Chapter 1: Awakening and the System
Naraku's consciousness slowly rose from the depths of unconsciousness. His eyes fluttered open, vision blurry, head throbbing like it had been split open.
As he woke, Uchiha Mikoto's face lit up with joy beside him. She hurried closer, voice full of concern. "Naraku! How are you feeling?"
Naraku glanced at the black-haired little girl next to him and muttered instinctively, "I'm fine."
Mikoto beamed at his response and quickly left to fetch dinner for him.
Lying in bed, Naraku pieced together the memories flooding his mind.
His name was Naraku (a real surname back in China), now Uchiha Naraku. The strange Uchiha clan, his small frail body, the unfamiliar house...
He realized he'd transmigrated—straight into the world of Naruto, the legendary land of five villages and endless ninja wars!
In his original world, he was an orphan with no parents, no wife, no kids—raised in a run-down orphanage. A die-hard Naruto fan. And on his way to work, he'd met that infamous truck in the city (don't ask why a dump truck was downtown!).
He could accept being isekai'd like this—Black Zetsu saving his mom or whatever. At least his cheap Redmi phone had fallen into the river before he died. Hopefully his browser history stayed buried.
Before he could dwell further, Mikoto returned and spoon-fed him some dinner.
Naraku used the excuse of needing rest to send her away.
Now came the most important part for any transmigrator: finding the golden finger!
Sure, as a Naruto fan he knew most plot points, but the ninja world was full of broken characters. Naruto and Sasuke were walking cheats. Even Orochimaru, a top-tier scientist anywhere else, ended up as a sidekick here.
Jade Emperor! Buddha! God! Three Pure Ones above!
With my supreme talent, unbreakable will, and sheer effort—Deep Blue, you there?
System bro?
Chat group?
Old grandpa?
...
After calling out for ages with no response, just as Naraku was about to try something drastic, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
A faint blue semi-transparent screen appeared before him.
[Myriad Worlds Blacksmith System binding in progress. Congratulations—you have become an Apprentice Blacksmith.]
[Task 1: As a blacksmith, you must have your own forging workshop. Please locate a personal forging space immediately!]
Naraku breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't the instant invincible combat system, villain system, roleplay system, or Deep Blue he dreamed of... but a system was a system. Even an auxiliary profession like blacksmithing should be decent in the system meta.
The details were locked—probably because it was still in trial binding. He'd need to complete the first task to unlock more.
No time to waste. If the system vanished from delay, he'd cry himself to death.
He tried to get up—then his head spun violently. He collapsed back onto the bed. In his fading consciousness, only one thought: What the f—!
When Naraku woke again, it was early morning the next day. By now, he'd gradually absorbed the original body's memories.
He realized he hadn't just transmigrated recently—he'd been here for years. Only lately had he "broken through the fetal mystery" and fully awakened his past-life memories.
The original Uchiha Naraku had been eerily similar to him—a total little rascal.
His parents: an elite jonin father (hardcore hawk faction, top lackey of the Uchiha great elder) and a chunin mother. Both died during the fragile peace after the First Shinobi World War.
Mikoto was the great elder's granddaughter, so they'd grown up close—childhood sweethearts.
Thinking of how Mikoto would grow into that stunning, gentle beauty with her warm personality... Naraku decided immediately: I'll take her for myself. If I don't go to hell, who will?
As for whether Sasuke or Itachi would ever be born—he couldn't care less. By the time Sasuke popped out, Naraku figured he'd already ascended to godhood with his talent, will, and a sprinkle of system help!
He wasn't about to sit idle just to preserve canon—that was suicide.
Naraku headed out to find Mikoto for help. A proper forging workshop wasn't something an orphan kid could easily get.
"Naraku, are you okay now?" Mikoto asked worriedly, then added, "And no more random trash-talking people, got it? Especially that stuff."
She was referring to how the original Naraku had mocked Uchiha-shaped kid (probably a typo for some brat), got jumped by a gang of kids he'd pissed off, and the beating finally triggered his memory awakening.
Naraku vowed silently to "repay" those brats properly someday.
"It's fine, Mikoto-nee. They said only Fugaku deserves you—I was just defending your honor. Mikoto-nee, the only one who can marry you is me!" He stared at her with the pure, earnest eyes of a child.
Mikoto, unused to such bold words, blushed furiously. "W-what are you saying? You're not even as big as them! Anyway, no more one-vs-many fights. If you have to fight, call me!"
Naraku then explained he wanted a forging room. Mikoto was surprised by the sudden request but agreed to help without hesitation.