Darkness.

It was all he remembered—an endless, silent void that had swallowed him whole. There was no pain, no sense of time, just the numbing cold of nothingness. But now, as his consciousness stirred, he felt the soft warmth of sunlight pressing against his face, the gentle touch of something real. His eyes fluttered open, blinking against the brightness, and he realized he was lying in a bed he didn't recognize, surrounded by unfamiliar walls.

Panic flashed through him, swift and unrelenting. Where am I? His gaze swept the room, noting the wooden beams, the rough, simple furniture, and the faint scent of something earthy and old. The details were clear, vivid, as though he'd stepped into another life entirely.

Slowly, he pushed himself up, muscles aching and unfamiliar. His hands trembled as he looked down at them—slender but strong, with fingers that moved awkwardly, as if he wasn't fully in control. This… this isn't my body. The thought hit him with sudden clarity, bringing with it a fresh wave of confusion and fear.

Then, his eyes caught sight of something on the far side of the room: a small, polished mirror hanging on the wall. He forced himself to his feet, unsteady but determined, until he was close enough to see his reflection.

The face that stared back at him was refined, almost regal, with smooth brown hair that framed a pair of deep, intense eyes. There was a calmness to his expression, a quiet confidence he hadn't felt in his previous life, but now it was his face. His reflection was sharp, almost too composed, like someone he recognized but couldn't name—a face not unlike Aizen Sosuke from an anime he had once watched.

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

For a moment, he couldn't look away. Who am I now? His fingers traced the unfamiliar features, confirming the truth that had started to settle in his chest: he was no longer the person he'd been.

As he studied his new reflection, fragments of memories began to surface, surfacing slowly, like waves breaking on a distant shore. They felt both close and far away, as if they were his yet not quite his own. Scenes flashed through his mind—a small home, a quiet village, a life filled with familiar faces and routines.

And then, a memory that struck him with a pang of sorrow.

He was young, barely more than a boy, sitting in this same room when a figure appeared in the doorway. An ANBU, the masked elite of Konoha, with an air of quiet authority and finality. The ANBU had stepped forward, voice calm but emotionless, delivering the message that would change everything.

His parents had fallen. Both of them—one a humble man, the other a proud member of the Senju clan—had died on the front lines of the war. His mother, a Senju by blood, and his father, a commoner, had fought side by side, giving their lives for the village they loved.

He remembered the sharp ache in his chest as the ANBU spoke, the hollow emptiness that had settled over him like a weight he couldn't shake. They had died with honor, he'd been told, as though that would be enough to fill the space they left behind.

Now, standing in front of that small mirror, Hirito felt the echo of that loss settle over him. His parents' faces, blurry yet familiar, lingered in his mind, leaving him with a strange, aching sadness for lives he had never truly known.

He was Kitawara Hirito, he realized—a boy without the Senju name, though his mother had given him the blood and strength of that clan. His grandfather had chosen to leave behind their lineage, to live as a commoner and avoid the burdens that came with their family name. But Hirito's mother had never forgotten her origins, and now he, too, would carry that legacy.

Taking a deep breath, Hirito looked back at his reflection, at the face that was both his and not his own. A stranger's face with eyes that held the weight of memories and the echoes of a life marked by loss.

In this new world, he realized, he would need more than the strength of his blood. He would need to find his own path.

Whoever Kitawara Hirito was before, he would have to make that name his own.

(End of the Chapter).