Darkness. Absolute, endless darkness. For a moment, I wasn't anywhere—I wasn't anything. Then, slowly, a warmth crept in, suffusing me like sunlight through a dense fog. I didn't remember closing my eyes, and yet, somehow, I had.
I remembered everything. The bustling streets of my city. The campus I'd been so desperate to get into, the acceptance letter I had just held in my hands. I remembered the screech of metal, the sudden impact, and then… nothing.
And now I was here. Not there. Not dead, but not alive in the way I had been.
A gentle sound pulled me into awareness—a soft, rhythmic noise that reminded me of a heartbeat. But it wasn't mine. My eyes fluttered open, and the world came into focus in slow, agonizing detail.
I was lying in a cot. A small, wooden crib with straw padding, my tiny fists curled instinctively over my chest. My limbs were weak, uncoordinated—helpless. And yet, deep in my chest, a strange, unfamiliar power hummed, coiling like a serpent just beneath my skin.
I tried to move, and the motion was clumsy, but I could sense something… different. Something otherworldly. And then I heard it—a voice. Not spoken aloud, but resonating directly in my mind.
"Welcome, User. You have been reborn. System initialization: Template Acquisition."
I blinked, trying to comprehend, but comprehension felt effortless. Somehow, I understood everything it said.
"First template: Guaranteed Gold Template acquired."
The world shifted, folding in on itself. Knowledge poured into me, memories not my own, visions of a man with white hair and piercing eyes, standing atop a battlefield that shook the heavens. His name echoed through my consciousness.
Indra Ōtsutsuki.
And just like that, I knew. Every cell in my tiny body thrummed with raw potential, a power unimaginable for a newborn. Lightning crackled across my fingertips, though my hands were smaller than a grown man's thumb. Fire danced along my chest, curling harmlessly around me like obedient snakes. My lungs were too small to breathe deeply, but I felt as though I could inhale the world itself.
I focused, and my vision sharpened beyond any mortal capacity. I could see the faint flow of energy around the straw mat beneath me, the invisible threads that wove together every living thing. A glance at my tiny hand revealed veins of pure light pulsating with raw power. And then, instinctively, my gaze fell upon a corner of the room… and I saw it: the outline of my mother, sleeping peacefully, unaware that the child in her arms was anything but ordinary.
It was surreal. I could feel the Ōtsutsuki bloodline coursing through me—granting strength, stamina, and senses far beyond what any mortal could dream. And yet, I was still a baby, fragile and dependent. The paradox was dizzying, but I accepted it. This was my new reality.
"System: Template abilities unlocked."
I tried to speak. My mouth moved, and though only incomprehensible sounds emerged, the system interpreted them instantly.
Lightning Release: Sparks crackled harmlessly from my fingertips.
Fire Release: Tiny flames flickered across the straw bedding, obeying my unspoken command.
Chakra Control: I could feel the infinite ebb and flow of energy within me, guiding every motion, every thought.
Sharingan: My eyes flickered, scarlet and spinning, revealing the invisible currents of chakra that connected everything around me.
Ōtsutsuki Bloodline: A primal essence of power that allowed me to grow beyond mortal limits, shaping the very nature of my body and mind.
Even as a newborn, I understood the implications. I could grow to challenge gods, reshape the world, and survive even in the deadliest of conflicts. The world itself was a playground of opportunity, if I could only survive childhood first.
I looked around the small, modest room. My parents were human. Mortal. Fragile. And I was… different. A predator born among prey. A storm incarnate in a cradle.
The system pulsed again.
"Template Integration complete. Status: Gold. Potential: Maximum."
I smiled—or at least, the closest thing a newborn could approximate. The room smelled faintly of oil and bread, the sun spilling through the cracks in the wooden walls. I was a baby, yet I was also Indra, and the world would never be the same.
I flexed my tiny fingers again, feeling lightning surge and fire coil in tandem with my heartbeat. Every movement was instinctively precise. I could see the flow of energy around my mother as she shifted in her sleep, her life force gentle, mortal, untrained—but alive. And I knew, even now, that I would not forget the world I had come from, the life I had lost, or the power I had gained.
This was only the beginning.
One day, I would rise. One day, I would stand among the gods themselves. And the name Indra Ōtsutsuki would not be mine alone—it would become legend.
But for now… I was a baby, and the world was mine to observe, to learn from, to dominate.
The sun rose higher, spilling gold across the wooden floors, and I felt the first true stirrings of ambition.
I was reborn. I was unstoppable. And the world… would bend before me.