The world was pain. A searing, blinding agony that tore through every fiber of my being. One moment, I was an ordinary man, living an ordinary life, and the next, I was drowning in darkness, my soul ripped from its mortal coil. Then, light. A cry—shrill, weak, and unmistakably mine. I was reborn.
My new name was Archon, a title whispered to me by a dying woman in a crumbling shack on the outskirts of a war-torn village. She was my mother, or so I assumed, her face pale and streaked with blood as she pressed me into her chest, muttering prayers to gods I didn't recognize. Her final breath came moments later, and I, an infant with the mind of a man, was left alone in a world I didn't yet understand.
That was twelve years ago.
Now, I stood in the streets of Konohagakure, the Hidden Leaf Village, my four eyes—two normal, two smaller beneath them—hidden behind a tattered hood. My appearance marked me as different, a fact I'd learned to conceal early on. The villagers whispered of demons and curses when they saw my extra eyes, a cruel irony given the truth. I was no demon, but I carried the genius and power of one: Ryomen Sukuna, the King of Curses, whose abilities had somehow fused with my soul in this new life. Except, in this world, there was no cursed energy. Only chakra.
The Nine-Tails attack had left Konoha in ruins, and I, an orphan of that chaos, had grown up in its shadows. I was the same age as Naruto Uzumaki, the village's pariah, the boy who carried the Nine-Tails within him. Unlike him, I had no grand destiny, no sealed beast to define me. But I had something else: Sukuna's intellect, his ruthlessness, and his techniques, now adapted to the flow of chakra in my veins.
I wasn't here to play hero. I had goals—grand, unshakable ones. Power. Control. Freedom. This world would bend to me, or it would break.
The streets of Konoha were alive with the chatter of merchants and the laughter of children, but I moved through them like a specter. My tattered cloak dragged along the dirt, and my hands were shoved deep into my pockets, concealing the faint glow of chakra that sometimes flickered across my fingertips. I'd learned early on that my abilities were unlike anything this world had seen. Dismantle, a technique that sliced through anything with invisible blades of chakra. Cleave, which adjusted to the target's durability, ensuring a perfect cut. And the Malevolent Shrine, a domain of destruction I hadn't yet dared to unleash in full. These were my tools, my inheritance from a life I could barely recall.
I was twelve now, and today was the day I'd enter the Ninja Academy. Not out of loyalty to Konoha, but because it was the fastest path to power. The Academy would teach me the basics of this world's shinobi arts, and I'd refine them with Sukuna's genius. I had no interest in being a loyal soldier. Konoha was a means to an end.
The Academy courtyard was crowded with children, their voices grating against my ears. I scanned the faces, recognizing a few from rumors and stolen glimpses over the years. Naruto Uzumaki, the loudmouth with spiky blonde hair, was already causing a scene, arguing with a dark-haired boy I assumed was Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura Haruno hovered nearby, her eyes fixed on Sasuke with a devotion that made me scoff. Pathetic.
"Oi, you! The creepy guy in the hood!" Naruto's voice cut through the noise, and I realized he was pointing at me. "What's with the getup? You look like you crawled out of a grave!"
I tilted my head, letting the hood slip just enough to reveal one of my smaller eyes. Naruto froze, his bravado faltering. The other kids whispered, their stares prickling my skin. I could've sliced them all to ribbons in an instant, but I held back. Patience was a weapon, and I wielded it as deftly as any blade.
"Mind your own business, Uzumaki," I said, my voice low and sharp. "Unless you want to lose that tongue."
Naruto blinked, then grinned, unfazed. "Heh, you're kinda scary, huh? I like that! What's your name?"
"Archon," I replied, already turning away. I had no time for his antics. My focus was on the Academy instructor, a man with a scar across his nose—Iruka, if I remembered correctly. He was calling us to line up, and I joined the crowd, blending in as best I could.
The first day was tedious. Lectures on chakra control, basic taijutsu forms, and the history of Konoha. I absorbed it all, my mind dissecting every detail with Sukuna's precision. The other students were amateurs, their movements clumsy, their chakra unrefined. Even Sasuke, supposedly a prodigy, was predictable. I could've dismantled him in seconds.
But I kept my abilities hidden. Revealing too much too soon would draw attention, and attention was a liability. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was said to watch the Academy closely. I'd caught glimpses of his crystal ball technique in the village's darker corners, a reminder that power in this world came with surveillance.
That night, I returned to my makeshift home—a crumbling shack on the edge of the village, hidden behind a grove of twisted trees. It was a far cry from the opulence Sukuna might have demanded, but it suited me. I needed no comforts, only a place to train and plan.
I sat cross-legged on the floor, my hands forming seals as I channeled chakra through my body. Sukuna's techniques were instinctive, but adapting them to chakra required focus. Dismantle was simple enough—a flick of my fingers sent invisible blades carving through a nearby tree, reducing it to splinters. Cleave was trickier, requiring me to sense the target's chakra flow to adjust the cut. I practiced on a boulder, splitting it cleanly in half with a single thought.
The Malevolent Shrine was another matter. I'd only summoned it once, in a forest far from Konoha, and the devastation had been catastrophic. A dome of chakra, fifty meters wide, that shredded everything within its range. Trees, rocks, even the air itself seemed to scream as it was torn apart. I'd collapsed afterward, my chakra reserves drained. It was a weapon of last resort, one I'd save until I was ready to reveal my true power.
My goal was clear: surpass every shinobi in this world. Not for glory, but for control. Konoha, the other villages, the tailed beasts—they were all pieces on a board, and I intended to be the player, not the pawn. The Nine-Tails attack had shown me how fragile this world was. Power was the only currency that mattered.
The next day at the Academy, I was paired with Naruto for a sparring match. Iruka's decision, no doubt meant to test the village's outcasts against each other. I stood across from Naruto in the training ring, my hood pulled low, my hands loose at my sides.
"Ready to eat dirt, Archon?" Naruto grinned, cracking his knuckles.
I didn't respond. Words were wasted on him. Instead, I let my chakra flare, just enough to make the air around me hum. Naruto's eyes widened, but he didn't back down. Foolish, but admirable in its own way.
Iruka gave the signal, and Naruto charged, his fists swinging wildly. I sidestepped with ease, my movements precise, almost lazy. Sukuna's genius wasn't just in destruction—it was in reading opponents, predicting their every move. Naruto's attacks were telegraphed, his chakra flaring chaotically with no focus.
I raised a hand, and a single Dismantle slashed through the air. It grazed Naruto's cheek, drawing a thin line of blood. He stumbled, clutching his face, but didn't fall. His eyes burned with defiance.
"Whoa, what was that?!" he shouted, wiping the blood away. "You're not half bad!"
"Stay down," I said, my voice cold. "Or the next one takes your head."
Iruka intervened before things escalated, calling the match. Naruto was still grinning, but I could see the gears turning in his head. He'd underestimated me, and now he was curious. Dangerous, but useful. If I could manipulate his loyalty, he might serve as a shield against the village's scrutiny.
That night, I sat in my shack, staring at the stars through a hole in the roof. The world of Naruto was a chessboard, and I was a new piece, one that didn't belong. My four eyes, my borrowed genius, my chakra-fueled curses—they set me apart. But I wasn't here to fit in. I was here to dominate.
The Academy was just the beginning. Soon, I'd carve my name into this world's history, not as a hero, but as a force no one could ignore. Archon, the King of Curses, reborn in the Hidden Leaf.
And this was only the first step.