With the wild chirping of birds in a desolate forest, surrounded by vast greenery and wild bushes, a young kid with pale blonde hair attempts to hide. He holds a Tanto, a blade about 10 inches long, in his hand. His eyes dart around warily as he tries to calm his breath.
"This situation keeps getting crazier," the kid mutters to himself.
"BOOOOOM"
A sound rang out from far away, unseen but still heard by the young kid.
He turns his head to face the direction at 11 o'clock (northwest) with a worried expression, wondering what could be happening there.
"I don't have to worry that much; that sounds almost indistinguishable from an Explosive Tag, plus the captain should be in that direction," he whispers. The first part of his sentence is a keen observation for a beginner shinobi, while the second part is meant to reassure himself that his teammates will be safe.
As he sat there pondering, he grew even more worried. "To hell with them, I have to come up with a plan to save myself!" He struggled to think of a plan. Touching the small ninja tools bag on his leg, he looked at the kunai and single smoke bomb inside. Usually, a shinobi has a standard plan of action or combo of moves to execute. This made the young shinobi think about which moves fit his current situation, with his chakra reserves depleted and barely any tools left.
The kid we're following is named Ayumu Kagero, from the village of Sunagakure. He recently became a full-fledged shinobi. The Third Great Ninja War is nearing its end, but the sly elders, daimyos, and kage from the five great nations are still seeking benefits for their nations as the fighting winds down.
This is why Ayumu finds himself in the Land of Birds, engaged in a skirmish with shinobi from the village of Iwagakure, using the area as a buffer zone. At this stage of the war, Sunagakure is fighting against the Hidden Mist and Hidden Stone.
Meanwhile, Iwagakure has been fighting minor skirmishes with Hidden Cloud. The war has been winding down on their side since the fall of Kannabi Bridge to Konoha about 15 months ago, leading to their withdrawal from the Land of Grass. The recent death of the 3rd Raikage has also brought a major shock to the Land of Thunder.
Ayumu knew that despite the war winding down, the danger was still very real. Every minor skirmish had the potential to escalate into something far more deadly. He tightened his grip on the Tanto, resolved to stay vigilant.
As he moved cautiously through the dense forest he couldn't shake the feeling that someone—or something—was watching him. His senses were on high alert, every rustle of leaves and snap of twigs heightening his paranoia. This paranoia caused him to tilt his body slightly to the left.
Suddenly, a kunai whizzed past his ear, embedding itself in a tree trunk just inches away. Ayumu spun around, his eyes searching for the source of the attack. Emerging from the shadows was a shinobi wearing the headband of Hidden Stone, with no visible emotion on his face.
The Hidden Stone shinobi did none of the useless taunting expected of a villain, instead drawing his kunai.
Ayumu's heart raced, but he forced himself to remain calm. "I'm not alone!" trying to make the shinobi vigilant, his voice steady. "And you're making a big mistake."
Without another word, the two clashed, their blades ringing out in the otherwise silent forest. Ayumu's training kicked in as he parried and struck, each move calculated and precise. The Iwa shinobi was skilled, with Ayumu Falling into an disadvantage even with giving twice as much effort as his opponent.
As the fight dragged on, Ayumu eventually created some distance between him and the opponent. He needed to end this quickly; his young body couldn't keep up with the stamina of the older shinobi, who looked to be around 14 years of age. With enough space, he threw down his last smoke bomb and formed five seals under the cover of the smoke, with the enemy shinobi wary of getting close.
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As the smoke disappeared, the shinobi saw Ayumu around 50 meters away, with his back turned. The shinobi started giving chase until a kunai shot out from his left side. This caused great worry to the Iwa shinobi as fight-or-flight senses kicked in, remembering what his foe said earlier about having a comrade with him. Instead of wasting his life in an uneven fight, he retreated into the forest, deciding to flee, disappearing from sight.
Breathing heavily, Ayumu stood in the forest, relieved that his plan had worked. He had used the time in the smoke bomb to cast an illusion on the opponent, making him see Ayumu fleeing with his back turned. Meanwhile, Ayumu hid to the left, waiting to throw a kunai to make it seem that another shinobi had arrived. The plan worked, scaring the shinobi away.
Ayumu looked around warily and started to reminisce about how he got into this mess. It all began when he first arrived in this strange world. Strangely enough, he once saw something similar to this world late at night when he woke up and left his TV on Cartoon Network as a teenager.
Around 5 years ago
"It never fails to surprise me," said a young kid around 3 years of age, Ayumu, as he looked around the living room in his new home and gazed out the window.
"I know, right," another kid responded. If you looked closely, you could see he had facial features similar to Ayumu and was his older brother by about 3 years.
The older kid then said, "I was planning on going to the shuriken competition held today," with a downcast expression. Ayumu could tell he was really bummed about it, especially since he had practiced so hard for today. But due to the sandstorm outside, there was nothing they could do. With the strong winds and sand, none of the children could throw a shuriken or kunai straight.
Lost in thought, an older man called out loudly, "Shin, Ayumu." Both boys turned around, giving their grandfather their best attention. He then said, "Don't be so downcast. The competition will most likely just be pushed back a week or two."
"Really?" Shin, the older of the two, asked.
"Happens all the time," the older man responded, bringing joy back to Shin's face.
Meanwhile, the boys' mother, Rina, looked on from the kitchen, not surprised by the situation as this was the usual family dynamic. Her father-in-law, Hajime, always guided the boys. To be honest, there's not much else he can do due to injuries suffered during his career as a shinobi, having lost a leg on the battlefield.
While looking out the window our protagonist began to ponder on his situation, currently around 3 years of age, he has been reincarnated in this world all this time, although he became conscious around the age of 1, when his brain actually started to develop. It wasn't a 1 second you don't know anything, but more of a slowly gaining over time, kind of hard to explain, but not too weird in the grand scheme of things when you happen to become a baby in a random Chinese cartoon that has magical superpowers.
In this life he currently has his grandfather Hajime, Mother Rina, and brother Shin with his father passing away when he was around 6 months due to his profession as a shinobi.
To be honest this still creeps Ayumu out in general, this whole situation, making him an odd one out in this world.
Over the last two years, Ayumu's strange new reality began to settle in as he spent more time with his family. The initial shock of finding himself in a different world, one he vaguely recognized from a late-night cartoon, was overwhelming. The concept of reincarnation was something he'd never taken seriously, especially as he came from a Christian background, but it was nearly impossible to deny something you live.
As time passed, Ayumu had time to learn more about his new family. His mother, Rina, was a gentle and caring woman who balanced her responsibilities with a kind smile. She was always busy, whether it was cooking meals, tending to the garden, or running a popular cake shop in the village. Despite the hardships she faced, especially after losing her husband, she remained a pillar of strength for the family.
Shin, Ayumu's older brother, was a somewhat lively person. At six years old, he was already training to be a shinobi, just like their father had been. Although odd at first due to Ayumu's specific situation, the bond between the brothers eventually grew, with Shin often taking the time to teach Ayumu the basics of shuriken throwing and other shinobi skills.
Along with Grandfather Hajime who is obsessed with the boys becoming shinobi, something you would find odd with his son's tragic passing as a shinobi. Ayumu finds it odd, but chalks it up to older people having their own stories, just like any world.
Adjusting to his new life wasn't easy. Ayumu had to learn the customs, language, and skills of this world from scratch. Despite the progress, Ayumu couldn't shake the feeling of being an outsider.