Chapter 1: Chapter 1: The Otaku Who Wants to Become a Real Shinobi
"..." : audible speech or voice
«...» : thoughts
[...] : message or telepathy or other means of communication
In a peaceful little town lived Hiroshi Tanaka, an average-looking seventeen-year-old teenager with nothing particularly remarkable about his appearance, except that he was a person one would easily forget after seeing him just once.
Hiroshi was what one might call a reclusive otaku. He spent his days watching anime, playing video games, and avoiding all social contact.
Before ending up like this, Hiroshi was a normal teenager, but unfortunately, he had to endure a long period of bullying during his schooling. This resulted in trauma within his adolescence which eventually led to a high level of introversion.
But despite all that, Hiroshi dreamed of living his own epic adventures and changing his current situation like his favorite heroes in manga. But unfortunately, his current self lacked the courage and especially the motivation to take action and make these dreams come true.
Every morning, Hiroshi had a well-established routine which consisted of dragging his sore body out of bed due to the intense physical exercise in front of his computer. (Author's note: I will not specify what kind of physical exercise Hiroshi engages in in front of his computer).
After getting out of bed, he went straight to the shower. Despite his questionable lifestyle, Hiroshi maintained a bit of hygiene.
Well after the shower, he made himself a simple breakfast before lazily gobbling down his favorite meal: instant noodles.
After finishing, Hiroshi went back to his room, which was also his refuge that kept him safe from the cruel reality of his life.
The walls were covered in anime and manga posters. A large computer screen stood on his desk, surrounded by various figurines and stacks of DVDs.
Hiroshi then let himself be absorbed by these virtual and illusory worlds, paying no attention to what was going on around him.
Days went by like this, with Hiroshi living in his bubble of anime and video games, avoiding as much contact as possible with the outside world. His family worried about him, but Hiroshi didn't want to hear any of it.
He had convinced himself that his current life was fine even though deep down he knew the truth about his real dream.
However, one day, everything was about to change for Hiroshi. As he was immersed in a new anime, something strange happened.
An unbearable intense light suddenly flooded the room. Hiroshi was forced to close his eyes, his retina burned because of the blinding brightness. He felt his body go numb and then distort in a disturbing way, as if compressed from all sides.
For a moment that seemed like an eternity to him, he thought his mind would implode under unbearable pressure. Then finally, the light faded. But when he opened his eyes, nothing was the same anymore.
Hiroshi found himself in an unfamiliar room that was simply furnished. He could tell at a glance that he was no longer home.
Looking out the window of this room, Hiroshi realized he was no longer in his own body.
In the glass before him was a young bronze-skinned, gray-haired boy who had a fit body despite his young age.
He was now in the body of a child, between 5 or 6 years old by his estimate. "What's going on? Where am I?" Hiroshi murmured, confused and disoriented.
By exploring the memories that were strangely familiar to him, Hiroshi understood that he was in the body of Shira, a child who lived in the ninja village of Suna.
He had inherited the memories and feelings of the real Shira for his loved ones. Thanks to the memories and emotions of this child, part of his trauma and introversion was cured but not completely resolved.
"How is this possible?" Hiroshi, now Shira, wondered, bewildered by this strange situation.
Just as he was trying to adapt to his new reality, he heard voices approaching the room. Heavy footsteps echoed outside.
"Shira, open I need to talk to you," announced a voice gently but firmly, seemingly coming from the door.
Shira felt his heart race. He now had to prepare to face one of Shira's loved ones and later confront a cruel world, why cruel? Because Hiroshi knows the truth about Shira's world.
It is a fictional world and Shira was a secondary character in this fictional world called Naruto, named after its protagonist.
After a moment that seemed endless but in reality lasted only a few moments, this is possible thanks to the abnormal intelligence of the original Shira.
He managed to regain some control of himself and remembered there was a lady knocking on the door.
"Crap, I forgot there was someone knocking and calling me," he thought as he walked to the door.
Hiroshi was a reclusive shut-in who had developed the bad habit of having moments of absence because he often plunged into his own mental world during his intense thinking.
"My little Shira, is everything okay?" said a lady sighing with relief.
When Shira looked at her face, he couldn't help but have a slight smile, this was due to the memories of the original Shira.
The woman before him was his aunt but also a second mother figure for his current body since Shira had left his hometown at a very young age.
So Hiroshi or the current Shira had been a little overwhelmed by these feelings, hence the instinctive smile.
"Why are you standing there staring at my face? I remind you that at my age, one cannot stand for long after crossing such an immense village," said Aunt Sato as she headed for one of the room's two chairs.
After sitting down elegantly, the older woman glanced at Shira motioning for him to sit in the other chair.
"I'm glad you're okay but Shira, I want you to stop training so hard," she began, fixing Shira with a gentle but worried look that Shira could read on her face.
"Being a shinobi isn't the only career you know," she said before continuing, "You're an intelligent and courageous child, I'm sure the village will find something good for you."
When Shira heard this, new information flowed into his brain, specifically why the previous Shira had died.
After being expelled from the Suna Ninja Academy, Shira had trained excessively hard and died from exhaustion in his room.
The reason for the expulsion? He had extremely poor talent in ninjutsu, genjutsu and due to a rule established by the Fourth Kazekage, Shira could not start on his path to his dream of becoming a real ninja.
His face displayed astonishment that his aunt had interpreted as sorrow from listening to these words. So she had continued hastily speaking.
"I know you care deeply about your dream and I will always support you as best I can. If you want to try again to enter the academy next year, I will support you and pull some strings through my relationships. But please just take this year to really think about your future," she said pleadingly.
"Okay, Aunt Sato," Shira said with a nod.
"Anyway, I'd just be another failure among others if I go to ninja academy this year. But with my knowledge of the plot, I'm sure I can be considered a genius next year," Shira thought with a smile as he remembered the prestige that genius holds in this world.
"But Aunt Sato, I would like your help with my training and I promise I won't cause you trouble anymore," Shira said, trying to imitate those cute anime characters who make puppy dog eyes.
When he did that, he received a blow to the head, which was not enough to injure him but just enough to hurt.
"Ow!" Shira cried, touching the small bump on his head from the shock of his aunt's blow.
"Don't try to make that face again, believe me you look ugly doing it. And for your training, I'll help you once you ask for help properly," she said heading towards the door.
"But for now, I want you to rest properly today," she finished, leaving quickly.
After she left, Shira couldn't help but look out the window showing him a barren yet stunning desert landscape caused by a setting sun.
"I hope this time I don't become a loser," he thought, motivating himself.
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