"Reaper Death Seal."
In the Hidden Leaf Village, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, unleashed the Reaper Death Seal, finally sealing the rampaging Nine-Tails Fox. Yet, no one rejoiced. Every gaze directed at Minato was filled with respect and sorrow.
Minato collapsed, like a dying lamp extinguished by the wind, silent and still. The blonde infant in the bundle wailed loudly. Minato's lifeless eyes stared at the sky, his inner turmoil known only to him.
The aftermath of the disaster shrouded the Hidden Leaf. "Where the leaves dance, the fire burns eternal." In the blink of an eye, the crying infant in the bundle had grown, and the elderly had gained a few more wrinkles.
In a classroom at the Hidden Leaf Ninja Academy, friends chatted before class. Haruno Den sat at his desk, turning to talk animatedly with Naruto.
"The cutest girl is definitely Sakura, right?"
"No way! Sakura's the least cute, no question."
"Huh? But aren't you her brother?"
"I'm her brother, sure, but she's still the least cute."
Their disagreement over the cutest girl left Naruto staring at him, confused.
Den shook his head and turned away.
Naruto wouldn't understand—Sakura wasn't cute at all.
With his twelve-year-old face, Den recalled the past, feeling as though he'd lived through ages.
Back when he was on a blue planet called Earth, he was eighteen, chubby, not fond of exercise or studying, living comfortably under his parents' care.
That day, he returned home, scribbled through his homework, and turned on the TV to watch anime happily. Suddenly, a voice rang in his ears.
"Fire Shadow Ninja System binding successful. Please select a voice."
"What?"
The chubby boy leapt up, eyes wide, no longer captivated by the anime on the screen.
A voice selection appeared before him with three options: Default, Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki.
"It's really a system!"
In that moment, he felt like he owned the world, his heart surging with boundless ambition.
"Hahaha! Sharingan, I'm gonna get the Sharingan!"
His eyes gleamed as he let out an envious, maniacal laugh. His parents shook their heads helplessly—their silly son was at it again.
Grinning, he examined the three options, confidently cycling through them before cheekily choosing Kushina Uzumaki's voice.
"Please select your birthplace: Land of Fire, Land of Wind, Land of Lightning, Land of Earth, Land of Water."
"Birthplace?"
His not-so-sharp mind didn't realize he was about to transmigrate. After some thought, he chose the safest option: the Land of Fire.
"Fire Shadow Ninja System activated."
Hearing this, the boy excitedly dashed toward the door.
"Mom, Dad, I'm gonna be a ninja!"
But a black hole suddenly appeared before him. Running straight into it, he found himself in the Hidden Leaf Hospital, his cheers turning into an infant's wails.
Next to him was another baby. Haruno Mebuki and Haruno Kizashi, unaware he was calling for his parents, gazed at the two children with joy.
Den froze, unsure if his parents had heard him. Oh well, he thought. Noticing the baby beside him, he assumed it was his twin.
But he was certain he'd make something of himself.
"The older brother will be Haruno Den, the younger sister Haruno Sakura."
What? Haruno Sakura?
He'd become Sakura's brother?
On his first day in this world, Den was stunned by his sister's identity, already dreading the thought of living under the same roof as Sakura.
That same year, in October, around the second Wednesday, the Hidden Leaf was suddenly attacked by the Nine-Tails Fox.
Its terrifying chakra made Den cry pathetically, but no one blamed him. In the shelter, everyone wore grave expressions.
By the next day, when things calmed down, Den realized Naruto had become the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. Yesterday was the day the Nine-Tails attacked the village. Thinking back to that terrifying chakra, he still felt uneasy.
He comforted himself: It's fine. With the system, he'd surpass Naruto when he grew up.
Twelve years passed in a flash.
Den buried his head in his desk, feeling as if rainclouds and mushrooms were sprouting around him. Seeing him like this, Naruto panicked.
"Den-ichiro, you okay?"
"Yeah, don't worry."
At the same time, Sasuke and Sakura's gazes turned toward him, their eyes complex.
How could he explain? He was starting to dread Kushina Uzumaki's voice.
Whenever the system spoke in her voice, he felt exhausted.
How had he survived these years?
From the first day of school, Kushina's voice had been relentless in his ears.
"Read the scroll, read the scroll, read the scroll."
"Study, study, study."
"Refine chakra, refine chakra, refine chakra."
"Three Basic Techniques, Three Basic Techniques, Three Basic Techniques."
"Taijutsu, taijutsu, taijutsu."
It was like a demonic drill instructor.
With his old personality, how could he handle this?
This wasn't what he expected. With a system, wasn't he supposed to effortlessly gain ultimate power and dominate everyone?
"Tch, hanging out with that idiot Naruto again," Sakura thought, annoyed.
"That guy… I'll never lose to him," Sasuke thought, his gaze darkening.
Den sighed helplessly. He knew what Sakura and Sasuke were thinking. Sakura seemed to dislike him hanging out with Naruto, giving him the cold shoulder at home and recently ignoring him altogether.
Under the system's supervision, his grades were excellent, rivaling Sasuke's, but he wasn't happy. These achievements, forged through grueling training, made his body ache just thinking about it.
Class finally started. Iruka entered the classroom, glanced at Naruto's seat, and smiled with relief.
Since Den and Naruto became friends, studying and playing together, Naruto rarely skipped class—though he was still mischievous, so Iruka stayed vigilant.
Den felt helpless about this too. The system was like Naruto's mom, assigning tasks under its watch, like making Naruto practice the Clone Technique and Transformation Technique ten times.
The Transformation Technique was fine—Naruto could transform into "Naruko," a sight that eased the stress of studying.
But the Clone Technique? Utterly disastrous. Naruto hadn't even managed it once, making no progress.
If Den didn't know Naruto would later master the Multi-Shadow Clone Technique, he might've turned into Kushina himself and put Naruto through hellish training.