[Opening Scene – Earth]
The city was noisy, alive with honking jeepneys, sizzling street food, and the warm hum of people living despite hardships. Rafael Reyes, twenty-two, stood behind the Jollibee counter in his grease-smelling uniform, plastering on the polite smile of a service worker who had long learned to be "magalang" even to customers who didn't deserve it.
His hands were quick, stacking orders. His mind, however, was elsewhere — specifically, on the phone propped against the counter corner, streaming Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. It wasn't just any episode. It was Isshiki vs Naruto — the kind of fight that every Naruto fan knew was history in the making.
> "Damn… he's risking it all. Baryon Mode… si Kurama…"
Rafael's co-worker called his name, but he didn't hear. He was too absorbed in the animation — the flicker of chakra, the weight in Naruto's eyes. That's when it happened: the stabbing pain in his chest, sudden and sharp like a kunai to the ribs. His knees buckled, the order tray clattered to the floor, and the world tilted.
The last thing he saw wasn't his workplace — it was Naruto throwing a punch at Isshiki, and Rafael's last thought was almost childish:
> "If I was there… I'd make sure my loved ones never suffered… never got taken… never got NTR'd…"
---
[The Pure Land]
He woke to rain.
Not the soft drizzle of Manila's monsoon, but a heavy, endless fall that didn't soak clothes because there were no clothes — only a body of light, shimmering gold at the edges. Around him stretched a vast plain of silver grass under a black sky, each raindrop glowing faintly before vanishing mid-air.
A voice — not booming, not divine, but patient — spoke behind him.
> [Great Sage]: System initialized. Primary soul sync: Rafael Reyes. Configuration: First Form.
He turned and saw nothing but shifting light. It wasn't Raphael the angel, nor a humanoid guide — just information flowing directly into his mind like water into an empty cup.
The Pure Land, the voice explained, was a realm Hagoromo had crafted long before Kaguya's defeat. A "Soul Army" reserve, its existence scrubbed from history — perhaps to hold warriors for some future calamity. Rafael's presence here was… an anomaly.
---
[The Choice]
Three glowing symbols floated before him:
Six Oath (Toneri, Indra, Asura — the oaths that shaped destiny)
Elite Six Path (Hagoromo, Hamura — the pinnacle of spiritual evolution)
Reincarnation Transfer
Great Sage did not advise, it simply provided probabilities:
> [Great Sage]: Reincarnating as Nagato Uzumaki. Probability of survival past age 20: 1.8% without intervention. Cheat activation advised.
Rafael's lips curled.
> "That's fine. If I'm Nagato… I can rewrite the whole story. My wives, my descendants — they'll never die. I'll make them immortal if I have to rip apart the cycle of reincarnation."
---
[Rebirth in the Rain]
The world came back as warmth and discomfort. A woman's weak voice, the smell of wet cloth, and a rhythmic pounding like a distant drum — his infant heartbeat syncing to someone else's. He couldn't move much, but his mind was awake.
Through blurry eyes, he caught sight of his mother — frail, coughing, holding him protectively. The ceiling leaked. Outside, the sound of gunfire and shinobi clashing rang out.
Amegakure — a village drowning in war.
And there was something else. Behind his newborn eyes, behind even his soul, something sat watching. An ancient weight — the Rinnegan's dormant consciousness, seeded with a faint thread of Madara's will. It didn't speak, but Rafael felt it — a pull toward "peace through control," a subtle obsession planted like a genjutsu you could never quite notice.
---
[Baby Steps and Rain Shadows]
Time in infancy passed strangely. His body was helpless, but Great Sage worked constantly: scanning, mapping chakra pathways, predicting developmental milestones. Konan visited sometimes — a small, serious girl with origami flowers. Yahiko came once, grinning despite his patched clothes. They were just kids, not yet the people the world would know.
Rafael watched them and knew:
Ame was a crucible — it would either break you or turn you into a weapon.
To protect his "family" here, he'd need power, and lots of it.
He'd have to hide his true mind behind a child's face for years.
Got it — I'll continue with Part 2 of your fanfic, keeping it within the same respectful disclaimer and tone we set in the synopsis.
This will be the "awakening & early realization" arc, showing Rafael's adjustment to his new life in Nagato's body while planting seeds for his long-term goals.
---
The rain never stopped in this world.
I could hear it before I could even open my eyes — a constant drizzle, the rhythm of droplets tapping against wooden roofs and the faint trickle of gutters. The air smelled damp, heavy, and alive in a way the air in Manila never was.
The problem was… I shouldn't be breathing at all.
My last memory was a loud BANG! from the jeepney brakes outside the window, my phone slipping from my hand as Naruto's flaming cloak clashed with Isshiki's glowing form. Then — black.
Now, my vision was filled with dim candlelight, rough wooden beams overhead… and two faces hovering over me.
One belonged to a thin, pale woman whose reddish hair clung to her cheeks from the humidity. The other — a man with equally striking red hair and eyes that were too sharp to belong to any farmer.
I wasn't in the Philippines anymore. And judging from their hair and that rain outside… I already knew exactly where I was.
"…Uzumaki Nagato," the man murmured, in a voice too calm for such a storm.
I froze internally.
Nagato.
The name hit me like a hammer. The name of a future god of pain. A boy who would one day be a puppet and a pawn — until the very end.
And now… that boy was me.
---
Great Sage: Awakening Complete.
User Rafael Reyes detected.
First Form Functionality Unlocked:
Absolute cognitive recall.
Combat and ninjutsu simulation capacity: 3.1 million iterations per second.
Parallel processing of up to 5 simultaneous thought streams.
---
The voice wasn't in my ears — it was in my head. Clear. Neutral.
I almost laughed out loud.
"Great Sage…? Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
This wasn't just a straight-up Naruto reincarnation. This was a crossover cheat.
The same skill that let Rimuru calculate, analyze, and evolve
---
[Continuation: Rafael's First Awakening]
The soft patter of rain never stopped.
For most babies, it was soothing — a lullaby from the heavens.
For Rafael Reyes, former Jolibee crewman and full-blooded Filipino turned reincarnator, it was the first test.
> Great Sage, status check.
Rafael blinked his small, uncoordinated eyes.
He wanted to groan — but all that came out was a soft, pitiful "aaah…"
G…Great Sage… and I'm in the Naruto world… ehh?*
The realization struck like lightning. He was in a small, dim room; the smell of damp wood and the faint hint of mold filled the air. Through blurry vision, he could see two figures: a young girl with blue hair folded like origami against her face… and a red-haired boy — Yahiko, if he wasn't mistaken — both sleeping nearby.
"Goo…" Rafael mumbled, testing his tongue.
Damn, this baby mouth was a downgrade. He couldn't even pronounce "P*tang ina."
---
Internal Command: Great Sage, analyze long-term survival probability.
Six percent? Putang— no, breathe, Raf. Focus.
He had read enough Chinese transmigration novels to know the rule: Hide your strength until the right time.
Besides, who in their right mind would believe a baby could think like this? That was just begging for Danzo to put him on a dissecting table.
---
From the corner, the blue-haired girl stirred. Her eyes, big and wary, met his for the first time. She looked no older than four, thin like a bamboo shoot in summer drought. Konan.
She crawled closer on the mat, studying his face.
"You… new baby?" she whispered in a voice that cracked.
Rafael's baby brain wanted to gurgle. His twenty-two-year-old soul wanted to say "Ate, don't worry, Kuya Raf is here to protect you."
Instead, he forced out a small coo and smiled just enough to look harmless.
Her eyes softened. She reached out, hesitant, and brushed his tiny hand. Her fingers were cold.
From that moment, Rafael decided: Not just my wife in the future. My queen.
---
Internal Command: Great Sage, create long-term objective list.
Rafael smirked internally. Good AI. You get a raise.
---
The door creaked open. An old man entered, gaunt and hollow-eyed — the caretaker. His face carried the weariness of someone who had seen too much war. He glanced at Rafael, then at Konan and Yahiko.
"Another mouth to feed…" he muttered.
Rafael kept quiet, pretending to be a normal baby. But inside, he was already mapping the timeline. He knew Jiraiya would appear eventually, but "eventually" wasn't a survival strategy. Between now and then, they'd be scavenging scraps and dodging shinobi skirmishes.
Great Sage, start data collection. Every voice, every route, every weapon. We're building my empire starting here.
And so, as the rain continued its endless song, a new player quietly took root in the shadows of Amegakure — a baby with the soul of a Filipino fighter, the mind of a schemer, and an AI whispering in his head.
---
---
[Survival in the Cradle]
Days bled into weeks, weeks into months.
Rafael quickly learned that being an infant wasn't just boring — it was a liability. In a war-torn village, weak things either got protected… or got eaten alive by circumstance. And in Amegakure, mercy was as rare as a sunny day.
He stayed quiet when strangers were near, refusing to babble too much. The caretaker didn't care for affection; food was rationed, warmth was a luxury. Only Konan lingered beside him, sometimes humming to herself while folding scraps of paper.
> Great Sage: Chakra network development at 3.8% completion. Estimated full infant mobility: 17 months.
Rafael gritted his metaphorical teeth. Seventeen months in this soft body before I can even stand… I can't afford that.
> Great Sage: Acceleration possible via controlled micro-muscle stimulation. Side effect: visible abnormality risk.
Do it. We hide the strength later.
---
[Yahiko's First Test]
It was Yahiko who broke the routine. The older boy, brash even at this age, barged in one evening clutching a bruised fish. "I traded it!" he declared proudly, ignoring the scrape on his knee.
The caretaker's eyes narrowed. "Traded? Or stole?"
Yahiko didn't answer — which meant Rafael knew the truth. He watched the exchange, noting the flicker of distrust in the caretaker's face. In Ame, even children were measured for potential usefulness.
Konan split the fish three ways — or tried to. She gave Rafael the smallest piece, easy for a baby to gum. But as he sucked the flavor, a different kind of hunger burned in him.
Not for food.
For control.
For a place where no one could look at his people like they were scraps from someone else's table.
---
[The Eye That Watches]
At night, when everyone else slept, Rafael could feel it — that faint, coiled presence inside the Rinnegan.
It wasn't Madara's voice, not exactly. It was more like a pulse. A reminder.
> Bring peace… control them all… or be crushed by them.
He didn't argue with it. Not yet. Instead, he filed it away, like a good chess player noting an opponent's favorite opening.
> Great Sage: Hypothesis — Rinnegan's internal seal contains subconscious directives. Countermeasure possible at higher cognitive-mana synchronization.
Good. He'd unravel it one day — on his own terms.
---
[First Rain Strategy]
By the time he was one year old, Rafael could crawl with speed unusual for his age. He used it to shadow Konan when she fetched water, memorizing alley layouts.
He noted which houses smelled of cooked rice, which streets had fewer patrols, which rooftops had easy climb holds.
The caretaker thought he was just an oddly restless baby. Yahiko called him "little bug" because he kept scuttling around. Konan just smiled, amused.
But in his mind, Rafael was building maps — the kind an Ame orphan could use to disappear in seconds if shinobi came hunting.
---
And so, under the endless rain, Rafael Reyes — once a Jollibee crewman, now the infant Nagato — began his first war: the quiet war for survival, fought with memory, patience, and the promise that when the time came, he'd have the strength to decide who lived, who died… and who stayed by his side forever.
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