Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, though ideas belong to everyone who dreams them. Thanks for letting us play in your world.
Chapter 1. Early Dusk
There was the feeling of warmth and comfort. Like the most comfortable bed I've ever been in, but it wasn't a bed, it felt like I was suspended in water or something. I couldn't tell by my eyes because...
WHY CAN'T I SEE?!
I tried to scream out and my mouth made the movements but no sound came out...
WHY CAN'T I SPEAK!
In my panic I bumped my foot against something like a barrier or wall.
Suddenly a muffled voice reverberated through the liquid I was suspended in. In exclamation the voice said something which sounded like Japanese. In a stunned panic I tried to process the muffled voice I just heard. As my mind was still grappling with what was happening I could hear soothing humming reverberate everywhere which my body was surprisingly calmed down by despite my seeming dire situation.
The humming seemed to stretch on forever, each vibration distinct and separate. Was time moving strangely, or was I just that focused on every detail?
In my calm I tried to focus on what I could figure out. I couldn't see, but I could hear and move somewhat. My mind was captivated by curiosity while my body seemed to be scared of the unknown. I settled on trying to determine what else I could hear. The muffled voice that strongly reverberates through me and the liquid around me is definitely speaking Japanese. When the voice pauses I can hear a fainter but deeper voice.
Through context I could infer that the 2 voices were talking to each other. A thought kept scratching at the edge of my mind - absurd, impossible, yet increasingly difficult to ignore. Each heartbeat seemed to stretch longer as my mind circled the possibility, trying to find any other explanation.
No hospital room could explain this sensation of floating.
No medication could account for the muffled voices through liquid.
No rational explanation remained except...
I've been reincarnated.
I didn't really believe in reincarnation in my previous life, aren't you supposed to lose your memories? If I am reincarnated how did I die? Last thing I remember I was thinking 'I can totally make that jump'... Oh... Well maybe I should be a little more cautious this time around.
All things considered, reincarnation with intact memories was an intriguing outcome. My scientific mind immediately began cataloging possibilities - perhaps I'd arrived in some advanced future with mechs, brain-computer interfaces, and full-dive simulations. The Japanese language was a fortunate advantage; my previous interest in their culture and technology had left me with a decent vocabulary foundation. Though testing that knowledge would have to wait until after... birth.
My mind skittered away from that impending experience. Fascinating how even with adult rationality, some prospects remained daunting. Still, my discomfort would be trivial compared to what my new mother would endure. Hmm... first data point about emotional transference in this new form - maternal empathy despite not technically being born yet.
Hmm, what other things can I do while I wait. Now that I think of it, I've read a fair amount of fanfics that imagine what it'd be like to be reincarnated in a fictional story. That would be terrifying! Those stories are nice to read, but it would be hell to live through. Possibly the worst example would be Naruto. Children raised to be soldier from a young age. In there supposed 'peace time' it's still risky to even leave the village. Say nothing of the chakra beasts that roam the wilds. Though it would be cool to have powers through chakra.
...
I can't see with my eyes but... I can.. feel? It's not feeling with my body as far as I can tell. Could this be some magic thing like nen, ki, or chakra? I think I can make out shapes with it. I can feel the flow of my mothers energy in her limbs. It feels warm and comforting, but solid like a warmed stone. It's different than the sensation of actual feeling. It's hard to describe. It's like half way between a hallucination and a memory. It seems I can't 'see' much beyond that for now. I guess I have to learn how to focus it. The energy does seem to pool at specific spots in the body. What were they called in Naruto? chakra points? tenketsu? I wonder if the energy works similar to nen in Hunter X Hunter? If I could focus it and hold it around my body to reinforce it.
...
"OOOH" the muffled voice of my mother exclaimed in a concerning way. Oops, did I do that? It does look like she's hunched over rubbing her stomach. Maybe I should be careful with this energy stuff, I don't want to hurt anyone.
...
"OOOOH", uh oh maybe it's too late to not affect anyone. It seems I may have kicked something off. Hey, maybe the optimistic take is that I just woke up right before I'm born and this is just all according to plan?
...
Well, I'm hearing a lot of panicked muffled voices. Let's see if I can get a better look. It looks like they're rushing my mother somewhere. The hospital most likely.
Even in the chaos of being born, I noticed everything with uncomfortable clarity - each voice, each movement, as if my mind was desperately trying to process every microsecond of this traumatic experience. I'll save you the gory details. I was born and it was disgusting.
I have no clue how many months I was in there, but I'm way too small. I almost fit inside the palm of this doctor's hand. I think whatever I did with energy/chakra stuff inadvertently signaled my mom to go in labor.
The doctor shifts and something metallic catches the light. A metal plate on his forehead... something about it tugs at my memory. My mind refuses to process it at first, like trying to read a word that's too close to your eyes.
But then the image snaps into focus - a stylized leaf, a simple swirl with a stem at the top right.
No.
That's not just any leaf design.
My thoughts screech to a halt as time seems to crystallize around me. Every detail becomes razor-sharp: the worn edges of the metal, the familiar scratches that all shinobi headbands seem to collect, the way the fluorescent lights reflect off the engraved symbol of Konohagakure - the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
A hysterical laugh tries to bubble up in my tiny throat. Of all the worlds, of all the places to be reborn...
My adult mind calculated the political implications of being a chakra-sensitive newborn, but my infant body just wanted to curl up and hide. The fear response was... uncomfortably authentic. No amount of strategic planning could override a baby's instinct to seek safety. Perhaps the body remembered something the mind wanted to forget - the vulnerability of being truly helpless.
Especially if they rush me away from my parents? presumably? As my line of sight allows, I see my mother and time starts to slow. Well I know for a fact which ones my mom because I can sense her warm solid chakra. Mom's chakra was an open book - warm and solid like sun-warmed stone, with undertones of steel that spoke of her inner strength.
The man beside her... is Shikaku Nara. That means my mom is Yoshino Nara. The implications of this are profound. Was I born in place of Shikamaru? Is he my brother? Younger? Older?
Shikaku's my dad. His chakra aura feels... layered. On the surface, it's fuzzy and warm, like a deer's winter coat - protective, comfortable. But beneath that flows something deeper...
I strain to focus sharper on him, my tiny brow furrowing with effort. I get the sense he's not trying to hide from me, but there's a depth that requires more focus...
I see/feel a network of sharp, precise edges of tactical brilliance.
Beneath that... it seems like a barrier of some kind. I focus with a force of will... a physical manifestation of void made as a shadow barrier. And at its core... there's a steady burn, not flashy like a bonfire, but enduring like banked coals, ready to flare at any threat to what he protects. A true Konoha jonin's chakra - the Will of Fire wrapped in Nara pragmatism.
The medical-nin's chakra showed professional calm on the surface, but everything below felt like looking through foggy glass - I could make out movement and a teal glow, but the details escaped me.
In all my past life's consumption of Naruto media, I'd pictured them like the anime - slightly cartoonish, with exaggerated expressions and simplified features. But Shikaku's face... it was unsettlingly human. Every pore, every scar, the subtle asymmetry that all real faces have. His eyes weren't large anime pools, but actual human eyes with depth and complexity that no animation could capture.
The reality hit me harder than any philosophical implications of reincarnation - these weren't characters anymore. They were people. Real, breathing people who could bleed and die. And knowing their potential futures felt less like plot knowledge and more like a horrible burden.
Why am I being taken away? I tried to rationalize it, I lived a full life, didn't I? This shouldn't affect me. But this body, this tiny, fragile form, it knew better. Each cell screamed for my mother's presence, and no amount of adult logic could quiet that primal need. I focused on analyzing my chakra instead. Much safer than examining that feeling.
Well it looks like the Doctor or medical-nin has placed me in a room with a little hospital crib and has the lights real low. Wonder if this is the procedure for premature babies. I wonder if that's going to be a problem for me. Premature babies have a high mortality rate...
My adult mind wanted to methodically experiment with chakra, but my infant body had other ideas. Every muscle trembled with the need to be held, to be comforted. I redirected that desperate energy into chakra control, a logical solution to an emotional problem. Just like I'd always done, even in my past life.
I focused on the chakra flowing through my body and direct it to the surface of my skin. I studied the sensation. The chakra feels like a warm shower spreading over the surface of my tiny body. At first it's uneven. Like I'm holding a large vase of water while balancing on a pogo stick and the water keeps tipping out. As I start to balance it there's still gaps, but this seems like one of those tasks where the majority is fairly easy to get nailed down, but perfecting it will take significantly longer.
There, it's not perfect, but it feels like a barrier. Like a second skin. I imagine this is what a wet suit would feel like, but less restrictive. Should help regulate my temperature and maybe protect from some germs or bacteria.
I do feel like I'm short of breath, maybe my lungs are underdeveloped. I'll focus chakra to my lungs to try to help... The feeling is unsettling. The flowing nature of chakra filling my lungs triggers my little body into a coughing fit as the chakra gives my lungs the sensation of drowning. I pull back the chakra until my body is acclimated to it. I'm feeling like my breath is becoming deeper. I lose time as I focus on the balance of chakra.
As if waking up from a day dream, I refocus and realize I can take deep long breaths now. I wonder if the chakra will help them develop faster too.
When the medical-nin approached with the bottle, my analytical plans about chakra control seemed to evaporate. This body knew what it needed, and for once, I didn't fight it. The desperate gulping was undignified, but then again, what part of being reborn was dignified?
I tried to slow down drinking the milk, but it was like my perception kept shifting - one moment the bottle seemed endless, the next it was suddenly empty. My brain seemed to be processing time in irregular bursts, like a faulty video player.
Oh good the medical-nin's back with another bottle. Which I proceeded to guzzle almost as fast as the first bottle. My body craved more. I wasn't full, but my mind struggled to picture where it's all going. I think if I keep focusing on using my chakra I'll survive, even though using it got me in this mess in the first place.
As long as I don't run out of chakra, I should be fine... though my eyes are getting heavy...
-oOoOo-
As the medical-nins rushed around me, their movements seemed to blur and then crystallize with strange clarity. Was this just infant perception, or was my chakra already affecting how my brain processed time?
Medical-nins and nurses crowd around me, their chakra signatures flickering with controlled panic. My analytical mind noted their professional efficiency, while my infant body screamed in terror at each gasping breath. Death shouldn't feel this familiar in a new life...
It seems I was unable to maintain breathing with my incomplete lungs while I was asleep. I don't even know how much time has passed since I was born. I should see if I can fix that on my end somehow. My guess is that the part of my brain that regulates breathing while I'm asleep is underdeveloped. It's kind of surprising that I'm fitting almost 40 years of a past life in here, but can't remember to breathe when I'm asleep. Well maybe that's some spirit/soul woo stuff. Hard to be completely dismissive of it given that I was actually reincarnated with all my memories.
Anyways, it did seem to help when I focused my chakra on areas but focusing chakra on the brain could be pretty risky, but not as risky as another nap without breathing. I began to focus chakra to my brain very slowly. Upon really drawing attention to my brain, I found that I already had much more chakra there than I was channeling. Am I missing memories? Have I already damaged something? Or maybe babies normally experience brown outs.
Channeling more chakra to my mind, it feels distinctly different from when channeled in other places. Besides the normal flowing warmth of chakra that it always has, there's a tingle. Like putting your tongue on top of a 9 volt battery. The chakra isn't making noise, but still feels like it's buzzing.
At first I kept the chakra spread out and then did a little experimenting where I slightly increase chakra in certain areas. I could feel differences but they were so alien that I'd have to play around with a bunch to figure out what those feelings or results mean. However when I started to focus chakra on the part of the brain just above the spinal cord. I could feel my breathing become more automatic. I channeled more chakra to that area and my breathe became even more even. I have a feeling I could do permanent damage if I overloaded my brain with chakra.
As my thoughts drifted I unconsciously channeled more chakra to my brain and I swear it sounded like the clock on the wall started to tick slower. The implications were staggering, but my infant body had simpler priorities - the medical-nin was approaching with another bottle.
Some battles weren't worth fighting. At least the milk would help me grow stronger, and I had a feeling I'd need every advantage in the years to come. After all, I had just discovered three things:
I could manipulate time with chakra,
I was born into a world of child soldiers, and worst of all...
I was going to have to survive being a Nara.
troublesome.