Reincarnation into the dark world of Naruto

I walk forward on shaky, trembling legs. Out of nowhere, Hizashi appears at my side. He doesn't look happy—his face is as impassive as a stone mask, but the muscles twitching on his cheeks betray his true emotions. He's probably regretting not quietly eliminating the source of his troubles earlier. The elders rise to their feet and gesture for us to face each other. Firm hands settle on my shoulders, pressing down, and I mimic Hizashi's posture as he kneels, legs tucked beneath him. Okay. Hands on the knees. No objections from the surrounding elders, which means I'm doing it right.

Miori approaches silently, giving me a sympathetic glance before placing her right hand on my head, right on the crown. Her left hand goes to the head of the kneeling shinobi.

So, what's she going to do? Set some seals? Ugh, my life's a tin can... I'll try to focus harder. I stretch out to touch the life chakra center. This time, it's easier to reach. And having learned from painful experience, I don't try to press on the source, but instead aim to just touch it. It doesn't work on the first try, but there's no harm in trying again! Got it. Now all that's left is to pull the thin green line up to my eyes. It's not working. Damn, it hurts.

I grunt through my teeth and fall forward, pressing my stomach to my knees. I wrap my arms around myself, trembling uncontrollably. Focused now, yes.

Through the ringing in my ears, I hear voices. The old woman, Oki, is furious—yelling. At me. Oh, so many new words. Well, I can guess what she means, though my vocabulary isn't quite enough. To curse like that—what a talent! My chest burns, throbbing with pain. What have I done? I choke, unable to scream, just howling instead. It hurts! A hot iron presses into my back. No, it's not an iron. These are someone's heavy, heated hands. It feels like nails driven into my spine, burning from the heat. I squint my eyes shut and tense up. A spectacle.

Inside my chest, almost under my throat, a thread pulsates, glowing with green. At the end of it, a transparent, swirling green mist forms. I mentally reach out to choke that thread, the same one I was pulling toward my eyes.

A heavy slap falls across my head, followed by a genuine growl: "Don't touch it, fool!"

I don't touch it. You've convinced me. The pain slowly fades away.

The inner eye sees glowing threads appearing out of nowhere, stretching toward the breaking point. Interesting, is this the Byakugan's ability—to see chakra inside the body with closed eyes?

Well, one of the threads attaches itself to the pulsating life chakra center, another goes toward the breaking point, while a third circles hesitantly within the slowly dissipating cloud of chakra. The thread gradually loses its glow... and calms down? Yes, it seems so. Everything fades. Before the thread completely fades away, I notice the other two threads pulling a pale green thread upward. A bright red flash! The threads vanish.

I lie there, quietly. Enjoying the cool and peace. The cramp that had bound my body like chains slowly recedes.

My ear catches fingers, gripping it tightly, pulling my head up.

"You fool, what are you doing?" The sickly sweet feminine voice makes me want to crawl under the tatami.

"Kha... Khe..." I try to clear my dry, ragged throat. I don't know how shinobi endure this. Oh, I don't know. I was about to climb the walls.

"Akinami, sweetie, bring the young suicide a strengthening drink."

It seems the old woman correctly understands my difficulties. A moment later, the edge of a cup touches my lips. I gulp it down to moisten my throat. Damn, what is this? The taste is indescribable, I think even scraping something from the smelly winter boots would taste better. Ugh, khaa!

"Don't you dare spit it out," continues the same sweet voice. "I'll make you lick the floor clean afterward!"

I believe her. She'd force it! She could drag a stubborn horse into a burning house.

"Who taught you this, idiot? Hizashi, you piece of trash, was it your job?" The voice cracks into a growl. My poor head, still with eyes closed, shakes like a tree in a storm.

"Oki, yourself, how could you...?"

Damn, Hizashi is genuinely scared. I get it. This woman would scare anyone. I just dream of seeing her face off with Danzo or the Hokage. That's where unstoppable force meets immovable object. But I'd rather watch that from a safe distance.

"I can do worse," the elder rages. "Did he come up with this idiocy himself? Answer me, you bastard!"

From the intensity of the ear-shaking, it seems this is aimed at me.

"Yes." I mutter through clenched teeth. "How else could I do it? This is how the entity showed me."

Though, it used all three chakra sources, while I'm only managing the life center.

"Thank you, Great Sky, Father of all things," Oki breathes out with feeling, "for these small mercies. If you'd touched the body chakra and torn its channel, we'd be scraping your brains off the walls by now!"

"Body chakra? What's that?" Is that some fifth type of chakra? I feel like howling from despair at how many of these there are.

"Well, 'Yan,' if that's clearer."

Seeing my nod, Oki narrows her eyes. "So, you tried...?"

"Uh, yeah. I thought it'd be easier with the red source since it's closer to the eyes."

Why are they staring at me like I'm a circus clown?

"And where exactly did you try this?"

Now, Hiashi's in on the express interrogation.

"Well... At the gates. When Danzo had to demonstrate that I have ties to the Hyuga clan, and that Hizashi has the right to bring me to you." The old man, Toraki, looks at me with his chin resting on his fist, while Hiashi shakes his head, hiding his face in his hands, and the old woman just stares at me with a fixed gaze.

"I told you, Byakugan life!" Hizashi is clearly furious. Where did that stone, unshakable mask go?

"And I understood what was coming even before that..." Well, what else is there to say?

"Alright. I understand everything now. Not just a fool, but a fool with initiative. And you need to have tasks set for you, detailed from start to finish!" Oki-ni sighed heavily. "Boy, for the future. Until special permission, you're forbidden to touch chakra. Absolutely forbidden. Even life chakra. Even for activating the Byakugan. Do you understand, milk-drinker?" Oh, and her gaze is heavy. She'll hammer me to the ground like a nail, right to the head. I cautiously nod. What else can I do? Talking to her is simply terrifying. I might squeak...

Finally, the shinobi calms down, and the interrupted ritual starts again. Miory, throwing me a clearly displeased glance, places her hands on my and Hizashi's heads again. In my case, it feels more like a slap.

"Who did you bring to the clan council, Hizashi, my brother?" Hiashi looked at his brother.

"The lost and found blood, older brother, that called upon the clan," Hizashi replies calmly and firmly. Oh, I'm going to get a half-hour lecture and brainwashing. But why do I feel chills running down my spine? For these people, this doesn't seem like a game at all.

"What does the lost blood call for, clan warrior?" Elder Oki-ni's voice breaks the silence.

"To have the right to join the clan, to have the honor to defend the clan, to gain the wisdom that the clan can provide." Everyone is completely serious; I'm about to burst into hysterical laughter.

"A child cannot be born without a father and mother," Elder Toraki continues in a solemn voice, "and only a large family gives strength and will to resist the cruel world! Who is ready to accept this child as a son? Will there be those who take responsibility before the clan and the world for the actions and deeds of the found blood, and share with him the joy of victories and the bitterness of losses?"

"There will be." Hizashi's voice sounds like the rustle of finely honed steel leaving its velvet sheath. He takes my right hand.

"There will be." The word spoken by Oki-ni presses me to the ground like an ice boulder. Her voice is so cold and promising. The elder silently takes two steps, and now she is kneeling to the right of Hizashi. Realizing what is required of me, I extend my left hand.

"Just as a father passes on to his son his character and will to win, so will Hizashi nurture them in you. The children of the clan absorb love and loyalty to the clan with their mother's milk, and Elder Oki-ni will pass it on to you. This is good, but it is not enough. Without brothers and sisters ready to support you in difficult times, a person is flawed and will surely be broken by the blows of fate. Will there be someone who is ready to support the child calling to the clan and accept him as a brother, becoming his pillar on the shinobi's path?"

"There will be." The words came quietly but firmly above my head. Trapped, just trapped. Hizashi, capable of pulling everything he finds wrong out of me and shaping my character. Oki-ni, who made me tremble. She will teach and pass it on. And she will get her way, damn it. And the new 'sister,' who's been digging through my brain, knowing almost more about me than I know myself. Hiding something from her is going to be impossible. Even though she can only read minds when touching someone's head. Somewhere behind me, I heard a distinct chuckle. Damn, is she reading my thoughts even now, with her hand on my head? I'm done for! The girl snorted. Yeah, she's definitely reading them. However, her amusement was interrupted by the sharpness of the elders' gazes. A silent whisper echoed in my head: "You're funny, Akira-tan. I'm glad to become your clan-sister. Don't worry, for reading minds, you need a potion of open mind and contact with the head. Otherwise, my mother's clan would have been wiped out long ago." Oh, yeah. Of course. Who would tell me the truth like this right away. In my head, I felt a strange sense of amusement. She's having fun, damn it. Meanwhile, I'm playing out a comic for her, comedically. "You're starting to think like a real shinobi, Akira-tan. Well done." For some reason, I'm sure the jokester is smiling. Widely and sincerely. And why is everyone silent? Are they staring at me?

"You've come to us, Akira-tan. Are you ready to bear the burden of a clan warrior, gain a new family, and be reborn?" Hiashi is completely serious. Am I the only one who sees all this as a silly farce? Well, they've assigned me overseers to deal with political and patriotic education, so why all this theater? Ah, Asia. You're hard to understand.

"Ready." The main thing is to keep a straight face and not burst into laughter, with squeals and snorts. I'm on the verge of hysterics, so much has been thrown at me in the last few days. And I can't take the world seriously anymore – too much fear I've felt, and too much surprised me. A little more, and they'll get a drooling idiot.

"Good. Close your eyes, Akira, to open them reborn!" Closing my eyes, I fall somewhere into a warm, damp abyss, and the last thing I notice is how hundreds of colorful threads rush into my body, heading in almost all directions! Oblivion sweeps over me in a hot, blood-scented wave...