[A/N: Due to the naruto timeline being messed up, this will be slight AU]
Sora had always been a workaholic.
That was how he'd managed to become Employee of the Year at a major MNC—five years in a row, without fail.
Yet now, as he lay on his bed in his final moments, with no one beside him, a single truth settled over him at last.
Regret and unfulfilled dreams… those are what truly break a person.
Never the end itself.
I spent my whole life grinding away for a bit of money. Now I finally have it… but no one to share it with. Back then, I had people but no money. How tragic, he thought, a bitter smile forming.
For the first time, he wished for something—another chance.
"If… if I'm ever reborn," he murmured, voice trembling, "I'll work for myself. I'll climb to the very top. I won't be a tool for others ever again. I'll live as my own person…"
His breath thinned as he tried to continue. "I will need only myself, I wi—"
Before he could finish his final vow, his consciousness slipped away, quiet and sudden.
And Sora was swallowed gently into the darkness.
_______________________________________________________________________
It was darkness—pure, endless, almost elegant in its emptiness.
Fitting, really, for someone named Sora.
[Choose your power]
A translucent screen blinked into existence before him.
At the same moment, countless tiny lights flickered into view—white orbs drifting through the void like scattered stars.
What the hell…? Sora stared as the orbs floated around him, glowing softly.
The screen repeated itself.
[Choose your power]
These orbs are… powers? No way. Don't tell me I've fallen into some kind of webnovel cliché, Sora thought, half-bewildered.
Without thinking too hard, he reached out and grabbed as many orbs as his hands could hold.
[You can only take one!]
You could've said that earlier, he sighed internally.
He released all the orbs at once and then tapped a random one. It didn't matter—everything felt equally absurd.
[You have chosen: "Modified Gamer System"]
The remaining orbs flared blue, shifting in response.
[Choose your world]
Already getting the hang of this bizarre process, he selected another orb.
[World Chosen: Naruto]
[Would you like to proceed?]
[Y/N]
Yes, he answered in his mind.
[Good luck, Player.]
And with that final message, the darkness began to dissolve.
_________________________________________________________________________
A raw, guttural scream tore through the house/
"AHH, GET OUT OF MY HEAD!"
The boy collapsed to his knees as a storm of memories crashed against his mind.
Not visions. Not dreams. Memories, too sharp, too detailed, too real to be his own.
Worlds he had never walked. Faces he had never met.
A universe where this one, the one he was now in, existed only as ink on paper, nothing more than a comic.
The pressure finally eased, and his trembling eyes fluttered open.
This time, they opened not as the orphaned child.
But as Sora.
A faint smirk tugged at his lips.
Sheesh… that took a ridiculous amount of willpower. This kid fought like a beast.
He stood in the small bedroom, his new body that of a seven-year-old, coincidentally sharing his original name.
Sora.
Again.
This child's parents had died on a mission recently, leaving him alone. But even as an orphan, his situation wasn't terrible. His parents had been special jōnin, after all, meaning he lived decently and had a stable roof over his head.
And this world…
This world was already on the brink of the Third Great Ninja War.
Better yet?
He was classmates with Obito and Kakashi.
Sora exhaled slowly.
Now this… this is a fantastic start.
[Initiating System]
[Will you be a player?]
"Yes," he answered mentally without hesitation.
[System Activated]
[Name: Sora Yoichi]
[Level: 2]
[Rank: Academy Student]
[Strength: 0.8]
[Speed: 1]
[Sense: 0.3]
[Reflex: 0.5]
[Chakra: 1]
[Skills: Basic Culinary (LV 3), Shuriken Throwing (LV 1)]
[Stat Points: 50]
[Note: Talentless trash]
"…This is rough," Sora muttered inwardly.
Why are half of my stats decimals?
[Because you're weak. Kakashi's already a chūnin, FYI.]
"…Point taken."
The Academy had recently shut down for a month-long "break"—almost certainly because of the war.
To Sora, that wasn't vacation.
That was opportunity.
Still, he sighed to himself.
Why did this kid's parents have to die? Two special jōnin would've been insanely useful teachers…
[Don't worry, boss! You've got me!]
A new screen appeared:
[Mission Granted: The Three Basics of a Ninja]
Taijutsu:
– 100 pushups
– 100 situps
– 100 squats
– 10 km run daily
Ninjutsu:
– Perform every basic academy ninjutsu 1000 times
Genjutsu:
– Learn Release (Kai)
Time Limit: 20 days
Penalty: One eye
Rewards: 200 stat points, Academy Dungeon Key, Affinity Ticket
Sora blinked hard.
Okay, stat points I get. But what's this "academy dungeon key"? And an affinity ticket?
[Dungeons are exactly what you think they are. The Academy dungeon is a one-time training zone—great XP.
Affinity tickets give you a random chakra affinity, and no ticket gives duplicates.]
"So the academy's closed… meaning I can train nonstop."
Perfect.
He stretched lightly, then braced himself for Taijutsu training first.
That was when reality slapped him.
Hard.
Even before he hit sixty pushups, his small body trembled uncontrollably. His muscles screamed for rest. Despite taking careful breaks—avoiding injury, avoiding stressing a developing body—the "simple" task of 100 pushups dragged on for hours.
Three hours.
Three.
If this keeps up, I'll actually lose an eye…
He collapsed onto the floor, panting, sweat rolling down his forehead. He forced himself to drink some water, fighting the urge to stay down longer.
"I deserve a longer break…" he muttered.
Then he clenched his fists.
"No. No thinking like that."
He inhaled sharply.
"I have to do this."
He had pushed himself before in his previous life—for work, for deadlines, for others. He had broken himself for benefits that never came.
But now?
Everything he gained would be his.
No boss.
No company.
No system exploiting him.
For once, the power and the rewards would belong to him and him alone.
He rose again.
He would become the strongest ninja in history, stronger than Hashirama, stronger than Madara, stronger than anyone who had ever lived.
Fueled by that resolve, he crushed through the 100 squats in just one hour.
Then came the run.
Ten kilometers.
He jogged across the village streets, letting the scenery distract him from his burning legs. His small body protested with every step, but his will was iron.
Three hours later, he returned—exhausted, drenched in sweat, but victorious.
Seven hours… I've been doing this for seven hours straight, he thought, watching the sky tint orange. It was almost 5 PM. He had started at 9:30 AM.
His vision blurred slightly. His lungs heaved.
But he forced himself to finish the last set, the final squats, through sheer, unfiltered willpower.
The moment he completed it, his body shut down the noise and adrenaline.
And he fell asleep the instant he touched his bed.
_________________________________________________________________________
By the time he opened his eyes again, it was almost 9 p.m.
And despite the brutal training earlier, Sora felt… refreshed. Completely rejuvenated. As if he hadn't spent seven hours torturing his tiny body.
Well, that's an interesting development, he thought.
It didn't take long for him to figure it out that this is the effect of Gamer's body.
[Correct. This is the effect of the Gamer's Body.
With just four hours of sleep, all fatigue and minor damage are completely restored.]
Sora nodded to himself.
Good. But I slept too long. I still have the rest of the mission to clear.
He headed into the storage room of his house, a dusty space filled with old scrolls, boxes, and leftover supplies from his parents.
After rummaging for a while, he found what he needed:
Books on the fundamentals of genjutsu and techniques for breaking illusions.
He sat down with them and began reading.
To his surprise, the information sank in effortlessly. Concepts, diagrams, theory, everything embedded itself in his memory with perfect clarity.
Do I have eidetic memory now?
Or is this the Gamer's Mind?
[Gamer's Mind enhances cognitive function to peak efficiency.
It also prevents you from being affected by any genjutsu below Mangekyō Sharingan level.]
Sora raised an eyebrow.
Can it be turned on or off?
[No. Turning your brain off is… inadvisable.]
He snorted.
"Yeah, fair enough."
He continued studying, then began practicing the techniques—channeling chakra through his system, focusing his mind, replicating the release method exactly as the book described.
[You have learned: Genjutsu Release (LVL 1)]
[Skill: Genjutsu Release (1/10) — LVL 1]
"So if I use it ten times, it levels up?" he asked.
[Yes.]
Sora immediately began spamming the technique, again and again, burning through his small chakra reserves. His vision swayed slightly toward the end, but the system chimed once more.
[Skill: Genjutsu Release (3/50) — LVL 3]
At that point, he was drained—chakra nearly gone, mind slightly foggy. There was no way he was studying academy ninjutsu right now.
So he simply lay down and allowed sleep to take him once more.