A light flickered, and someone reached for a lever. He was tense but steady in his movement, pressing it down before looking up from the floor to the people sitting on the other side of the reinforced glass. The view began to clear for them.
At the center of the room was a chair. A man sat on it. Shaved head. Yellow irises and clear whites. He looked at the people witnessing his final moments with mockery.
The bald, tense man glanced back at him.
"Do you have any final words?"
His hands hesitated, unsure whether to give the signal to the executioner to activate the current. I looked at him with pity, knowing the guilt he would carry. But my attention shifted to the people behind the glass.
"I have no regrets. All I did was avenge my big sister who took care of me. Everyone who died by my hand was involved, one way or another. And I got them all."
I couldn't hide the mocking in my voice.
"I was just unlucky that some rich and powerful asshole happened to be one of them."
I looked away from them, trying to focus on the ceiling, trying to see beyond it, to reach for her smile buried in my memories, searching for one last ray of light. But my whole body was restrained. My head too.
"I'm happy. They got what they deserved. I'll go in peace."
Then the sound of the current hit. Loud. Sharp and Final.
I wish I could describe what it felt like. But all I truly felt was peace. Then darkness.
It was comfortable. Like bliss. No pain. No sadness. Just... nonexistence.
Then I was sitting there. In the middle of a destroyed village. Surrounded by bodies and fire.
I wanted to go back to the darkness. Why was I pulled out of its embrace just to feel pain again? Was I destined to suffer? Was what I did a sin worth this?
"No." I clenched my hands.
"I did what was right. Those monsters deserved it."
Then the thought hit me. My mind weirdly clear. That something was off about my body. I looked down. My eyes widened.
"What the hell?"
My hands were tiny. My body small and weak. I didn't know what was happening. Or where I was.
I looked around again. Nothing but destruction. Fire. Death. The sky above was orange, lit up from the flames and smoke.
My once-clear mind was now clouded with fear and confusion.
"Did I go back in time?"
Looking at my clothes and what was left of the buildings around me, I muttered,
"No… this doesn't look like my world."
My eyes went wide with realization.
"Is reincarnation actually real?"
My thoughts were a mess. I always believed humans get judged after death. Heaven or hell. But maybe… maybe something else happens.
I focused harder this time. Scanned my surroundings. Then I saw something that shook me.
A dead man. Wearing a headband.
Konoha.
My entire reality cracked.
Konoha is real?
I remember reading the manga. Watching the anime religiously when I was younger. But it was fiction. Wasn't it?
Was Earth even real? Was I?
Am I hallucinating? Dying forever in some endless dream?
I moved my weak, bloodied hands. Pain shot through them. I smelled the smoke. Licked my fingertip. Tasted that sharp, metallic blood.
"This is…"
I couldn't finish the sentence.
My mind went blank. I only knew one thing to do.
Meditate.
It was what I always did. To suppress my anger. To stay rational. Letting rage control me would've ended my revenge before it ever truly began. I had to be clear through the journey. Till I got the last one.
So I slowed my breathing. Closed my eyes. Blocked out the smells. The screams. The heat. Everything. Like I did before.
Just my breath.
There, in the middle of death, fire, and ruin, a child sat still. Calm. At peace.
The fire was creeping closer, but he didn't care. His chest rose and fell in rhythm.
"I'm glad I'm still alive."
That means her memory lives on. My sister's. It was always just the two of us.
No matter what kind of existence this is, as long as I carry her with me, I'm okay.
A smile crept onto my face. Tears followed. Dark, red, mixed with blood rolling down my cheek.
"You won't be forgotten, sister."
Suddenly I felt something move me. My body shifted.
I looked up to see a young shinobi, maybe not even twenty. Blonde hair. Green eyes. He was carrying me, jumping across rooftops.
It was surreal. Like gravity didn't apply to him. The felling was incredible, It felt like freedome.
He was speaking. His voice cut through my daze.
"Kid, are you okay?"
He looked at the blood running from my eyes. A few dried streaks near my ear. Concern was all over his face.
"Hang on, kid. Looks like your ears took a hit. I'm taking you to the hospital. Just stay awake, alright? Don't die on me."
I turned my head, barely able to focus, and saw something I never thought I would witness in real life.
The Nine-Tails… was destroying Konoha.