Everything was dark. No ceiling. No floor. Just an endless void pressing from all directions. The silence was suffocating.
"Death!!, Where am I?" he murmured. But he did not get any response.
The last thing he remembered was passing out at his desk. Another all night! Another urgent report! Another cup of cold coffee next to unfinished paperwork! His body had given up just like that. No farewell. No second chance. Just a faint headache, then black.
But suddenly, light pierced the void.
He gasped for air.
He jolted and sat upright. Sweat dripping down from his body and his heart pounding against his ribs like a war drum. As he opened his eyes the surroundings slowly took shape. A traditional wooden room with paper sliding doors and a faint scent of medicinal herbs.
This was not his apartment.
He felt sharp through his skull, like his mind was splitting. Foreign and overwhelming memories rushed in like a broken dam. Training in the forest. Family dinners in the Senju compound. Watching Hashirama Senju the First Hokage, deliver speeches with tired eyes. Learning Water and Earth release techniques. Sword practice. Laughter. Grief. War.
"I'm… Senju Raizen?" he whispered.
He walked to the mirror in the corner and saw himself. A lean, strong faced boy with black hair tied behind his head and sharp brown eyes. Fourteen years old. A shinobi in training. Grandson of the Senju clan elder.
"What the hell is going on…?"
He paced the room, thoughts spinning. He wasn't dreaming. The sensations were too real. The memories, the chakra running through his veins, the weight of a wooden practice sword resting in the corner, all of it pointed to a single, absurd truth.
He had reincarnated into the world of Naruto.
No, this was earlier. Much earlier.
Hashirama Senju was still alive, but barely. The man who once cowed nations with his Wood Release now lay low, his body slowly loosing the might as if eaten away by a mysterious illness. The peace he had fought for was crumbling and the First Great Ninja War was about to break
Raizen clenched his fist. In his old life, he was powerless. Just a cog in a soulless machine. But now.... now he had chakra. He had a legacy and a second chance.
But just than despair crept in, how could he possibly survive in this brutal world? First war was coming he will be sent to frontline. How can he survive?
He started praying to God for system or some gift to survive in this world.
Just then a robotic voice echoed inside his mind.
[System Initialization: ALMIGHTY SYSTEM]
To activate complete the following physical regimen daily for 180 days:
0/500 Push Ups
0/500 Squats
0/5km Run
Progress: Day 0/180
He blinked. "Wait… what?"
A glowing interface appeared in front of him like a translucent scroll only he could see. His name was there. His stats. All pathetically low.
But more importantly, the words [Locked Features] and [Template: 0% Synced] teased endless possibilities.
This wasn't just chakra. This was a system. The kind of cheat he'd only read about in fanfics.
"Almighty System, huh…?" he murmured, a slow grin creeping across his face. "Fine. You want me to train like a madman? I've done worse for less."
He stepped outside. The cold morning air stung his skin but it felt good. His muscles were weak, but his will and eyes burned brighter than ever.
This time, he will not be a loser.
He would become a storm.
And the world of shinobi would never forget the name.
'Senju Raizen'