📖 Chapter 1 – The Boy Who Watches the World
The sound of the wind swayed the leaves of the trees on the outskirts of the village, as if the world itself were alive, breathing. But to him, everything was silent.
Rei opened his eyes for the first time in that world with an odd sense of calm. It wasn't a birth. It wasn't a resurrection. It was like waking up after a long nap and not remembering why you had fallen asleep in the first place.
He was in a spacious room with sliding walls made of polished wood and rice paper. The pillars were sturdy, the details refined, the decorations sober. A house belonging to someone important. His body, though childlike, showed no signs of weakness. On the contrary, it felt… balanced. As if he had lived before.
But he couldn't remember clearly.He knew things he shouldn't know.He knew this village was not an ordinary one. He recognized the red fan symbol on the folded clothes placed over the chair. A symbol that evoked danger, pride, history.
"This is the world of Naruto… isn't it?" he thought.
But not everything matched. Some details were different. Was his memory failing him? Or was he in a different version of that story? A parallel universe? An illusion?
He stood up slowly and walked to a small window. Outside, he saw a perfectly kept zen garden. And at both ends, a pair of men in dark suits. Custodians. Their bodies firm, alert, professional. They weren't ninjas. They were guards.
"I see you're awake," said a soft yet commanding voice.
??? turned around. Standing before him was a woman with jet-black hair, flawless skin, and eyes like frozen mirrors. She wasn't dressed like a villager or a kunoichi. She wore an elegant kimono, decorated with golden patterns. Her movements were graceful, her hands as well-kept as those of a noble.
"Who…?"
"I'm Sayuri. I found you outside the walls a few days ago. Alone. Unconscious. No records. No name. But your eyes…"
The woman stepped closer. She knelt down to his level and studied him as if examining a priceless artifact.
"Your eyes told me you weren't an ordinary child. And that's enough for me."
??? didn't reply. His mind boiled with dissonant thoughts. If this was a dream, it was too real. If it was a second life, why were there such huge gaps?
Sayuri stood and walked toward the sliding door."From today on, you will be under my protection. Consider this your new home. I'm not interested in where you came from. I care about who you will become. And if you are willing to learn… I will open the right doors for you."
Before leaving, she added without looking back:"Your name will be Rei. From now on, you are my son."
The door closed softly.Silence.
Rei remained alone, but he didn't feel abandoned. There was something familiar about that woman. Not like a mother. Like a strategist. A firm, distant, yet functional figure. It wasn't warmth. It was direction.
Hours later, now dressed, he walked through the corridors of the compound. It was enormous. Filled with artifacts, maps, sealed weapons, and documents that even a normal adult wouldn't understand. The place felt more like a commercial fortress than a home.
Then, in one of the hallways, he saw an ancient mirror. He stopped before it.
What it reflected wasn't just his face: it was the shadow of someone older… a fleeting image. An echo of another life.
Was it real?
He blinked. Only his small reflection remained.
That night, as he closed his eyes, he felt a tremor in the center of his chest. As if something inside him had awakened. He saw darkness, but it wasn't empty. It was a living, latent vastness. A whisper spoke to him in a language he didn't know, yet somehow understood.
And in the middle of that darkness… a door. Without a frame. Suspended in the void.
A feminine, ethereal voice spoke in a barely audible tone:"Are you ready to remember… or would you rather rediscover it all?"
Rei didn't answer. He simply reached out his hand.
But just as he was about to touch the door, he woke up.
The sun was shining. A new day.
The voice of a guard called from outside:"Young Master Rei, Lady Sayuri awaits you for breakfast."
He sighed. Not like a child. But like someone who had lived many lives.