Chapter 2 — Awakening.
Warm sunlight drifted through the open windows of the Konoha Academy classroom.
Children talked loudly, tossed paper balls, and ignored the tired instructor at the front.
At the last row, Kazuma Yuta, age twelve, lay sleeping on his desk.
Then—
His eyes snapped open.
A sharp pain stabbed his mind.
Kazuma grabbed his head as two lives clashed inside him.
Cold iron mines covered in snow.
Samurai orders.
The Third Shinobi War.
A Jōnin's lightning blade.
His own death at twelve.
His breath shook.
Then another life entered—
Running through Konoha's small streets.
Eating warm meals with his twin brother.
Sitting in this academy every day.
Practicing basic jutsu.
A peaceful home.
The memories merged into one life.
Kazuma slowly lowered his hands and stared.
They were clean and unscarred.
Not a miner's hands.
Not a fighter's hands.
A child's hands.
"Brother? Are you okay?" a worried voice asked beside him.
Kazuma turned.
His twin brother, Tenzo Yuta, looked at him with concern.
"You froze suddenly. Did something happen?"
Kazuma forced his breathing to calm.
"No… just a headache."
Tenzo sighed, relieved.
"Maybe you're nervous about tomorrow's graduation test. Everyone is."
Graduation test.
Yes… this body was a normal academy student.
Twelve years old.
No clan.
No special talent.
Just Kazuma Yuta.
As the memories settled, he understood the timeline clearly:
He had died during the Third Shinobi War.
That war ended soon after.
He was now eight years in the future, reborn into a peaceful Konoha.
Naruto Uzumaki was only six years old right now—
a small child running around the village.
Kazuma didn't know Naruto at all.
He didn't know anything about the boy's future.
He didn't know the fate of the village.
To him, Naruto was just another name in the village, nothing more.
He had no knowledge of what would happen years later.
Kazuma stared out the classroom window.
Sunlight fell softly on the courtyard.
Children laughed and ran freely.
Leaves fluttered in the warm wind.
This world felt unreal compared to the cold land where he died.
He remembered the strange coin—the Sword of Rinne—
the old object he found in the mines.
It shattered when he died…
and sent his soul to this body.
Then it disappeared forever.
Kazuma clenched his fists quietly.
"This time… I'll live.
I'll grow stronger by my own hands."
The school bell rang loudly.
Tenzo stood up immediately.
"Brother, let's go home. If you still feel dizzy, I'll carry you."
Kazuma blinked.
No one in his old life ever offered him kindness like that.
No one offered him a hand.
No one cared.
He shook his head gently.
"I'm fine. I can walk."
Tenzo smiled brightly.
"Good! Then let's go. We have to sleep early for tomorrow's test!"
Kazuma stood up slowly.
His new body felt light.
His heart felt warm.
His future felt real.
He followed his brother toward the academy doors, sunlight touching his face.
For the first time in two lives,
Kazuma felt like he had a real chance.
He whispered softly—
"This time… I'll live properly."
End of Chapter 2