"…and then you just ran into the kick..."
Someone was talking next to me. Even with my head hurting and ears ringing, I could tell that much.
"...face-first. Even Iruka-sensei looked away..."
Where was I? I wasn't too sure myself.
I was lying down on what seemed like an infirmary bed.
The ceiling felt familiar... so did the voice, but at the same time, they also felt strange.
It was weird. My brain struggled to process any of it properly.
Maybe it was because I wasn't supposed to be here.
I wasn't supposed to be anywhere, actually.
A few moments ago—no, that wasn't right.
A whole lifetime ago, I had been on Earth, lying in a hospital bed, staring at a peeling ceiling and realising I was going to die from tetanus.
Yes, you read that right. Tetanus.
Unlike the usual reincarnation stories, I didn't get taken out by Truck-kun.
Instead, I died to a rusty trash tricycle.
And I didn't even get a quick death.
I'd had plenty of time to think about it, to regret one impressively stupid choice—to save someone.
Yes, I died trying to be a hero.
Lying alone in a hospital bed, as the fever dragged on and my muscles stiffened one by one, I could only curse my stupidity.
When I finally stopped breathing, there was nobody by my side, no one to even say goodbye.
But I always knew I'd die alone. Because I'd been alone my whole life.
And now, somehow, I was here, Alive, in a different body, in a different world, but not much had changed.
"…seriously, Takumi, you can't dodge like that. Forward is the worst possible option."
Takumi.
That name hit harder than the kick that unlocked the memories of my past life.
Because suddenly it refreshed the memories of my current life, memories of the last twelve years.
The Academy, Iruka-sensei, my whole life flashed before my eyes. My chest tightened with disappointment.
In this life, I was Daichi Takumi, a student in the Konohagakure Ninja Academy.
I had no clan, no talent worth mentioning, and even in this life, I was still an orphan.
That should tell you how useless I was, because despite growing up in the orphanage—basically Root's unofficial recruitment centre—not even Root wanted me.
And those bastards recruit half the kids just so the other half can kill them to prove their loyalty.
'How can someone be useless two lifetimes in a row?' I cursed myself as I lay there, staring at the ceiling like an idiot.
It wasn't that I hadn't tried, trust me, I did. The younger me had given his best.
Despite having no memories and no talent, he'd done his best to become a ninja, but it just wasn't enough.
"…so yeah, you're lucky Iruka-sensei stepped in, or you would've smacked your head a second time when you fell to the ground."
'But anything is better than death,' I told myself.
'Anything...'
"…you fainted on the spot, by the way. Kinda saved you from everyone's laughter."
'But damn it, why did it have to be like this?'
Other people reincarnate into the Uchiha clan. Or become a long-lost member of the Senju clan.
Even the Nara wouldn't have been that bad. Lazy, sure, but at least they're smart.
Hell, I'd even take the Inuzuka at this point. Dogs are a plus.
But me?
Orphan. No clan. No bloodline. Not even a tragic backstory.
I don't even have weird coloured hair or anything.
And just to really drive the knife in, my chakra pool was… pitiful.
Oh, I had chakra, alright, but that was the nicest thing I could say about it.
It was not even enough to make a sickly illusion clone.
'Yeah… no way I'm graduating like this.'
I was screwed.
"…you really don't remember any of it?"
I finally turned my head and looked at the kid beside my bed. He looked like a normal snotty kid. His name was Kuro, I remembered.
He was the kind of kid who had no sense of boundaries.
He talked too much and with everyone. And he didn't notice or even care if someone was having a kid life crisis.
Kuro shook his head like he was genuinely impressed. "Honestly, if you forgot everything, that's probably a blessing. I'd want to forget too."
Have you ever wanted to smack the shit out of somebody just for running their mouth? Yeah, me too.
"Anyway," he finally stood up and stretched, "get some rest. I wish I could cut class like this in the infirmary."
If I weren't feeling so freaking weak, I doubt I'd be able to stop myself from getting him admitted to the next bed over.
He headed toward the door, still talking. "Iruka sensei gave another Will of Fire lecture. So boring. It's the same stuff every time."
The door slid shut behind him, and it was finally quiet.
I let out a slow breath I didn't realise I'd been holding.
Before I could take another breath, the door slammed open again.
"Oh, right!"
Kuro jogged back in and tossed something at me.
Surprisingly, I caught it out of instinct.
It was a paper shuriken.
"I made it during class," he said proudly. "Since you suck so bad at taijutsu, you should keep it. Maybe you'll do better in shurikenjutsu."
He grinned and left before I could throw it back at his head.
My left eye started twitching.
Never have I had such a strong urge to beat up a kid before.
I was about to toss the damn shuriken into the bin when a clear thought appeared in my mind.
[Paper Shuriken]
Attack: 1
Upgrade Requirement: 1 Chakra Point
My heartbeat spiked.
'No way. It's the thing. The thing I've read so much about in those MTL Chinese novels.
What did they call it? Some finger… yeah. A golden finger.'
'It's my golden finger. Mine. All mine.'
I could feel my eyes widening as I stared at the crudely made paper shuriken.
'Dayum. Why am I suddenly acting like Golem?
Did I hit my head or something?
Oh yeah. I did get kicked in the face.'
I snapped out of it.
'So how does this work then? Upgrade—'
Before I could even finish the thought, about a third of my chakra drained away, and my head suddenly felt heavy.
But my attention snapped to the new information in my mind.
[Paper Shuriken]+1
Attack: 1
Additional Attack: 1
Upgrade Requirement: 2 Chakra Points
The crudely made paper shuriken felt a little sturdier, and it even grew a bit heavier in my hand. Tho it still looked the same.
'No way. I can upgrade objects.'
It wasn't quite what I'd hoped for, but it was still more than I expected.
What made me want to cry, though, was the fact that spending just one chakra point had drained a full third of my total chakra.
'It looks like I can strengthen it further.
How much damage can a paper shuriken even do?
Well… let's find out.'
"Upgrade."
I felt a sudden tug at my stomach as every last bit of my chakra vanished.
"Fu—"
My vision blurred. My grip weakened, and the paper shuriken slipped from my fingers as warmth rushed through it.
The last thing I thought before blacking out was that fainting twice in one day was probably not a good sign of things to come.
-To be continued...
Visit patreon/DreamyApe to read more chapters.