For awhile, I've been in a pretty bad place mentally. Just in general. Waning motivation and stuff. It's been getting a little better recently. But that's why I haven't updated anything in so long. A break-up that wasn't even nasty, but it left me pretty upset.
I checked my email at about 11:50 PM and saw that someone favorited The Path to Kami and favorited my profile. I'm not really sure why, but it made me smile a lot. Made me pretty happy to be honest. Maybe it was the fact that after all this time, my stuff is still getting some attention.
So, thank you Kurayami Kazuo Riddle. Kudos for being awesome.
And to everyone else who reads my stuff. I mainly write for my own entertainment, but I love seeing the effect it has.
He could only lay there and groan in the street. The school bus had creamed him. Moving his head up a bit, he saw his lower body had been turned into mangled meat.
Fuck.
This wasn't how he was supposed to go out!
Couldn't his death wait? He never got to watch the sequel series to Naruto! What of the ending of Demon Slayer? There's so many fanfictions he needed to finish.
His vision slowly darkened and sounds seemed to be farther away. He could vaguely see the outlines of his friends as they surrounded him, trying to pick him up. Maybe they were moving him into a car? Didn't matter. If the faint wheezing sound of his lungs and the feeling of choking on liquid was anything to go by, his ribs pierced his lungs. He would drown in his own blood long before he got to the hospital in time.
'Do you want to live?'
The boy stared up at the screen that just appeared in his vision.
'Am I insane? Of course I want to live!' He snorted his head. The bus must have hit him harder than he originally thought. Oh well, guess he could finally see his parents in the afterlife.
They died when he was young. After that, he was dumped in an orphanage. No one really cared for him there, so he grew up quick. That also meant he had zero friends besides the other nerdy bullied kids.
His only solace was anime and fanfiction. He would spent hours watching his favorite one, Naruto. The amount of fanfiction he read was mind-boggling. Maybe he would be able to continue once he was finally at rest?
'Very well. Prepare for transmigration!'
'Huh-'
His eyes opened and he was faced with darkness. He bolted up, panting hard and looking around. His eyes couldn't penetrate the darkness that consumed his environment. It was almost like an ink.
He clenched his fists, feeling the way his body responded. That wasn't right. He broke his wrist when he was five, so his right hand always hurt a bit when he used it.
He unclenched his fists. No pain at all.
Hm...
He ran a hand through his hair. It felt entirely different. It was fluffy, soft, and silky smooth rather than his normally flat and greasy hair. That's certainly not normal. He felt small for lack of a better term. Like he was young. Maybe he just had some sort of crazy coma dream? Perhaps that status screen thing could tell him more.
Suddenly, his vision was obscured by a large grey screen with a white border and white characters.
(Status)
Name: Sugami Uzumaki
Age: 5
Rank: Civilian
Chakra Capacity: 839/839 (Genin)
Chakra Control: 6/250
Strength: 4/1000
Durability: 4/1000
Endurance: 10/1000
Agility: 6/1000
Ninjutsu: 1/250
Genjutsu: 1/250
Taijutsu: 1/250
Chakra Affinities:
Water Affinity (N/A)
Okay, that makes it official.
He had just been reincarnated. And into the world of Naruto no less. That was...worrisome.
Since he's an Uzumaki, there's an overwhelming chance that he was going to get targeted and ganked. Fuck. That's not good at all. Ah well, better than being apart of one of the clans that founded Iwa. Iwa sucks.
Hopefully he isn't about to get slaughtered by an Iwa-nin or something. Or Kumo.
He didn't like Kumo either. In fact, he hated them. Their only redeeming quality in his eyes was Killer Bee, one of his favorite characters. But, he likely hasn't been born yet. If his lifespan and the lifespan of Uzu even overlapped at any point.
Sugami got up off the futon he was on and put his hand on the wall, slowly shuffling forwards, one arm in front of him.
Eventually, he reached a paper sliding door. Figures.
He slid it open to reveal a small candle on a table next to an older-looking woman.
"Ah, Sugami-kun, what are you doing up so late?" She asked, a small smile on her face.
Sugami tilted his head.
"No words as usual? That's fine. Let's get you to bed, hm?" The old lady said, getting up from the cushion she was seated on and walked over to him. She grasped his much smaller hand and led him back into the darkness of his room. She helped him back into his bed and pulled over the cover. "Goodnight, young one."
Sugami watched her go the entire way until she reached the door.
Okay, he felt nothing from looking at that woman, so he doubted she was family. Perhaps a distant clan member?
He once again got out of the bed. He ran his hands over his torso and legs. He was wearing some sort of robe. It was comfortable enough.
This was a problem. He didn't recognize that lady, nor the building he was in. He slowly sat down and began to hyper-ventilate. He couldn't stop it. He was in an unfamiliar area and with unfamiliar people. He didn't recognize the name on the screen which he had yet to close. It was all fucked! He had no idea of what to do!
His thoughts continued like that for several minutes before he got a hold of himself. Either way, he was here now. He was determined to not become an utter loser like his previous life. Maybe this time he could also be with family?
'Just my luck.' Sugami thought as he looked out into the long hall the old lady from before had led him too. It was a dining hall. And going from some of the soulless expressions a number of the children occupying the room had, he'd say he was in an orphanage. Goddamn it. Or was it Kami damn it?
Questions for later he supposed.
It was a long building styled in a traditional Japanese way. Paper walls and the like. The table was low and had cushions of all sorts of shapes and sizes to sit on. There was a suspicious stain on the ceiling above the main door and a few lining the room. The children themselves were a range of ages from what seemed to be barely three to nearly adults. One girl appeared to be pregnant.
Fuck.
It was exactly the way his own orphanage was down to the suspicious stains.
The old lady led him by the end to the closest available cushion. As soon as he sat down a bowl of rice, beef strips, and vegetables was slid in front of him. Chopsticks were set to the right. This sucked. At least he got fed for free.
He looked up from his soon to be meal and glanced at the people around him. The girl across from him had dark red locks that reached down to her shoulders. She had a spray of freckles from cheek to cheek. She had a black right eye for some reason. Her icy blue eyes were piercing like a knife. Though, her downtrodden expression dimmed them significantly. She looked to be about his age.
Sugami looked to his right and studied the boy next to him. He was built like the boxers were in his previous life, lots of muscle, broad shoulders, and generally looking pretty tough. He looked to be a bit older than Sugami. Maybe...three years? Still, incredible musculature. His right arm was in a sling and he nursed his ribs gingerly. He had deep, mournful brown eyes and short, wavy red hair in the same shade as the girl in front of him.
He vaguely heard the old lady say something, then the children began to eat. Sugami picked up his chopsticks rather awkwardly. He rarely used them in his previous life. It was a skill he practiced enough to be usable rather than perfect. Besides, he only did it because he was a total weeb.
Oh, what a loser he was.
He carefully picked up a strip of beef and put it to his mouth. Flavor exploded across his tongue. This was great meat. Perhaps the Uzumaki picked up some tips from the Akimichi at some point?
Either way, he wiped out his food in mere minutes. It was a reasonably big portion too.
His ears perked up when he heard a sliding door slam open. He sat up on his knees and looked over to the end of the table. A middle aged man with minor wrinkles in shinobi plate armor stood with a scroll and a brush.
The chatter in the hall died quickly as he positioned himself behind the old lady at the head of the table. Even though he didn't yell, his voice carried through the room. "I am the recruiter for the Uzumaki Shinobi Forces. Those who want to join our rank, raise your hands. I will mark your names down and escort you out to training."
'Perfect.' He thought. His chance to get real training was literally handed to him.
Sugami looked around. No one raised their hand. His small, chubby hand slowly raised above everyone. "Name?"
"Uzumaki Sugami."
"Noted, get up and head out the door, wait outside." The man instructed, gesturing to the sliding door to his left. Sugami pushed himself up and calmly walked out. Just a day in and he was already prepping to become a shinobi. This would help significantly though. He could get the training he needed to survive. While he might be able to get an apprenticeship with some craftsman, he'd rather go out fighting than live of old age. Something about that sat wrong with him.
His small feet padded over and he walked through. The area certainly looked like a village. There were dirt paths leading from building to building. The grass was long and not cut except for the areas that seemed to be gardens or yards. He stepped to the right onto the grass and sat down against the wall. There were some purple flowers here and there. They were actually quite pretty.
Sugami's eyes snapped up as the boy and girl from before stepped out. The girl sat down to his left and the boy the right. Peachy.
A beat of silence.
"So, what do you think of the weather?" Sugami blurted out.
The girl next to him raised her eyebrow and the boy merely looked over at him.
"Its fine." The girl finally said with a small and meek voice. The boy grunted in agreement.
Way to go, really breaking the ice there. Curse his lack of social skills. He felt his face burning up like a certain Uchiha threw a fireball in his face. "What are your names?"
"Uzumaki Furumo." The boy answered absently, eyes fixed on the grass.
"Uzumaki Misano." The girl answered softly. Her voice was quite nice to listen to.
There was another moment of silence. Guess he should say his own name.
"Uzumaki Sugami."
They both nodded.
The trio waited for awhile longer, occasionally hearing the man inside speak. Though, a bit too muffled to understand. It was probably like that for several minutes. They heard footsteps, then, the man walked out. Now that Sugami got a better look, he noticed a few things about the man. He had a handful of liver spots along his hands, neck, and face. There was a faint scar across his throat that was nearly invisible. While he looked about middle-aged, he doubted he actually was. Uzumaki aged strangely. They were in their prime far longer. He could be in his sixties and it would be quite hard to tell.
The man stood in front of Sugami. He looked at the three individuals. "Alright. You will be training and working together. From this moment, you three will be known as Team Typhoon. I will be leading you as your sensei. My name is Uzumaki Isumoto."
The three children were silent.
"Well? Get up! You have much to learn before you'll be capable of going to war." The man said, striding away. The kids scrambled to follow him.
Great. He was going to be sent to fight. That wasn't good at all. He had to make a plan. Since the Uzumaki and Senju clans are sister clans, they'll probably go fight the same people. Maybe. He'll likely be sent out against the Uchiha. That was bad. Very bad. He would get torn apart in a heartbeat. But...
...perhaps he could obtain the Sharingan?
That would certainly provide a nice little boost. And by nice little boost, it would provide absolute hax he needed.
While he wouldn't be able to implant it, he very fortunately knew of a jutsu to assist with that. The Mystical Palm Jutsu. He also knew precisely how to train it. That jutsu would allow him to connect the optic nerves and the like. After that, he would just need to cover it up with a headband.
The stickler with that plan is that the Uchiha will absolutely go for him if he ever shows off the Dojutsu.
Just a small problem.
Oh well, he would just have to get stronger than them. He was determined to survive.
He was absolutely going to die.
From boredom!
The leaf sticking exercise was such a pain. Meditating like this really annoyed him to no end. He liked action and movement! Not playing in the woods with leaves!
It was working though. He felt his control soar with the exercise. Shocking really, he didn't really remember Team 7's pacing with the exercise, if they did at all on-screen. So, there was nothing to compare to.
'How do I get that thing to show up again? Status?'
(Status)
Name: Sugami Uzumaki
Age: 5
Rank: Civilian
Chakra Capacity: 681/1046 (Genin)
Chakra Control: 8.4/250
Strength: 4/1000
Durability: 4/1000
Endurance: 10/1000
Agility: 6/1000
Ninjutsu: 1/250
Genjutsu: 1/250
Taijutsu: 1/250
Chakra Affinities:
Water Affinity (N/A)
Woah!
That was more than a third of his total chakra control and around two hundred points were added to his capacity.
Crazy.
He wondered how much chakra would be considered Chunin. Obviously more than he had.
Meditation left him with little else to do than think. What could he do? What would his game plan be? The Sharingan for one. It was just an incredible tool. Two..?
What else was there?
Wait...
How did Madara control the Kyuubi again?
It only said that Madara used his eyes to control Kurama, not a specific jutsu.
Either way, a lot of people theorized that using the Mangekyou Sharingan to put a tailed-best under an illusion and sealing it could result in a pseudo-perfect Jinchuuriki. He would have full access to all the abilities of a perfect Jinchuuriki without the hassle of befriending it. On the other hand, the only people he could think of that may be alive at this point who have the Mangekyou are Izuna and Madara. If this is during the third war though, Fugaku, Itachi, and Shisui should be alive and about. But there's no way in hell he was getting a hold of any of their Sharingans.
They were all S-class shinobi and Konoha ones at that. They were, in a way, his comrades to an extent. It felt wrong thinking about stealing their eyes.
And Izuna and Madara are easily Kage-level, if not much higher.
Maybe some other fringe characters he neglected to learn about.
So, it looks like his only options are to convince one. That's assuming they're free at all. If this is during the third war, then he would have to extract a Bijuu and convince it to join him.
But the insane amount of power it could afford him nearly made him salivate. Even a Genin with the One-Tails was solidly over his peers. Gaara didn't even really have training with Shukaku!
It was definitely worth the risk.
That would require tons of fuinjutsu training. Fortunately, the Uzumaki are the world's leading experts in the field. Though, the next issue becomes which bijuu to gun for. Any of them are great really, but the more tails he can feasibly get, the better. Though, Kurama would be out of the question. Changing history too much could render his meta-knowledge moot. Fate in this world was a fickle thing. If he became the jinchuuriki of Kurama, that would likely prevent Kushina from ever going to Konoha. Thus, she dies in the Sacking of Uzu. Naruto is never born. So, someone else would have to be Ashura's reincarnate.
He shuddered at the thought of Lee being chosen or someone else as bizarre. Or worse, someone outside of Konoha.
Sugami jumped when he felt someone nudge him. His eyes snapped open and he looked over to his teammates who were sitting next to him. Slowly, he turned his gaze to his sensei who was looking at him.
"Real deep in that, huh?" He asked teasingly. It was rather polar to his almost drill sergeant-like tone earlier. Right after though, he was all business. "You three will be afforded your own house to live in for the duration of your service. Should you desire, you can move into a different home if you can afford it."
He reached beneath his breastplate, pulled out a scroll, and tossed it down to the children. "That's the deed. The house is just down the street from the orphanage. A bit run-down, but you'll be fine. I expect you back here tomorrow at six in the morning."
What? There's no way they were performing the exercise that long-
Sugami looked up and sure enough, the sky was getting dark and the sun was setting, casting a gentle orange hue on the horizon.
Pretty soon, their sensei walked away from them, leaving the children alone in the field just outside the village.
They looked amongst each other before making their way back into their town. Sitting still all day did some things to the back and laying down sounded very nice.
Run-down was an understatement if there ever was one. The door wasn't even on the damn hinges! The front windows were cracked and missing in a couple spots. The roof seemed to be sagging in some places too.
It was probably pretty nice-looking when it wasn't neglected. Like most Japanese homes, it was raised off the ground, being on small stilts. The walls looked relatively thin, and the roof was tile. Unlike Japanese homes however, the roof wasn't very steep, which was to prevent snow-accumulation. That made sense though, as far as he knew, only the more northern portions of the continent got any snow at all.
Maybe the clan villages in the Land of Earth had steep roofs?
Ah, who cares. Hopefully they'll freeze to death in the snow.
Back to the matter at hand, the Sugami walked in, kicking up a layer of dust which immediately made him sneeze. The other two didn't comment as they approached the three rolled up futons tossed in the middle of the room.
'At least there's free room and board.' He snorted in bemusement.
It was three rooms. A central room that had a wall that seemed to separate the other two rooms from the central room. On the right was the kitchen area, and the left was a sort of storage room. It was a hybrid between a pantry and a warehouse. And, of course, everything was empty and smeared with dust.
There was even a dead rat that Sugami had to kick out the door.
Misano walked over to the neighbors on their left, an old couple, and asked for some brooms and cleaning cloths.
Thankfully, they allowed them to keep the tools.
It only took about half an hour to fully clean the dust out the house, but that did nothing for the smell. It smelled of age and dust.
There was nothing to do about it except for sweep every day and leave the windows open. Good thing the night was a reasonable temperature. And in all honesty, his futon was pretty damn comfortable. It had a nice soft green color to it. A wonderful sleep it would have been, but he simply couldn't sleep. He was awake by the time the moon was high in the sky. Sugami looked to his sleeping comrades.
They had all set their futons in the middle of the central room. Sugami eventually got out of his bedding and walked outside, sitting on the front steps, observing the quiet street. There was a gentle wind that swept through his hair. It felt nice. Now only if there was rain. Some nice rain pattering on the roof and the street, leaving puddles-
And now he needed to pee.
Time to go on an adventure into the forest to relieve himself.
'Oh shit.' Was his only thought as he hid in a tree.
He had just about to pee off a cliff down into a river...a mighty familiar river, but he had heard voices. Two young boys. If this were another era, he might have gone to investigate, but given this was the age of child soldiers, the entire reason for Hashirama and Madara's dream, he didn't want to risk it.
In fact, wasn't this the ravine that Hashirama and Madra pissed into?
And trained together next to?
"I bet I can pee further than you!" He heard one declare.
What.
"Hah! You're on!" The other responded as the two neared the edge of the cliff. Sugami used this opportunity to peak down and look-
Oh.
There they were; Hashirama and Madara. They were children.
Hashirama was wearing some what looked like a training gi to him honestly. He wasn't the most well-versed in Japanese fashion. It was the same color as Madara's yukata. At least, he thought it was one. It looked to be cut pretty high, but what did he know? He also looked disturbingly like Rock Lee. They could have been twins practically except for the eyebrows.
Madara looked like any other kid. Spiky black hair, the arrogant Uchiha smirk, and the gait to match. He could definitely tell why his hair would look like a mane later on. Wicked cool.
They also looked very well muscled and athletic. As opposed to himself.
Due to the dark clothing on Hashirama, this must be after Itama's death. That was when he made the change in the episode detailing these two's childhood.
It was...eerie seeing anything other than an apathetic resting face or a psychotic smile on Madara's face. Sometimes, he forgot that deep down, he was just a wounded child.
Like most of the Shinobi World.
That hit him like a punch to the face. He was intending to steal the eyes of one of his clansmen. Suddenly, his plans felt wrong.
And of course, it was exactly when Sugami was startled and confused when Hashirama looked up, directly at him.
Shit, sensor, right?
Oops.
"Who-" He began before Sugami let out a startled sound and fell right out of his tree on his ass. His poor tailbone.
He jumped up, rubbing his tailbone while the other two regarded him with an awkward gaze.
They were still pissing.
Sugami spun around, face burning up.
He had completely forgotten Hashirama was a sensor-nin. Maybe not nearly as talented as his brother, but he would surely still sense a moron hiding in a tree just a dozen feet away. And he was definitely a moron. How could he forget that detail?
The other two continued their contest, rapidly gaining strained and weird facial expressions before Hashirama won.
"Hehe, another one for me!" He declared with a hand in the air after both stowed their gear.
Madara rolled his eyes, "Yeah right, I'm definitely winning next time."
The Uchiha briefly looked Hashirama up and down before speaking, "You look even more like a total loser than usual!"
That threw Sugami for a loop. He barely remembered the episode. Apparently Madara wasn't always bitter.
Then, they both turned to Sugami who had also turned back to them. He noted their stances, Hashirama was relaxed and inviting, whereas Madara was crossing his arms and had his chin turned up a bit. They were shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Uh- hi?" He greeted with a little wave, now no longer holding his throbbing tailbone.
"Hey there!" Hashirama said with his own wave and a warm smile.
Madara took a moment to return the greeting, "Hello."
A beat of silence.
"So, what's your name?" Hashirama asked curiously, eyes drawn to his flaming red hair. Clearly an Uzumaki.
Sugami thought for a moment. Didn't they avoid using their family names to ensure they could still be friends? After all, if it turned out they were enemies, they would be obligated to kill each other.
"Sugami." He said.
The two shared a glance, pretty clearly figuring out his clan, but they didn't say anything.
"What were you doing out here?" Madara questioned, still looking challenging.
"I needed to pee." He explained, pointing to the river. "This looked like a nice spot."
Hashirama snorted in amusement before taking a step forward. "Wanna be our friend?"
Uh oh. This could have some pretty serious ramifications. He also saw no good way out. It seems he had seriously messed up. Cursed bladder.
"Sure." Sugami said brightly. Couldn't hurt to build some connections anyhow. Maybe he could use this to bring the Uzumaki clan to Konoha when it got founded? Having an army of stamina freaks and seal masters would be handy.
Ideas for later.
"Are you sure about this, Hashirama?" Madara questioned. It seemed almost like jealousy. Understandable.
"Yeah! Besides, having more than two people means there are more games we could play." Hashirama cheered.
This seemed to convince Madara. Jealous he may be, he was still a child right now. Games were very important.
Hashirama looked up, seemingly tellling time by looking at the moon.
"We should all go home before it gets too late." He mused.
"Yes, we would not want to worry our clansmen." Madara said measuredly.
Alright then. "Goodbye then." Sugami said, watching the two leave so he could finally get to relieving himself.
Good thing Uzumaki had incredible stamina. He had been out at midnight and as such, only had a handful of hours to sleep.
Definitely should not make night time excursions a habit though.
He looked at his two teammates. Furumo's arm was out of the sling and he was no longer holding his ribs. The Uzumaki were absurd. Misano's black eye seemed to have recovered a fair bit over the night, now being lighter.
They were sitting in the same clearing their sensei took them to yesterday. Furumo and Misano were sitting in a somewhat comfortable silence.
Except they weren't training.
Sugami had stuck a leaf to his forehead and was trying to pay attention to his surroundings at the same time. A slightly more advanced form of the exercise.
He should put another leaf somewhere else at some point. Learning to direct chakra to every part of his body would be useful. Especially his hands and feet. That would establish a good base for the tree walking exercise.
Carefully, he reached out, plucking a fallen leaf off the ground and placed it on his other palm. Then, he directed the warm feeling in his body to his hand.
He flipped his hand and the leaf stayed attached.
Sweet.
The bushes rustled and their sensei appeared, breaking Sugami's focus. His leaves fluttered to the ground.
Isumoto briefly eyed Sugami's attempt at the leaf exercise before addressing the team. "Listen close! We will be performing some taijutsu drills today. Stand up."
All three children stood quickly, dusting themselves off.
Their sensei then adapted a very simple stance. Left foot forwards, right back. Right hand up by the face with the left also near the face but a little looser. Both hands were relaxed.
"The Uzumaki lack a clan-specific taijutsu style on account of our varied methods of fighting. Instead, clan members are expected to make a style suitable for themselves as individuals." Isumoto explained, "Children are shown the very basics and their own unique styles develop as the grow as shinobi."
He went through some basic strikes. Straight punches, hooks, side kicks, knee strikes, and elbow strikes. After all that, he stood up straight and looked at them.
"Now, last one standing gets a jutsu." Isumoto said with a downright predatory grin.
'Oh boy.'
There we have it! I'm hyped for this!
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