"My head is killing me!" was the first thought that popped into my head as I opened my eyes.
Were it not for the case that I was currently suffering from the WORST migraine ever in my 24 years of life, I would have commented about the unfamiliar room I was currently in or the well dressed, if old fashioned, man sitting in front of me.
The whole setup reminded me of a Therapist's office except the last thing I remember was driving to work, not therapy.
"Here, drink some water. Slowly, I know it is a lot to take in." said the man, his voice surprisingly soothing, despite the monotone.
I accepted the glass and took a sip. No sooner had the water made it's way down my throat than the pain and mental fog plaguing me cleared away.
With my new found clarity, I arranged all my thoughts in a neat little time-line and came to the obvious conclusion.
"Oh, I'm dead." It was all I could say with the memory of a 18 wheeler on a head-on collision course with my car still replaying in my mind.
"So you are, always a shame to see a life end so soon." the man said in a monotone but not unkind voice.
"Now, I request your co-operation in filing the paperwork for your next life and I will send you on your way." He motioned me to keep sitting in the chair I was on and bent down to dig up what I assume would be forms or whatever is the equivalent of it in this place.
"I have so many questions! Are you God? Am I being sent back to Earth? Will I be sent back as a baby to the past or the future?" I had gotten over the absurdity of the situation, no doubt helped by the water this man, this entity, offered me.
Stripped of my fear and at peace with my situation all that was left was curiosity. It's not everyday that you meet God, or the equivalent.
"Calm down little lady. I assure you, in the grand scheme of things, I am no more interesting than your average clerk. But to answer your questions, I am not God. No, you are not being sent back to Earth. The time in this new "universe" runs "perpendicular" to yours so things like past or future would not make much sense." He said as he stacked sheets of white paper on his desk.
Seemingly finished with his task, he grabbed a sheet and produced a ball-point pen from seemingly thin air. "Now, if you will let me, I will explain the planned starting point of your new life, as well as a "power" that will be extended to you to make your stay in this new world a little...interesting."
I knew better than to speak out of line now that he explicitly told me to let him do his thing, but my thoughts were anything but idle. "A power, like those isekai mangas I love to read! But what if the power is not that good, or if the world is too dangerous! I would HATE to be thrown in a world like Berserk or Overlord!" I was so lost in my musings that I almost missed his words...almost.
"...Konohagakure in the world of 'Naruto'."
My thoughts came crashing to a crashing halt like the 18 wheeler that no doubt did just this morning. "That's terrible! That world is full of war, strife, child soldiers, shady governments and MUCH MUCH more! And as if that's not enough, it is also full of psychos and pedos who have enough power to play god! Hell, I think some of them really were gods!"
As if sensing my inner turmoil, the man stopped explaining and instead inquired, "Anything you would like to say, little miss?" His eyes shifted form the paper to meet mine, there was no curiosity in them. "He really must have done this a billion times over by now, if that dry look is anything to go by."
"Is there a way I can choose to go to a different world? Naruto isn't exactly a nice world to live in for an everyday regular Joe like me." It really isn't.
I am...was an ASIC engineer before getting here. I have never even been in a fight much less killed someone. The thought of hurting someone or myself makes me squeamish, I am not athletic and I DON'T even have chakra. "I wouldn't be able to survive there for too long, maybe less than what I did this time around."
"I am sorry, little lady, but the choice of worlds is something out of both of our hands. I fully understand your concerns and if it helps you are not the first one to raise those concerns. And no, you will not be meeting any others like you, they were all sent to a similar but different instance of the 'Naruto world'." He waited for me to absorb this information, which I did silently, he then continued.
"Now, naturally, I wouldn't send you off to a world full of 'psychos and pedos with the power to play god' as you so colorfully said, without proper preparations. Yes, before you ask, I read your thoughts" He paused and looked at me with an expression that must have passed as a grin for him after seeing my shocked expression.
"As for the 'preparation', I extend to you, the power to choose your own fate...for a price, of course. I call this power Give-and-Take. Congratulations! There are people who would give up everything for their wish. Alas, no amount of sacrifice can will their wishes to shape their reality. But with this power, you can do just that...granted you pay a fair price."
"This sounds heavy, how much can I change and for what price? Something tells me the price wouldn't be as simple as money or a favor...And who is to say the deal I make won't be a bad one? There is simply too much to consider and I have no point of reference..."
"A valid concern, one shared by surprisingly few people in your position." He humorlessly clapped his hands twice in mock appreciation.
"Might I suggest a deal? The first of many in your near future, of course. Rest assured this one is well thought out by yours truly, based on a lot of...trial and error, over my tenure." He locked his eyes with mine, and momentarily I could feel the weight of the eons this entity, masquerading as a man, had lived and the power and wisdom it afforded him.
Denial would NOT be in my best interest, it would be dumb, it might even be immediately dangerous. I nodded my head once, slowly.
"Excellent choice! Now this is just my suggestion, no matter how highly I recommend this, and I recommend this VERY heavily, you have the final say to accept or deny it. Rest assured this will be the best deal I can bring you considering the 'assets' you currently own." He waited for the weight of his words to sink in my head.
"Good, I recommend you 'give' up your current sense of self once reincarnated and that would let you 'take' an ageless body with a 100 year lifespan, the potential to develop chakra reserves and use chakra, if trained properly." He waited for me respond and I nodded in acceptance.
"This...is a surprisingly good deal actually. I wouldn't want to be plagued by a Dissociative Identity disorder or an Identity crisis in that world. Plus, now I know what the entity deals in, abstracts like knowledge and memories. If used correctly I can stack myself up for great powers and perks while shedding away all things that would hinder me in this new life."
"That would be the point, yes." The entity nodded once then clapped his hands to bring my attention to him. "Now then, what other deals would you want to make? Take you time, please, time and deals is all we have here."
Having said that, he went back to doing seemingly mundane tasks like filing paperwork or making minor corrections.
"Ok, I know I will be a ninja. There is no way I am getting stuck as a civilian in a world full of freaks with emotional maturity of a brick and power of a volcano. I'll think of a few things I am willing to give up and somethings I definitely want... First of all I need to get rid of my morality, compassion, and sense of right and wrong from my old world. I know a life of killing and stealing is ahead of me and I don't want to be stuck in a moral debate in my head every time I'm fighting for my life."
"As for what I want, a ninja's whole deal is to be stealthy. While hiding and maneuvering is good, it won't hide me from sensors. From what I know the only way to hide from them is to tightly suppress my own chakra till it blends with the ambient chakra noise of the surroundings...that would require some serious chakra control. But even after that, using any jutsu would instantly blow what little cover that provides, molding chakra would be like a siren to any half-competent sensor. So the first thing I need is perfect chakra control and the other thing would be 'techniques' that don't rely on chakra manipulation. This still leaves out the Byakugan based sensors but at least it won't be an issue in Konoha for quite some time."
My mind made up, I called out to the entity, who looked at me and patiently waited for me present my deal.
"I want to have perfect control over my chakra and techniques that can be used like ninjutsu, BUT without molding chakra. I am willing to give up my current sense of morality, compassion, and such once reincarnated." I waited for him to respond. From the looks of it, he was mulling over the 'price' of what I am giving up against the 'price' of what I wanted.
"That little lady, would not be a fair exchange. You give too little and ask too much." He finally said after what felt like minutes of him thinking.
"You wish to 'take' the power to hide and strike from the shadows at others, it's only fair you 'give' up the same...is it not?" He took one look at my confused face and continued.
"How about this, I will now give you, the best deal you can possibly get that aligns with both your wish and my rule. The price will be nothing more than what you currently have, I assure you." He was much more familiar with this process than me, so I prompted him to put forward his deal.
"I provide you perfect chakra control, with this you can hide, like you wanted, among many other things. I also provide the ability to manipulate the 5 elements of the 'Naruto' world without 'molding' chakra, but only 10 kilograms of 'Earth', 'Wind' and 'Water' at time or cover an area of 10m^2 with 'Fire' and 'Lightning'. This would let you strike at others from the shadows, like I said."
"Ok, the chakra control is sweet, no doubts about it. But the elemental manipulation is not very strong by the looks of it. I mean, Madara was dropping meteors on Earth...MULTIPLE times. But it is leathal, I can think of a few things...I'll just have to be very creative with it's usage. I'll accept this if the price makes sense to me." No sooner did I stop thinking than the entity spoke up.
"Ah yes, the price. You now have the ability to hide and strike unknown, it is only fair you let others do the same. I would require you to 'give' up... ALL of your knowledge of your previous life, all relationships, all education, the language, and naturally, the plot of 'Naruto'. Let hiding snakes and organizations hide and strike at you, with you none the wiser, just like they will be when you retaliate." The entity concluded with his equivalent of a grin, which was little more than a neutral face.
"That's INSANE! That's like walking into a minefield blind, walking with eyes would be bad, but walking blind is certain suicide!...But then again, I need those powers if I am to survive." After thinking about it for a solid 10 minutes, I was done.
With a frustrated growl, I slammed my hand down on the entity's desk, "Screw it! I accept."
"Quite the outburst. I know that deal was not something that was easy for you but please do be mindful of the papers on my desk." He said in the same monotone voice as ever, but I could feel his frustration on having his paperwork messed with.
He would have gone back to his work had I not made the next request.
"What would I have to give up in order to become more powerful with my elemental manipulations? If my manipulation powers are to be limited by the mass or area of effect, I might need them to get more complex to keep up with the threats I'll encounter down the line or maybe combine them to get different effects. I am not asking for existing Bloodline limits, I have my own idea to better use the combined elements." I asked the entity and he again went into what I dubbed his 'cost-benefit analysis' mode.
"I must first congratulate you, little lady. You are the first to not request boodlines like Wood Style, or Sharingan, or Uzumaki Heritage, and so on. But, the path that you have chosen has the power to bring destruction the type of which this world has never seen before. Yes, even after the earlier limitations placed on your abilities of elemental manipulation. At worst, it could lead to events that would render the world an irradiated wasteland or creation of a singularity on the planet."
"Wow...I mean that's a good sign! I'll take whatever ensures I can survive against monsters like Madara, Kaguya, Pain, whatever. I can think of some nice applications right now by combining some elements. But if the previous deal is anything to go by, the price for this will be very high."
The entity waited for me to finish thinking and then started speaking, "I cannot upgrade your elemental manipulation directly from the very start, due to the danger it will bring to the world. But if you were to 'give' me 20 years off of your 100 years decided lifespan, I can add an upgrading clause to your powers that will let you pay a price and then you can manipulate one more element seamlessly at the same time than you previously could. This will, by no means, be a cheap price to pay. Every time you want to learn to combine more elements together, I will 'take' 20 years off of your remaining lifespan AND 'something' of value to you. This thing will always be abstract like your hate for love or your relationship with somebody." He looked me in the eyes and said, "The power you desire will kill many, it is only fair it harms you too."
"In effect, the first time of you paying the 'price', would see you being able to seamlessly control any 2 of the 5 elements and use them to whatever effect you can conceive of as long as it aligns with both the elements. The next time you pay the 'price' would see you manipulating any 3 elements at the same time, and so on. While the price is steep, so would be the increase in your prowess and lethality."
"Goddammit, why can't things ever be easy! But still 80 years of life is too old for a ninja. And if I'm not powerful enough I'll die either way!...Better to have the option and not need it than to need it and not have it. Eh, I'll accept." I didn't need to vocalize my acceptance and neither did the entity when a sharp pain in my gut confirmed that I lost 20 years of my 100 year lifespan. "Lost 20 years before even being born...that's funny."
By now, me and the entity had fallen into the rhythm of me giving a proposal and him giving a price. Then he would wait for me to accept or deny. By the end of it all I made a couple more deals.
I 'took' the ability to sense chakra and an instinctive knowledge of learning the intent of people. After all, it wouldn't do to get stuck with vultures like Danzo or Mizuki when I'll be young and impressionable.
I had to 'give' up the ability to ever be able to use NINJUTSU other than the Academy 3 (Clones, Replacement and Transformation) and the Body Flicker ever in my life! (The reason the entity gave was something about me willing to 'take' on so much information, makes it fair for me to 'give' up on some other information.) That was a VERY steep price to pay, I will never be able to use the Rasengan, Hiraishin, Summoning, etc.
But in the world of Naruto, the ability to sense chakra and intent was going to be supremely important. Just because I won't remember the plot after reincarnation, doesn't mean I won't prepare now.
I'll just need to be incredibly smart in my application or I'll be dead in heartbeat.
Unsurprisingly, my last deal was to get me high intelligence in the next life, the price was me being so ugly and unsettling to look at that I would become a village pariah. Not too bad all things considered. I'm a fully grown woman, I can take it!
"This will be all, I'm ready to start again!" I told the entity. I was proud of myself for the setup I arranged and I could see no faults in it.
"This brings me to the last time I will ever talk to you before your 'termination' in your new world. You will forget EVERYTHING of our meeting, except an instinctual knowledge of the upgrade clause on your power. And no you will not be a 'Fully grown woman', you will start your life just as weak, helpless, and clueless like any other human baby." The entity said and this time the grin on his face was uncharacteristically wide.
"But...that would mean my decision to become a village pariah will DESTROY my new self!" I was panicking, the last thing I wanted was to add my name to the list of 'Freaks with emotional maturity of a brick'! I had unknowingly condemned myself to a hellish existence, maybe worse than Naruto's. At least Teuchi, Ayame and the Sandaime Hokage looked at him with a smile, I'll have a face not even a mother could love if the entity's description of the price was anything to go by!
"Alas, everybody thinks of the best way for their new life to play out from their current point-of-view, NOT even considering it's not them that will live that life. I have seen a shockingly high amount of people die in the Uchiha massacre just because they wanted the Sharingan." The entity gave a chuckle and stood up from his seat.
"Wait! Is there a way to reverse that last deal?" I spoke almost too fast to understand.
"Sorry, a deal is a deal, Enjoy your new life! Although, looking at your choices, that would be quite hard." With that he flicked my forehead and I fell backwards. Only, there was no floor to catch me, I was falling through a dark void. The sudden feeling of weightlessness and falling made me involuntarily scream out in terror.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..."
I fell through the void for what felt like forever, screaming throughout it and I kept screaming as the void ended in light and for the very first time since I started falling, I could hear. It told me that I was done with that horror and I couldn't help but cry out in relief.
"...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"
I could feel 'myself' fading away slowly and knew it was due to the deal with the entity. The last thought the 'old' me ever had before fading away forever to make way for the 'new' me was, "That's definitely Japanese for, 'It's a healthy baby girl!'"