Where did it all go wrong? I wanted to be strong. Stronger than any shinobi ever could be. So I seeked countless battles. I won some, lost some, but through it all I've managed to stay alive. Well, not anymore. Any second now could be my last breath.

Laying down upon a blood soaked land amidst innumerous corpses, every single one killed by me, I didnt feel like I've won. There was nothing to this. Only a spiral of death, one that keeps dragging you till death. I guess it did drag me to death. This, is not true strength.

If only I knew…

Sigh

It doesn't matter. It is going to be the end of a meaningless existence, another one haunted by the spiral of death.

Tears streamed through my eyes as I took in a weak final breath.

***

It seemed that Kami, the divine prankster, had an ironic sense of humor. It was supposed to be the end of a fool's life, my life. Here I was, inhabiting the body of a kid who had just died. Or this is what happens after death? Nah, unlikely.

Taking in a deep breath, I tightened my fists. Small fists.

The kid had long since died, but his memories still remain. His name was Musashi, the same as mine. He had a loving family. Family which fell prey to war. Orphaned at a young age, he struggled with all his might to be strong. He yearnt for strength, yearnt to protect this village that he loved so much. Only, he wasn't gifted. He wasn't meant to be strong, or so he assumed. Born with pitiful talents he was barely a Genin– Genin being the weakest of the shinobi force– for the past 3 years. Failed the so called Chunin exams thrice in a row.

The kid being the kid he is, decided he would rather die than be a Genin. Only, another Musashi–me– has come into this body. Funny, we both never achieved true strength.

I unclenched my palms, feeling their softness, so unlike my own calloused hands.

What do I do?

I lay down on the soft bed, much too comfortable. This was his home. A small and humble accommodation granted to him by the village. How long has it been since I've been in a home? I wondered. I have been on the wilderness for the most of my life. Yearning strength. Only to fall prey into a spiral of death.

Stop.

I took in a deep breath and sighed.

"What do I do?" I whispered, feeling the weight of two lives on me.

***

Walking through the streets of Konoha, I observed the people around here. They all sported a smile on their faces. This was something new to me. A concept of something called as a village was so foreign to me. There were no villages in my era. Only clans, fighting among themselves to prove who were the dominant one. Much like myself. I shook my head, trying to stray off the thoughts.

I could see why this kid loved this village. It was a great concept. People from varying clans together. Quite nice. This village was formed by two shinobi it seemed. And they are revered to be the strongest shinobi's to ever exist. Especially, Hashirama Senju. This man is revered to be a God. Rumors say that he was able to regenerate from virtually any wound and had chakra rivalling a tailed beast.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Speaking about tailed beasts. There seemed to be a new development here. Back in my era, we never touched the tailed beasts. But here, people have found a way to seal the tailed beasts in a human, essentially making them a Jinchuriki. And these Jinchuriki seemed to be insanely strong, being the main forces of the villages. And to think that this man Hashirama, gave away all these tailed beasts for a peace treaty.

Maybe he knew what true strength is. I wondered.

"Hey kid." I turned around towards the voice and found a middle aged man. He seemed to have called me.

"Me?" I questioned, pointing at myself.

"Yes you kid. What are you doing there? It's started to rain. You wanna catch a cold or something?" The man guffawed, his large stature and energetic gestures filling the space. I realized that somewhere during my musings, I had stopped walking, and the rain had just begun to fall on me. Reeling in at the cold water droplets falling over me, I heard him again.

"Come in here kid. There's no girl around here for you to try and act cool for."

Taking up on his offer. I got into his store. It seemed to be a sweet store. Again, much of this was foreign to me. There seemed to be so many variety of these sweets. I looked around all of them, noting how each had a different colour and a different shape. That was when I felt the man's hand on my shoulder.

"Take anything you want kid. The sweets aren't gonna sell today anyway." He said and handed me a towel to dry my hair.

"Thank you." I expressed my gratitude, taking the towel and gently patting my damp hair dry. Picking up a pink-colored sweet, I examined it closely. The texture felt incredibly soft, and I noticed what appeared to be a sugary syrup embedded within it. Curiosity getting the better of me, I popped it into my mouth, and the taste of sweetness exploded on my taste buds.

"This is probably the best thing I have ever tasted" I said sincerely, meaning every word of it. Truly, this sweet seemed to be the peak of foods.

The man pleasantly laughed and patted my back. "You sure know to talk smoothly kid." He said and moved towards a chair placed besides the stacks of sweets. Planting himself in it. He picked up some papers beside him.

Looking outside, I noticed the rain seemed to have gotten harsher.

"It doesn't like the rain will set early kid." He said to which I agreed.

"So tell me about yourself. What do your parents do kid?" He questioned while I moved through and stood beside him, leaning against the walls of the store. Looking through out at the rain.

"They're dead" In both of our lives, I reminisced.

The man seemed regretful as he apologised.

"Im so sorry, I didnt know."

We sat in silence for a while, the rain providing a soft backdrop to our thoughts.

"My name is Takehiko." The man said, breaking the silence, attempting to establish a connection.

"Musashi" I said.

"So, what do you do Musashi?" He asked.

I thought about it. What do I do? Right. I was supposed to be a Genin.

"Shinobi" I said. Going through memories of the kids genin life. Nothing too grand. Genin were useful for only mundane tasks it seemed. Given the skillset of the Genins there was nothing much they could do really.

"Ohh. Shinobi are you young man?!" He asked, I noted the lack of kid in his words. Suddenly, he sprang up from his chair and hurriedly went upstairs. After a few minutes, he returned with a package in his hands.

"This is not much, but take it as a token of gratitude from me. Thank you for protecting the village, young man," he said, his eyes reflecting respect and appreciation.

"No," I shook my head.

"I don't deserve it," I added, glancing outside and noticing that the rain had stopped. Feeling it was time to leave, I expressed my gratitude once again.

"Thank you for your kindness," I said sincerely and departed. The man remained standing there, holding the package in his hands.

***

'Thank you for protecting the village, young man.'

His words kept echoing in my mind. Perhaps the shinobi of this village weren't as bad as I initially assumed, I mused to myself. Lost in thought, I gazed ahead and noticed a mountain adorned with what seemed to be three sculpted faces. This was the renowned Hokage mountain. Hokage being the leader of the village, the so called strongest shinobi in the village.

The first Hokage was Hashirama, the very man who was revered like a god for his immense power. The current Hokage was Hiruzen Sarutobi, who happened to be a student of the second Hokage.

I fixated my eyes on Hashirama's sculpted face and couldn't help but wonder,

"What do you see in this village, Hashirama?"

Perhaps working as a shinobi in this village would lead me to something. I pondered.