I gazed at my own reflection in the mirror, taking in this unfamiliar body of mine. My long black hair cascaded down, and amethyst eyes stared back at me from a face that was surprisingly decent. It was strange not to see any scars on this body, something I needed to adjust to. I turned on the faucet – a great invention I never knew I needed – and splashed water on my new face, attempting to shake off the weariness from another restless night's sleep.

It had been a while since I arrived here, and the recurring nightmares haunted me mercilessly. In my dreams, I found myself cutting down hundreds of men, scenes that replayed each time I closed my eyes. Sometimes, I'd wake up in the midst of an ongoing battle, and other times, only after the battle had ended. These incessant revisits to my dark past left me feeling sick and frightened.

What do I do?

After turning off the faucet and wiping my face, I let out a deep breath, lost in contemplation of my past life. Realizing that sleep was elusive, I decided to venture outside. Leaving my humble home behind, I strolled alone through the streets of Konoha. Well, not entirely alone, as I could sense dozens of people – shinobi – lurking in the shadows, vigilantly guarding the village. It seemed my sensing abilities weren't too bad even with the pitiful chakra of this body, or perhaps the shinobi here were just not very skilled at stealth. I mused to myself.

As I breathed in the crisp night air, I admired the village once again. Konoha was a beautifully constructed place, the old man would have loved to be here. I wondered what he would have done in my place.

"Probably start a farm somewhere," I thought. The memory of the last time I saw him at the farm, just before my death flashed in my mind.

...

"Why are you healing this man again?" the old man's voice resounded.

"Well, he asked me to," I said. Remembering the man clutching for his life, pleading with me to save him desperately. Focusing on my chakra, I tried to use what little medical ninjutsu I knew, He will live, I will make sure of it, I swore to myself. Green chakra coated my palms as I hovered them above his cut, the one beside his chest, that one looked pretty nasty.

"You've grown kinder, Musashi." The old man said in a pleased tone.

Have I really gotten kinder? I pondered as my most recent battle resurfaced in my mind. That was a pretty nasty one, bastards surrounded me, 20 of them I think. They barely troubled me. I came out unscathed. And to think they were from the prestigious Uchiha clan, and they all had a fully matured Sharingan. I cut down all of them. I have been doing that for quite some time. Lost count on how many I had killed.

All these constant battles have made a small part of my mind a bit doubtful, is this truly the way? I pondered as I continued healing the man. My pitiful prowess in medical ninjutsu made slow progress in healing, but I was getting somewhere. Again, the doubt lingered. Why was I second-guessing myself now, after coming this far?

Whatever.

I will keep cutting down men until I figure it out.

With the man's wounds almost healed, I completed the treatment and urged the old man to take care of the rest. He gave an audible grunt and approached me and the injured man, inspecting the injuries with a critical eye. After a thorough examination, he seemed satisfied and turned his gaze towards me.

"What about you? Where to next?" the old man asked curiously, the wind gently carrying his words. As the earthy scent of the land filled the air, I felt the cool breeze caressing my hair, contemplating my next move.

Right, I have a big fight this time. I thought. The Uchihas want revenge.

All of them.

"It's pretty big this time, the whole clan wants a piece of me," I said.

"Well, would you run away?"

"Of course, I would" I scoffed, who in their right mind would go on and fight hundreds of bloodthirsty Uchihas?

"Really?" The old man questioned, not convinced.

Shaking my head, I decided to leave. Only for pain to course through me again. I clutched at my chest, breathing harshly and coughed out blood. My tenketsu started burning as my chakra flared up violently. I fell flatly on the ground and held my chest, trying to take in deep breaths. After what felt like an eternity, the pain finally subsided, letting me think properly.

All the while, the old man had his gaze on me, disappointment evident on his face

"There is no need to put yourself through any of this." He said.

"You should take some time to recover from your wounds Musashi."

The pain brought me back to memories of that battle. It has been a couple of months since then, I barely survived. The wounds I had received then still haven't healed. It was mainly the chakra, poisonous chakra had invaded my system. Still, if anything, that battle only made me realize how weak I truly was.

"I will be fine," I said and started moving. Already imagining the disappointed face on him. We both knew I could very well die if I fought the Uchihas. This just might be the last time I see him, I thought. Suddenly, I realized I didn't know his name. Turning back I asked loudly,

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"What's your name, old man?"

"Ashura."

...

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow on the landscape, I found myself standing at the foot of a towering mountain—the very place where the Uchihas were undoubtedly waiting for me. The weight of the impending confrontation bore down on me, and I couldn't help but question my decision to be here.

"Damn it. Why am I here?" I muttered to myself, I should run away, there is still time.

Shaking my head at the conundrum, I took in a deep breath and looked up ahead at the setting sun. Staying there for a while, I pondered my life up till now, every battle deeply ingrained in me.

Just then, the pain in my wounds surged again and my tenketsu started to burn. Thankfully, they were very mild this time, the pain subsiding in a couple of breaths. I took some more time to recover. These wounds never failed to remind me of my weakness

This very well might be the end, there really is no need to risk my life now, I thought.

At this point, the sun had fully set, and darkness started to creep into the lands.

I reached down and grasped the hilt of my sword, feeling its weight in my hand.

Running away doesn't sound like me now, does it?

...

Bitter feelings welled up within me once again as thoughts of my past life haunted my mind. The weight of my mistakes and the uncertainty of the future plagued my thoughts. With a sigh, I tried to shake off the heavy emotions, only to be interrupted by an odd discovery in the surroundings.

Ahead of me stood a massive, beautiful building shaped like a spiral. But what struck me as peculiar was the absence of chakra and nature energy around the structure. It was as if a powerful seal had been cast, blocking any trace of energy from seeping out. Though I had little knowledge of Fuinjutsu and seals, I recognized the complexity required to accomplish such a feat.

As I stood there, engrossed in my thoughts, I suddenly sensed three chakra signatures locking onto me. As I felt the three chakra signatures focusing on me, I quickly snapped out of my contemplation, realizing that my actions had spiked them. It became evident that the building held significant importance to the village, explaining the heightened security and the seal that concealed its energy.

Brushing off my thoughts, I decided to leave, not having any intention to probe into the secrets of the village.

As I moved forward, I felt a sense of tranquillity surrounding me, even amidst the uncertainty of my path. The moon's gentle light guided my way, and the night air carried a sense of peace that I hadn't experienced in a long while. Just like that, my legs somehow brought me back to my new home.

The pleasant mood that had enveloped me during my journey persisted, and I decided to make use of this rare tranquillity by giving in to the weariness that had been accumulating within me. Hoping for no more nightmares tonight.

Luckily, I managed to drift off to sleep. For once, it seemed the weight of my past and the uncertainty of my future granted me a reprieve. The rest of the night passed without the usual torment of nightmares, allowing me to sleep undisturbed.

...

"No wonder, the kid refused to do D- rank missions." I thought as I was painting a fence under the scorching sun. D-rank missions mostly consisted of mundane tasks, tasks which honestly didn't require a shinobi. But during times of war D- ranks would be quite different, I mused as I focused on painting the fence, once again the term 'paint' was new to me.

Anyways, I had to paint 17 separate fences and I have finished painting four already. But the thing is, some fences have rough surfaces and some have paint peeling off, so I would need to smoothen the surface before painting them.

Focusing back on work, I tried to maintain a wet edge between the layers of paint, which is trying to slightly overlap each paint layer with another, doing this helped me avoid many brush marks forming on the surface. Also, I realized, If I start with less pressure on the brush initially and increased pressure gradually, I managed to attain a smooth finish. Pretty neat.

'Guess I have a knack for painting after all.' I thought.

It took me a couple more hours to be done with the mission.

...

I dragged my tired body through the bustling Mission Center of the Genin Corps, I weakly placed the completed mission scroll on the chunin's desk. The chunin, seemingly unfazed, picked up the scroll and silently placed the payment for the mission. I collected the money and decided it was time to leave.

The Mission Center was always packed with young shinobi, eager to pick up their next assignment. Today was no different, and the crowded atmosphere added to the fatigue I felt from completing my own mission. Most of the missions available were D-rank, with the occasional C-rank mission, leaving some of the shinobi expressing their dissatisfaction at the seemingly mundane tasks they had to undertake.

Sighing to myself, I decided to do something that I haven't done in what felt like years.

Swing a sword.

...

As I searched through my new home like a crazed maniac, disbelief grew within me. "There's no way," I muttered repeatedly, coming to the realization that the young shinobi living here didn't possess a sword. The fact that the kid's primary weapon wasn't his sword was selectively forgotten by me. No wonder this kid had remained a Genin for three years, I thought, trying to comprehend the absurdity of the situation.

Finally, I managed to calm myself down and sank onto the couch, feeling the exhaustion setting in. It had indeed been a long day, and this new body I inhabited didn't possess the monstrous stamina I once had. I had to remind myself that my current limitations were a result of this unfamiliar form. The lack of sleep added to my fatigue, leaving me in need of rest and recovery.

Still, would have been nice to swing a sword.

Needing a compromise, I decided to do some Taijutsu instead. Sighing to myself, I picked up the keys and left the house with a clear objective - to find a spot to do some Taijutsu.

...

After what felt like an eternity of looking around for a quiet spot, I finally found an empty training ground. The sun had already set by now, and my tiredness had gone past its limits. Nevertheless, I refused to sleep until I got some practice in.

With my mind made up, I went into the center of the flat ground. Closing my eyes, I took in a deep breath. My mind went through flashes of various katas to go through, and finally, I settled on one.

I started moving. Twisting and turning my body in several different ways, leaving out punches and jabs, while imagining myself being in a fight, responding to various situations. The simulations in my mind were as diverse and sharp as ever, The movements I have to make were still clear in my mind, and my body too did go through most of them.

Only, I felt disconnected.

It was like my arms weren't hitting the place they used to, my kicks fell a bit short, and my positioning was always a bit off. Frustrated, I stopped practicing and opened my eyes. It was understandable, really. This was not the body I used to fight in; it was much smaller and weaker. It would take a while to get used to this body.

But it's not only that, It was more than just this body.

I hadn't been able to fight freely for a long while now, even before my death. It was as if I was bound in chains, chains which tightened their holds on me with every passing second. It was suffocating. I certainly knew that I was not free.

Shaking off my thoughts, I decided to keep practicing.

That's all I could do.

My sleep taking a backseat once again.