] – 1

These stats were pitiful, but still better than the ones I had as a newborn.

And, truth be told, I did not know what I wanted to do with the 19 points. I could dump them all in one stat and become… well, not good most likely, but reasonably decent at one thing. Or I could spread them out evenly, and become better than I previously was at everything, yet still pitiful by comparison to the rest of the world.

…maybe I'm looking at this wrong. I should first figure out what I want to do, then place stat points accordingly. Right? That makes sense.

First of all, let's check out that damn [Boon] that has been flashing in my mind's eye ever since I awakened my chakra.

[New Boon!]

You have unlocked your Chakra. To shape your future progress, please select one of the following:

Sensory Prowess

True sensor-nin, a subtype of Shinobi capable of sensing others' chakra, are born, not made. By virtue of this perk, you count amongst the ranks of such Shinobi, gaining the capability to imprecisely perceive others around you, as long as they are not hiding their Chakra Signature.

+5 Wisdom.

Ninjutsu Prodigy

Ninjutsu are the most common and versatile type of technique in this world, capable of shaping battlefields and tearing through ranks through might alone. By virtue of this perk, you gain the capability to learn Ninjutsu at a far faster rate than the norm, and your casting speed is doubled.

+5 Chakra.

Normally, I would've given these two a ton of thought- one would see me gain a sort of sixth sense, which might just mean that without it some things may be, for me, impossible to achieve, whereas the other would see me gain a non-indifferent amount of power and versatility, if I ever decided to specialize in combat.

I… probably didn't give them as much thought as they deserved.

But that was for a good reason.

The alternative was just that strong.

Chakra Control Master

The ability to will one's Chakra to do exactly what they want is what sets apart the good ninja from the great ninja. By virtue of this perk, your innate capability to shape your techniques and control your own chakra expenditure becomes that of a master. Your Chakra Control is boosted by an amount equal to your Intelligence. Chakra Control gained in this fashion can exceed the soft cap of 70%, but not the hard cap of 100%.

+5 Intelligence.

W h a t

This… this was bonkers levels of good. Not only was it this good, it was the most generalist type of perk that was here. The less punitive, in a way.

From what little I knew of Naruto, in this universe there were 2 types of characters; those with a natural power that made them so much better than everyone else, such as Naruto, Sasuke, and so many others with a bloodline that gave them an advantage, and then there were the Cool Ones. Minato, Tsunade, even Hiruzen himself. They were all masters in their own regard, without having access to cheats.

There was also the fact that its strongest contender, Ninjutsu Prodigy, came with issues. If I wanted to specialize in Ninjutsu, I needed to boost both INT and CHA, since CHA being double than INT came with a debuff. On the other hand, boosting INT without CHA came with no such restrictions.

Now, I had access to cheats, sorta, in the form of Gamer powers. But if I could also have this…

I took it.

[Boon Selected!]

As I felt for the third time in my life (lives?) the pleasant effects of my INT doubling, I decided to double down on it.

'Dump 10 points in INT.' I asked the game, and shivered in pleasure as I could feel my brain tingle as a result. I almost put more, but then remembered I had only 9 left and needed to be smarter about this.

Now.

I checked my Status again, confirming that now I was cozily sitting at 21 INT.

The next step is a bit clearer now.

I really need to stop wasting questions on dumb bullshit. The first time, I was trying to ask philosophy to a machine, and getting frustrated that it couldn't answer properly. The second time, I didn't even use them, electing to keep them for when I really needed them. See how much that served me.

No more of that now. I had 1 question, and if I needed to think about my growth, then I would most certainly make use of it.

Which stats did I want to focus on?

…well, I first needed to see which ones would serve me. Still, I had my suspicions, but I did not want to waste a question just on that. Let's see… a character with 100 DEX would still be far more accurate and faster than one with 0 DEX. Same thing for a lot of these things, so, thinking…

'Wait, what's the deal with Observe?'

Observe, Lv. MAX

Your ability to observe things.

OBSERVE VARIANT: Amount of Information granted based off target reputation and target level difference. Levelling disabled.

Current Observe Information Bonus: (YrLvl-TrLvl)+5*10+Rep%

That's

Awful.

Just awful.

Who implemented this shit as a variant rule?

Eugh.

Alright, I'll quit complaining.

So. Skill stats. Assuming that they influence things at all, which they should.

Shurikenjutsu Training, Lv. 6 (DEX) (Would STR influence the damage, maybe?)

Stealth, Lv. 8 (DEX)

Hand Sign Dexterity Lv. 3 (DEX, it's in the name)

Cooking Lv. 1 (DEX?) (WIS?)

Calligraphy Lv. 1 (DEX) (Is INT or WIS the stat related to being artsy?)

Pain Resistance, Lv. 4 (VIT or WIS, they sound both plausible)

Physical Endurance, Lv.2(VIT)

Meditation Lv.5 (CC is INT, so probably that?)

Eavesdropping Lv.1 (WIS or LVL)

Killing Intent Resistance, Lv. 1 (WIS)

Sprinting, Lv.4 (DEX? STR and VIT also seem possible)

Observe, Lv. MAX (-)

Genjutsu Resistance, Lv. 2 (WIS, probably?)

Hum. Well, I'd imagined for DEX to be a given. That's a surprising amount of possible WIS skills, thinking about it. Meditation being INT is… but I guess that with INT being tied to CC… yeah, okay. I see it.

I have 9 points left. Then, I'll put… hum. 10 feels like a good number. Alright, I'll put 6 in Dex and 3 in WIS. My locked out skills will come back to me, in theory, when this affliction passes.

Next question. 'What are the skills available to me with my current stats?'

ohgodwhy

Groaning blearily, I tried to fight off the wave of nausea that nearly threatened to overtake me. That… is a lot of information to process. Too much information.

"Ne, Tomo-chan, is this your reaction to seeing me?" Looking up and opening my eyes, I saw her. Light of my life, mother of my babies.

…okay I was exaggerating and we were both children andgirls but I was very happy to see her

Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Clan Kid, Lv. 7

HP: 60/60

CP: 80/80

STR: 4

VIT: 6

DEX: 15

INT: 8

WIS: 4

CHA: 8

CC: 5%

LUK: 11

literally how did you raise your luck girl wtf I can't do that with my points

Right. My favorite dumb bitch (endearing) had stats that I would murder people for.

…probably will murder people for.

Stop being depressing, Tomo. It happened, deal with it.

With a sigh, I pat the spot next to mine as I untangled my legs and was treated to the sensation of pins and needles.

She grinned at me, though I could see that her grin was shaky, and she was trying to look strong.

Look strong for me.

Sometimes I hated the fact that I looked like a 4 years old. Was, in body, a 4 years old.

"How is Hazuki?" I murmured as she sat down against the wall.

"Alive." She shrugged before closing her eyes. "Tou-san…" she trailed off, but I still understood what she meant. I hugged her tightly, and she returned the hug.

We were like that for a few moments. After that, I whispered in her hear. "I lost kaa-san."

Her grip tightened on me. After a moment, I heard her whisper in my ear. "Takeo?"

"…alive. Don't wanna talk about him."

She huffed. "Still a brute?" I nodded.


For the three days that I had spent over at Hazuki's house, I just… chilled. Thought. Spent time with Izumi, which mostly consisted of her asking me questions and me answering, or her leading me through her favorite games. They were Tag which was normal enough, "Mark", which I could honestly not distinguish from regular target practice except that she encouraged me to attempt to perform trick shots, to which she would award "bonus points" for, and "Hokage", which just consisted of her being the Hokage and ordering me to do silly things while I went "Yes, my Hokage".

And yet, despite the fact that she was older and higher level than me, and that only now had the system awarded me a bonus of +1 STR, VIT and DEX for reaching the age of 3 (which had locked me out of being able to run, apparently?), it was the most fun I'd had in 3 years. For the first time in this new life, I was smiling, and laughing, hard enough that tears begun flowing from my eyes.

For the first time, things felt fine. Shame it had to end.

At the beginning of the fourth day, I was eating breakfast, which brought to me another revelation.

I liked fish, in this world.

Such a small, useless detail. When I didn't even remember what my former life was like, why would that stick out? I don't think I'll ever know. But I remembered all of a sudden a profound dislike of all types of food that hails from the sea. And now, I'm eating very tasty salmon.

"I swear to Kami, if you're bullshitting me I'm putting you through a wall, Police or not-" I heard a growl at the dining room's door that made me bolt up. Suddenly, the door slid open, and I was left staring at the man. The aggression slowly bled out of his form as he stared at me, flabbergasted.

"Tomo-chan?" he whispered, almost reverently, as he ever so slowly began crossing the dining room. Whereas Izumi had somehow disappeared entirely, the woman herself was attentively staring at the scene, and I could swear that she was holding her chopsticks in a threatening manner. Not that Takeo seemed to care about it. Even bloodied, dirty and scuffed as he looked, decked out in full armor with the giant Fuma shuriken on his back, he was still my new uncle.

As he reached me, I stood very still. I'd learned early on that startling a shinobi could very easily lead to violence, as the scar below my left ear could attest to. I very slowly reached a hand to touch it, only to find absolutely nothing.

His eyes tracked my movement and seemed to the same conclusion, if the way his face completely flipped into a hardened hardened was any indication. And suddenly my wrist was snatched out of the air and I was lifted up, while in his other hand a kunai parried a senbon needle flying for his neck.

-16HP! (nonlethal)

Warning! You have incurred a [Wrist Break]! (-4 to DEX)

I screamed as suddenly I felt a nasty *crack* through my wrist, tears pooling in my eyes as I glared at the man. For a moment, I could see his composure break at hearing me scream, before he chuckled darkly. "A sturdy disguise. What will it take for you to drop it? I assure you, Uchiha, that this is not as funny as everyone seems to think it is."

"I recommend you drop your niece and think very carefully about your next course of action, Fuma." Hazuki spoke coldly, three tomoe's worth of Sharingan flaring to life.

"I-it's okay…" I breathed in harshly for a few seconds, really trying to get it under control and not start hyperventilating. "Y-y-you should have seen him when…" I tried to force out a laugh, but it came out as a small sob instead. "W-when I hid in the couch, and he nearly blew up the-the living room with an explosive tag…" I chuckled out another sob, trying my best to smile. He had completely frozen up now. "U-uncle? You're… hurting my hand…"

"What the hell?" Inabi walked in the room, suddenly, and I had the displeasure of staring at him from above, in my lifted up position while my wrist screamed at me. "I bring you to see that your niece is alive and well, and you hold her up like a hostage?" He had a small tanto drawn, knees flexed and ready to strike as his Sharingan flared to life as well.

-4HP! (nonlethal)

Black spots began filling my vision as Takeo parried the tanto with his kunai, Inabi gritting his teeth as he tried to break through the older man's guard.

Uncle Takeo's expression was still unreadable. At least, until Hazuki slammed her hands on the table, glaring. Despite that, she spoke in a sweet tone, that however brokered no objection.

"How about you gentlemen put down the child and explain to me why, exactly, little Tomo being alive is supposed to be surprising enough to incite this type of reaction?"


Of course, things were then explained, and I was brought to be treated.

Kaa-san had a… better in some ways, worse in others reaction.

Not that it mattered anymore.

Still, I was happy to be with Izumi right now. At least someone I hold dear is still here.

Cracking an eye open, I noticed that one of the presences in the room was… different. A kid, just like myself and Izumi, with black hair and the Uchiha fan on the back of his shirt. He was holding a baby.

Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Clan Prodigy, Lv.13

HP: ?/100

CP: ?/80

STR: 8

VIT: 10

DEX: ?

INT: 14

WIS: ?

CHA: 14

CC: 28%

LUK: 8

Uchiha Sasuke, Uchiha Clan Kid, Lv.0

HP: 10/10

CP: -/-

STR: 0

VIT: 1

DEX: 0

INT: 1

WIS: 1

CHA: 1

CC: -%

LUK: 15

And I closed it right back.

Nope.

I'm not dealing with this bullshit right now.

Or ever.

Fuck this.

I was tired, had a headache, and had gone through so much bullshit in the past day alone.

The me of next time I woke up could deal with this.


Hey everyone! Big sorry there for missing a week- took a small break for my mental health and studies. But I'm back, and don't plan to leave!

This is the last part of the 1st chapter. From now on, we're moving forward again in time!

If you want to support me and read more of what happens ahead, please support The Nick Of Name on the place of patrons!

Drink Water, Stay Awesome, Nick out :)