Oooookay. So I've turned into a slime. Cool.
Well, to be honest, not so cool.
I don't know whether I should explode with joy because I managed to transform without training, without a spell, and before even being born…
Or if I should start panicking because, honestly, I have no idea how to turn back into a human.
"Okay, breathe." Well, figuratively speaking.
"Think. What did I do just before?"
I connected to my chakra. I thought of slime. Ah. Oh crap. Was it really that simple?
Ooooh…
It seems I can transform as long as I have chakra and imagine the form I want from all the forms in my repertoire.
Or maybe just my nerves and power are too young and too difficult for me to handle and understand, so I can't really control it.
But if my first theory is true… if I think of a form in my repertoire while connecting to my chakra… I can transform at will?
Interesting. Very interesting.
What if I connect to my chakra again while thinking about my "human" form?
Okay, let's test it the other way.
I focus, I imagine my human body, my "standard" form. And then, I feel my body becoming solid again. Slowly. My flesh reshapes, my organs too.
"Alright!" I exclaim internally, proud of myself.
Wow, I can feel my environment moving.
I might have been a little too loud, maybe.
I hear angry voices in the distance. I feel movement around me. Must be my mother, the midwives, and everyone else panicking.
I don't really know, but clearly my little magic trick shook them up.
I mean, feeling your baby turn into pudding and then back into solid? Not exactly reassuring.
Anyway, I managed to connect to my chakra and transform.
I wonder… is my old body still available? Manga-style, that would be weird.
It would be weird, but worth a try.
Gotta try.
Hmm, it's possible. I feel a smaller change than with slime, but a change nonetheless, perceptible.
It works.
I think I'll keep the manga version of my old body. Maybe also wear a mask when I take my real form.
It's more discreet, plus I don't want just anyone knowing my real face.
I think I'll keep a more normal… more human appearance.
Because that of Rimuru Tempest?
An androgynous, blue-haired one-meter-ten kid with golden eyes?
That attracts attention.
Which makes all the "ninja" stuff kind of pointless. It's already hard enough in this world.
Plus, being different—even in an anime world—is asking for attention. It raises questions. Questions I prefer to avoid.
An anomaly is rarely left alone. Makes sense.
Even a simple physical trait—eye color, strange pupil shape, unusual skin texture, weird hair color—can be interpreted as proof that you belong to a clan, that you have a kekkei genkai.
And in this world, kekkei genkai attracts more than admiration…
Let's just say I didn't consciously make all these choices to avoid ending up on a snake-surgery table, only to wander around looking like "important character, free lineage powers to collect!"
I don't want to be hunted. Studied. Used.
Who I really am… must remain secret.
And then there's this stubborn idea, which may seem stupid—and it is—but it exists:
If no one knows who I am, then I can be whatever I want.
As long as I don't show my real face, I'm free to shape myself as I want.
Without a face, I'm not trapped in any role.
It may be a foolish illusion, but by choosing my appearance, I feel ready to build myself.
...
It this is definetly quite stupid when I say it out loud.
But childish dreams ? Or natural behaviour ?
I don't know, I just feel like it.
...
Also… I don't want to be vulnerable.
This world is dangerous, full of shinobi, masters of stabbing in the back.
Showing your real face is offering your throat. I prefer to keep my cards close.
And let's be honest, I'm not really myself yet. I'm a work in progress. A draft.
Am I Rimuru? Am I who I was before? Am I a completely new person?
One day maybe, I'll know who I really am, what I want, what I'm worth. Then maybe I'll remove the mask and let the world see me.
…
And then… imagine I don't like my village. It'd be pretty handy if I happened to have a new body in reserve, unknown to anyone, that would allow me...who knows? To wander outside the village, travel a few kilometers by mistake, and forget to come back.
Just saying.
For now, I prefer no one to see me. Just… because I choose what I show and what I keep.
Maybe one day I'll reveal my real body, but not yet.
One day, maybe, I'll know who I am, who I want to become, what I deserve to be.
But until then… I wear a mask.
And that's my way of surviving.
Meanwhile, I'll train. Again and again. Connection to chakra. Transformation. Reconnection. Stabilization. Repetition.
Not like I have anything else to do anyway.