Kayomi's tired eyes flickered between his phone screen and the dimly lit sidewalk as he trudged home after another grueling day at the office. His feet dragged with the weight of exhaustion, but his mind barely registered the steps he took. Naruto had been his only escape, a brief reprieve from the relentless grind of overtime and monotonous work. He had watched the show more times than he cared to admit, but it was always there—comforting, familiar, and alive in a way his own life wasn't.
"Man, Naruto really beat his a—"
His thought was cut short as a shadow lunged from the alleyway.
A scruffy, wild-eyed man in a dark hoodie shoved him against the cold brick wall. Kayomi's breath caught in his throat, and his heart pounded in his chest as the sharp edge of a knife pressed into his ribs.
"Gimme everything you got!" the robber snarled, his breath reeking of cheap alcohol.
Kayomi's mind spun into panic. He hadn't expected this. Not today. Not like this.
His fingers fumbled for his wallet, hands trembling as though they didn't belong to him. He could barely think through the rush of adrenaline, his body caught in the vice grip of fear. This can't be happening.
"H-Here… just take it," he stammered, handing over his meager earnings barely enough for rent, a few coins and crumpled bills that meant the difference between a roof over his head or sleeping in the streets.
The robber snatched it greedily. His eyes flickered to Kayomi's phone, still playing Naruto.
"That too," the robber growled.
Kayomi's stomach twisted. No. Please.
The phone—it was his last escape. The one thing he had left in a world that never gave him anything easy.
"N-No, please… I need "
"I said GIVE IT!" The robber's patience snapped. He raised the knife higher, eyes wild, the reflection of the streetlamp dancing on its cold surface.
The blade struck
A sharp, searing pain erupted in Kayomi's gut. His breath caught in his throat as the world around him blurred. The warmth of blood spilled down his shirt, soaking through the fabric as his body went limp.
His vision spiraled, colors fading into shadow as the world tilted. The crack of his phone hitting the pavement echoed in his ears. Naruto's face flickered on the screen one last time before it went black.
The pain surged, and then nothing.
A void. An emptiness so complete that it felt like his very soul had been ripped from him, leaving only silence in its wake. The sensation of his body was gone, as though he no longer existed.
And then light.
A piercing blue glow cut through the darkness, flooding his senses. A voice, cold and mechanical, rang out through the void, echoing around him.
[ You have died ]
- Cause of death: Stab wound to the abdomen.
- Granting temporary consciousness.
Kayomi gasped, his mind snapping back to awareness in an instant. His thoughts raced, disoriented, confused. What the hell?! Am I dead? Is this some kind of joke?!
The holographic screen in front of him pulsed, its edges glowing an unnatural blue. He reached out his fingers passed through it as if it weren't even there.
"Please choose a fictional world for reincarnation. Note: You cannot return to your original world. Time remaining: 5…"
"Wait, what?!" Kayomi's voice trembled, disbelief lacing his words. "Reincarnation?! Like, isekai reincarnation?!"
"4…"
His stomach dropped. The cold dread of finality washed over him. Oh god, this is real.
Okay. Think. His mind scrambled for an answer, but the pressure of time kept him in a vice grip. A world. Any world.
The first thing that came to mind was Dragon Ball. Superhuman warriors, flying, energy blasts. It seemed like paradise until his stomach dropped. Wait, that's the universe where planets explode weekly. I'd be dead before I even meet Goku.
"3…"
Shit, no good. What else?
One Piece flashed in his mind next pirates, Devil Fruits, adventure. The thrill of the Grand Line, a world full of possibilities. But then the thought of being trapped in the vast sea with no way to swim hit him. And if I end up a slave to the Celestial Dragons…
"2…"
No, no, no. Think faster
Bleach? Shinigami, Hollows, Zanpakutōs they all sounded cool, but what if he didn't have any spiritual power? He'd be just another random soul, swallowed by a Hollow in seconds. And Aizen was out there scheming… If I don't have a Bankai, I'm done for.
"1…"
Fuck, time's running out! What the hell do I do?!
He was spiraling, a cacophony of options crashing into him Star Wars? Too much war. My Hero Academia? Useless without a Quirk. His mind raced, panicking, until
Naruto.
The show he had just been watching. The world he knew. It wasn't perfect it was brutal, filled with trauma and loss but it was familiar.
His heart skipped. Wait, that world? With all the wars, and the child soldiers, and entire clans massacred? Is that really what I want?
But before he could finish the thought, he blurted it out.
"NARUTO! I CHOOSE NARUTO!"
The moment the words left his lips, doubt flooded him, but it was too late. What did I just do? That world is no joke. Will I even survive?
The cold, mechanical voice responded, unaffected by his panic.
"Acknowledged. Initiating reincarnation: World—NARUTO."
The words were final.